iStitch Designs 2015 SAL and Merry Christmas!

Evening all!

Well we are almost there - less than a week till Christmas! Not that it is really feeling like it at the moment - the weather is strangely warm here in Scotland for the time of year and I will be working up to and including Christmas Eve so until the evening of the 24th it is business as usual here!

That been said it has been a busy week getting jobs done in preparation, writing cards, wrapping presents, food shopping...along with a few other things I will tell you about in the new year. So, not a whole lot of stitching has been done. However I did sit down this afternoon while watching Willie Wonker's Chocolate Factory and stitched away for a couple of hours.

I got just short of another 2 days done on the iStitch Designs Advent SAL - definitely not going to be caught up in time - but hey, maybe I will get it done for next Christmas ;)

Please excuse the lighting, it is hard to get it to show up great when it is dark outside but in real life this piece is looking great and I am enjoying working on it a lot - when I have the time!

In other news two more pieces of hand dyed fabric arrived from Crafty Kitten this week. These are the two pieces I picked for my two wedding samplers I am going to start next year. I think they are just perfect for what I have in mind.

The first is more pinky shade called Vintage Petals...

And this is Oatmeal...

They are both 28 count which I have never stitched on before but I am excited to give it a go!

Well I am guessing this will be my last post before Christmas so I hope you all have a great time.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Emma xo

Advent Blog Hop - Day 11!

Seasons Greeting!

Welcome to day 11 of the Advent Blog Hop hosted by the lovely Jo at Serendipitous Stitching!

Here is my stitched piece I am sharing with you this year - I finished this last year but didn't take part in the blog hop so thought I would share now as it's a piece I am rather proud of :)

Holly and Hearts by Lizzie Kate

Jo asked what are our Christmas Eve traditions?

Well, if it is a week day then me and my Fiancé will be working! Thankfully we usually get let out early on Christmas Eve so will be home about 4 or 5pm. Once home all the Christmas lights are switched on, candles are lit and a Snowball is made - Christmas Eve is not Christmas eve without a snowball!

Christmas Eve Snowball!

Then, we usually treat ourselves to a takeaway - I will be doing enough cooking on the day so the less I can do on the 24th the better!

After that we will watch a Christmas Movie - usually Miracle on 34th Street - I love that movie!

Then it is usually early to bed - I may be 28 going on 29 but I still always struggle to sleep on Christmas Eve!

Thank you for visiting my page as part of the Advent hop - make sure you check out everyone else and their Christmas Eve traditions too! 

Emma xo

A Wonderful Gift

Good evening all!

I hope you are all well and looking forward to the month ahead - December tomorrow! Eek!

I arrived home tonight to a wonderful gift I had to share with you all. This year I was one of the lucky winners of Andrea's annual event whereby she stitches ornaments throughout the year and then very kindly sends them to new homes each Christmas.

Here is mine...

Isn't it wonderful? and so perfectly finished too!

It also came with a very nice handmade card, thank you so much Andrea :)

The card is now sat with my others (I have received 5 already!) and the ornament is hanging proudly on the tree along with some other handmade ornaments - I am getting quite the collection!

I can't wait to see what the other winners got too :)

Emma x

Christmas Finish

Good evening all

I hope you are all doing ok on this Wednesday - we are on our way to the weekend people :)

As the title of this post would suggest I have a finish to share with you guys. I've had the last three days off work and in between running errands I'm please to say I picked up the needle and managed to get a finish - YAY!

As I've mentioned before it is now kind of a tradition for me to stitch an ornament each year to place on the tree and due to my lack of crafting this year it was looking like I wouldn't get one done in time - but that was all fixed today.

The last time I shared this piece with you was waaaay back in January when I first started it, and I hadn't touched it again so this was my starting point this week...

And today I placed the final x - I think this is such a sweet pattern :)

Happy Holidays by Country Cottage Needleworks
Featured in the 2012 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments
Stitched on 16ct Rustico Oatmeal Aida in the called for DMC colours

Obviously as you can tell I still need to Finish finish this, I'm thinking of attempting my first flat ornament but I'm not sure if I am brave enough - but either way that will have to wait until after payday now to get the supplies needed.

So now this is complete what next? I'm not sure to be honest, I might just have a bit of a stash fondle and see what happens... :)

Until next time!

Emma xo

Christmas Finish!

Hello!

I'm back again sooner than I expected, I sat down on Sunday afternoon and happily sat making pom pom after pom pom and eventually I made enough to finish my latest crafting project.. :)

It was very simple to make, I had one of those polystyrene wreath shapes from the Christmas craft fair I visited last year, if memory serves me it cost £1.50. Together with my clover pom pom makers (I used two different sizes) and some wool this soon took shape.

It was a fun, easy make and I think it is going to look cute in the home over the festive period. Obviously I won't be able to hang this one outside - in Scotland this poor thing wouldn't last a day with our weather!

So I am thinking of hanging it in the hallway to add a bit of festive cheer :)

It felt nice to craft again. Maybe I might even pick up a needle again and get back to cross stitch - we shall have to wait and see!

Until next time...

Emma xo

Holly and Hearts Part Two - Finished!

Good evening everyone!

I hope you are all ok and enjoying your weekend. My number of followers has jumped up recently thanks to the blog hop earlier in the week, so hello and welcome to you! I hope you enjoy your stay! Hehe.

Getting ever closer to the 200 mark, no doubt I will have a giveaway once I get there.

So, this evening I finished the second part on the Lizzie*Kate mystery sal. Hooray! I really enjoy working on this piece and I cannot wait until part three arrives and I can complete it. Fingers crossed it will be in time for December so I can get it framed and it can sit pride of place!

Part two - done!

Until then it goes away again, I'm not sure what I will work on in the mean time...I'll let you know as soon as I do!

Until next time...

Emma xo

#55 Festive Fun!

Good morning!

How are we all today? Slightly hungover? Overdosed on Turkey? Whatever the answer I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

I did, despite falling asleep at 6:30 in the evening and missing half the night! I do it every year though, David just laughs at me...

First I want to thank you to everyone who sent me a Christmas card, I ended up with cards from America, Canda, Portugal, Iceland, England...if it wasn't for all of you I would of had a measly 5 or 6 cards this year (work do this thing where instead of sending cards we give the money to charity, which is all very well and good but when you don't have children this results in very few cards...).

Next, I want to share my stitching presents :D Yep I got some! Hooray!

 The Cat Kit was from my boyfriends parents, his Mum is also a crafty person so she knows how nice it is to build your stash :)

The Gorjus Kit is from my other half, I pointed a few out to him as he needed ideas of things to get me so it was sort of a half surprise hehe :D

At the bottom is a thread pack for Mini the Black which my Grandparents got me. It is my new year start for a group on Facebook, I am itching to get started already! As well as all this my sweet American pen friend Beth got me some note cards, which will definitely come in handy!



Today is Boxing Day here in England, we won't do much other than relax and eat Turkey sandwiches. Sadly tomorrow it is back to reality and back to work. Oh well, at least I have my Birthday on Monday to look forward to :D

Emma xo

#54 Advent Calendar - Day 19

Hello and welcome to the 19th door of Jo's Advent Calendar 2012!

It has become somewhat of a tradition in our house now for each year to make something new to add to the tree, here are just a few from the last couple of years :)

This year Jo asked "Stocking, Sack or Something Else?" Well we are firmly a "something else" household! All our presents are placed under the tree as we get them, as you can see the pile is getting quite big now so close to Christmas! 

The only problem is the temptation to have a little squeeze or take a peek! I have already spotted the Cath Kidston bag at the back! hehe :D

If I do not get the chance again I want to wish all my readers both old and new alike a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Emma xo

#47 IHSW part 1

I have so much to share, so this months updates will be in two parts over the weekend! I really am spoiling you all :) hehe

 

First, I won a prize! Dear Lee over at Notes from under the Mountain informed me I was the 150th follower and as a small token of appreciation wanted to send me a little something, how fun :D So in a couple of weeks I will be postman stalking - always nice to have something to look forward to!

Secondly, I want to invite you all to join in the 2013 YOTA over at Pull The Other Thread. Basically the first Saturday of each month we will show work on a long neglected WIP in the hope it will help us get it finished. I think it sounds like a great idea and will definitely make me get some long overdue progress on some of my WIPS/UFOs! 

Now, stitching. Today I started and finished a little something, hooray! This cute garland came free with Cross Stitcher issue 257. It was my first time stitching on card and I think it has turned out quite nice and I know just the place it will be hung in December.

As suspected I did eventually join the HEAD BB SAL. It took me a while to decide but in the end I settled on QS Mystic Garden. The rules this year are slightly different in that for each half page you finish you get one of the other charts! I like the sound of that!

Something tells me this will be confetti hell heaven, but I like a challenge!

Lastly, Mr Postman was ever so kind to me this morning and delivered my thread pack for Mini Transcendence! YAY! I was to start right this second sooo much but I am going to be good and wait for the new year.

Mini Transcendence Goodies! 

Sadly this photo does not show the beautiful hand dyed fabric at its best, but click Here to see it in all its glory!

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Emma xo

#45 Finally!

After five years I've finally got two little stitches done. I really don't know why it has taken me so long to do these, but they are finally done.

Luckily I am safe to post these here as the recipients aren't followers of my blog. I especially love the little owl peeking at his stocking hehe :D

These little kits are by Mouseloft they come with everything you need included and I will definitely be buying some more!

Now to tackle something a little larger,Twilight Magic has started to call me again. So I will be working on her some more.

I've also started to think about my 2013 goals, so expect a post and new tab appear on my blog soon!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Emma xo