KAL Wool Chosen and a Glitch

I finally decided to substitute the yarn for the pattern I chose for the  KAL over at Sticks on Fire.  It would have been to long to wait for the required yarn to be shipped over as it was back ordered.

I very happily brought the wool home and couldn't wait to see what it looked like knitted up.  I got out the pattern and found it was knitted using circular needles and I didn't have a single one in the correct size.  This meant I had to go back to town to get these.

Somehow, this jumped into the bag at the same time.   At 50p a ball, I could hardly resist.  As you all know, I don't really have enough to do.  I'll just add it to the box.

The Birds Come Home to Roost

I came home yesterday, and as D picked up the post he said there was a letter I would like.  I asked him if it came from Australia, and when he said  yes, I knew what to expect.

My RR has come home and I think it's fabulous.  I'd like to thank all the lovely ladies that have worked on it, sometimes in difficult circumstances.  The whole thing has come together beautifully.

It's been draping over the arm of the settee since it came back, so I can keep looking at it.  Now I have to think of a way of finishing it and being able to enjoy it up on the wall for years to come.

Another Jumper Off The Needles

As I was still waiting for threads, I decided to keep to the knitting and got this jumper finished.

This time, I did a crew/round neck instead of a roll neck.  D especially loved these jumpers as he grew up, he's a bit disappointed he's grown out  of the pattern.  You never know, if I'm feeling adventurous, I may try and adapt the pattern to make it bigger.

Once this was done, I just didn't know what to pick up next.  The thread hadn't arrived to do the RR and the next section of pattern for An Important Flower has gone astray, two of the sewing projects were surprises for the boys and, as they were there, I couldn't do those. I was a bit stumped.  Instead, I did something else just as important, D had a cuddle for an hour!

Now let's go and find something else to do.

Thank you , Judy

Look what my lovely postman brought for me.  It came from Michigan and it's the wonderful goodies I won on Judy's blog.

There are some wonderful linen threads and a collection of patterns to use with them.  A couple of rayon threads, a felted ball, a photo, and a postcard so now know where in the world Judy lives.  The bag they came in had been hand dyed by Judy using blueberries, it's a lovely colour.

I can't wait to try the linen threads, it will be a first for me.

Thank you so much Judy.

Alla Turca Part IX

I am on a roll, and after nine months Alla Turca is finished. This was part IX, and for some reason, the nearer I got to the end, the longer it seemed to take.

Here is the complete design. This has now gone into another pile, )the pile that is stitched but waiting to be finished), until I decide what to do with it. Hopefully, it won't have to wait too long.

The next task is to work my way through this box.

It is full of WIP's, patterns of things in the pipeline and things that need rehoming. It is a varied bunch-knitting, crochet, quilting, sewing, embroidery and cross stitch. I am going to see if it can be reduced enough to dispose of the box by the end of the year. Mmmm, think I'd better get busy.

Alla Turca VIII

After painting cupboard doors, I thought I deserved to do some stitching. I have lots of projects I would like to complete and get out of the way, so out came Alla Turca. I now have enough of the stranded cotton to get the cross stitching complete.

This is part VIII complete. Only one more part to go and it is only a small section so it shouldn't take to long to do. It has been a pleasure to stitch, but I will be so glad to get it finished.

Cross Stitch ATC

As mentioned before, the theme for Stitchin Finger's ATC swap this month was Magic Mushrooms and I was doing a second ATC, just because I enjoyed the subject.

I was going through my magazines looking for something else, which I didn't find, but came across this design in Cross Stitch Crazy. This is from the August 2000 issue in the section Crazy for Fairies. Now, I'm not generally a fairy person, but I did like this design and thought it perfect for an ATC.

This little fairy will now be winging her way to a blogging friend in Australia. I hope she will be very happy in her new home.

New Acquistions

Look what my little boy bought me- It is for making neat folds in card stock, so our homemade cards look more professional. Then this slipped into my basket

The paper cutter means I can get clean cuts on my cards,and they will all be square. I can also have decorative edges with no extra effort. As the short supply of sun we get is almost over, the light box fell in too. I did use my £10 loyalty bonus towards these purchases, so they weren't as painful as they could have been, and we shall certainly have some fun using them.

D worked out that I must have spent quite a bit in the shop to get the bonus, but as he keeps putting in things to buy,he can't complain. Our fimo collection has grown again this week due to his shopping.

Finally, something finished

Actually, there was another postcard in the 'Cherish' series that was sent for this months swap on Stitchin Fingers. The only problem was, I forgottento take a photo!

I have also spent a bit of time on J's jumper. The progress is so on that,as I am only working on it when he is out and I don't have any other commitments. However, this one did get finished. Someone saw one of the jumpers I had for a girl,and asked for one suitable for a boy. I have used this pattern many times for the boys.

This time I used James C Brett Marble DK. D has decided he likes this yarn, so I will have to find a pattern to use for him. He has now outgrown this one.

I think I will now concentrate on the last of the RR's. This time I have to do a cow. I have everything I need, so once the garden has been sorted, it's time to get the needle out.

Autumn Exchange

On Exchange Heaven the theme for this month is Autumn. Mushrooms, to me, are synonymous with autumn. When we go walking in the park and the woods at this time of year, we see mushrooms and fungi of all sorts.



Some years ago, I did an online black work course and this mushroom was the result. It has been waiting very patiently to be finished. After some discussion with a fellow blogger, thank you Terry, I decided it would be a great way to decorate a bag. I had some off white and dark brown fabric in my stash. The brown fabric has a small flower, leave and stem print, so I thought it would fit in really well.

I used the brown as a border to the top of the back and for the lining. It is off to Wendy Jo in the USA and I hope she will be happy with it.

I've just heard it has arrived safely and Wendy Jo LOVES bags. How lucky was that!

ATC received

I received this delightful ATC from Mary Lou in Canada for the September swap on Stitchin Fingers. The colours are beautiful, but for some reason, I couldn't quite catch them in the photo.

Mary Lou has used a mixture of hand and machine embroidery and the beads represent the spores from the mushrooms. Each time I look at it, I see something different.

Thank you, Mary Lou

September ATC Swap

The theme for this month's Stitchin Fingers swap was Magic Mushrooms, though I think enchanted is a better description of what was expected.

I have always loved fly agaric from a child, so of course this was going to be the mushroom I chose.

The appliqued mushroom has been secured using a running stitch with Kreinik in a silvery blue. I thought this could represent the dew. The white spots are satin stitch using DMC white thread. The spiders web is done using a green/gold kreinik thread, so there is lots of glitter.

This was my original idea for the swap, but then as I was looking for another pattern, I came across another design that would fit in with the theme too. It will have to wait to be completed as I need to buy some more floss.

To Cherish-Fabric Postcard

This is the first in this series of postcards. As I was cutting out the hearts for the ATC, I wondered what it would be like to use the lace with the heart cut out. This postcard was the opportunity to try it.



I cut out the heart, then attached the lace to the silk. I then couched the satin cord around the outline of the heart using one strand of black DMC stranded cotton. I then did a row of small running stitching around the outer edge of the cord. I am already planning the next one which will use the second lace that was used for my wedding dress. Meanwhile, this card is on it's way to the USA.



DS2 was taking some interest as this was coming together. Looking at the lace, he thought it reminded him of wedding dresses, so I told him where it came from. Then he looked at the silk. He was surprised about the texture of the silk, he thought it should be smooth like satin. It is the texture of silk that I like so much. I may not have got my little girl, but he is the next best thing. It is lovely to have someone to talk to that is interested in textures and what can be achieved with different textiles. I hope he doesn't grow out of it any time soon.

New BOM

Later this month, Dorothy Barker is starting a new BOM. There is a giveaway to celebrate. Click on the button in the side bar and find out all about it.

Sticks on Fire KAL

Look what arrived in the post yesterday. Rudee has started a KAL here http://sticksonfire.blogspot.com/, so I ordered the magazine and had a browse.

I think I am torn between these two projects. Whichever I choose, I could be late casting on as I will have to wait for the yarn to be sent over from the USA.

Reading US patterns is like reading a different language. It seems we knit completely different over here, so that will be a challenge in itself, but I'm ready for it. Aren't I?

Jade plus 2 ATC

Thank you for every one's comments and tips about a light box. I do have a very large window which I have used before, but at the moment, we don't have much bright sunshine! As I was using very dark fabric and a small design, it just wasn't practical.


Anyway, I came up with another idea which meant I didn't need to transfer a design, but Annie, I will try your suggestion at some stage and see how it goes.


The theme for the August ATC swap on Stitchin Fingers was jade plus two, that is two other colours. I don't know why, but I ended up doing some research on the colour jade and found that in China, it is generally related to love. I then went to look for the Chinese characters for love and found it was also used for cherish and other related phrases.


As it seemed to have such a special significance, I bought some jade silk and then used some of the lace left over from making my wedding dress. I cut two hearts from the lace and appliqued them to the silk using one strand of DMC cotton and blanket stitch. So I had my jade, ivory and black, very simple, but I like it. Hopefully Skye will too. As I have some silk remaining, and plenty of lace, I have decided to do a series of fabric postcards along the same theme. Hopefully the first should be done for this months swap and then I shall have some extras.

Home Exchange

This months theme on Exchange Heaven was "home". I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do, but as I was sorting through all my charts and kits for something else, I came across this kit from Jane Greenoff's Inglestone Collection, The Kitchen Sampler.



I had intended to do this many years ago for my kitchen, but I am hoping it will have a happy home in Edit's kitchen in sunny Spain. It will certainly be warmer than here in South Yorkshire. This was such a fun stitch as I could complete each motif in turn. No huge areas of back stitching at the end of the project. The alphabet particularly, stitched up very quickly.

I have a large collection of buttons, so I used some of the white ones for the plates on the dresser.

I had fully intended to frame this, but I didn't have any the right size here, and my framing equipment isn't that readily accessible. Instead, I decided to make a wall hanging and use the quilt hanger I acquired last month. I thought the hearts went very well with the sentiment on the sampler.

This was the first time I have used a quilt hanger, and if I can find more reasonably priced, I will definitely use them again. It just seems to add to the overall look. The backing fabric I used matches the blue used in the border, so it all ties in very well.

This was so much fun to stitch and I hope it will be very happy in it's new home.

Next months theme is autumn. I have the stitching, just need to think of a way to finish it. How organised is that! Don't worry, it probably won't last.

One bag complete and floss frustration.

It is all done, handles attached and lined. I had out all the fabric, and found this for the lining. I have had this fabric for several years and wondered what to do with it, and now it has found it's use.

More by luck than judgement, the handles fit over my shoulders too, so it is comfortable and convenient to use. I am quite pleased with how it has turned out, especially for a first attempt.

The inspiration came from here-http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/crochet-bag.html. I made some changes to the pattern. I did mine so it had a definite bottom and of course the lining. It's funny how I seem to have more confidence in adapting crochet patterns than I do knitting patterns when I have been knitting since I was a child. Oh well, maybe it will inspire me to adapt other things.

Once the bag was done, I was hoping to get the next section of Alla Turca stitched.

This is as far as I got when I ran out of floss, and I was so sure I had another skein here. This will have to wait until the next time I go out now, which I don't think will be until next week.

Today, I am hoping to finish my Autumn exchange. It will make a change to get it done and posted at the beginning of the month rather than the end.

Now the fun begins

I love trying something new and finding it works, so it was with great pleasure that I completed the top border with it all looking even when I got to the end. Oh, the simple pleasures! Once the border was done, I had to do two handles. These are not fastened in place, but at least it gives the idea of what they will look like.

After a little input from others, I am going to line the bag, so I will attach the handles at the same time.

I will be going through my fabric stash later this morning to see if I have anything here that I can use for lining. I also need to sort out fabric for the September ATC swap on Stitchin Fingers and to finish the Autumn swap on Exchange Heaven. I am hoping I can get these all complete before the next and last RR arrives.