Stitch From Stash Update: May

Wow, I can't believe it's been two weeks since I last posted. The past fortnight has flown by. I've been out celebrating my finished degree by eating meals out with friends, going on day trips with Lawrence and attending lots of parties! I've had such so much fun, but now it's time to re-focus and get my head in order. Now the real adventure begins :)

Today I'm here for another SFS update. I haven't needed to spend any money again this month. Only one project has got my full attention at the moment, and at the rate its going, I don't think it will take me long to finish it. Here's where I'm at with White Magic . . .

I hope to catch up on my blog reading in the next few days, I can't wait to see what everyone has been working on. I'm sorry for my lack of consistency, it appears I've lost a couple of followers due to lack of updates. I'm afraid I can't make promises, I just post when I can and when I have something worth sharing :)

Best wishes to all,

 

The End is Nigh

Hello friends! I left it longer than I meant to from my last post. But I'm here now for a jolly good catch up :)

I have now handed in my final assignments for University. So technically, I'm all done, although I won't officially finish until the end of term in June. It's a weird sensation to have finished with University. Of course I will be sad to leave, but I'm so looking forward to the next chapter. I'm currently applying for jobs in this area and flat-hunting as well. I'm also spending these last few weeks socialising a lot and making sure I spend as much time as possible with my Uni friends. 

I'd like to thank you all for your kind comments and emails regarding my life at Uni. You're all so generous thinking of me and wishing me well. I've been blogging for so long, I remember telling you all about results day and getting into Winchester in the first place! Thank you so much for sharing this journey with me, your encouragement means a lot :)

As a treat to myself for finishing all of my assignments, I bought an official Winchester hoody to commemorate my time here. It's really cosy!

Time for a stitching update! The only thing I've been working on recently is White Magic. I can't seem to put it down :) I have got a bit more time on my hands now to work on other projects too, but I'll just share a pic of my lovely wolves today . . .

I'm onto the third section, with only one quarter to go after that. And then it will be time to tackle all the backstitching! I think this piece will look great when it's all finished up :) You know I'll have framed pieces all over my new flat when I settle in. Hopefully, that won't be too far off in the future :)

Best wishes to all,

 

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,

 

Lucky Lady

I've been very blessed lately with prize wins and gifts from some dear stitching friends. I was lucky enough to be chosen to stitch the travelling pattern by Elisa. The pattern will soon be moving in with its latest owner, Karoline.

I recently commented on a finished design made by Nataly over at Nataly's Needle Creations. She had recently finished Hibernation Day by Heartstring Samplery and it looked gorgeous. I left her a comment saying so, and Nataly very kindly sent me the chart! I'm so pleased to own such a lovely design and I have started, but just a few stitches. I'm challenging myself by stitching this piece over one on 36ct fabric. It will be so beautiful when it gets finished, if I manage to get that far!

My lucky streak continued with a prize win from Justine over at Justine's Cross Stitch. She recently held a Spring Giveaway and my name was drawn out of the hat! Justine thoroughly spoilt me with a wonderful parcel that truly brightened my day.

I received a whole bunch of DMC threads, a door hanger, a darling card, sweet Easter chick ribbon, a fab chart book (which I'm sure you'll see more of) and the best gift of all . . .

Justine made me a personalised scissor fob and I love it! It's such a beautiful handmade item and I will treasure it. 

Thank you so much to Elisa, Nataly and Justine for making me feel so grateful for such wonderful stitching buddies :)

Hope you're all enjoying a lovely weekend,