Birthday Stitch Surprise!!

EDIT: The drawing is now closed and the winners will be announced on Friday :)

It seems the idea was popular so I have decided to go ahead with it :) Please enter a comment on this post only with your full birthday. No need for the year, just the month then date e.g September 23rd (my own birthday :P) just so I don't get confused with the numbers.

Rules:

- You must be a follower to enter. After all, this is a competition where I want to treat my followers!

- There is no need to post about this on your blog, but it would be lovely if you would like to.

- If there is more than one entry for each month, I shall put all the names into a hat and draw one name.

- Entry closes next Thursday (15th) at midday (UK time) I shall put the list of each month with who will be receiving a gift on Friday.

I'd just like to point out if I may that these birthday parcels won't be spectacular. I'm planning on sending a few lovely pieces that I think the recipient will enjoy.

I can't wait to get started on this!!

Best wishes everyone, and good luck!

A Finish, A Treat, An Idea

Hello fellow bloggers! I hope you are all having a wonderful week. Wednesday is my day off from lectures, so I'm catching up with reading, wrapping a few more presents, and hopefully finding time for stitching too.
I have my first Christmas ornament to share! It's only a little one, but I could not be more pleased with how it turned out . . .


Christmas Greetings
Carol @iStitch
32ct Vintage Beige Evenweave
DMC and Duchess Threads

This is my first time finishing an ornament with a hanger and I really like it, especially with the red ribbon attachment.
Don't you just love Christmas backing fabric?

I've already got my next ornament waiting and ready to be stitched up. Hopefully I'll get needle into fabric sometime this afternoon.
So now on to the treat part of my title. Yesterday after lessons, I met up with my mum in Winchester. We had a wander round the shops and visited the Christmas market. It was so very pretty, with the ice rink in the ground of the cathedral and all the lit up stalls and huts. The only downside was that everything seemed so expensive. I only found some fudge for Lawrie, and a gingerbread man for me! Mum didn't manage to find much either, so she suggested we return to the shops in search of goodies to treat ourselves with. She found a gorgeous glasses case in Cath Kidston, and just before heading to dinner, we went to the Fabric Shop . . .
I had been looking at these for awhile. I don't own many pairs of scissors and it always annoys me when I have to hunt for a pair. So, as a treat from my lovely mother, I came home with these beauties . . .

These are my first pair of stork scissors and I think they are so very pretty. I can't wait to use them.
As I can never resist ribbon, I got this lovely length with the change . . .

How cute is this! I know exactly what design it will be good for, stay tuned.

Thank you to those who commented on my query about stitching challenges. I've had a thought about it, and I don't think I'm going to enter the Crazy Stitching Challenge. The truth is, I don't own 15 projects that I'd like to start, and I'd rather pick and choose throughout the year.
However . . .
I do have an idea that I'd like to try out, hence the final part of the title. I'd really like to give back to the stitching community as I have been treated to many gorgeous packages and parcels throughout this year. I'd like to send out a few parcels of myself, to treat my fellow bloggers at the perfect occasion. So . . .
Introducing the Birthday Stitch Surprise!
The idea is that whoever would like lets me know when their birthday is, I'll do a drawing so I have a list of twelve names for each month in the year. In that month, I shall send a package of stitching goodies and probably a stitched piece to the birthday girl! Does this sound like a good idea to you? I just wondered what my lovely followers thought before I made it official. Any comments would be gratefully appreciated!
Speaking of my lovely followers, I've nearly got 100 of them - my goodness! I can't believe so many of you care about this student and her stitching. Thank you so much. I love stitching, blogging and being part of this community and you make that happen, thank you again.
I hope you're all enjoying a lovely Wednesday,

A Query

Hello blogging community, I have a question for you, if you would be so kind.

I was just wondering if there were any challenges planned for early next year? I know at the beginning of this year we had the Crazy January challenge, and was wondering if there was anything of the sort happening next year?

As we all do around this time, I've been thinking about things I want to stitch up and such, and was possibly think of doing my own Crazy 15, but is there anything formal I can join up to?

Thank you very much for your thoughts on this :)

Being Creative

Hello everyone, I hope you've all had a wonderful week and are ready to enjoy a relaxing weekend. More on my weekend later.

First up, I got time this week to finally have a play on my new sewing machine. I was successful in setting up the machine on my first try, so that was a bonus. Then I started stitching, and that didn't go too . . .

Here is my first attempt, and yes, it has three holes for stuffing, whoops . . .

I'm in two minds whether to rescue this design and sew it again, or keep it as is as a memento of my first stitching on my own machine. We'll have to wait and see.

I was not deterred and picked up another design and tried again. This time it went much better. I am a big believer in making mistakes in order to learn and I think that's very true in stitching. So, here's my second attempt, a lovely plump pillow!

There's a pin at the top because I am in desperate need of advice - how do I sew the final seam shut? Any hints and tips would be very much appreciated from this novice stitcher.

I'm hoping to get some time next week to finish one of my Lizzie Kate pieces, but I want to wait until I'll got a good chunk of time because I don't want to rush them. I'm determined to get them finished as pillows before Christmas though!

In other stitchy news, I've got a new start to share. I've started County Cottage Designs, Gingerbread House and I'm loving it! Haven't got too far along yet, but I really love the pink colours in the middle of the house. I'm hoping to get this one finished and in a frame before Christmas too.

Lawrie is coming down tomorrow for a visit and on Sunday, we're heading to the Vintage Market. I went last month it was on and found this beauty . . .

I'm using it as a shopping basket at the moment, but when I head home for the holidays, I'm going to put all my stitched Christmas decorations in it to put in my room. How very festive!

Hope you enjoy a wonderful weekend,

 

Happy Dances!

Hello everyone! Sorry I've been away so long. As we're getting closer to the end of the first semester, all of the assignments and projects are coming to a close. I got so busy, I didn't even have time to blog read, let alone stitch. I'm looking forward to catching up with what everyone has been up to :)

On Friday, I had my scriptwriting presentation where my group presented to a "producer" our idea for a comedy series. The first feedback the examiner gave us was; "I am immensely impressed." I was overjoyed that our hard work all through the week. This was the reason I couldn't fit in as much stitching time, but sometimes that's the sacrifice you got to take to make the grade LOL

I spent the weekend with Lawrence and got to attend the surprise party his friends were throwing him. A good time was had by all. His birthday is actually next week, and we're going out with his family to a posh restaurant in London - I am very much looking forward to that!

So, onto the part of the post you actually want to read, my happy dances! I have two to share today, well, one and a half really. I finally put the seed beads onto All Things Bright so this can officially go on the "finishing" pile . . .

This week is quiet for work so I've had a lovely time putting in some stitches into Merry Friends. I finished it tonight, here it is! . . .

I added a little heart charm I said that reads "Made With Love."

I don't have any lessons or lectures on Thursday afternoon so I'm planning on spending some quality time with my sewing machine. I bought it to use and so far, it's been stuck in its box, time to change that I think.

I have missed blog reading and can't wait to see what everyone has been stitching. Why not tell me something that's happened to you in the past week in your comment? I would love to be nosey :)

Best wishes,

A Finish! . . . Well, Sort Of

Good morning to everyone on this slightly cloudy Winchester morning! I have been stitching away like a busy little bee over the weekend and I have a "sort of" finish to share. It's All Things Bright from Lizzie Kate . . .

I say a "sort of" finish because the watermelon still needs to have little black seed beads attached to it, but mine are at home. It's going to wait till my next visit back, which hopefully won't be too long away. I'm pleased to have got this piece finished as much as I can though, it means I can fully concentrate on my Christmas stitching.

It also gives me a chance to try out my brand new sewing machine! I thought as the design features motifs from an American summer, I'd pair it with one of my favourite English motifs - strawberries! Isn't this just a lovely backing fabric?

So I'm thinking it won't be too long before I can get the bead on this piece, have a go on my sewing machine and have a new long pillow for my bed. I'll let you know how it goes.

In other stitchy news, I've also been doing a little bit on Merry Friends. This piece is great to do in the evenings because it's mostly block colours and lots of them. Here's where I'm up to so far . . .

I'd like to get this one finished as soon as possible too, hopefully in time for this Christmas but who knows. It is a fun stitch so I don't see why not :)

My parents came down for a shopping trip last week and boy did I get spoilt! One of my best purchases was this new recipe book, a bargain at only £8 ($12.74). I've been reading it and picking out so many recipes that I can't wait to try.

The first one was these Carrot Cake Cupcakes - aren't they adorable? It's my housemate's birthday coming up and she asked if I could make her a carrot cake. I thought these cupcakes were so much cuter and easier to store in a student house. I really enjoyed making them, as I have never made anything of the sort before.

They were yummy and my housemates all agreed that I should do more baking. I'm very happily going to oblige.

Apologies for this extra long post, I just found I had a lot to say. Last thing before I head off to class, I managed to get some hours back at the supermarket I was at before heading to Uni. The money is going to come in so handy and I really enjoy working in the store at Christmas time, it's so very festive.

Have a wonderful week,

Merry Stitching

Hello everyone, I hope you've all had a brilliant start to the week. I've been stitching away on Merry Friends, and it's coming along a treat!

I'm stitching on this in the evenings, but I'm going to look for a smaller project to work on before I head out for lectures and things. I'm thinking Redwork pieces - we shall see what I find.

The fireworks display I went to at the weekend was amazing! There was a torchlit procession from the main town to the bonfire sight, which was really quite a spectacle. And then the fireworks lasted for ages and were very impressive. And it was free! Me and my housemates did make a donation though, who wouldn't after seeing such a beautiful display?

I've made Jumbles biscuits this morning to take to the cinema later on, after a fairly intense Drama lecture. Oh the joys of being a student LOL

Have a wonderful week,