THE MYSTERY OF CRANBERRY BOG . . .

Hi blogging friends, I hope Wednesday 23rd November finds you happy and well and not in too much of a panic as the countdown now only says 32 days until Christmas . . . . what! 32 days . . . . I'm panicing!!!

My tease of only 1 photo in my last post of my latest stitch didn't seem to ring any bells to many of you yet I was sure the Cranberry Bog would give it away!

Here's a few more clues . . .

A funky stripey hat

Frosted Auburn flowers, Smyrna crosses and Eyelet stitches

A cute carrot button nose

2 sets of stripey legs!

Right that's enough clues!  Share a Happy Dance with me and enjoy . . . .

'Red Snowman' by Shepherd's Bush

Oh! just yummy, yummy to stitch, everything you need in one kit with lovely soft silk threads, gorgeous fabric and button embellishment.  My first attempt at one of their kits and I couldn't put it down from start to finish and what's more . . . . . there's a purple, green and blue snowman in kit form too . . .  mmmmmmm, wonder what's going on my Christmas Wish List to Santa!

Thanks for stopping by

HAPPY STITCHING

xxx

WINTER PILLOW AND A NEW START

I have to start this post with yet another very big thank you to my lovely blogging friends who left me messages of good wishes and support on my recent 24 hours of blood pressure excitement, delights, TORTURE!  I am so pleased to report that although the night was certainly one to remember! the results were good and have put my mind at rest ~ the thought that now I have to endure this 24hr agony once every 12 months does not appeal too much but it's so worth it when the results can be downloaded the very next day and told to me immediately!

Stitchy news ~ a small finish with a few hiccups along the way . . .

I ordered this Pine Mountain kit in an on-line Sale recently and thought it was really cute but when it arrived the stitching fabric was completely different?  The material described on the front picture description is not what is shown in the photograph ~ naughty Pine Mountain!  As it is already pre-sewn and I did not have anything that remotely resembled what the picture showed, I stuck with it but a couple of the threads supplied just didn't show up so I have had to change the colour choices . . .

I contacted Pine Mountain and have to say they have been really fast in their response telling me that the fabric shown is no longer available so it has been substituted with another and for my disappointment they have let me choose another kit which they will send on to me at no cost.  I am disappointed that it hasn't turned out as I hoped but I cannot fault Pine Mountain for their fantastic response!

It does look pretty doesn't it ~ it reminds me of a hand-wrapped candy waiting to be opened!

I wonder if any of you know what this next project is?

I'm wondering if I say it's stitched with silk threads 1 over 2 on Cranberry Bog 32-count linen whether it will give it away but this designer is a first for me and I'm loving it!

Only problem is ~ this little rascal is shedding fur at the moment and boy! do they show up on red linen!

Thanks for stopping by

HAPPY STITCHING

xxx

FROM TEARS TO SMILES . . .

Today has been staring at me on the Calendar for the past couple of weeks and I've been sooooo looking forward to it ~ NOT!

  A fun-filled 24 hours attached to a blood pressure monitor which tortures my left arm every 15 minutes by squeezing it to death to take a reading with the thrill of knowing that tonight it will extend to every 30 minutes and go on the whole night long ~ umm! not much sleep I'm guessing!

Good job the next instalment of the Virginia Andrews 'Flowers in the Attic' novel is sitting by my bed (Book 4) ~ although as they are all such tear-jerkers it probably won't help!!!

So whilst I've spent this morning full of indulgent self-pity, Mr. Postie delivered an unexpected package on the doormat . . . .

My dear blogging friend Lesleyanne  http://lesleyanneslifeinstitches.blogspot.com sent me a birthday parcel.  Lesleyanne and I chat often through email and I am so pleased to have met her through Blogging and I guess I must have said my birthday was fast approaching and just look at what she sent especially for me . . .

Oh! it's just gorgeous ~ bunnies and strawberries in my favourite shades of colour and backed with red gingham fabric ~ PERFECT!

The design is LHN 'Strawberries' and Lesleyanne has stitched it on 28~count Mushroom fabric with Crescent Colours floss.

I'm truly touched Lesleyanne by your kindness, it means so much to me and from my miserable start to the day ~ look at me now . . .

Wish me luck tonight ~ what a strange coincidence DH has a big important business dinner tonight and as it won't finish until the early hours has decided to stay overnight in the Big City ~ he'll miss out on all the excitement!!!

Thanks for stopping by

HAPPY STITCHING

xxx

YIOTA'S XSTITCH ~ KIT REVIEW . . .

Last week I received a surprise email from Yiota asking me if I would like to choose and then review one of her many counted cross stitch kits ~ I was really chuffed to be asked and as I've come to a halt with my snowmen stitch I yelled a big 'YES PLEASE!'

Her on-line shop is extensive and includes Victorian inspired designs, popular fine art designs and many other categories such as fantasy, fairies, animals, flowers and much much more and the kit prices are very competitive.

After narrowing my choice down to 3, I finally decided on . . .

The Tree of Life by Klimt

I love this design and know the original painting by Gustav Klimt ~ this is the centre portion of the original painting but is reproduced very accurately.  I let Yiota know my choice and the following day . . . there it sat on the doormat in a sturdy secure envelope clearly marked 'Do Not Bend'.

The kit is extremely well put together . . .

 the chart is presented in black and white on 2 x A3 sheets of good quality paper

 the 14-count Aida fabric (the only choice of fabric but you do have the option of purchasing or downloading the charts rather than full kits) is quite soft and supple and not the hard, course material I remember from the past and the threads are Maderia threads and come pre-wound on bobbins each marked with their shade code (DMC alternatives are listed!).

So, what next . . . . well, start stitching of course . . .

I'm loving it, something different from my recent stitches and I love the curls and patterns of the tree branches.  I find I'm stitching it really randomly as the colour changes are frequent and as soon as I start one curl I'm tempted by another so I'm hopping all over the chart!


So far so good ~ my only criticism is that the thread numbers and symbols only appear in a horizontal line at the bottom of only one of the charts, to make life a little easier I have written them out in a vertical list form on the second part of the chart and also drawn the symbols on the labels on the thread bobbins ~ nothing major but helpful to me!

Go take a look yourself and see all her lovely designs, there are lots of Christmas options and the Victorian snowy street scenes are gorgeous.  You can find Yiota at http://www.yiotas-xstitch.com/

Thanks for stopping by

HAPPY STITCHING

xxx