Advend Calender Blog Hop

Welcome to the 18th day of the Advend Calendar Blog Hop and all thanks to Jo for arranging it. :)

Let me start with this years Christmas stitching:

 Merry Christmas to Eve

Designer: With Thy Needle and Thread

Recommended WDW and Gentle Art threads

Linen: 36ct Lakeside Linen Vintage Sand Dune

instead of music paper I used fabric with a musical print 

 

Noel Sampler

Designer: Primitive Needleworks

Linen: 36ct Lakeside Linen Vintage Sand Dune

Recommended DMC

Also started, but only one finished: 

 Prairie Schooler - Songs of the Season

32ct Belfast from PTP in the color Fog

recommended DMC 

And then there arrived a Christmas Spider at my door, who resides now in the tree. Gracie sent this little friend and I'm delighted to welcome him in our tree. Isn't it a gorgeous little thing? Thank you so much Gracie.

The theme for this year's blog hop is  "Stocking, Sack or Something else?"

Something else would be the answer for me.

As a child I wouldn't see the tree no earlier then Christmas Day. With the gifts under it. When my kids were little, we would set up the tree together on Christmas Eve  but no gifts to be seen until Christmas Day.

These days we set the tree up  up early December. And shortly after that I start adding the gifts under the tree. The presents give it a festive look, which I love.  Somehow it's a bit of a pity that they will be unwrapped on Christmas.  

 

When seeing today a picture of a beautiful sunset, a memory came alive  that I would love to share with you. Every time when the sky was showing those beautiful orange colors,  my mother would tell me: Look Gabi - the angels are  baking cookies for Christmas. And I truly believed that and I LOVED those skys. I told my kids the same story. And they too stared in admiration to the sky. Cookies!!!!

Wishing you and your loved ones a very blessed Christmas

Susan Singleton and Emma Miles

As most of you have already heard, Nicola is celebrating a for her special year with making it a Scarlet Letter year.  What a fantastic project. Like lots of my fellow stitchers I couldn't resist and join the fun too.

And seen that I started with several friends Susan Singleton, it fits the bill quite well. Susan is just lovely, although I made some changes to her, by adding a pink for example. She is such a colorful girl - a pleasure to spend the evening hours with :)

The fellow stitchers for Susan are: Terri,  Deb, Sandra, Marsha, Margaret  Suzanne and Evelyne

Susan Singleton

Designer: Scarlet Letter

Fabric: 36ct Zweigart Linen Summer Khaki

Threads: Avas and NPI

I also worked a bit on Emma, before I tossed her to the side to start some other Christmas stitching.

Emma Miles

Designer: The Scarlet Letter

Fabric: 36ct Vintage Cornsilk by Lakeside Linens

Threads: AVAS silks

 

 

I'm busy with several Christmas pieces. Having a bit trouble to keep my concentration on one thing at the moment. Hopefully I will have to show more soon. :)

I want also to thank everybody who send me good wishes for our little dog Ashley. Sadly she lost her fight last month. She was happy until the last 2 days of her life. Which is a comforting thought.

 

Hopefully everybody has a great week and is good, so that Santa will bring a lot. I heard last week a song for the very first time, and can't get it out of my head anymore:
 

 

So you better be good. I'm giving it a try, hoping nobody snitched on me :)

Winners

First things first...here are the winners of the give away

The North Wind: Krista

Home of a Needleworker: Kaisievic

Spring Quaker: Lisa V

Jingle Bell Xmas Farm: Margaret


There wasn't much stitching lately...only a bit progress on Emma Miles

The main reason for this lack of everything is me becoming a zombie. I NEED my sleep but not getting much lately.  My little Ashley's heart is starting to fail her. Something we know would come sooner or later. And after years of happy sleeping under my bed, she doesn't want that no more. When things go haywire, it frightens her and she needs to be close, and will wake me up. And being worried,  my sleep became that light that even a bit of  snoring will wake me up to check on her. And believe me...lol...Cavalier King Charles Spaniels do know a thing or two about snoring.  You could call them experts.

Here a picture how we spend our nights together these days. Excuse the blurry in it, but at 5.30 am I'm not able to concentrate on anything but to pop the first tablet into her.  At least one of us is having a good night sleep :)

Having another give away

I'm such a bad blogger lately.  Feeling really guilty about that. The only apology I have is that life is rather busy these days.

But I did take the time to go through my pile of charts that I stitched already and some are ready to find a new good home.

Two of those charts I got as kits. If you want to, I can send the remaining threads as well. It won't be enough to stitch it again, but it will be helpful in case you want to substitute.
If you want to put your name down for any or all of the charts, just tell me which one(s) and  I'll draw a name for each of the charts. Please make sure that I do have a way to contact you.

1. The North Wind by Little House Needleworks
2. Home of a Needleworker (Too) by Little House Needleworks
3. Spring Quaker by Rosewood Manor (with remaining Valdani Threads)
4. Jingle Bells Xmas Tree Farm by Victoria Sampler (with remaining silks)

I got some stitching in as well....

Finished the over one parts on Emma!!!

Emma Miles

Designer: The Scarlet Letter

Fabric: 36ct Vintage Cornsilk by Lakeside Linens

Threads: AVAS silks

 

And I took part in a Christmas ornament exchange at "Hooked on Exchanges" . The theme was this time "Hometown". I took Hometown a bit wider, and made it Australia. But the backing fabric was all Melbourne, which is really close by.  Here is what I sent to Marie:

 Designer: Carrol Nielssen

Fabric: 28ct Solo by Silkweaver

stitched over one with NPI silks

Lastly there is Susan Singleton. Can't show you any progress picture yet, that has to wait until December 1st.  But I did make a picture of a floss toss. I started  with Magnolia, then frogging that and using Summer Khaki, which came with the kit. Loving it so far. Except that the colors in the chart don't match with the picture on the chart. But changing it as I go and still in love with Susan. She's a very colorful girl.

 

 

Ellen, Emma and Susan

Ellen, Emma and Susan - three lovely pieces, one is finished, one is started and one is going to be started...

 Ellen Birdseye

Designer: The Goode Huswife

Fabric: 40ct PTP Plus in "Sand"

Fibers: Gentle Art

 All colors of Ellen got changed. I got some inspirations on the internet from Siobhan, Lois and Melissa, but ended up doing my own thing.  Ellen is charted for DMC but I replaced all with Gentle Art, added the red and mixed some up differently. All by all I'm pleased with the result.

DMC 611 - Old Hickory

DMC 612 - Chamomile

DMC 931 - Old Blue Paint

DMC 3012 - Grasshopper

DMC 3371 - Espresso Bean

Red - Mulberry

And then there is Emma - finally started. And with me not being able to resist, already a part of the satin stitch filled in. Shouldn't have done that, I might have to frog it at the end..lol

Emma Miles

Designer: The Scarlet Letter

Fabric: 36ct Vintage Cornsilk by Lakeside Linens

Threads: AVAS silks

Another thing I couldn't resist is taking part in the SAL for Susan Singleton by the Scarlet Letter. The SAL will be over 2 years with reporting back every 3 months. Begin September should be showing a floss toss. Because being a bit too late, I just ordered the supplies and have to wait until it arrives before I have something to show....

Fellow stitchers are  Terri, Deb, Sandra, Marsha, Margaret and Suzanne

Finally framed is a finish from 2009. It took a while before I really wanted it to hang at the wall. When painful memories become fond memories, it's time to hang it up :)

This piece will always remind us for various reasons of my late FIL.

The Grand Marquoir

Designer: Isabelle Haccourt Vautier

stitched over one on 25ct Lugana ToiToi from Country Stitch 

with Threadworx "Stepping Stones", DMC 310 and Rainbow Gallery Petite Gold

Speaking of loosing someone dear. I don't talk often about private stuff. But I have to tell you how thankful I am for our little Ashley. Most cavaliers get failing heart valves over time.

Ashley sadly has this badly and at too young age -  since 1 1/2 years she is in the state of heart failure. The state of her heart gave her a maximum survival of 1 year - 18 months ago

BUT - you would not believe that when you see her. She RUNS, she jumps, she is quite active and very happy. Noone really believes it, until you  put your hand on her breast. People normally fall quiet then and look at me with disbelief. Her heart doesn't feel like a heart beat at all.

Medication and in her case a daily 6km walk keeping her alive far above all expectations. Better said, I do the 6km - she does at least triple that amount. Running, chasing rabbits, chasing kangaroo's, chasing leaves, jumping, swimming,  and what not. And after each walk her cough is gone. It slowly builds up again during the rest of the day, as water builds up in her chest...but the next morning....she'll runs it off somehow.

This girl has beaten all odds and is still continuing to do so. One day her luck will run out, but right now we enjoy every day and take it as a gift.  We passed the stage of being sad, we are just very thankful that she is such a happy little girl and that she is still able to enjoy every day to the fullest. 

Conversion for Wisdom Sampler

As promised here is the conversion from DMC to Needpoint Inc Silk (NPI) for the Wisdom Sampler
The chart itself is no longer OOP. Vermillion Stitchery has decided to make it available again and it can be purchased and downloaded on their website

The Wisdom Sampler

Designer: The Vermillion Stitchery

Fabric: Lakeside Linens 36ct Magnolia

Fibers: my own conversion to NPI silk 

The file above looks bad to read, but if you click it, it will open in new window and you can save the picture file. The picture file should have a good quality.

I also created a key legend which is basically an edited form of the original key legend. The DMC numbers are erased and replaced with the NPI numbers. I checked it with the designer, and am allowed to post the legend here.

 

If you're interested in downloading this file, click and safe to your computer :)

Wisdom Sampler finished :)

It's finished already couple of days, but it was quite busy here and bad weather, so it took me a while to take pictures....

I'm so happy about this finish. Still busy with my happy dance.  It's  hanging on my floor frame - on display in the lounge and right now I'm mentally not ready to take it off  there to put the next one on. :)
Please overlook any visible dog toys in the back. My Jack Russel pulls them faster out then I can store them away in the basket.  She thinks it's our daily game.

The Wisdom Sampler

Designer: The Vermillion Stitchery

Fabric: Lakeside Linens 36ct Magnolia

Fibers: my own conversion to NPI silk 

 

And now a lot of pictures of it.... which are clickable if needed :)

 

Emma Miles didn't get started yet because I'm rethinking the fabric I have for her and will probably dye it myself.

So I went to my basket and Ellen Birdseye jumped right into my arms. Changing her colors though. Stealing bits and pieces from others who had made their own conversions. Using some of their changes, added some salt of my own, and hopefully it will turn out well.
Time will show...

 

 

So close now...

Oh so very close now to a finish. I can smell it. Almost there .....if only I could concentrate on it

The Wisdom Sampler

Designer: The Vermillion Stitchery

Fabric: Lakeside Linens 36ct Magnolia'

Fibers: my own conversion to NPI silk

See the problem is Emma. She's a bit of a trouble right now and tries to tempt me.

 Floss Toss for Emma Miles by the Scarlet Letter

Avas silks on 36ct Lakeside Linen Vintage Cornsilk

That's how she will look like

Do you know the feeling? Very close to a finish and then loosing a bit of interest?  The upcoming project grabs your attention? Or anything else BUT your recent project?

Sigh

If I would allow myself to start the project before I have finished the last one, I would have a house full of ALMOST finished ufo's.

And then there is also another project I started not long ago. This is the project I take with me when we're going away. I always need to have something to do...

Mothers Garden

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric: Lakeside Linens 32ct Maritime White

Fibers: Recommended Gentle Art and Crescent Colours

Hope everybody had a great weekend and will have a lovely week ahead.

Wisdom Sampler and BBD ornament exchange

End of the Olympics means sadly less stitching time. The Olympics were a fantastic excuse to sit down during the day in front of the tv and put in a stitch or two while cheering on the athletes. Boy, I wish I was that fit. Sigh.

What concerns my sampler, thanks to said Olympics, I'm a bit closer to the end....

 

The Wisdom Sampler

Designer: The Vermillion Stitchery

Fabric: Lakeside Linens 36ct Magnolia'

Fibers: NPI silk 

 

 I also took part in an exchange on "Hooked on Exchange" and received last week in the mail a darling ornament from Lynn. It's filled with crushed walnuts and is not only beautiful, but also has a lovely feel to it. Love it. Thank you so much Lynn.

Peace by Blackbird Desings 

using the recommended threads

For my partner Karen (no blog as far as I know) I stitched one of the December Stockings

Merry Christmas from the December Stocking booklet "Merry December"

Fabric: 30ct Iced Cappuchino

Fibers: WDW, GA and CC

Hope everybody is having a great time and better weather then we had lately (which shouldn't be too difficult)

Couple of finishes and the lost emails.

First things first. Don't ask me how I did it, but I lost quite some emails. Which wouldn't be too much of a problem if I hadn't made promises to two people.

If you're the one I promise to lend a chart, just drop me a line please and I get it on the way to you.

And the person, I promised to send my NPI conversions to for the Wisdom Sampler, please drop me a line too. I don't have your email anymore :(


Now to the more pleasant things :)
Several kitted up charts went with me to Europe.  Some of them were in my basket for quite some time.
.

 The North Wind
Designer: Little House Needleworks
Fabric: 32ct Picture This Plus color: Sterling
Threads: Crescent Colours

Jingle Bell Xmas Tree Farm
Designer: The Victoria Sampler
Fabric: 28ct Cashel Smokey Pearl
Threads: recommended silks

 

Home of a Needleworker (Too)
Designer: Little House Needleworks
Fabric: 32ct Picture This Plus color: Chime
Threads: Crescent Colours

Summer Basket
Designer: Blackbird Designs
Fabric: 32ct Silkweaver, color Parkland
Threads: Gentle Art  and Weeks Dye
replaced green to Scuppermong
and blue to Old Blue Paint

Spring Quakers
Designer: Rosewood Manor
Fabric: 28ct Cashel by Picture This Pus color: Fog
Threads: Valdani

Hope everyone had a great weekend. :)

Back home after 3 months

I'm finally back home!!!!
Not only visited I my mother - but in the middle of it Mike came over and we visited Switzerland, Italy, San Marino, Vatican City and my brother in law in France. Mike flew then home and I went back to my mother.
At the end I was a bit homesick. 3 months is the longest I was ever away from home.

What is what Aussies look for in their Summer vacation? 

Snow of course!!!

From frosty Switzerland

To melting hot Italy

Lovely France

And back to my Mum again :)

The winners are...

The winners are:

Charlotte Clayton - NatalyK

Frederick - Cardygirl

Frederika - Jackie

The Stitching Chair - Patty C

Congratulations to all four and I'll try to get the charts out tomorrow before I leave to Europe. If I can't make it, my husband will get it out.

See you all back end of July / August, because I highly doubt I will have much access to internet.

Edit to add: for one of the charts I announced the wrong winner. I edited it to the right winner. (I put a name on a list for a chart that person wasn't interested in )  So sorry for the confusion. Above are the correct winners. 

New blog layout

Thanks to Margaret I got alerted to the fact that my blog layout was linked to an attack page. That was quite a bit of a shock. I changed the layout immediately and hope that now everyone can safely visit my blog.
My sincere apologies but I was totally unaware about that.

Please welcome to my home.... (and a give away)

Please welcome to my home ....ELLEN BIRDSEYE and friends!!!

Finally - after several years of searching - this chart is part of my Goode Huswife collection. And I'm SO delighted about it. 

And to make things even better, I was so very lucky to find 2 Blackbird Design charts that are out of print at Laraines on Capri, an Australian online shop. They still had a Quaker Garden chart and at least 2 Moonlit Gardens.  Can you believe that??? I felt SO lucky. Bought them all. One Moonlit Garden was for a friend who later decided not to want it. But that doesn't matter. I might try to trade the second one for another OOP chart I'm after. Not sure yet.  I'm way to happy right now to think about minor details like that. I'll think about that when I'm back from Europe


There are also some updates on the stitching front: Here is a snap of a piece that I stitched and framed for our friends daughter Josephine:

 Letters from Nora -  J 

Designer:  Nora Corbett

Fabric: 32ct Belfast linen Vintage Pink Whisper

Fibers: Crescent Colours, Kreinik Braid

plus recommended beads

Then there is an update on the Wisdom Sampler:

The Wisdom Sampler

Designer: The Vermillion Stitchery

Fabric: Lakeside Linens 36ct Magnolia'

Fibers: NPI silk

And lastly I have some charts to give away. I'm a bit late with that because I leave in couple of days until end of July. Which means the names will be drawn rather soon.  If there is more then one interested.
There are 4 charts, Charlotte Clayton, Frederik, Frederika and the Stitching Chair. If you're interested in any of them, just state which one's you would like to have. Can be one, or all, up to you. I'll draw a name for each of them. Please make sure I have a way to reach you

That's it from here. Hope everyone has a great time where ever you are :)

Several finishes - Charlotte Clayton included - and an explanation.

First of all I want to apologize about my long absence. I got several emails of people being worried. Thank you so very much for that. Actually I'm doing very well. Reason for my absence is a change in my live to beat the Insomnia I'm suffering from since being a teenager. Instead of spending my sleepless nights at the computer I'm sound asleep in bed - and am so very thankful for that.

My new lifestyle means however I have less hours per day. That's why I often don't touch the pc at all. Still stitching though. My stitching time is sacred for me. I need that to unwind and relax.

Every day I get up at 6 am - leave the house with the dogs at 6.30 to go with my Aunt for a brisk 2 hour walk. Weather or no weather - off we go. It works for me. Getting up every day early at the same time, combined with time outside and exercise, does the trick for me.  That alone pinches 3 hours of my day. Adding to that is the phonecall to my mother in Germany for 1/2 hour to 1 hour every day.  Plus 8 hours sleep instead of 4.  During the days I'm busy, and in the evenings I'm toast. And loving it.

Hopefully I will be able to keep my sleeping pattern, when I'm going over to Europe for 2 1/2 months in May.

Now to the stitching front :)

Finished Charlotte. This sampler was such a delight to stitch. 

 Charlotte Clayton

Northwest Sampler Guild

36ct Lakeside Linen Vintage Sand Dune

recommended NPI silks

 

Took  Christmas Garden on vacation to Tasmania, where I stitched most of it. Although I made one change to it. I replaced the recommended brown.

Christmas Garden

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric: Belfast Light Mocha

Fibers: Crescent Colours and Gentle Art

Replaced GA Heirloom Gold with GA Tarnished Gold

Frederika finally got her man and is happy now:

Frederik

Designer: Carriage House Samplings

Fabric: Lakeside Linens 40ct. Pearled Barley

 Fibers: recommended NPI 

 

And here are both together...

The newest start is "The Wisdom Sampler" by Vermillion. Also it seems in the picture that the reds in the jacket are almost the same, in real life the difference is more visible. I converted the colors to NPI silks and tried to stay close to the choices the designer made.

The Wisdom Sampler

Designer: The Vermillion Stitchery

Fabric: Lakeside Linens 36ct Magnolia'

Fibers: NPI silk

 

 Also....I "won" FINALLY Ellen Birdseye on Ebay.  That was a happy day!!! 

Oh...and I'm going through my stash and give some charts I don't have any use for anymore away in a couple of days. Charlotte will be one of them.

Hope everybody had a great Easter :)