Stitch From Stash Update: April

It's that grand time of the month again. And for the first time this year, I actually have some stash spends to report! Me and my house mate made an order from 123Stitch and these are the goodies I received.

3 packs of clearance stickers to add to my Europe 2013 scrapbook. (I had to buy them immediately, in case the store ran out of the matching ones!)

32ct Light Mocha Belfast Linen

Country Cottage Needleworks - The Needlework Shop

Little House Needleworks - Miss Peepers

Just a small stash enhancement, but it really made me smile. I can't wait to get started on the new charts. So, my grand total was (not including posting and darn custom charges we were forced to pay) . . .

£21.81

Out of a total of £100 I could have spent this year, I've only spent £21.81 of it. I'd say that's a pretty good track record :) And I've still got plenty of items in my stash to work on, so I don't think I'll have to buy anything else this year, maybe just a couple of thread colours. 

Onto the stitching update!

Current WIPs:

White Magic is coming along beautifully. I'm enjoying this piece so much, I've even got into the swing of the blended thread sections. I'm nearly half way through this piece, nearly onto the second set of pages. 

Finished WIPs:

This is my latest finish - Country Cottage Needlework's The Tea Room. I hope to finish the three charts of this set that I have in order to frame them to decorate my new home in the summer. I don't quite know where I'll be living yet, but I know I'll have some pretty pieces to decorate it with!

I also finished up this cute hippo as a gift for my sister.

I'm nearly finished with my last assignments and then I've got a bit of free time heading my way. You can be sure I'll be spending lots of time stitching this summer!

Best wishes to all,

 

Our Easter Holiday

Hello everyone. I hope you all enjoyed the long Easter weekend. I had a wonderful time in Devon with Lawrence and his family. I thought I would share a couple of photos of my trip, taken with my new camera :) There's no stitching on offer today I'm afraid, so feel free to skip! :P

The view from our bedroom window.

Saturday was spent walking to Lynmouth. The sun was shining and the views were spectacular.

You can just see the rest of the group in the distance. I kept falling behind :P

Me and Lawrence at the top of the first hill - excuse our wind-battered hair!

It was so lovely to see spring lambs in the fields. 

Lawrence being champion of the world at Woody Bay.

I think this was my favourite picture from the trip. I do love being out in the countryside.

I'll be back soon with my next SFS update. I've finally spent some money, I know, shocking! I'm currently working on White Magic and I'll have a pic of that up soon too :)

Best wishes to all,

 

Gift Giving for Easter

Hello friends. I hope you are enjoying glorious weather, wherever in the world you are. The sunshine has been marvellous here for the past couple of days. I've had lots of washing on the line and have been taking myself out on long walks across Winchester to take in the views. There's nothing like a bit of fresh air :)

On Monday, my older sister came for a visit. We had a wonderful time shopping in the high street and going to our favourite diner for lunch. We even sat outside in the ground of the Cathedral and spent a happy hour chatting about future plans. I only have one sibling, so we're understandably close. I wanted to gift her with some small, just a little thank you for treating me to lunch. Awhile back, she donated her unwanted cross stitch stuff to add to my stash. Included were a few unfinished items, did I post about this at the time? Well, I finally managed to finish one up completely. My sister was thrilled with it!

I wrapped it up in pretty floral paper, added an Easter egg and her favourite Malteaser bunnies and it made a lovely gift. It wasn't wildly expensive, but she said it was very thoughtful. I do like being able to give gifts, it's very heart warming.

I hope you have an awesome Easter weekend, however you decide to spend it. I'm off to Devon for a few days with Lawrence and his family. I'm so excited! I've recently obtained a shiny new camera, so hopefully I'll have some pictures to share when I get back from my trip :)

Happy Easter to everyone!

 

Lazy Days of Spring

 Greeting friends! It's surprising to see some of my fellow bloggers still experiencing snow at this time of year. I do hope it all melts away soon! Here in Winchester, we didn't see any snow at all this year, which I am in two minds about. On one hand, I love the beauty of snow and trudging around in it. On the other, it can become quite a nuisance after awhile!

Spring is in full swing around these parts. I love seeing all the daffodils softly swaying in the breeze. It's nice to have longer days too, which of course means more time for stitching :) I've had a couple of very restful days recently where all I've done is stitched and watched box sets! Don't worry, I'm not completely lazy, just having a bit of TLC before the next assignments are due :) 

I've managed a fair amount of progress on White Magic. One quarter is done, apart from the backstitching. Here's where I'm up to on this project . . .

As much as I love this piece, I was getting a bit bored of black and grey. It seemed a little out of place when the sun is shining brightly outside. So I set my needle on a different project, Country Cottage Needleworks The Tea Room. As you can see, I've whizzed through this one! Not long to a finish I reckon :)

And in other stitching news, I've finally spent some of my SFS allowance! Me and my housemate (who is a fellow cross stitcher) made a large order to 123Stitch last week. Here's hoping our mammoth parcel arrives soon. I'll be sure to show and tell when my goodies arrive :) 

I hope you are enjoying the delights of Spring wherever you are.

Best wishes,