< iStitch
Friday, 27 November 2009
Crafting


Valie went to a craft show last week. This week I received a beautifully made card together with some card to make my own or maybe some floss drops? Thank you dear friend for your generosity and thoughtfulness.

Hopefully my cold is on it's way out although I have been left with an awful cough. I will see how it is after the weekend and, bearing in mind the lengthy time I was ill earlier this year, I will make an appointment with my doctor.

Another ornament is stitched and ready for finishing and I will be starting another one later today. I really wished I had stuck to my timetable of one per month all year so as to avoid a last-minute panic ... the best laid plans etc ...

Thanks for visiting, have a good weekend
Take care

Labels:

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 13:08 | Permalink | 7 comments Photobucket
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
A giveaway





Zuzana is having a lovely giveaway over on her blog and you have until 30 November to enter. All you have to do is leave a comment on her blog post (7 November) and then place a link to her blog on your own blog. Easy!

No stitching pictures to show you today but the Christmas ornaments are coming along despite the fact that I have the most dreadful cold - headache, sore throat, sneezing - you name it I have the lot. I should be going into town to run a few errands but I will leave it until tomorrow now - I may feel better then.

Thanks for visting
Take care


Labels:

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 09:53 | Permalink | 5 comments Photobucket
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Beatrix Potter and a giveaway



I'm still plodding along with Miss Beatrix although not too much done for November - only the two motifs in the bottom, right-hand corner. I doubt I will find time to do any more on this one now, hence the posting before the end of the month. Sorry for the 'wrinkles' - Ken is decorating the kitchen area and I do not want to give him an excuse to stop by getting out the iron!

Berit is having a giveaway over on her blog but this is one giveaway I will not be entering as the prize is a choice of either Sew Noel or Sew Winter chart plus the free charts if you haven't already got them! So (or should that be 'sew'?) pop over to visit with Berit if you would like a chance to win. You have until midnight on November 26 to enter.

Now it's back to the Christmas ornaments for the children for me and I am determined that nothing else will tempt me until all of these are stitched and finished.

Thanks for visting
Take care

Labels:

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 12:28 | Permalink | 6 comments Photobucket
Friday, 20 November 2009
Sew Winter


Sew Winter - an alphabet, a winter scene, a sprinkling of snow flakes and a few shining stars. This tiny sampler is stitched 1*2 on 36ct steel blue Gander linen with AVAS Blanc Optique, Needlepoint Inc 407 (Forest Green), DMC Metallic Silver and hem-stitched with DMC 927.

The stitch count is the same as that of Sew Autumn - 97 x 78 - for those wishing to create a seasons bell pull or to stitch all four seasons on one piece of fabric.

This chart is now available *here* or by clicking on the CHARTS link in the sidebar.

Thanks for visiting - have a good weekend
Take care



Labels: , ,

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 11:41 | Permalink | 20 comments Photobucket
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
A Parisian gift and a peek!


An envelope bearing a French stamp arrived this morning and inside was a lovely card bearing the famous Parisian landmark. Also enclosed were some beautifully made floss drops - just look at the glittering CR - how pretty is that? Thank you my dear *friend* - you spoil me!


Yesterday's post delivered the long-awaited AVAS Optique Blanc silk thread so I spent the afternoon stitching on Sew Winter. It's not finished but I thought you might like a sneak peek! I found one error on the chart which I have now amended. I hope to release this very soon.

A big thank you to Edgar for the two dvds that I won on his giveaway draw.

Thanks for visiting
Take care

Labels: , ,

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 10:19 | Permalink | 9 comments Photobucket
Sunday, 15 November 2009
Natalia's Sew Blue





I heard from Natalia in Australia that she has now finished Sew Blue. She stitched it 1*2 on 40ct creme linen using Dinky Dyes Pacific Ocean 93, Ningloo 54 and Choco Latte 31 and finished it as a pretty pinkeep. Both your interpretations of Sew Blue and Sew Red are wonderful Natalia and thank you for allowing me to post your pictures on my blog. These patterns are still free but now only available as part of Sew Noel package *here* or click the CHARTS link on the sidebar.

The AVAS Blanc Optique silk thread I am awaiting on for Sew Winter has still not arrived and I have now ordered an HDF white silk thread as a backup in case the AVAS has gone missing. As soon as either threads arrives I will stitch Sew Winter as quickly as possible. In the meantime I will stitch up the model for Sew in Love for an early release.

No stitching at all this weekend as Georgia came for a sleepover last night and we spent yesterday afternoon playing with my punches, old Christmas/birthday cards and a blank sheet of paper and some glue to produce collages. We also tried some origami where we made two types of swan. I had forgotten how much I like origami so I think I will look to buying some proper origami paper as the photocopy paper I was using was a bit thick to make really neat folds.

Thanks for visiting
Take care

Labels: , , , , ,

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 11:12 | Permalink | 4 comments Photobucket
Friday, 13 November 2009
Nothing to show

I'm still here but I have nothing to show! I am still waiting to receive the AVAS silk thread so I can stitch the Sew Winter model - the invoice arrived 4 days ago but no sign of the thread. I rang around all UK suppliers of AVAS yesterday but not one place has Blanc Optique so - shall I wait or stitch with good old DMC? I know if I do that the thread will arrive and I will want to stitch with that so ... I'll give it a couple of more days. I know that some of you are really waiting to see this chart so please be patient.

And, of course, it's not as though I have nothing else to stitch - I could add a motif or two to Beatrix and there's always an ornament or two to be stitched. And there's a few more chapters of The Lost Symbol to read ...

Thanks for visiting - have a good weekend
Take care

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 15:02 | Permalink | 8 comments Photobucket
Monday, 9 November 2009
Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari?

If you made a visit earlier today, did you have any problem viewing my posts? I was told that, in visiting via IE, the posts had dropped below the sidebar. There was apparently not a problem with either Firefox and Safari. Can you please leave a comment if you are still experiencing a problem.

A really big thank you to *Deb* for her help in sorting out this problem. I know she is such a busy lady and I am really grateful to her.

Thanks for visiting
Take care

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 19:16 | Permalink | 7 comments Photobucket
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Shari's Sew Autumn



Shari sent me a picture of her finished Sew Autumn. The fabric is Chalice 32ct lugana; the thread is Dinky Dyes Nature/Autumn hues and she also told me that she ran out of thread and had to improvise with the border. Isn't this a pretty version? This chart is still available for free as part of the Sew Noel package here or click on the CHARTS logo on the sidebar.

Not a good stitching day for me yesterday. I started the Sew Winter model for the second time. I originally started this on a steel blue linen with an HDF natural silk thread which didn't look right so yesterday I used DMC S5200 which is white with a really high shine but ... this is one of the worse threads I have ever stitched with! It twisted; it separated and it fluffed up even when I used Thread Heaven. I stitched part of the border and two letters of the alphabet and, despite the fact that it looked quite nice against the blue, I had had enough so out it came. I have some AVAS Blanc Optique on order from NIAH for my third attempt so I hope this doesn't take too long to arrive and that it gives me the effect I am looking for.

I then decided to stitch a Christmas ornament. I sorted out a chart, the fabric and threads and started to stitch the border but, despite using 36ct linen, it was coming up enormous so I decided to make the border a lot smaller. Of course the design no longer fits inside the border so I will chart up the border into my Macstitch program and design my own centre.

It's a nice day today - the sun is out although it's a bit chilly.

Thanks for visiting and have a good weekend
Take care

Labels: , ,

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 11:48 | Permalink | 6 comments Photobucket
Friday, 6 November 2009
Nicola



Here is an update on Nicola's Sew Noel. I love the thread she is using - Caron Waterlilies 'Holiday'. Not too much left until the finish - H to K of the alphabet and the outside border. Well done Nicola, it looks great.

This chart is still available *here* or if you can't get this link to work try the CHARTS logo on the sidebar. I am looking forward to seeing other versions of Sew Noel.


Here's Hector - he looks so sad. He was not allowed out last night because of the fireworks!

And introducing Chelsea the parrot! He's an African Grey and has a beautiful red tail which doesn't show in the picture. He is very funny and imitates everything from the telephone to voices and the sounds of the other animals. I'm not sure I would want him to live with me - he's far too noisy!

Sue of Berkshire Cottage blog - Brown Bunny is by Ewe Eye & Friends.

Thanks for visiting - have a good weekend
Take care

Labels:

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 09:04 | Permalink | 9 comments Photobucket
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Red!



In my red box, amongst other things red, were these charming lavender pillows and this stunning stitchers companion case, all beautifully sewn by Valie. Click on the picture and you will see how exquisite these are. Inside the companion is a skein of red silk, some pretty pins, a length of red lace and red scissors with a fob of red beads and a tiny tortoise charm. My friend spoils me - thank you Valie for your generosity!



For those of you who coveted my Eiffel Tower scissors in yesterday's post, here is another picture showing the size of these gorgeous scissors. Here is another pair of Eiffel Tower scissors with a beaded fob in my favourite colour and which has a teeny Eiffel Tower at it's end! Have I made you envious?

I made a start on the model for Sew Winter yesterday but I was not happy with the thread I had chosen so out came those tiny stitches. I was hoping to make a restart today with another thread but in this morning's mail came the latest Dan Brown book - The Lost Symbol - so I guess I will curl up on the sofa and read!

Did anyone notice the minor changes to my blog? I was fed up with my header picture and wanted a more neutral look so off came the picture and the stitching teddy is now in black and white and will probably be changed completely when I find something I like better. And also a slight name change 'iStitchaholic' has become 'iStitch' - the link is still the same - only the name has changed!

Thanks for visiting
Take care

Labels: ,

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 10:52 | Permalink | 12 comments Photobucket
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Gifts


Valie and I exchanged gifts - for me - one box was blue; one box was red. Amid other 'blue' gifts were these beautiful Eiffel Tower scissors and a trio of lavender cushions - their scent is just heavenly. Thank you so much Valie. Would you like to see some red gifts?

Today I will start the model for Sew Winter. I have linen and thread so I will print off the chart and I'm ready to go.

The sun is shining and I feel good.

Thanks for visiting
Take care

Labels:

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 09:37 | Permalink | 18 comments Photobucket
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
A birthday gift






It was Valie's birthday a short while ago but I decided to save her gift to give to her on her visit to England. The top is stitched 1*2 on a coffee-dyed 35ct linen with AVAS 2925 silk thread and the pattern I designed especially for her. I lined the top and base with a creme dupioni silk fabric and embellished with a piece of creme lace and a hand-twisted cord. I am sure Valie will put much better pictures on her blog when she returns home.

The rain is back so I guess Valie has taken the sunshine to London for the remainder of her trip!

Thanks for visiting
Take care

Labels: ,

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 08:34 | Permalink | 20 comments Photobucket
Monday, 2 November 2009
A walk on the pier!


Valie arrived in England for her short visit and we picked her up from the Eurostar station in Ashford late yesterday afternoon. The weather has been atrocious all day but the rain stopped as her train arrived - I think she brought some good weather with her as today has been really beautiful. We took a walk around the town centre to see if she recognised anything from the time she spent here during her teenage years and she did recognise the area around the pier - not too much has changed in our town. We brought some ice-creams and took a walk on the pier where I took a few photos (click on the collage for a closeup view). We have booked a table in a quaint little pub in Sandwich for dinner tonight. I know the food is great there so, hopefully, she will enjoy it. All too soon her trip has come to an end for tomorrow she leaves for London.

Thanks for visiting
Take care

Labels:

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 17:48 | Permalink | 6 comments Photobucket
Sunday, 1 November 2009
Halloween


Kirby went to a great Halloween party at uni. She looks pretty scary and just look as those eyelashes! Who fancies meeting her on a dark night? I asked her if the white face paint was hard to get off - she said no but the fake blood had stained her arms and face!

No stitching pictures to show you today. I part-stitched another ornament last night which now needs embellishing with beads and a charm so I now have 3 ornaments to be finished. I also need to stitch the models for Sew Winter, Sew in Love and Sew Spring. A big thank you to all who have purchased Sew Noel. I very much appreciate your support in my new venture.

It's raining heavily today and it's very dark and gloomy. I do hope that my friend's journey across the English channel on Eurostar goes well and that the rain stops at some point during her visit.

Thanks for visiting
Take care

Labels: ,

 
Photobucket posted by Carol R at 11:00 | Permalink | 7 comments Photobucket
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥