Just Nan SAL - May update

Guess what? Progress!  This is the little bit I have got done on High Hopes.  Any progress is better than none though :)

Stitch from Stash - May update

Stitch from stash is going brilliantly this month.  After last month's splurge I haven't spent a single penny...not one!  I haven't had any new starts at all either.  In fact I was so good, it's unreal!  I wanted to start a new design, pulled it out, chose possible fabrics for it...then put it all away again and picked up a WIP instead!

Free to a good home

A while ago now, I updated all my WIP/UFO photos on that page of my blog.  Right at the very bottom are some labelled 'Probably wouldn't stitch unless there was nothing else left on earth to stitch!'  Actually, truth is that I probably wouldn't stitch them even if there wasn't anything else - well let's face it with the amount of stash I have, the world will never get to that stage...lol.

If there is anything that you WOULD like to stitch out of them then please leave me a comment here (and make sure you are a no reply blogger too!) and I will send them out.  If there is more than one person who wants a design, names will go in the Pot of Doom and be drawn randomly.  I have to warn you that these were projects that were carried in my bag for the most part so I could put a few stitches in during breaks at work so they are possibly in need of a wash before you start stitching them again.  Anyway, if anyone's interested in any of them, please let me know.  If not, it's extra work for the binmen!

Stitching Bandits Chatelaine Challenge

Due to the last assignment being handed in there has been little (no) progress on this since my last progress photo.  Still, you're here now so you might as well get another look at the beautiful thing...

WIPocalypse - May update

This month's topic is:

What designs or themes do you really wish you could find?  What do you think is missing among stitching designs?

Well!  I love horse racing and would love more horse racing designs.  There are only a few that I have found (and bought!)  Apart from that I'm not sure what else I would like to see other than perhaps some official Manchester United kits.  I am looking forward to seeing everyone's answers this month to see where all the gaps are in the market.  I wonder if designers will be trawling blogs to see what they are missing out on too :)

As for stitching...I actually worked on 2 of my 5 WIPocalypse pieces!

First up is Honeysuckle Courtyard by Patricia Ann Designs which will be a golden wedding anniversary gift for Colin's mum and dad next April so I need to get my finger out!

Then I did about 50 stitches on my Cut Thru Stable.  I love this design but hate the fabric and threads.  I am wondering if I should make it a project whereby I stitch one length of thread a night on it.  What do you think?

Belated Theme-a-licious update for April

The only designs I have stitched on in April that feature water are: Just Nan's High Hopes and Chatelaine's The Gardens of London.  High Hopes was just too late to count for my Just Nan SAL for April so at least it edges in here!

Turtle Trot update - May

I am starting to feel like a tired, old, broken record...not much progress...assignment writing...bleurghhhh. Well guess what?  In 11 days time I will be finished my degree, providing there is nothing disastrously wrong with this final assignment, so next month there will be loads and loads of stitchy progress. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

3 projects got dusted off and saw the light of day. First up, Henry had the dark red almost finished in his sleeve and a bit of the grey down the sleeve. Progress is progress, I know.

Honeysuckle Courtyard had some love and after looking at this photo, I can see that I had stitched the top leg of the top band with 3 going \\\ and the other 5 going /////.  Damn...looks like some unpicking to do there then!  I love the graduated look of the yellow flowers though - I couldn't have planned that!

And finally, wait for Linda's thud, I did a little bit on my Stable.  Only a bit of the grey in the horse and the red bucket at the bottom but as was said before, progress is progress!

Stitching progress, giveaway and flowers

I'm afraid the title of this post is a 'does what it says on the tine' type title.  I couldn't think of what else to call it!

This is where I have got to now with Gardens of London.  I am absolutely loving it and don't really want to put it down.  It really isn't conducive to writing an essay.

I was also lucky enough to win a chart in a giveaway too.  Nancy at Pickle Barrel Designs had one recently and gave a choice of three charts to win.  I loved 2 of them in particular and said she could choose to send whichever she preferred of them.  Nancy picked the one below.  It's a cute design and great sentiments to live by!  Thank you Nancy :)

Lastly, I thought I would share a few photos of our garden with you.  Well, more a few photos of my favourite tulips at the moment!  They probably all have names but in our house they are just known by their distinguishing features.  So you have the pink, tatty one, the blushing yellow, the pointy one, the white one and the pink and orange one - no marks for originality in naming them!