A Good Start

Hello my friends! I hope you've all had a fabulous start to the New Year. I know the weather is not making it easier for any of us. I've never known rain to be so continuous. Still, it's the perfect excuse to stay inside and stitch :) My only stitching-related New Year goal is to keep up with the Stitch From Stash posts. I'd like to get my post in for every month, and stay within budget of course :) I'm doing well so far, not a penny has been spent. 

I have my first finish of 2014 to share! Hurrah! I started this little guy in December. He sure helped get me through the last few days of last semester. I think he's got a very sweet face :) 

I'm hoping to make him up into a large scale ornament and send him to live with my grandmother :) We'll see how long it takes me to do just that :P

And I have my second finish of 2014 to share! Hurrah hurrah! This was a cute kit I had in my stash. I decided to leave off parts of it, including the backstitching. It's just how I wanted it to be :)  

It needs to be fixed on the hanger you can see in the picture. Then it will be all ready for Hallowe'en :) I have a couple more of these kits in my stash, so I'm sure they'll be making an appearance soon.

And finally, I have my latest start to share. Cath really did spoil me with a birthday parcel full of lovely kits. I've pulled out another one to help me think of summer days when the wind is howling outside. I really love All Our Yesterdays designs, long time readers will remember this is not my first pattern from this range. You can see other designs I have stitched here.

I think this piece will keep me out of trouble for awhile :)

This week is all about getting ready for my final semester. I can't believe I'll be all finished with Uni by the summer. But I'm trying not to think about that just now. I'm just going to take things one day at a time :)

I hope you are cosy and warm wherever you are!

 

January Goals 2012

I know I'm terribly late with this post, but hey, it's still January so why not?

Looking back at last year's New Year's resolutions, I managed to get a fair few done. My personal ones last year were:

1) Work hard for good grades for Uni - Success! I am a student at the University of Winchester and loving it.

2) Have more picnics - This one came true too, including a particularly delightful one with Lawrence when we were in the Lake District.

3) Take more film when on outings - this one could definitely be improved. I want to preserve memories as much as I can.

As for my stitching related ones, not too shabby on this front either:

1) Complete an LHN design - Complete! I finished Nature's Beauty and I've got more LHN now in my stash thanks to recent purchases.

2) Host a giveaway - Complete! I held my first blogaversary giveaway in April and I'm soon to hold another.

3) Take part in a small exchange - Complete! Although it unfortunately didn't last for all the rounds, I did take part in the Rotating Designer exchange and I hope Lesleyanne liked my piece! I adored what she stitched for me :)

4) Work on my fairies design - Oh dear, it's still tucked away . . .

5) Stitch something for a RAK - Not achieved last year, but I'm making it up for it this year with the Birthday Stitch Surprise.

6) Complete the ornament a month challenge - what with schoolwork and other commitments, it just isn't possible for me to definitely complete this. I'm sure I'll fit in a few though.

As for this year, I've seen so many posts about New Year challenges and I love reading them all. The big challenges are just not for me though, I haven't yet acquired as much wonderful stash as lots of you lucky ladies! I do have a few goals for this year though, a mix of personal and stitching.

1. I want to complete the Birthday Stitch Surprise - a parcel of goodies to one person each month. This one should be no problem to complete, it really is lovely choosing things others might like.

2. I want to become more confident on my sewing machine and improve my finishing techniques. I am still relatively new to finishing, but I'm getting better with each piece. I just need the practice.

3. To continue to work hard at Uni. I know how lucky I am to be here, and I thoroughly enjoy my course.

4. To become better at baking. I absolutely adore baking, it's my favourite hobby, second only to cross stitching. And it is a perk of living in a student house, you can bake lots and not have to worry about your weight - baked good disappear fast enough! I'm thinking I will post a few pics and recipes from time to time, I've got one lined up already.

5. To collect more egg cups. I've only just started this collection, but it's becoming a bit addicting. I love how they look lined up on my shelf.

So there you have it, my plan for the year. I hope you all enjoy seeing my progress on each of these tasks. I love reading about your goals :)

Best wishes,



Hello 2011

Hello all! I've been very preoccupied recently with family gatherings and dinners out with friends to celebrate the turning of the year. I had a very relaxing New Years Eve with my boyfriend and a few friends. It was perfect :) Now I'm ready for 2o11. I always like making resolutions at the start of the year, and even if I don't manage to stick to them, it's still nice to have them. My personal resolutions for this year are :
1) Work hard for good grades for Uni.
2) Have more picnics
3) Take more film when on outings.

And onto the more stitching related ones, this year I'd like to:
1) Complete an LHN design (I keep seeing them on fellow blogs and I really want to do one myself)
2) Host a giveaway
3) Take part in a small exchange (my sewing knowledge is too small to take part in a challenging exchange, yet)
4) Work on my fairies design (I really can't let it hide away for another year lol)
5) Stitch something for a RAK
6) Complete the ornament a month challenge (I would love to have more cross stitched pieces to display when next Christmas rolls round)
These are things that I would like to do throughout the year and I will celebrate my first bloganniversary this year. If that's not reason for a giveaway I don't know what is!

I'm very late in counting up my finishes for this year, but I've only got 11. That's pretty good for me, even though I know fellow bloggers can do five times that amount lol. My biggest design finish of the year was Charlie's Ark which is the piece I first started blogging about. I'm hoping to do many more finishes this year, in lots more finishing styles.

In other news, I did a fair bit of stitching over the Christmas holiday and this is where I'm up to on The Foxes. The girl is just starting to grow and the foxes are all finished, apart from the backstitching. I'm going to keep this design for me and frame it; it's already got a place on my wall waiting for it :)


I got a fair bit of Christmas money and I was thinking of purchasing my own sewing machine. I'm sewing more pillows than ever before, but I rarely get to use the Singer sewing machine we have now because it's very precious to my mum. I was thinking of getting a small but reliable machine of my own so I could get it out whenever I wanted rather than wait for my mum to get out the Singer. What do you think? And do you have any suggestions for good sewing machines? Any advice would really be appreciated :)

We're back at school now and I'm lucky not to have any January module exams this year. There's no let up on the coursework though, and the next Drama performance is in a couple of months. No worries though, I've still got plenty of time for stitching :)
Hope you're all having a great week,