Giveaway time!

Hello to all my blogging friends and a friendly welcome to all my new followers,

After just enjoying a hot coffee and reading a magazine in the sunshine, I hope you are all well and enjoying the sunshine like I am here today, as there has not been a whole lot of it lately. November in Melbourne Australia this year has been a very weird, wet and cold month. Normally it's warming up and the sun shines most days, but even though we've experienced nicer days this week, last week was cold, wet and rainy. Summer starts next month so hopefully December is brighter! 

Here I was saying in my last post that I'd be back in a few days time to announce my giveaway for gaining 100 followers. It turns out, it's almost one month later and I now have 104 followers! My apologies, my intentions are always there, but sometimes things happen in life and blogging can be put on the back burner for awhile. I didn't realise how long it had been though. But not to worry, I have become organised lately with getting Christmas presents and a few birthday presents out of the way (I'm not normally this organised but with a new bub on the way I have to be) and getting this giveaway together also was a priority.

First I want to show you my progress on my Humphrey's corner pattern which I am really enjoying stitching. It is coming together quickly and I am loving the gorgeous colours through it. Soon I will start on the half stitches and back stitch. 

Now onto the giveaway...
Firstly I want to thank my readers for sticking by my blog and commenting on my posts, they mean alot. After gaining 100 followers I always wanted to thank you by putting together a little giveaway. Since I live on the other side of the world to most of my blogging friends (Australia is so far away :-)) I can't afford to put a big giveaway together because postage costs to overseas are very high here. But I think a small giveaway is still nice and it's about quality not quantity right?
This is what I am offering in my giveaway. A never been opened Humphrey's corner cross stitch kit called 'for you'. Finished size 12x12cm, contains 16 count cream aida, Anchor stranded cotton threads, chart, full instructions and a needle. I know, I know Humphrey's corner is my favourite character but I have so many already and I am happy to share the love with someone else who might like to stitch him. A pack of various pink ribbon to use for whatever you like, maybe finishing ornaments? two packs of never been used Madeira silk threads in pink and gold and a caramel chocolate filled caramello koala bear. I thought that might excite some of my overseas friends since it is a koala bear chocolate, and due to the fact that they are delicious!! One can never resist chocolate...well I know I can't.  

Here are the rules:

1. Giveaway is open to all of my readers, local, interstate and overseas.
2. To enter into my giveaway you must be an existing follower of mine or new followers are welcome too.
3. If you would like your name put into the draw once, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and answer a few simple questions. How were you first introduced to cross stitching? what is it about cross stitching that you love so much? and where is the weirdest place you have ever taken your cross stitch and stitched before?
If you would like your name entered into the draw twice, you need to comment as above and announce on your blog that I am having a giveaway and link my blog name on your blog. 
Remember to let me know in your comment which option you have chosen so I know how many times to enter your name. That is all pretty simple! 
Giveaway is open from now until midnight, Monday the 9th of December 2013, Australian Eastern daylight savings time. Winner will be announced on Tuesday the 10th of December 2013.

Good luck to everyone who enters!!

Until next time, 

happy stitching xx

Secrets and Fairies

Hello to all my blogging friends,

 

thank you so much for your lovely comments on my last post about my gorjuss girl, they make me happy! I hope you all had a nice weekend and found some stitchy time for yourself.

For some odd reason I got this idea into my head that instead of starting a new pattern after I finished gorjuss, I could wait a few months until my baby arrives and then start a baby sampler for him/her. Crazy right? I don't know where my head was at, because after a few nights of having nothing to stitch, I started missing it and my hands were itching to start a new pattern (hence my blogs name). So, off I went out into our garage one night and looked through my tub of stitchy stash and pulled out a small kit, that won't take me very long. I bought it years ago at a stitchy show and put it aside because at the time I was working on something else.

It's a Anchor kit, Humphrey's corner. I just LOVE Humphrey's corner, it has to be my favourite cross stitch character by far, the characters are just too damn adorable! I've always had a soft spot for Humphrey's corner, and I picked a Humphrey's corner sampler to stitch for Tabitha when I was pregnant with her. I love looking at it every day on her bedroom wall, it's just so precious. It's funny how memories of a certain time come flooding back in to my mind when I look at a cross stitch piece I've done. I can look at a cross stitch and have memories of where I was when I started the piece, how old I was, how I was feeling at the time, what was going on in my life etc etc..cross stitch creates memories, and that's what I love about looking back on my pieces, and I guess what I was referring to in my last post.

I love this new piece I've started because the two elephant girls are just too cute whispering in each other's ears. They are dressed so sweetly too. I've always loved the Humphrey's corner cross stitch charts in the way the backstitch is charted too. I find it messy and never straightforward, and I think it suits it's whimsical style to a tea.

So here is my new start, obviously not much to see as yet. 

 

It is so nice having something to stitch again! How could I have possibly thought I could get by another few months without stitching anything??
I've also decided to challenge myself after I finish this one and make it into a little ornament instead of framing it. I've made a few cushions here and there but never an ornament, and I am always inspired by the beautiful ornaments my friends on my cross stitch blogs I follow do, so I've wanted to give it a go myself. So wish me luck, when it is finished!

I've also come across a beautiful designer called Svitlana Glushchenko recently. Her illustrations are just so magical and beautiful and I can't wait to get my hands on her little girl fairy characters. Her illustrations have been turned into cross stitch and I've fallen in love with them! She is so talented. I have found a website where you can buy her kits in the UK. www.justartstitch.co.uk I will be sure to put these three girls on my Christmas wish list. What do you think? aren't they gorgeous?

 Purple mood -Lansvit

 Sunny mood- LanSvit

Sky-Blue mood- LanSvit

Only a stitcher would know, you can never have too much stash right?

I know in my last post I mentioned I would be having a giveaway, and don't worry I've not forgotten! I am just in the process of putting it together still. I will be back in a few days posting about it.

Before I leave, tell me, do you ever look at one of your cross stitch pieces and have memories flooding back in at where you were in that time in your life when you were stitching it and what you were doing? who was in your life at that time? I would love to know....

Until my next post,

Happy Stitching xo

Belinda

My Gorjuss girl is fnished!

Hello to all my blogging friends,

I couldn't believe my eyes when one morning I woke up and noticed I now have 101 followers! I was really blown away because at times I wonder if my blog is really all that interesting, and I am not even sure people read my blog much anymore. I am not the sort of stitcher who has many projects on the go at once so I seem to always be showing you my updates from my current project all the time, and I often think that probably gets a bit boring for some. That's why I don't post all that often until there are some major developments that can be seen. Maybe one day I will have more time when I can start a few projects at once and really make good progress on them. It really makes my day when I see that people have left comments on my blog, it makes me smile when I know someone has taken the time to read my post and feel like leaving a comment for me. So to those that do, thank you! I also know that life can get busy ( I have a very busy toddler and another on the way) so believe me I do know, and it's not always time efficient to leave comments on every single person's blog even though you may enjoy reading it. That has been me many times! When I can I do try and leave a comment though. It has also been lovely building up blogging friendships with you all and seeing what else is going on in your lives. Your stitching and creativity inspires me every day! It also makes me want so many more patterns than I normally would if I wasn't introduced to the blogging world, since cross stitching shops are few and far between where I live, not sure if that's a good or bad thing, haha! I vote for good. You can never have too many kits or patterns!

I find so much joy and inspiration in reading my friends blogs. Stitching brings me happiness and a calmness to my life. Sitting down to stitch with a cup of tea and just me being in my own little world is a time in my day when I know I am truly relaxing and out to other worries or thoughts that would normally enter my head. It has also helped me get through some tough times in my life, and I can't imagine a life without stitching in it. I know I will always cross stitch, and I often see myself as a Grandmother myself stitching for my children and grandchildren one day. Even though it can be days until I get to do some sometimes, I do know that it is just sitting there waiting for me, and that I will do some eventually.

So to my 101 followers I will be having a giveaway! I promised that I would when I reached 100 followers and I do keep to my promises. I will just have to get organised and post it up on my blog when I can. How exciting! My first giveaway.

Now onto the stitching, I finished my gorjuss girl last night, yay! Don't you think she is just gorjuss? I do. Aside from enjoying the stitching part of her I also enjoyed the little extras the kit came with, the white beads on her dress, the ribbons in her hair, the cute little heart button that sits on the top of the J in gorjuss  and even though I struggled a bit with the ropes on the swing at the start (sometimes instructions can be confusing until you read them over a few times) I thought they came together at the end.
So without further ado, here she is happily enjoying a swing with her precious cat.

The kit is by Bothy threads, stitched on blue 14 count Zweigart aida, Madeira standed cotton and DMC light effects threads.

 

 

 

 

Happy Stitching xo

Spring!

Spring is here!

But you wouldn't really know it at the moment. Today is very grey and cold outside, I have the heater on like it's Winter time. The only giveaway is the lovely flowers and blooms you see outside. Oh and the hayfever I have been getting! It likes to attack me at this time of year.

Spring always brings out happiness in people. The days are getting warmer and longer and everything outside just looks fresh, colourful and inviting. I feel like people hibernate during Winter and then come out from their houses when they see some sun.

 

In the evenings I have been busy stitching away on gorjuss and I have nearly finished cross stitching her, which will then bring me to backstitching. I've really enjoyed stitching this little girl and her cat, she's been such an easy stitch and I love the colours. I haven't worked on aida for quite some time too so that's also been a nice change. I am looking forward to stitching her face, I need her personality to come to life.

I've decided gorjuss is going to go into my daughter's room once finished and framed. I think she will really enjoy looking at another little girl on her wall.

 

I've stopped looking for a birth sampler. I've decided to wait to see the sex of the baby this time around and then choose for myself. We are expecting our second baby in December which is very exciting! And even though I am generally an organised person, I've decided to wait and see what takes my attention when the baby is here. It might take me longer to stitch his/her sampler but that's ok, no hurry.

 

Just a few weeks ago, I inherited my Nana's old embroidery she had been working on before she died. This is my Nana on my Dad's side. She died when I was young, only in primary school. I think I was about eight or nine. She was a beautiful lady, a very tall (apparently that's where I got my height from) slim lady who took pride in looking beautifully dressed all the time and wore bright lipstick. I have fond memories of her before she unfortunately became sick. She was very talented too. She loved to knit and do embroidery. I think knitting was her favourite though as she knitted my sisters and I lots of beautiful toys, and I remember her knitting more than doing embroidery.

Before she died she was working on embroidering a tablecloth that has a stamped image of flowers in the four corners on it. Although it isn't cross stitch as such, it is a different style that I've never done before, but Mum and Dad thought because I am the stitcher in our family (along with my sister) that they would give one to me. I said to my parents that hopefully one day I might get to finish it and use the tablecloth myself. That would be very special and dear to me.

This is the table cloth.

 

  

And what makes it so sentimental, is the needle she had sitting in the side after she had finished off her last stitches. Just like me!

 

 

 

Hopefully one day I can make her proud by finishing it for her and for my family to enjoy in years to come. I hope the cross stitch I do will get passed down and loved by family also one day.

 

Happy Stitching xo

 



 

Craft fair

 

What a fun day it was at the craft show yesterday! I went along with my friend Gayle who is an avid stitcher and her friend Fiona who also likes scrapbooking like me. Gayle drove in, and we arrived at the fair about 10:40am, it was pretty packed when we got there, but we bustled our way though the crowds. We went to all the stitching stalls, the first one we came across was stitch about which is wonderful every year. I always remember the same lady who is there every year, she is so helpful and doesn't miss a beat. What a great sales lady she is. I was initially looking for a baby sampler but unfortunately I didn't really come across one I loved. I did "like one" but I was unsure whether to make the purchase because it wasn't a baby sampler itself, it was more of a babies alphabet sampler, which didn't have much room for the stitching of babies name, birth details etc...I did think about getting it (drove the girls a bit crazy with me being indecisive, haha) but then I decided against it in the end, for two reasons. One was it didn't jump out at me, and secondly I did LOVE a baby girls sampler that I saw, but of course the stitching will have to wait until the sex of the baby is revealed. :-)

Other than looking for a baby sampler I just kept my eye out for any kits or charts that I liked. And I did find one by bothy threads from the 'Gorjuss' range. I've always loved the character drawings of the gorjuss range and my favourite especially was the little girl on the swing with a cat on her lap. And luckily I came across it and bought it straight away. I think it's the vibrant colours on the backdrop of blue aida that I like. I couldn't help myself last night, since I had finished my wedding sampler, my hands were itching to start something new and this came just in good time. So I sat down to watch a movie last night and started my new kit. I am loving the simplicity of stitching on aida again, it's been years since I've stitched on aida. It is so easy and I find I don't have to be as mindful with my counting. I will probably make a mistake now that I've said that! I probably stayed up too late stitching the night away, but I was enjoying myself. This is what I've done so far.. 

 

After we looked up and down a few aisles we stopped for a coffee break and a chat. We then looked around some more and found a few more stitchy stalls, and I had a look in a few of the scrapbooking stalls also where I purchased some great alphabet stickers on sale and a pretty pack of flowers. We then stopped for lunch and kept going after that. At the end of the day after we looked through the quilt show, we sat down again and Gayle after making a list of kits/charts she wanted along the way, worked out what she did and didn't want. Or more like, what she could and couldn't afford in her budget. :-) We went back to the stalls Gayle wanted to makes purchases from and then we headed off home again. I think we spent about 6 hours there all up.
It was such a fun day, and even though the show was a bit chaotic it was also very relaxing to have the day to ourselves, chatting about our hobbies and spending time with each other which is something we don't do too often. I will keep looking for a baby sampler, but in the mean time I have a cute little girl to stitch for my daughters room.

Happy Stitching xx

Finished!!

I finally finished my wedding sampler last night! I am very happy with how it's turned out and I am loving the soft pastels on the natural coloured linen. And even though I don't mind doing backstitch, with this pattern there was no backstitch at all! Made my completing the pattern a little easier. :-) Stitched on 32 count natural linen with DMC threads. The pattern is called 'Les Maries' and the designer is La Sylphide Toquee. As you might gather it is a French pattern as the whole pattern is written in French. (thank goodness for Language translators) This pattern holds many special memories for me as I purchased in Paris when my husband and I were on our European honeymoon. Once it is framed, it will always bring back lovely memories when I look at it.
I did make a few minor changes to the brides hair and eyes, and the grooms eyes. As I've mentioned before originally the brides hair and eyes were brown, and the grooms eyes were brown. I decided to stitch the brides hair in light yellow to make it look like my blonde hair, and I gave her blue eyes like mine. I also stitched the eyes on the groom green to match my husbands. :-)

I've not yet ironed my piece so ignore the crease marks from my q-snaps.

This weekend my girlfriend Gayle and I are going to the craft and quilt fair together, I am so excited!!!! I can't wait. It will be so nice to have a day together, chatting over coffee about stitching and looking at all the stalls. I am hoping there I will come across my next project which will be a baby sampler. If not, it doesn't matter, it will be nice just having a day out with Gayle.

Happy Stitching xx

Time flies..

It's been awhile since I've posted, but I have been cross stitching. Sometimes I just forget to blog about it and then when I do remember I don't have the time to do it etc..I have been keeping up with my blog reading though.
It is perfect cross stitching weather at the moment, we are now in Winter and the nights are cold. The days are too but I am normally out and about rugged up. I celebrated my birthday last week, the 6th of June. I was spoilt and was given lots of hobby goodies by my family. June is a nice time to have a birthday and sit inside creating things.  I've been swapping between cross stitch and scrapbooking, my hobbies that make me happy.
I have stitched quite a bit on my wedding sampler. For some reason I always thought the writing I would be stitching one day would be daunting and take lots of time, but surprisingly I have enjoyed stitching the writing and it's moving along fairly fast. Here is where I am up to.

If I keep up with the speed I am going with this one I think I could have it finished in no time.

I also wanted to share with you another creation. My nephew turned two last week and he is madly obsessed with cars (cars, and the character from the cars movie) so since I am the baker in the family, I decided on baking this cake. I was really happy with how it turned out, he thought it was pretty great too.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend,

happy stitching xx