for no reason . . .

Yep, I treated myself to some more cross stitch stash lol . . . for no reason.  I was browsing on sewandso the other week, actually looking at fabric because I plan on starting work on an Isabelle Vautier African woman very soon. There was a new fabric in the shop: “Trento” 28 count zweigart, so I bought a HUGE piece because the plan is to stitch all five African ladies in the series (yeah, right, we’ll see what happens there).  And since I’d discovered something new, I then went browsing in the other “what’s new” section and came across a brand of kits I didn’t know: RTO. Made in Russia.  There were quite a few that caught my eye, notably cute ones, suitable for nurseries etc . . . but I’m not stitching much “cute” these days. However, I then saw a grizzly bear and thought he was so gorgeous I just had to add him to my basket.  And then . . . while I was at it . . . another click and I added a small Lizzie Kate chart to my basket lol.

Here is a photo of my goodies.

With the WIPocaplyse challenge, I’m making good headway with current WIPs but I’m going to be very strict with myself and NOT start any of my planned new projects until I have finished “Christmas Spirit” by Joan Elliott.  She’s coming along nicely. I have finished the lower half of the chart (so all of the dress from the waist down) and am backstitching that part before I move onto the second page.  School hols begin tomorrow evening so that means more stitching time, and I’m hoping to have her finished by early May.

“Amitié” stitched by mamoures

Another French friend has stitched one of my chupin’s Xstitch charts – here is mamoures‘ version of “AMITIE (tout simplement) finished off as a little hanging cushion.

Happy Birthday Le Bleu

Today, 8th April, is our youngest cat’s birthday. Yay, Le Bleu is 4 years old today.  Hard to believe that when I first set eyes on him he looked like this (the one looking straight at the camera – aged approx 3 weeks)

 One of a litter of four orphan kittens (the fourth one was obviously having a cuddle when photo was taken) who were handed over to me by my local vet to bottle feed and rear.

Grown into a very slim, almost oriental looking cat with distinctive features being the eternal limp due to the horrendous femoral fracture and knee joint displacement he suffered at the age of 18 months.  Doesn’t stop him enjoying life to the full though ^^

 

Xmas Xstitch SAL – April’s photo

It’s the first Saturday of the month – time to show you my latest Xmas stitching for the SAL I’m following on Diary of a Domestic Goddess.

I haven’t done the finishing bit yet, as I don’t know whether to make another tree decoration or simply finish this little fellow off as a card.  He’s a freebie design by Corinne.

“ne laisse pas le passé . . . ” FREE chupin’s Xstitch

I had a request recently, from a French stitching friend, for a new chart lol.  She had seen the quote “Don’t let the past steal your present” on FB and asked if I could translate into French and chart it in cross-stitch for her. As it turns out, she ended up charting the text all by herself but I kept the quote in the back of my mind and have done my own version, adapting a copyright free sketch along with it.

Design measures 168 x 136 stitches because I wanted to keep the detail on the bird. You can download by clicking on the link

FREE ne laisse pas le passe

Happy Easter

Happy Easter weekend to one and all – hope you enjoy the long Bank Holiday weekend and that it is occasion to see family and friends.  I’ll be munching my way through some chocolate thanks to one of my English students who gave me this lol

“jeu de cartes” – seventh patchwork block

Not sure if this block is called “pack of cards” or “game of cards” . . . whatever . . . in French it’s “jeu de cartes”.

Rather fiddly to get those angles spot on with the smaller triangles I found, but ever so effective.  Only two more blocks to go  yay.

WIPocalypse April’s check-in

I know I’m a day early with my WIPocalypse post, but I can’t see me getting much stitching done between now and tomorrow so took a few snaps shots and decided to post now while I think of it.

Progress is less spectacular than last month and I only had one happy dance – however, when I look at my photos I did actually do more than I thought. So here goes.

“Vert Campagne” – haven’t yet filled in the geese eyes or done the back stitch but hopped straight to a third square so I almost have three pigs.

“Christmas Spirit” (Joan Elliott) has spent ages in the hoop, but only a few stitches here and there since the beginning of the year. I don’t know why because I LOVE this design. I think it’s a problem of following the chart with a cat on my lap which is slowing me down.

“Rêverie au jardin” (Les fils de mimie) started as a SAL mid-March.  I’ve almost completed stage 2.

Easter Egg SAL organised by Liselotte. I stitched 6 little eggs (two the same) and finished them off into little bags which I have filled with small choccie eggs. Am thinking they can be filled with lavender after Easter and be stuck in underwear drawers lol.

Kreativ Blogger Award

A big thank you to Avis, my patchwork guru of Oh Sew Tempting who has nominated me for another award.

I’m going to be a naughty blogger and only fulfill two of the three requirements. First is to link to the person who nominated me and add the picture (done).

Second is to write seven “interesting” things about myself. Mmmm don’t know about interesting, but I have come up with a list of a few things -up to you to decide if they’re interesting or not.

1.  I have recently discovered a passion for macadamia nuts (who cares about the calories?) and will munch away at any time of the day or night.

2.  I excel in the art of procrastination (my naked, faceless Tilda bunny begun last year is living proof).

3.  Although I can’t sing in tune, I LOVE singing. Anything from The Carpenters to Jessie J, and when I forget the words I just repeat the chorus over and over and over . . . (now how annoying is that?)

4.  I can’t drive and sing at the same time lol. The other day, I took the wrong exit on a roundabout and ended up doing a long diversion to get home.

5.  I wear jeans every day.

6.  At bedtime I have a little ritual with Le Bleu (our youngest cat). He comes to bed and licks the salt off my macadamia nuts while I’m munching and reading my Cybook. Then he has a drink at the washbasin tap while I clean my teeth, and then we both snuggle up under the quilt.

7.  I weigh the same today as I did 26 years ago.

The third requirement is to list seven worthy bloggers. Now it’s not that I don’t know of seven worthy bloggers . . . I spend hours visiting fascinating blogs and leaving comments, but often it’s through blog-hopping and I don’t always keep track of where I’ve been. So, this is where I’m going to be naughty and add just one link. To Measi’s Musings. Measi is organsing the WIPocalpyse challenge and every full moon I visit the hundreds of bloggers who check in.

 

 

“AMITIE (tout simplement)” Chantal’s version

Chantal stitched one of my freebie charts for a friend. Unfortunately, the French postal service managed to lose her parcel . . . so she is going to stitch it again.  It is SO frustrating when that happens – hours of careful work, and all for nothing.

Anyway, here is Chantal’s photo, of the piece that never arrived.