Organisation and a new kit

I've had quite a busy week, with no much time for stitching unfortunately. But I did have a lovely time last Sunday with all of my DMC threads. I finally got round to getting them all out and putting them away again in numerical order. I'm lucky to have quite the collection of DMC, but it was making it more difficult to find the ones I needed! I'm glad they're all organised now for easy access. They list the threads required in Cross Stitcher magazine in numerical order, so it should make kitting up projects a lot easier.

I have just started on my new kit that I bought with my Christmas voucher for SewandSo.com. It's called Highland Walkies from Bothy Threads. It was on my wish list for a long time so I was so pleased I got to purchase it. However, I was a little disappointed when I opened it because the threads were just draped over the thread holder, not secured, so the threads were in danger of mixing up. I spent most of the time when I opened the kit sorting the threads and only got a few stitches in. I'm sure I'll have a progress picture for next time. 

I've still got my Christmas sampler on the go. I thought about packing it away until next December, but I don't like leaving a project unfinished. Besides, if I finish it soon, it will definitely be ready to display next Christmas. I've got a couple of new projects on the bench, but I'm going to finish some before I make another new start.

I hope you're staying warm. It's been very bitterly cold in Bristol lately, I'm very glad for tea and stitching!

Best wishes,

Bekca

xxx

A Fresh New Year

Hello friends and Happy New Year to you all! Thank you for being so patient with me during my little break from blogging over the holiday season. 

I'm glad to report that my surgery was successful. The surgeon found endometriosis, but it was mild and they were able to remove it through key hole surgery. I have three little scars that I'm sure will be almost invisible in the not too distant future. I got to come home the same day as the operation, which I was really grateful for, it's much more comfortable being in your own bed. I was very slow and a bit weak in the days following, but my recovery has gone well, and I went back to work at the beginning of January. During my recovery time, I got to do plenty of stitching, which was a wonderful distraction to my swollen tummy. 

I've been really enjoying editing the magazine projects to suit my own tastes. I've been working on two pieces lately, one wintery and one Christmas themed. The first one is adapted from card designs by Durene Jones in Issue 326 of CrossStitcher. I liked the modern designs, but not the orange pallette, so I whipped out my thread boxes and started making my own combinations! This one just needs a little more backstitching and it will be complete. Do you think it's too big to be an ornament? The characters remind me of us, so it would be nice to have it up on the tree.

My other project is definitely too big for an ornament! This is Christmas is Coming from Little Dove Designs that was in Issue 324 of CrossStitcher. This was my big project I was working on during recovery, as it was an easy stitch on 14ct ice blue aida and block colours, with very little backstitching. I'm choosing my own colours again for this one, which has meant I could add little bits of metallic here and there for extra Christmas glitz. I've still got quite a few components left to add to this piece, and then I've got to make my mind up about adding the border or not.

I was lucky enough to receive a Sew and So voucher for Christmas and I stocked up on some lovely stash, I'll have to post the picture next time. I got a couple of kits too, one of which I think will be my next project. It will be a lovely introduction to Spring :)

I hope you've all had a wonderful start to the year and had plenty of stitching time this weekend. 

Best wishes,

Bekca

xxx