Gingerbread and Cookies

Don't you just love it when you finally get to sit down after a hard day's work? I was up nice and early this morning, ready to be productive, and it sure has paid off. My notes are all up to date and I'm ahead with the reading - bonus! It's always nice after you've been working hard to sit down with a cup of tea and go "Aaah."

I thought I'd show a picture of where I'm up to on Country Cottage Needlework's Gingerbread Cottage . . .

This was the project I was stitching on over the holidays, not that I got much time to stitch. It is lovely to settle to my stitching every night after dinner. I'm the type of person who likes to get all the work done in the mornings so I can be very lazy in the evenings. What time do you work best?

I've also been stitching on another little project, but I can't show that just yet. I bet you know who it's for though :)

In other news, I've been baking! In my last post I told you all how I wanted to improve my baking skills and what better way to do this than with practise. I whipped these Smartie cookies up one afternoon and they were gone by the evening! Good job I've still got half a tube of Smarties to make some more.

Next, I think I'm going to do some good ol' fashioned vanilla cupcakes, but big ones with lots of icing and sweeties on top. Yum yum!

I'm very much looking forward to tomorrow as Lawrie is coming to visit and we're going to a second hand book fair in town. And I'm cooking a pork and cider casserole, I do like my cooking :) Do you have any lovely weekend plans? Whatever you're doing, I hope it's lots of fun.

Best wishes,

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,



The Big Stash Haul

Oh goodness, how time flies. It's been a very busy time since I last posted and I thought I'd catch you up on everything.

First of, I have reached 100 followers!! Thank you so much to each and every one of you for reading about this student and her craft. This blog means a lot to me and I can't believe it's attracted so many readers. I am so very grateful. I will be holding a tiny giveaway very soon, so look out for it!

Since I last posted, I finished working at Sainsbury's, celebrated my mum's birthday and returned to Uni. Yes I'm back at Winchester and very pleased to be here. I really appreciate the freedom of getting to do what I want when I want, although it was lovely being at home. I've got stuck in with my studies already, getting six books out of the library this morning for future projects. I love it!

The title tells of stash, and what a stash it is :) The day before coming back to Uni, my big 123stitch.com order arrived. This was my Christmas treat to myself, and I beamed at everything I received. I can't wait to get started on it all. 

I treated myself to six new charts; Touch of the Wilderness, by Brittercup Designs/Tea Crazy, by Lizzie Kate/The Tea Room, by Country Cottage Needleworks/Schoolgirl Lesson, by Little House Needleworks/Always and Forever, by Little House Needleworks/Autumn Sampler, by Lizzie Kate.

That should certainly keep me busy for awhile!

I also got some bits for scrapbooking too. I did a fair bit of scrapping over the holidays, but forgot to take any photos. Silly me. I love stickers, and couldn't resist these ones as they were all reduced.

I also got two large cuts of fabric (32ct Belfast in Fairy Dust and Light Mocha) and a whole bunch of DMC threads for future starts. I also bought a Sampler Thread in Dark Chocolate, which is also for a future project - stay tuned!

I'm having a ball with the Birthday Stitch Surprise. It's been so lovely putting a parcel together for Mouse, I really hope she likes it. My next recipient is Fiona. If you could send me a quick email of likes and dislikes Fiona, I would really appreciate it! :) I'm glad I chose to do this giveaway, it's really fun.

I'm on top of my reading already, so I am spending the evening with a big mug of hot chocolate and reading all what you've been up to. I can't wait! I'm sorry I've been absent from blogging lately, but I'm sure it's the same for all of you that family come first over the holidays. I'm back now and ready to stitch!

Best wishes,

Christmas Catch Up and Happy New Year!!

Oh gosh, I've been away from blogging for far too long! It seems I started working full time and everything else went to pot. It was pretty hard working day after day for the first time ever, it's manual work and lots of lifting. It was beginning to take its toll, so I've cut down my hours for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, I can return properly to the land of blogging that I have missed for too long :)

Thank you to the Birthday Stitch Surprise winners for sending me some truly lovely emails. I love that you've all got different likes and dislikes, it will give me lots of different stitching to do. After this post, I'm going to catch up on all the blogs I've missed. I've bet you've all been busy enjoying the festive season.

I had a lovely Christmas and got some truly gorgeous presents. My parents treated me with gifts of sweeties and chocolate and cake tins and recipe books - all my favourite things! One of my best was the latest edition of The World of Cross Stitching, that has some truly lovely patterns in it. Plus, it came with a diary featuring 12 Margaret Sherry charts, bonus or what?

Lawrence spoiled me as well. He gave me a t-shirt featuring one of our favourite singers (Bruce Springsteen!) and then possibly my favourite gift this year. He found me a bounded copy of the Wind in the Willows, with the water colour painting inside. It is so beautiful and no picture I could take would ever do it justice. He was very much in the good books! LOL

His mum got me some lovely gifts too - aren't I a lucky one? She got me the latest Hummingbird Bakery cookbook, featuring lots of yummy cupcake designs which I can't wait to try out. I also got this gorgeous pin cushion, isn't it the cutest?

And on top of all that, my sister got me a 123stitch.com gift card which I can't wait to spend :)

Just before Christmas I got sent some wonderful items from my stitching friends. I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to thank you, where are my manners? Firstly, thank you to Sarah from Kiwi Gets Crafty for sending me a beautiful handmade card and a skein of gorgeous autumnal thread. I'll be sure to send a reply soon Sarah!

Next thank you to Karen for sending me a beautiful Christmas ornament. I was lucky enough to be picked for Karen's "Ornament Exchange" and it arrived in time to be displayed this Christmas. I'm going to be keeping it all year round though, it's too pretty to be boxed away, don't you agree?

Thank you so much ladies! I love being a part of this community.

Our Christmas Day was a lovely family affair. Just my parents and me and my sister, perfect. My mum made a huge meal and we didn't move for awhile afterwards. Then Boxing Day, my extended family came for a visit and my nan came to stay. This time of year is certainly very busy :)

I spent New Year's Eve with Lawrence and a few of his friends. We had Indian takeaway and lots of wine and toasted the New Year. It was really fun and a memory I will treasure for a long time.

I'll be back very soon with a list of my New Year's resolutions and possibly a stitchy update. I had a day off today and I've got another one tomorrow, which I'm spending at the January Sales with my best friend. My life might be a bit hectic at the moment, but I wouldn't swap it for the world. I'm a very lucky girl :)

Best wishes and Happy New Year to everyone!

Drumroll Please . . .

Hello everyone! I must apologise for the delay in revealing the recipients of the Birthday Stitch Surprise. I thought I'd have time to post on Friday morning, but what with packing and my final lecture, time ran away from me. I'm here now to announce the winners!
So, I took the names from each month and did separate little draws to find the winner of that particular month. Then, all of those who were unfortunately not picked in their first draw went into a second one for the months I had no names for, June and November. July, October and Decembers winners got the prize by default as they were lucky enough to have no others with the same birthday month.
I hope this all makes sense!
I did the drawing the old fashioned way, cut up pieces of paper and a bowl.

 


Don't worry if you can't see the above picture clearly, here is the definite list of the winners:

January - Michelle from Tales of a Stitching Mouse

February - Fiona from My Stitching Corner

March – Lesleyanne from Lesleyanne's Life of Stitches

April – Catherine from Bramblewood Stitches

May – Emma from EveningEmma

June – (separate drawing) Terri from DixieSampler

July – Teresa from Teresa's Heartfelt Stitches

August – Peggy Lee from Kentucky Sampler

September – Cath from The Stitchin' Chicken

October – Elisa from Old Ragged Threads

November (separate drawing) – Lynn from Kearnel's Korner

December – Cindy from Clear Skies After the Storm

I hope Terri and Lynn are still happy to receive a parcel even though it is not in their birthday month. I thought a separate drawing would be the best and fairest way to make sure a parcel is sent out every month.
If you ladies could all send me an email to stitchinglion@hotmail.co.uk just outlining a few likes and dislikes, that would help me enormously. And don't forget your mailing addresses too!
Thank you so much to everyone who entered my little contest. I have reserved the names of those who unfortunately didn't win this time, but I'll know who to head to first for RAKs and such :)
So it will be Michelle who will receive her birthday parcel first. I can't wait to start putting it together!

In other news, my first weekend back at home has been great. I had a lovely meal with my family when I got back on Friday night, and then last night, I was taken out to dinner by my boyfriend's family. And I'm going out to eat tonight with my girl friends. Phew! You can tell it's Christmas time LOL
Best wishes to all,

Closed

Hello everyone. Just a quick post from me today to let you all know that the drawing for the Birthday Stitch Surprise is now CLOSED. I will be drawing names from a hat (or probably a bowl) and will post the results tomorrow morning.

Good luck to everyone who entered!

Winding Down

Hi everyone! I hope you've all had a brilliant start to the week. Although the title of this post suggests I'm winding down before Christmas, the truth is there is loads to do before I can relax and enjoy the festive season properly. I don't mind though, the work is very enjoyable, there's just quite a bit.

First of, thank you to all who have put their name in for the Birthday Stitch Surprise. There's still time to add your name to the drawing in this post here (scroll down or click the link).  I haven't got anyone yet for June or November, so maybe you could be the lucky one!

In other news, I've been spending time in the evenings working on Gingerbread House by Country Cottage Designs. Here's where I'm up to . . .

I really love working on this piece, it uses such bright and cheerful colours.

My meal in London last week was amazing. The restaurant was beautiful and the food was just the best. Then we went on a bit of a drive tour through the sights and saw Big Ben, The London Eye and Buckingham Palace, to name but a few. I celebrated with Lawrie on our own with a quiet meal in town, where for the first time, we could both have a glass of wine out. It was so very lovely.

Have a great week everyone. I go home for Christmas on Friday and I can't wait!

Best wishes,

PS Terri over at dixiesampler is having a brilliant giveaway. Check it out here!