... just look what was inside. Boxes of chocolates, pretty Christmas finishing fabric, an Elegance scarf, a card holder, a tape dispenser, some mouse mini cards, an ornament, a tiny reindeer (I'm really into reindeer this year) but best of all this most wonderful Quaker flatfold! 

Yuko knows how much I like Quaker patterns and this flatfold is stunning! Both her stitching and finishing are absolutely perfect. It is one of CHs Quaker House Samplers and is stitched on 40ct Newcastle flax. She added our initials in a pretty navy colour too. And just look at that gorgeous trim and that fabulous bow! Thank you Yuko, I love everything that you sent to me and this flatfold will have pride of place in my home. 

I am sure Yuko will put much better pictures on her blog so go take a look (here)!   

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Some new stash arrived today. My JCS 2008 Ornament mag - I must admit that I am a bit disappointed with it this year as there is nothing that immediately jumps out saying 'Stitch Me' 'Stitch Me' but I will read through it again later and maybe that will happen. Along with the magazine were two gorgeous cuts of fabric, a piece of 40ct linen in Bisque and some 36ct pearled barley linen - I have no idea what I will be stitching on these but I am positive they will not go to waste! The two skeins of threads that make an appearance in the picture are Caron Waterlilies in Peacock and Polar Ice. And yes the scissors you can see are the Chinese Dragons that I won on Ebay a few weeks back. These have pretty engraved handles but the reflection of the sun makes it difficult to see - try clicking on the picture - you can just make out the engraving.    

 

And now an update on Quaker Blackbird. As you can see I had a good run on this last night but ... why is there always a 'but'? ... I thought the fabric I was using was 36ct - it certainly had a tag in the corner that said 36ct - but alas I think it's 32ct as the design is stitching up larger than I had wanted. I will finish stitching it but I will have to re-think my finish. It certainly is a lot easier on the eyes to stitch on 32ct but I do so love the delicacy of a higher count fabric so I will probably stitch this again at some point.

I also finished the Quaker SAL with Yuko but as it needs ironing I will wait for it to be framed before I show a 'finished' picture. Yuko and I are now planning on another SAL and have chosen a LHN piece this time round. 

May I now introduce to you the latest addition to the family. Ken called into 'Mouse World' (or did he say PC World?) after he finished work last night and chose from a large litter this beautiful little girl mouse who I shall henceforth call 'Milly'. Isn't Milly beautiful? Just look at her glossy white coat and that adorable little scroll button and she behaves perfectly too. She not only scrolls upwards and sideways but downwards too! I think Milly and I will be very happy together. 

Thanks for visiting - enjoy the weekend and

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... to Valerie. The pincushion that I stitched for her, which is an adaption of a CA Wells' pattern, is on 32ct raw linen with DMC perle cotton (644) and Vikki Clayton's Mermaid silk floss. I added both her name, mine and the year around the edge. I added a few goodies in her package too. 

A little stash arrived this morning, firstly an Ebay purchase, The Goode Huswife's 'A Quaker Four Corners Sampler' which I am going to alter slightly and make into a biscornu. I will stitch this on 40ct linen with the Waterlillies Cherry silk floss which also arrived in the mail today. The scissor fob which I purchased from Yuko's Etsy shop also arrived. This was beautifully packaged and is made from some really pretty flower beads with a gorgeous mother-of-pearl butterfly at the bottom. Unfortunately the butterfly doesn't show up in the picture so have a look at the one on Yuko's blog - isn't it just gorgeous? 

I have a lot of projects ready for finishing so I need another marathon finishing day but yesterday I wanted something small to stitch out in the garden so the tiny house is the beginning of a Christmas ornament. *I have no idea who the designer is - maybe someone knows? I am stitching from a picture that I found on the internet. It looks as though it was originally stitched in variagated threads but I am using DMC on 36ct lambswool linen. 

Tomorrow I am back at work for the rest of this week, 4 days next week and 2 the week after that so I don't suppose I will get much stitching or blogging done so I am off to finish my chores and maybe make a start on some finishing.

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The mailman delivered to me this lovely package from Joan who was my partner (unbeknown to me of course) for the HOE Summer Quaker exchange. Joan stitched for me this wonderful pinkeep with Dinkey Dyes Mango Tango silk floss. Now regular readers will know how much I adore anything Quaker so you can imagine how pleased I am to receive this. It's beautifully stitched and finished and just look at that pretty fabric that Joan chose for the back. Not only did she make this gorgeous pinkeep she also made a pretty project bag and a cute chicken pincushion. Also in the package was a piece of 40ct cream linen, a packet of needles, a matching magnetic notepad and notecards and Milady's Needle Quaker Christmas Smalls chart - Joan obviously read my Wish List. Thank you so much Joan - this is a memorable exchange.

    

Yesterday was Ken's birthday so we had a family lunch out at a local pub. My son-in-law Ian arrived with my daughter Nicola and my grandson Jack in his US Army truck. This is the original truck from the movie Evita and Ian has restored it to it's former glory. My son's children were highly delighted to be allowed to sit up front to have their photo taken although Jack looks pretty bored by the whole thing. I'll let you guess which one is Jack! 

So a pretty busy weekend but no stitching. 

A few questions answered: 

Donna: The glue I used for the pins is Loctite Superglue, Easy Brush which looks rather like a bottle of nail varnish so the brush gives some control over the glue. I think you can also get a superglue in gel form which should give the same control.

AnneMarie: The thread I am using for Hannah Beeby is Needlepoint Inc Silk shade number 407 which is a very dark green. The fabric is 40ct linen.

Patti: Of course you can add me to your sidebar - I am honoured that you wish to do so.

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This is my tin topper for June's Monthly Finishing Challenge. As you can see I used my favourite black and white finishing. It's actually not completely finished as I want to put a tiny black bow where the pin is on the inside of the lid but I didn't have any narrow black ribbon so I will change this once I have the ribbon. On the sides I put the pins to hold the braiding while the glue set and decided I quite liked the effect so I decided to leave them there. The pattern comes from The Ackworth School Pattern book and is stitched on 35ct white Brussels linen with black Au Ver a Soie silk thread. 

I made a start on a Christmas ornament yesterday afternoon. I am using the scissor fob pattern from the Sampler Cove's Rhapsody in Red III but I will make slight amendments to it.  

I am reading Dead Sky by Tami Hoag - the synopsis reads "It was a crime so brutal it changed the lives of even the most hardened homicide cops...". So back to the garden I go to read a few more chapters!

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It was nice today so I was looking for something to stitch outside in the garden. I didn't want to work on Hannah outside so I found a small patten in the Ackworth School Pattern Book. The fabric is 32ct white linen and the floss is DMC 815 - a rich vibrant red. I have some gorgeous ribbon exactly the same shade and I am planning on finishing this as a strawberry emery - courtesy of Anita's instructions. I find that the lack of symmetry in Quaker patterns somewhat annoying and often put it right but today I stitched the pattern as is, so if you think there are mistakes on the above piece of stitching, blame someone else, I just followed the pattern although I did alter the center of the flower. 

I have stitched my initials and the year on my tin topper for the Monthly Finishing Challenge so I need to get that put together. 

There are now 3 flowers out on the eggling plant with more to come. 

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I worked on Hannah Beeby last night but haven't taken a photo yet as it's still on the frame but I will post one either tomorrow or Monday. I am really pleased with how this is stitching up. I was hoping to stitch some more tonight but we are invited to my son's house for dinner so it will depend on how late it is when we get home. 

Those of you who read Edgar's blog will have seen that I won his yearly blogiversary draw - how excited am I? I have been reading his blog for ages - he has such a way with words - so for those that do not read his blog, go pay him a visit, I promise you will enjoy it!

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