Exchange received

My exchange has arrived in US so I can now post a pic, I think I am making too much of these exchanges and the stitching took ages so I have decided to stop and just stitch for my friends and me!

This is the stitched hanger or pinkeep

Spring in my garden, my water feature and seedlings galore!

Spring has arrived in our garden, it doesn't show all here but we have daffodils, tulips, pansies, wallflowers and as you can see forget-me-nots every where!!

This is my little water feature not working at the moment. It is called Gladys and I bought it several years ago at the Gardener's World Show at the NEC with money that my Aunty Gladys left me in her will.. The water comes out of the flower on the bonnet and trickles round the brim and then down. We are looking out for a solar operated pump for it as it is a bit far down the garden for a power cable. I love it although various people have said she is ugly I think she is beautiful!

My seedlings...all growing well in the conservatory

And some more...I have petunias, bizzie-lizzies, antirhiums, sunflowers, lupins, rudbeckia, cosmos and others... come the summer we shall have a borders full of flowers and the extras will go up the allotment, and of course all the veggies

Sunflowers

These are the beautiful sunflowers I received from Rosalie's daughters after I accompanied Rosalie when she went for her angiogram. The angiogram showed that there was nothing wrong with her coronary arteries; all that worry and it was fine, thank God!

Smoking needles or got my mojo back!!

A scissor fob for Challenge for a finish turned into a pressie for Gaynor, hence the back and a cabbage and carrots!




And some of my WIPs all moving along...this is my 'Cats' sampler which I am doing with Gaynor's group.. Stitchalong.... when I am stitching it I love it, but it is so difficult to get it out of my WIP basket!



And my Beatrice Potter sal which I have started again.. I am using 32c Antique white with Vicky Clayton HD silk, colour Dried Roses and this is my third start; I do like this very much but as I said some thing this size is going to be an heirloom so it has to be good!


And not a very good photograph but this is my LHN 'Home of a Needleworker,' which is for ME!



I also have completed a woodland themed design for 'Hooked on Exchanging too' but as this hasn't been received yet, I'll have to wait to post a pic for it....and I forgot I also did a scissor fob for Maxine as she lost her scissors, but didn't take a pic..
So I feel I have done really well this last two weeks considering we were away the weekend before Easter in Wales, then the Easter Weekend was busy and this last weekend I went 'home' to Billericay... today I have spent some time in the garden and it is looking pretty wonderful even if I say so myself. I shall post some pics when I am finished tomorrow!
By the way our new little pup is a tri-coloured cockapoo (cross cocker spaniel and poodle) and it looks like her name is going to be Little Nel. Monday seems a long time away to pick her up, I love her already!
Anyone looking at what I have stitched this year and compare it to the numbers of books I have read will see I read more than I stitch!

Our new pup

We picked out this little beauty from a litter of four, she is so cute, can't wait to get her in two weeks time!

Home to Wales for the weekend!

This was the view from our window.. fresh air and quiet!


Once again I have made the journey home to Porthcawl to put flowers on the graves of my Mother, the Aunt who brought me up and my other Aunt and Grand parents.. the cemetery is filling up!! This year I managed not to fall over!!
When the sun is shining there in Porthcawl I have a longing to return and live there which would be quite possible, but the lovely little town is dead. Most of the little individual shops have gone and in their place pound shops and charity shops and of course no Woollies! Sad to see it all go down hill. But the habadashery shop is still there with the same old man owner! I bought some headed pins in a lovely tin and needles and earing hooks ready for the beads to make ear rings,I bought a while ago.
I always feel sad going there to the cemetery and tears fall every time for the mother I never knew and of course for my Aunty Glad who paid for my education and the piano lessons that did me so well when I was a teacher.
I must start to play more!!

A triangular scissor pocket

This is my effort for the group Challenge For a Finish... It was quite hard to do as to get the design 'upright' on the back most of it was done on the diagonal.. Also I did the hearts on the corners instead of the stitching suggested as it looked too lumpy for me!
The interior was some beautiful green fabric I bought in Australia...ready for my green and pink quilt which I am going to make some day!

Chocolates and Apples!

This is the beautiful hanging that Michelle made me for the food theme in Exchange Heaven. The stitching is perfect and just look at the apple fabric isn't gorgeous.. I love it and it is hanging in our conservatory which is my little room!



This was my effort for Sue. I actually covered a tin.. It wasn't as difficult as I thought although I think I should have used a hot glue gun to attach the stitched piece to the top.. but as the backing was card double sided tape worked.



And of course I could hardly send it without chocs inside!!

Out of the naughty corner

I have worked solidly on this for three evenings and although this green cat is not completely finished I have given in... I got so fed up of all the different greens and even with keeping needles threaded with each colour it is so tedious! Anyway doing this much I can crawl out of the naughty corner and pack it away for a week (at least) I have down loaded my Chatelaine and realise I will have to get a larger copy of each page or I will have squinty eyes in no time!
My floss has arrived from Victoian Motto Sampler Shoppe for a new start on my BP sal, so I will sort that out tomorrow some time.. forcast is for rain so a day in stitching will be the order of the day!And I have my Home of a Needleworker all set up and ready to start.. I am looking forward to stitching that as it will be for me!

A brilliant time and met friends old and new

This is what I part stitched on saturday at Clare's get together at Nuneaton. I didn't actually do a lot of stitching there, too busy chatting and getting to know lovely stitchers whom I only knew by name and on blogs, so I'll say here lovely to meet you Clare and Hazel and everyone else too. Thank you Clare for organising it..The stitching on show was fantasic and has spurred me on to do some bigger pieces of work; Today I have ordered a Blue Ribbon design some thing I have thought about for a while and a design from Chatelmaine not sure how to spell that! But Kathy had work there by that designer and I just loved it. I have bought the Convent Herbal Garden... so I think I will not have time for all the exchanges I do at the moment as the gardening season has started too.. but there is always the winter for stitching. Next year I'll stay home and stitch!



This is the beautiful fabric made box (by Clare's Mum) that I won in the raffle.. its just gorgeous and has pride of place on our side board so it can be seen by all when they come in.



And this cyclamen was the most beautiful sight in our conservatory when we came home last wednesday and the scent fills the room, it is so beautiful; I bought it last year for a knock down price as it was past its best and when it finished flowering I stuck it under the stairs to dry out, brought it out in January before we went, watered and fed it and look at it now... the wonder of nature!
It might seem strange to post this photo now but my camera needed batteries when we got home!