Goal review - January

Stitch JCS facebook group ornie - DONE!

Stitch 2 days of istitch 2015 Advent SAL - DONE!

Stitch Mabel Figworthy 'Round in Circles' January design - DONE!

Use random generator each Sunday
17th - 47: Rosa - frogged the kloster blocks on 2 sides, then restitched and added star stitches. After that, I moved on to the trellis stitch with it being couched at every bisecting/intersecting point.  That was a lot of couching! Then...the bullion know roses! Oh my word! They are fabulous once done, I love the look!

24th - 67: Summer in Susex - not a lot of stitching time this week so very little progress. That's a shame really as in reality it is not very far off being finished.

This week's design is number 39, which are the Lizzie Kate Flip-Its.

Rosa

The random generator picked 47 this week. I think it's Rosa but I sort of lost count as I scrolled so I could have miscounted. Anyway...Rosa is what I worked on this week. This is a speciality stitch piece by India Grace Designs that I got the year I went to Harrogate.

So, this is where I started from...

...and this is where I finished. I had to unpick 2 and a bit sides of the kloster blocks as I put too many stitches in them.  I had made it 50 stitches on each side when in fact it should have been 45. The design is square, I just took the photo at a strange angle.  The rose is made up of bullion knots.

Today, the Random Generator selected 61 which is Summer in Sussex by The Nutmeg Company - so that is what I will be stitching on this week.  

Theme-a-licious -

In January I stitched on the following designs that I could shoehorn gardens or flowers into.

In the order of the photos:

1. Cinderella - Joan Elliott
2. Rosa - India Grace Designs
3. Halloween House - Ursula Michaels
4. Touching the Autumn Sky - Mirabilia
5. Honeysuckle Courtyard - Patricia Ann Designs

I suppose I could have tentatively suggested that Oh Christmas Tree and A Very Merry Christmas have trees in which could be in a garden...but I won't!

Crazy January Challenge - Days 13, 14 and 15

These should be the last 3 starts, but I can't count to 15 it seems! I haven't taken a photo yet of my Day 16 start though so that is going to follow.

Day 13 saw Everyone brings Joy by Waxing Moon.

Stitched on SparkliesVireo 

Day 14 was Rosa by India Grace Designs.  Not much progress as the middle is all cut work so I had to count, recount and then double check that I was starting in the right place!

And what should be finally..but isn't...is Day 15's Halloween House by Ursula Michaels.  I decided to start with the border...don't know why, just did!

Christmas Stash

I was SO lucky with the wonderful Christmas presents I received this year.  As well as some stamps, perfume, CD's and chocolate I got some great stash - and not all of it was bought by me to put away!

First off some lovely fabrics I picked up at Harrogate a few weeks ago.  Pumpkin Patch is for doing the Halloween countdown calendar which will be a Crazy January Challenge piece this year.  The others all have plans too but I can't remember which design off the top of my head and the list is upstairs.

Then there are some lovely Crafty Kitten fabrics too.  All of those have plans except for the linen which I just wanted to see what it is like as I'm not good with linen!

Another piece of Sparklies which was missed out in the first photo.  IT IS GORGEOUS!

The Nutmeg Company and Mill Hill kits were picked up by me in Harrogate.  The reindeer were a total surprise and I was thrilled to receive them.  They are something that I have wanted for a long time but apparently they were only on my abcstitch.com wishlist and not my sewandso.co.uk wishlist. I was showing Colin a photo of them on facebook the other day so he picked 2 of them up for me.

2 lovely pieces of backing fabric from Sparklies too - even if it is upside down!

Another kit for my Crazy January Challenge starts.  I saw this in person at Harrogate and it is SO pretty. The chart looks horrendously complicated but Vickie has already taught me how to do the knots to make the flowers and said if I need help to email/message her.  She may regret that...

I also received another Cut Thru to add to my collection.  This one is North Pole House and is so cute.  This may well be the one I start when I finish my stable!

I know it looks like there is a huge amount of things here but with our families living so far away, they send money and we pick up what we would like labelling it from them.  

Finally, when Annette sent me all the bits for making my Gingerbread Cupcake, she also sent me a package to put under the tree.  I was really good and only opened it on Christmas Day.  Inside were a load of gorgeous goodies.  Look at this lot!  2 really pretty backing fabrics, a piece of stripy evenweave and some pretty threads.  I had to add the gift tag which was made by Annette too and is lovely!  Thank you Annette for such a lovely and generous package of goodies.

We had a lovely Christmas Day.  Both children and Colin were thrilled with their gifts but the highlight of the day was Colin's Christmas dinner.  He was adamant it wouldn't be huge...hahahaha.  

So this our Christmas table all set ready, with Luke looking like an alcoholic with his wine glass.  Rachael declined having orange squash in a wine glass.

Colin's dinner - no he didn't finish it all.

Luke's dinner - somehow he did finish it all, and was the first to finish too.  He loves his veg so had plenty of it!

Rachael's dinner - she managed all of hers too.  Heavens knows where she put it all!

My dinner - no chance!  You could probably have fed someone else with what I left!

Not sure as to why I was looking so miserable here.  Obviously just an unlucky moment with the camera!  Dinner this year was particularly delicious, even with there being way to much.  I'm so lucky that Colin is such a good cook!!

I hope you had an amazing Christmas too.