BACK AT LAST.

I never got to share all the stitching I did for the Christmas tree stall at the church fair. In fact I did not even get to the church fair. Unfortunately health problems put me in hospital for a few days then it was home resting  and recovering slowly. I am glad to be able to report I am back to normal again now, its been a long couple of months.

I had set up the tree ready for the stall, which was a big help as two friend came in and took everything down to the church, set it up and them did the sales on the morning of the fair, They raised $250.00 which was great. I had put the decoration in three price groups $3.  $5.  $7 so nothing was too expensive for hand made items.

Hearts designs  were very popular  and I will be making more like these in future. Here are some of the hearts I made.

I am now busy stitching Christmas gifts so hope to get some photos and share with you the fun pieces I am making for Finn and for Caitlin

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CAITLIN’S GIFT

Caitlin has just turned 21 and following the tradition of what I did for her mother  and sister  I have made a box for her, I have used very dark purple silk which my sister bought specially on one of her oversea trips.  On the top of the box stitched a gold work beetle,

open the lid and the tray underneath has her 21st birthday key, for Caitlin I stitched this in black work which is her favourite embroidery technique, which she has stitched several pieces in.
 

 and inside the box were  a piece of jewellery, something handed on from the past generations, for her I had chosen a pendant that had belonged to her great grandmother Westfield, its very dainty I hope she will love it and wear it.

As with her sister I wanted to share a small item that Paul had given me so that although her Grandfather is no longer with us there was something to remember him by, I decided on a small hand carved wooden squirrel that has sat on the top of my computer desk (she was thrilled to have the squirrel am so pleased I made the right choice). and there was a bag of 21 coins one for each of her years.

The gift all wrapped up  and topped with purple violets, purple being the favourite colour.

Now on to the next birthday gift this time for a dear friend was will be 80 this month , we don't see one another very often now but its been a friendship started in  our teen years

Problem solved

A big thanks to Heather and others who contacted me about the take over of my blog... yes I really thought I had lost it and had started preparing a post on my other little used blog   "the other side of the mountain"    Following some advise found on line I hope I have finally chased the takeover away.

 The last month found me busy stitching Finn's book which has now gone south and in return I watched a delightful video of the parcel being opened. The only photo I Have of the finished front cover all bound is one that refuses to  upload so here is the page before it was finished the idea came from Pinterest and yes that smiling face is Finn himself. I have loaded all the photos of the pages onto my other blog if anyone is interested. here is the link if anyone would like to see them

Along with the computer problems the battery in my iPad died, must admit Apple service was great but still trying to upload everything again I have more photos to add but think that will be next time so I leave you for now with just this one photo.

GOOD TO BE BACK

Its good to be back.... better still its good to feel fit and well again. with out going in to details the first six weeks were a bit rough and since then each day has slowly brought me back to being able to do things again.  And  there has been little stitching in that time, once I took up my needle again I made a set of finger puppets for Finn's birthday. Finn turned 2years old while I was sick so birthday gifts will be extra surprises over a period of time
The puppets were the characters in a favourite book" The Gruffalo" and I have seen a short video of him playing with them

I realise I have not share the finger puppets I made for him at Christmas, these were for the book "Dear Zoo"

I am now working on pages for a quiet book which I hope to get to him later this month. I found lots of ideas on Pinterest that I was able to use or adapt. This one is colour matching.

here is matching the pairs......

and this page is my favourite so far....... numbers 

The lady bugs lift off and I have yet to make a large ladybug pocket to store them in.

I do have to get back to some embroidery stitching as Caitlin will be 21 next month and I need to make a box with a gold work beetle on the lid and an embroidered birthday Key inside.

Meanwhile its count my blessings and take one day at a time

A LITTLE STITCHING

I am finding small pieces enjoyable to stitch at present and have been working on some Christmas decorations for a sale later in the year. So far I have stitched  2  Christmas robins. 3 wishing on a star ( little mouse) and 2 shepherd boys, have also stitched some more felt decorations but no photos of them yet. Aim is to have at least 20 of the cross stitch ones and possible 30 of felt decorations ( more would be great) and to display them on my little Christmas tree at the sale.

I keep finding great designs but I don't seem to stitch as fast as the ideas pile up !! 

My other distraction has been scrapbook. I am mounting the Church Archives, and this has lead to lots of interesting research to be able to write up on the photos I can see it taking three volumes.  At this stage I have cover all the ministers since the beginning in 1889 and only 1photo missing ......the minister in the early 1900's must have been camera shy as we have not been able to track down  one of him. Also the buildings have all been covered three different church buildings and I love the fact that the first one was move twice after it was built, shifted by Bullock team and sledge. Its final resting place is where today's church stands. Am now finishing off the first 100 years up the the Centennial Celebrations. Five years ago when we celebrate 125 years  the amount of photographic history we had to display was very poor , so its great that so much material has been unearthed since. 

The late Autumn here has brought mild sunny days and  from the garden I have brought in the last of the tiny Cecil Brunner Sweetheart roses, rock cyclamen the last of the harebells and found the first of the winter irises flowering.

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EASTER GREETINGS

My tree is decorated for Easter, however I thought it had a few gaps that needed filling so I have made some more Easter eggs which I will hang today

 This one is made using the border of a  piece of sari silk, the colour is richer than the photo shows.

I made six in all,  there are two with silk ribbon embroidery these are an old embroidery cut up and recycled.... only showing one as the other photo is upside down and no matter what I do I don't seem to be able to turn it over.

    and my last photo is a special one, stitched as a gift for daughter Jan's birthday, which this year is just before Easter and is now hanging on her Easter Tree.I really enjoyed stitching this design which I found on Pinterest.

Easter morning has come mild and sunny, the clocks have been turned back and a new season has begun., and I welcome a month that I hope will allow more stitching time.

 To all my blogging friends may your Easter time be blessed.

FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

This is my latest heart, inspired by a pin by Lilian Kok found on Pinterest  and the rose I knew came from my new book  by Giuliana Buonpadre "Herbarium"so I had the instructions how to stitch it .       I used perle 12  for the rose. and do want to find time to stitch more of these roses, and some of the other flowers in  the book of modern reticello embroidery.

As it is Valentines day I have also decided to share again a few of the hearts I have stitched in the past ..................................enjoy and have a happy Valentine's day.

ANOTHER ITALIAN PIECE

My next Italian embroidery that I finished was this piece of Casalguidi, the design was adapted from one in Effie Mitrofanis' book Casalguidi Style linen  Embroidery, it is an excellent book and she is an excellent tutor I have done workshops with her on this work on several occasions the first being in 1996.  Casalguidi is a traditional embroidery that lends itself well to modern interpretations.  My favourite piece is my dandelion pocket, which is showing its age ... stitched about 20 years ago.

The guild here started the Italian  embroidery collection last week and hopefully that will prompt me to finish my pieces to date I have shared only seven, two more are well on their way to be completed

Jan and family have arrived home from their holiday in the South Island and brought me a Dodoland kit for  a fantail. It took no time to make up and is on the table by my stitching  chair. It is really very lifelike for a cardboard model.
It is another cool damp day here ... great for stitching, and i hope by next time I post to share my adaption of linen and Stitches 2018 sampler.

Welcome 2018 so much to look forward to......

Its New Years Day here, the year has come in damp and any rain will be welcomed by the farmers who are facing drought situation, for me it means a good day for stitching..... I was up early so I could log on to Linen and Threads to see what  the start of their new mystery sampler looks like, quite different from the 2017 one, which I am not quite finished but I just had to have a new start for the new year! will share when I am a little further on. What I can share is the last of my exchange gift, again I made  hearts.  These are a set of two as there were two piece of lace left from another project that were perfect in size and shape.

I have also heard from Annette in California that her gift has arrived, so another heart to share with you. This one is a needle book, stitched with a combination of hardanger, blackwork and surface embroidery stitched on 40 count permin linen.

The hardanger edge was inspired by something found ages ago on the internet, unfortunately I cant find it again to give credit to the designer.

 

 the blackwork  pattern is stitch in old gold silk and in this case forms a damask like pattern

 

and don't you just love it when a photo is upside down and nothing you do manages to turn it over.

I have enjoy the hearts so much and there are so many lovely designs out there so I have made my personal challenge for this year, ... hearts in as many different embroidery techniques as possible.

The guild here is stitching My Italian Love affair as their monthly projects, so I must  share with you  the rest of the pieces I stitched .. here is the Punto Antico piece. I love this work and over the years have stitch many pieces using this technique.... more to share when I have uploaded the photos.

 

 

To all who visit my blog, very best wishes for the new year, may it be blessed with many stitching hours.

I'M STILL IN LOVE........

I'm still in love with Italian embroideries, and am quite behind in sharing with you all, what I have stitched. Away back in May of this year the piece I stitched was Deruta Embroidery. This was a first for me and I loved it, so much so I also stitched another piece for a gift, which I forgot to photograph, however here is my challenge piece again a small coaster 10cm square.

 I found wonderfully clear information on stitching this technique on two blogs.Tutto Ricamo   found here and riccamiamoinsieme.canalblog.com in the blog  archives  And yes I will be stitching this again as the Guild here has decided to do My Italian Love Affair challenge next year. I need to get some more photos so I can share with you what I stitched in the following months.

I don't usually share cooking ideas, but I was so thrilled with this effort,  I found the idea on Pinterest, just a photo with no instructions, it looked so easy to make and it was. Two boxes of frozen cream puffs a little icing and some chocolate leaves. Yes I made my own leaves, however next time will make smaller ones. I made this one for the Guild Christmas party and plan another one for the church Christmas Lunch this Sunday.

Today 1st December is the beginning of Summer here, and after a very wet, wet winter and spring the sunshine is very welcome. I hope there is some sunshine in your day too.