Not one, but two finishes (my mojo is in full swing!)

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. Hard to believe it has been and gone already.

Today I was up early as I was supposed to be off to the zoo to have a close encounter with their Red Pandas. However, the weather is so frightful it has been put off for several weeks. The rain has been torrential overnight and the winds are so strong about 10 minutes ago we saw our outdoor table and chairs go sliding across our deck towards the edge (so we had to coat up and go move it all, lucky us!). Today is without doubt going to be a stitchy/movie/internet/lazy day!

You may recall that before I started on my Christmas ornament frenzy I was stitching Just Nan's Summer humbug. Well the night before last I got all the stitching and beading finished up. I wish you could see just how pretty this really is, the photo is gloomy because of the weather. Hopefully when I 'finish finish' it, the sun will be shining again and I'll get a better pic.



My other finish is My Everything by The Sampler Girl. Tania was recently having a special, and I ordered the e-chart for US$1 (NZ$1.40). I have wanted to stitch this chart for ages and the deal was too good to pass up. It was a quick fun stitch.



Phoebe seemed to have a wonderful Christmas (apart from when she fell off my deck and hit her mouth on her new trike which my parents had given her). As well as all her new toys she also had fun playing with my nephew (on my DH's side) and enjoyed getting her hands wet in our water feature.



I hope you are all enjoying the rest of your holidays.

Mad rush

My sister-in-law was visiting on Sunday afternoon and commented on all the cross stitch ornaments on my Christmas tree. She seemed quite taken with them.

Sooo... not long after she went home I got busy, found a design, stitched it up and made it into an ornament for her Christmas tree. I am going to give it to her tomorrow night when we catch up to do a tiki tour around my city's Christmas lights.

It is JBW Designs 'Star' from the 2010 JCS ornament magazine. I used the thread 'Turkish Red' by Weeks Dye Works which the lovely Cheryl gifted to me in our recent exchange.



My sewing skills still need a lot of practice (especially the hand stitching)... but I've had so much fun making ornaments, I'll probably continue and hopefully practice will make perfect.

Thank you for all your comments which you have left recently. It's nice to receive your encouragement and to know there are so many like-minded souls out there who gain so much pleasure from fabric and thread :-)

Hope you are enjoying the festive season. Not too many sleeps until Santa now! :-)

I am working on a non-Christmas design which I'm getting close to finishing, so I'm sure I'll be back soon.

Lots to share...

I have more Christmas stitching to share!

Today I received a wonderful package from Cheryl. Once again I was rather spoilt. Cheryl stitched this gorgeous 'Chilly Frillys' design. Cheryl thought I might want to leave displaying it until Winter (since it is Summer here in New Zealand) - but it is far too lovely for that. So I have it on display with our Christmas cards next to the Christmas tree.



Cheryl also included this lovely Shepherd's Bush kit (I'm planning on stitching it over the Christmas break), a JBW chart (with a gorgeous little love heart charm), some threads and a Christmas card.

What a great exchange! Thank you so much Cheryl.

Katrina emailed me to let me know that she had received my exchange for her. I stitched her Waiting for Santa by Bent Creek.



And last up, Julie (no blog) let me know that she received the package I sent to her. I stitched up Joy from one of the JCS ornament issues.



A big thank you all the ladies who have exchanged with me. It has certainly got me in the mood for Christmas over the last couple of months. It was also a lot of fun choosing what to stitch for everyone and putting together goodies that I thought they might like.

If I don't post again this week, I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and all the best for 2011!

A night of finishing

The night before last I got my sewing machine out and decided to 'finish finish' a few Christmas ornaments.

The first one came out a bit wonky.



Next up I finished Phoebe's ornament. This came out very much to my liking. I was happy with the sewing, the corners and the overall appearance. Phoebe seemed interested too for a bit. I asked her if she was taking it home to put on her tree and she said 'Yes'! :-) When I left today she blew me a wee kiss too. So sweet!



Then I had a few problems with my sewing machine. I got thread stuck under the 'teeth' of it. Heck... I didn't know what to do, I'm a novice! I managed to get it out but it was still making funny noises, so I just got some scrap fabric and sewed lines for a bit and that seemed to fix it. lol

So I managed to get this one sewn up as well! I am fairly pleased with this one also.



I then hand stitched my recent Noel finish. I love how this one looks. It really stands out on the tree.



I might try and finish finish a few more of my cross stitches over the Christmas break. I am going to be off work for just over two weeks, and I can't wait! Roll on next Thursday which is my last day of work before the holidays.

Hope you're all having a great week!

Christmas is coming...

My DH and I put our Christmas tree up last night, so I thought I would show you the lovely exchange ornaments I have received from Katrina, Chris and Kathy hanging on the tree. They look even more beautiful in their rightful place!



I also decided on Phoebe's ornament and am half way there with it, it is 'Britty Christmas Kitty' from the 2005 JCS ornament issue. Phoebe is already an animal lover (trust me, coming from my family, this was inevitable... lol), so the Christmas kitty is probably a good choice.



Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

An exchange, a finish and some new stash

I got three pieces of mail yesterday. I haven't had that much mail in one day in ages! What fun.

First up I got a lovely Christmas card from Ann in Scotland. Thanks Ann! I hope you are thawing out over there :-)

Then there was a squishy package from Katrina for our Christmas exchange. Talk about spoilt! I received this lovely mitten ornament. It's a combination of cross stitch, felting and a little beaded hanger. Exquisite! My photo doesn't do it justice at all. I also received some Christmas fabric, a Christmas chart and some DMC 115 (perfect for Christmas stitching!). Thanks again Katrina!

I dropped my parcel for Katrina off at the Post Office today so that should be with her shortly (since she is not too far north of here).



The other squishy package was some stash I ordered from the USA. It is The Queen's Crowns by Plum Street Samplers and the crown needleminder from Kelmscott Designs. I have been a royalist since I was about 7 years old, and despite other memorabilia I haven't ever stitched anything with a royal connection. But I will be soon with my lovely new chart. Is anyone else looking forward to the royal wedding next year? I sure am!



I also finished up my version of First Snow by the Drawn Thread. You can find the chart here along with lots of other lovely freebies.



Now that I have finished my commitment stitching, I need to choose a design to make my little niece Phoebe a Christmas ornament. Last year I stitched her Blitzen Glistens, but I'm having difficulty finding something I like as much for her second Christmas. I had better hurry up... Christmas is getting verrrry close! Are you ready for it!?

Thanks for reading and your comments! :-)

Exchange for Kathy

I didn't think I would be posting again quite so soon, but I have just received an email from Kathy to say that she has also received her exchange. Yay!

For Kathy I stitched Just Nan's Christmas Wishes. I actually got my sewing machine out for this one and backed it with some Christmas fabric.



Kathy seemed pleased with it, so... so far so good with all my Christmas exchanges!

Exchange for Cheryl

My exchange for Cheryl has been received, so I can now share what I sent.

The cute reindeer is a freebie called 'Pendouille Sapin Renne', and can be found here. It was a fun stitch and I enjoyed jazzing him up a little with a bell and a red nose!



I am glad Cheryl liked what I sent! (And that it made it through all that snow she has been getting!).

I'll be back soon as I have more to share!

Exchange for Chris

I see that Chris has received the ornament I stitched for her in our Christmas exchange, so I can now share it with you.

It is La D Da's 'Tis Green' - only in red ;-) - from the JCS preview issue (if I remember correctly). I added a little bell to the bottom to make it a little more Christmassy.



I am no great finisher, but my ever supportive DH has been cheering me on saying everyone has to start somewhere!

While many of you have been experiencing a harsh start to winter, down here in New Zealand we are experiencing a very early summer. I don't know if it is going to continue this way all summer, but we are making the most of it! Today we have been out and about and Wellington Harbour was looking rather stunning, so I thought I'd share a photo.



Hope you are having a great weekend!