TUSAL and YOTA Updates, and Your Last Reminder!

Good morning (just!)

Due to an unexpected day off work today (I'm having to wait in for the gas man to come check our boiler) here is my update sooner than I expected it. They are both late, as they were due on Saturday but as you know I was at a concert seeing Michael Bublé...he was amazing!

Anyway, first up, my TUSAL report...

Few more colours added to the top from my small sal and my secret stitch but not much else yet. But to say it is only the third report of the year it is filling up fast!

Secondly, my YOTA report. Sadly I can't boast progress to the same level as our dear host this month (she did loads!). But instead a few more rows of purple in the far left column and a block of pink stitches near by. Progress is progress!

You can check out my year to date progress in the YOTA tab at the top, I have month by month pictures.

I have no other stitching to show you this week. The past week seems to have been a bit of a funny one, and yesterday I was ill so had no energy at all to do anything.

Weight wise it is still going well, I lost 1.5lbs, meaning I lost my first stone since joining slimming world five weeks ago! I am very happy. I just need at least 0.5lb this week and my total overall will be two stone! :D

Today is your final day to enter my giveaway too! Don't forget! :)

Emma xo

Quick Reminder...!

You've only got a couple more days to enter my giveaway if you haven't done already!

Just click the above logo and it will take you right there.

Good luck everyone!

Now I'm heading off to Manchester to see Michael Bublé! :D

IHSW Round up!

Good evening!

This weekend has been pretty productive, however I can't actually show you much of what I have been working on, not yet anyway!

First up I added the finish finish to my small for the monthly Small Sal hosted by Stitching Lotus, so now that is all ready and waiting for the check in post on Wednesday.

After that I finished stitching and added the finish to an exchange piece, and as I know the recipient reads this blog I can't show you that either!

Finally, something I can show you (hooray!) I continued to work on Row of Cats, I am really enjoying working on this project, and the current cat I am stitching is stitched with Lana thread so once she is finished she will look all fluffy :)

I also added two balls of wool, which at the moment don't look like much as they need the back stitch adding.

In other news I lost another 1lb this week making my total 13lbs since joining Slimming World and 26lbs overall, so I just need to shift two more lbs to get my 1 and 2 stone!

I will be back this week for my Small Sal post, Stitch from Stash and then Saturday is 1st of March (can you believe it?!) So that means both YOTA and TUSAL time again.

Also on Saturday I am going to see Michael Bublé with some friends, so I am looking forward to that too :)

Finally, if you haven't already don't forget to enter my Giveaway which you can find here, or click the logo below.

Until next time!

Emma xo

200 Follower Giveaway!

Well it has been a long time coming, but it is finally here! My 200 follower giveaway! Hooray!

I hope you like what I have to offer...

In here we have the The Ultimate Forest Friends Cross Stitch Collection! This is a book with 55 charts for you to stitch! Designers include Joan Elliott, Anchor, Maria Diaz and many many more! It is a lovely book with the charts split season by season so you have something to stitch all year long! I have this book myself, and many of them are on my "to stitch" list. I think the toadstool pincushion is probably my favourite though! :D

Along with this you will also be getting issue 266 of cross stitcher still in its seal and with the free gift, a small tin and some needles. For some reason I ended up with two of this issue so it may as well go to a loving home!

Also there are two needle minders from Lisa at No More Lost Needles, which you can find on Facebook, I know some of you have admired the ones which have been on my progress pictures so now is your chance to get your own!

I thought these two seemed very appropriate for a lot of us! :D

Finally, there is a piece of Crafty Kitten Fabric included in the prize, this is Mermaid. I tried to get a good photo but you know how hard that is sometimes! The above photo shows the effect on the fabric great but the colour is off, it is closer to the blue you can see in the first photo!

So does this sound like a prize you might be interested in! If so, then it is really very simple;

• Be or become a follower of my blog
• Leave a comment on this post only!

Simple as that!

If you would like an extra entry then feel free to place a link or post about the giveaway on your own blog. You can also copy and paste this html code which will place the giveaway button on your blog and send your readers directly to this post!

<a href="http://myitzycreativecorner.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/200-follower-giveaway.html" target="_self"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/high_on_hate/Mobile%20Uploads/200followerbutton_zpsca1590c9.jpg" alt="MyCreativeCorner" width="125" height="125" /></a>

The last day to enter will be Monday 3rd March and I will pick a winner the day after. Absolutely anyone, anywhere in the world can enter too!

Good luck everyone!

100 Follower Giveaway - We Have A Winner! (and a few more too!)

So the time has come, it has been a lot of fun these past few weeks and it seems crazy to say this is my 100 follower giveaway when there is now 150 of you following me and my blog! Hello and welcome to all of you - I hope you enjoy :)

So, here you all are folded up on tiny bits of paper...

My glamorous assistant is helping me pick...

Oh he got one!

Who is it...Sheldon clearly wants to see...stop knocking the paper Sheldon!

The winner is....

♥♥ NIA!!! ♥♥

Congratulations! I have sent you an email so if you can let me know your address I will get the goodies off in the post to you this coming week!

But don't despair everyone else...I got to thinking, it seems such a shame that there was 84(!!) entries and only one gift...so...I have decided to keep all the names in the bowl and as and when I feel the need to send a gift to someone I will pick someone out and some goodies will be on there way! So keep your fingers crossed, you might get a gift in the next few months too... :)

Its nice to know I can send a little bit of happiness to people around the world!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Emma xo

#75 So Many Stitches So Little Time...

I think we all feel a bit like that some time, cross stitch is so rewarding but there just never seems enough hours in the day to get everything we want to do done.

But, at least this week I got to stitch, which is an improvement on last week!

First, I worked on my YOTA piece but as you know by now you have to wait until the first Saturday of the month to see that, so next Saturday I can share with you (yes - next weekend we are in March!!!)

I also used a little of my very sparse spare time this week to work on the Wedding project. Here was the last time you saw it...

Then

Here it is now

As of 24-02-13

I got the date ribbon done and the middle of the wheel along with the pink trim of her dress, I am trying to avoid doing the white for as long as possible.

Stash enhancement wise my week was much more productive!

First, my goodies arrived from Loretta - I won her Grow Your Blog Giveaway! She was so generous to send six santa charts - I love them! Now its just a case of finding time to stitch them (where there's a will there's a way right?)

Secondly my second chart for Santa's village arrived, each new one I am loving more than the previous - they are just so cute! I can't decide if to do them all separate or together on one piece of fabric, but for now I will collect them I decide closer to when the time comes to stitch them :)

Finally a new kit - I am holding Katy over at Just A Little Stitchin' responsible for this! I love seeing her progress and I always wanted to stitch the Disney Dream Collection! The only problem was the price - they are so expensive over here in the UK but luckily I had a £10 voucher I could use against it! The voucher wasn't valid for much longer so I figured I may as well get it used up on something I know I want in my stash so its there when I decide to stitch it.

I finally caught up on my blog reading, but to do this my comments on your blogs were very few and far between, which I apologise for. Fingers crossed this week will be peaceful!

There is now less than a week left on my Giveaway so make sure you get your entries in - I will be picking a winner next weekend!

I hope you all have a great week :)

Emma xo

#74 What a Week!

My goodness, I really don't know where this week has gone!

First I want to say a massive thank you to all my followers, old and new alike, this past week my giveaway has gone crazy with so many entries and new followers to my blog! Hello and welcome and I hope you enjoy your stay :P Hehe.

In between Pancake Day, Lent, Valentines, Pankcake day #2 and this weekend precisely 0 stitches have been added this week to any of my projects. I am hoping after this post that perhaps I can get in an hour or two, it is IHSW after all!

For lent I have given up full sugar fizzy pop and crisps, it was originally all fizzy pop but I accidently drank a can of diet coke without thinking so I have tweaked it a little, I am not religious but I always try to give something up for Lent.

Valentines was nothing special, we both already had our gifts which we chose a few weeks ago (you may remember my post here) so we just had a night in with a meal and watched some dvds. We were originally going to go out for dinner on Saturday but when it came to it we were both tired so instead we stayed in and made chilli.

Also this weekend we have been busy decorating, Davids friend is coming to stay in March so the spare bedroom needed a bit of a spruce up. So yesterday we went carpet shopping and painted the walls. Today was spent doing the woodwork, it does look better but in reality it is a 23 year old male coming to stay, the chances are he wouldn't have noticed either way!

Now, some stitching, this is what I got done last Sunday, the last time I picked up a needle!

Just a little more added to the top, but at least you can start to see the peacock feathers forming now.

The mail man has also been kind to me, first a couple of weekends back Jo was kind enough to send me some bobbins and a box! I mentioned a while back I needed a new one as mine was now full and she offered to send me one she had acquired but had no use for, thanks very much Jo! It will come in most useful :)

I also won a giveaway over on Bruna's blog which arrived on Friday, it cheered me up just when I need it, work has not been pleasant this past week.

Again, thank you! I can't wait to stitch the Lizzie*Kate pattern and find a use for the wool :)

In the above photo you can just spy two little white paws, yesterday I sat down for over three hours reading all the blog updates, luckily I had some company...

I think that is everything for my weekly round up. If you haven't already then take a look at my giveaway, there is still time to join :)

Have a great week everyone!

Emma xo

#73 TUSAL and Stitchy Updates

I can't believe it is TUSAL time again! Here is my photo for this month...

As you can see it is mainly blues and greens - I really love that bright blue which I used on the Travelling Pattern, it just pops out compared to everything else!

This week I continued work on my Joan Elliott Wedding Sampler, this is the one piece this year which MUST be done, no ifs or buts so this will be my focus to make sure it is complete in time.

Here is what it looked like the last time....

And here it is now!

There isn't much to show yet, but at least the back bike wheel is in place along with the brides shoe - as always I am trying to avoid stitching the white for as long as I can, I am always scared it will stain!

To make sure not all my other projects get abandoned completely I think I am going to make Sunday my "SAL Sunday" that way it gives me the option of the HAED sal or the Dressmakers Daughter sal. I can't believe some people have already completed the first page of the HAED! But I will stitch along at my own pace and what is done is done. No pressure :)

If you haven't already then please make sure you take a look at my previous post - it is giveaway time! You can click the image below to take you straight to the post and make sure you get your entry in :)

Now I am going to spend some time on Mystic Garden for the rest of the evening - yet again where has this weekend gone??

I must also thank you all for your thoughts and well wishes for Theo, my friends baby. The good news is the tests for Meningitis came back clear, but he is still struggling with his breathing a little. He has started to feed again though which is a good sign and today they were told once he starts to handle his breathing properly again he will be allowed home! So fingers crossed he is out soon :)

Have a great week everyone!

Emma xo

100 Follower Giveaway!

Here it is! The moment you have all been waiting for (maybe)

The launch of my 100 Follower Giveaway

This is just a small token of my appreciation to say thank you - when I started this last year it was more for me, to keep me motivated when I started to cross stitch again. Little did I know in less than twelve months there would be over 100 of you who put up with me.

Thank you!

Last time I did a mystery giveaway but I think I will be kind and show you what you can win this time...

We have;

♥ Counted cross stitch kit - "For A Walk" by RTO with DMC threads

♥  Two hand dyed fabrics - "Sunset Sky" and "Fantasy Wings" from The Crafty Kitten

♥ Two skeins of hand dyed thread - "January 2013 Ltd Ed" (you can't buy this anymore!) from The Crafty Kitten

♥ Two skeins of hand dyed thread - "Aurora" from The Crafty Kitten

♥ One 14ct Bookmark Band (perhaps to use with the hand dyed threads?!)

♥ Three fat quarters of fabric

So, if this sounds like something you might be interested in then it is very simple, just comment on this post and you will be entered!

All I ask is the following;

♥ You are or become a follower of my blog
♥ In your comment please leave a link to your own blog

If you want to increase your luck then if you share my giveaway on your own blog, either in a post or on your sidebar then you will get an extra entry. Below you can grab my giveaway button for your post/blog (yes, those are my awesome paint skills!)

<a href="http://myitzycreativecorner.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/100-follower-giveaway.html" target="_self"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/high_on_hate/100followers_zps51b071b1.jpg" alt="MyCreativeCorner" width="125" height="125" /></a>

Absolutely anyone can enter, no matter where you are in the world!

The closing date will be Saturday 2nd of March so you all have plenty of time to join in and share the fun! 

Good look everyone! :)

#41 We Have A Winner!

I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who entered, this was a lot of fun for me and I will definitely be holding more giveaways in the future!

Including the bonus entries there was 33 entrants in the giveaway - wow! All of which are listed below...

1. Cucki
2. Fiore
3. Mii Stitch
4. Cathy Pavlovich
5. Nurdan Kanber
6. McKenna C
7. Tadamama
8. Annie
9. Angela Cruz-garcia
10. Lulu
11. Gizzimomo
12. Nia
13. Rhona
14. Jo
15. Virpi
16. Minnie
17. Rita
18. HKittypink
19. Butterfly
20. Anne
21. Parsley
22. Kaisievic
23. Rosey175
24. Dani - tkdchick
25. Donna
26. Blue Star Stitcher
27. Fiore - Bonus
28. Tadamama - Bonus
29. Gizzimomo - Bonus
30. Nia - Bonus
31. Mckenna C - Bonus
32. Rita
33. Kaisievic - Bonus

And so, using my trusty number generator lets see who the winner is....

Number 6! Meaning McKenna C you are the winner!!!

Congratulations! - can you please email me ( emma_hewitt1986@hotmail.co.uk ) with your address and I will get the mystery goodies sent off next week :)

Emma xo

#40 LAST CHANCE GIVEAWAY!!!

Well the title says it all!

Less than 24 hours to go!

#39 IHSW and Giveaway Reminder!

I must admit this weekend was rather dismal when it came to hermitting and stitching...although some did get done, which is still an improvement than the last few weeks.

I think my major problem was I couldn't decide on what to work so I ended up starting THREE new projects - like I need more!

First up was both my SALS. Sweet treats was fine, and I can see this coming along quickly once I get back in to my stitching mind. 

Dressmakers Daughter proved more of a challenge. This is my first project I have ever done on Linen so I am plodding along slowly. Fingers crossed once I get the hang of it I'll be fine. The first section is supposed to be done by the end of the month - not very likely!

Finally I worked on something different. A group of stitchers on Facebook seem to also be having trouble locating their stitching bug so have decided to do a HAL (Hook a long) in the form of some latch hook rugs (insert smutty joke about been hookers here).

I have never done this before but I must say so far I am enjoying it, its really easy and good for those days when  your head just can't get in to stitching.

But in the grand scheme of things I still have a long way to go...

Remember!

Less than a week now until my giveaway, so get your entries in fast! Click below to jump straight to the post.

Thank you to my followers old and new alike for your kind comments.

Now to read how much better everyone else has done at the IHSW!

Emma xo

#38 Remember...

This weekend is IHSW - basically an excuse to sit and stitch all weekend - click below to join in the fun!

Also don't forget its under two weeks until my giveaway closes - click below to join in, and why wouldn't you?! Everyone loves free stuff!



Updates to come soon - promise!
Emma xo

#37 I Love my Postman!

Before we get started I just want to say thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post, I have read them all but this week has just been chaos and until tonight I haven't had the time to sit and read them all.

But really, you are too kind. The yarn is the smart thing, not me, its the simplest yarn in the world to knit with I am sure!

Now, on to the fun part!

This week has been a very fun week, arriving home to goodies of some sort almost every night - look at all this!

First my sub copy of World of Cross Stitching arrived along with a mystery envelope from USA I open it to find two patterns from Pickle Barrel Designs! I had entered a competition on their blog and they were so generous to send something to everyone who entered!

The day after my letter from my USA stitchy penpal arrived - it is always nice to have something fun to read other than bills!

Lastly some of my Giveaway goodies arrived, want to see....?

Ok, you can't. Sheldon has taken it upon himself to guard them until we know where they are heading, hehe! I guess the only way to find out is to enter... ;)

In other news I took part in the Facebook HAED event and the lovely Michelle sent me this;

Mini Autumn Cat Magic

Isn't he cute!? He reminds me of Charlie when he was little and certainly in keeping with the Halloween theme of the event!

I hope you all have a productive crafty weekend and I will be back again on Sunday to update you on my stitching.

Have a great weekend and thanks for following/commenting again!

Emma xo

#36 Another finish!

Woohoo! Two finishes in a week! I can't really complain about that! But don't be getting used to it as I'm sure it won't happen again for a while :D hehe.

This is another of the Daffy yarn, you may remember the one I did in shades of green, well this was the other colour I bought. I love it, I think it will look rather festive come December.

So, now I've finished three that is surely a good enough excuse reason to buy some more? Right? :D

A new wool shop has opened in the next village, oh my, am I ever going to be able to save money??

Don't forget about my Giveaway people - just click the link below! :)


Hope you all had/are having a great weekend.

Until next week.

Emma xo