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Scissors - oh how I ♥ scissors. I could not believe it when I saw these two pairs for sale on eBay, together with the thimbles. I left it until the last minute to bid and I won. The smallest pair measure 2½" and are marked Sheffield 81 England whilst the larger pair measure 3¾" and are marked Sheffield and some other indecipherable markings. The darker thimble has no identifying markings except Rd 12/2 PAT.G which I think is just the Patent No. The other thimble is hall-marked silver and is engraved MCE from MBR Sep. 1905 which brings me nicely to my next picture ...

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... SAL JHA 1905 - such a coincidence it has the same date as the thimble! I finished this sampler (which measures 5" x 5") a few weeks ago but today has been the first day I have been able to get a nice picture. This SAL was arranged by Simone of Soed Idee *here*. I am not sure whether or not this is still available. Thank you Simone for such an enjoyable SAL.

I have almost finished another little red sampler Marquoir de Jeanne from François Prax Miniatures au point du croix, which is stitched on the same 48ct walnut ink dyed linen with NPI silk thread 505 that I used for the JHA 1905 sampler. I will post a picture of this once it's done.

It's a beautiful day here today. The sun is shining so I must get ready to take sweet little Hector for a walk along the promenade. Although it was sunny yesterday there was a cold sea breeze so we avoided the seafront. 

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Take care

Elisa of Old Ragged Threads recently sent me two pictures of her lovely finish of Sew Sweet. Elisa stitched on tea-dyed 32ct Murano linen with Carries Creation Thread in Black Cherry and finished as this wonderful pin pillow using plum and bronze beads for the edging. Isn't this a wonderful stitch and finish? Thank you Elisa for allowing me to show this here.

Sew Sweet is still available to purchase *here* or by clicking on the CHARTS button on the sidebar

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The Sew a Quaker Pinwheel models (A, B and C) are stitched and finished and the finishing tutorial is almost done and will be posted on Tutorials *here* or click on Tutorials on the sidebar. Sew a Quaker Pinwheel will be released tomorrow so please come back and take a look. All 26 letters of the alphabet are included together with a blank to do your own thing. These can be stitched on any count linen and will make delightful gifts for your friends or for exchange pieces. The finishing tutorial gives you step-by-step instructions in words and pictures on how to make these enchanting pinwheels. There are pictures of A and V on my previous post.

My JHA 1905 SAL with Simone of Soed Idee is now finished. Yesterday I decided to distress and stain the frame I had purchased for it but I made the mistake of letting Ken loose with the sandpaper and he went over the top and now the frame is unusable so I shall have to get another one when I go into town next! If you want something doing ... I will post a picture shortly.

It's extremely cold and very dark here these past few days and I cannot seem to get warm despite wearing layers. Earlier today (just after lunch) I filled a hot water bottle to watch the tv!   

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Take care

Floor Plan of the l'aiguille en fête - click for a closeup view

No stitching to show or nothing I can show at present as I have been working on gifts so instead I thought I would post a picture of the floor plan of the AEF which needlework fair is in Paris from February 14-17. Kirby and I are all ready for our trip - our Eurostar tickets and hotel have been booked since October last year! We are leaving next Wednesday and will arrive in Paris at noon or 1pm French time. My dear French friend Valie will be at the Gare du Nord to meet us and we have planned a lovely afternoon/evening catching up. I have printed out the above floor plan and have marked those exhibits I really must not miss. The first visit will be at C5.4 - Cisellerie - which, of course, is M Roulot of Nogent's wonderful scissors where I am sure many of my Euros will find their way. My camera is charged so you can share our experience again this year so please come back for my next post.

It's bitterly cold here in the south east part of the UK but we have no snow, unlike those people is the north west part of the US so I have decided to forego our daily walk so I can work on Part 6 of the SAL JHA 1905 which was released in the early hours of yesterday morning. Part 7, which is a woven border, is also available for download on Simone's blog *here*. I am not sure whether or not I will stitch this part as I want the sampler to fit perfectly inside a 6" frame so I will decide once Part 6 is done. Thank you Simone for sharing this delightful sampler with us.

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Take care   

Please click on the picture for a closeup view

Simone released Part 4 of the SAL JHA 1905 on yesterday and I could not wait to get it stitched up. I am so enjoying stitching this tiny little sampler on my favourite Gander linen with my favourite red silk floss! The scissors - Bohin Petites are a tiny 2¼" and can be purchased from Anita's Little Stitches *here* at a sale price of $16.90 so hurry hurry if you want to take advantage of this offer. 

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New Year's Day was a most beautiful day with plenty of sunshine even though it was rather cold. We decided to take a walk along the coast path to Kingsdown and I remembered to take my camera with me to take a few pictures. There was a charity fun run going on so we had to make sure not to get in their way!

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The fishermen took the day off and their nets were piled up on the beach.

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I have posted a few pictures of Deal Castle *here* which is the castle we can see from our bedroom windows in the past but this is Walmer Castle and yes we are lucky enough to have two castles very close to our home. Walmer Castle was built by Henry VIII in 1539-1540 and is now the residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother visited here many times during her lifetime. If you want more information on Walmer Castle go *here*

And back to stitching - here is Mylene's version of iStitch Designs New Year freebie which she sent to me just recently. It is stitched on 28ct linen with DMC 115. What a pretty stitch and finish and thank you Mylene for allowing me to post this here. 

This freebie chart is still available *here* 

A quick update on my Aran knitting. The back, both sleeves, pockets are completed and one front side is nearly done. I have also knitted up the ribbing on the second side which I started at Stitch-n-Bitch as I didn't think I would concentrate on the pattern with so much chatter at our first meeting this year. I will post a picture shortly.

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Take care

Click on picture for a closeup view

Part 3 of Simone's SAL JHA 1905 was released early yesterday and I was able to stitch this up last night. I apologise for the poor pictures but it is so difficult to take pictures on dull days. The scissors are black medieval by Bohin.

Our Christmas was very quiet. We visited our daughter, Nicola, and family in the morning and went over to Justin's house for Christmas lunch and very delicious it was too. I forgot my camera so no pictures I'm afraid. Since then we have been taking long walks, despite it being very windy and cold, and watching movies. I've also been playing The Room on my new Mini iPad which has more features on it than on my Generation 1 iPad and, of course, fits into my bag a lot better too. Suffice it to say I like it! 

My Aran cardigan/jacket is coming along nicely. The back is done and I'm up to the shaping on one sleeve so hopefully I will get it done before the Winter is over. I am on the lookout for a matching hat pattern.

Don't forget that the drawing of the Eiffel Tower scissor fob is tomorrow - go *here* and leave a message on that post only to be with a chance. The draw is open to all followers new and old. Good luck.

Thanks for visiting

Take care  

Whilst waiting for Part 3 of Simone's SAL JHA 1905 I decided to start yet another little red. Here is Marquoir de Jeanne from François Prax's Miniatures au point de croix. It's stitched on 48ct Gander linen dyed with walnut ink with Needlepoint Inc silk floss in 505. The scissors are by Dovo.

Many years ago I would knit Aran sweaters for my children. I loved knitting the twisted cables and seeing the pattern grow. I gave up knitting when my hands were bad but since my surgeries I have discovered that I can now knit without pain so decided to knit a cardigan/jacket that I originally knitted for myself in traditional Aran creme and which has since gone to sweater heaven! I wanted to re-create the original but unfortunately the yarn shop didn't have the creme yarn so I chose a charcoal grey instead. It takes a lot of concentration (and there may be a mistake here and there) but I am enjoying it and am looking forward to wearing it, hopefully this Winter.

I am ready for the Christmas holiday which we are spending at son Justin's house. Gifts are all purchased and wrapped in pretty paper ready for delivery on Christmas Day. We will be taking a drive to see the Christmas lights tomorrow evening. 

This will be my last post before the holiday so I take this opportunity of wishing everyone who drops by a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and to thank you for your continued support and visits to read my blog. Don't forget to come back on December 31 to see if you have won the Eiffel Tower scissor fob!

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Take care

Click on the picture for a closeup view

Part 2 of Simone's SAL was released on Saturday, December 15. I quickly downloaded it and wanted to start immediately but unfortunately, as usual at this time of the year, other things got in the way and I didn't get round to stitching it up until the evening. I am really enjoying this little red sampler and it really is 'little' as I am stitching it 1*2 on walnut ink dyed 48ct Gander linen with Needlepoint Inc 505. It measures 4¾" across the top! It's not too late to join this SAL - Part 1 and, of course, Part 2 are still available although Part 1 will be removed on January 12 so don't leave it too late if you want to stitch it. The scissors are tiny black Storklettes by Kelmscott Designs.

And now for a little giveaway. This Eiffel Tower scissor fob will be given away to one of my followers as a thank you for sticking around! So please leave a comment and you are in the draw. New followers are welcome and you will get an extra chance to win if you share this on your blog - please tell me in your comment if you do this. The draw will be made on December 31 - my blog's 5th birthday. 

*THIS GIVEWAY HAS NOW CLOSED*

It's a bright sunny day but very cold; I have a dental checkup today so instead of taking the car I will walk there as it's not too far!  

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Take care

Click on picture for a closeup view

Simone's SAL *here* started yesterday. I was prepared for this start with walnut ink dyed 48ct Gander linen and Needlepoint Inc silk thread (505) so I made an early start and here is Part 1 finished but alas I miscounted so the second row of letters is one stitch down too far! I could 'fudge' to get back on track but the piece of linen I am stitching was actually cut for a slightly larger project so I will turn it upside down and re-start it. This will teach me not to watch tv and stitch at the same time! It seemed strange to start in the top right hand corner instead of the top left hand side. 

I've also been working on Christmas gifts and a very special birthday project none of which I can post pictures yet. 

It's been really cold here of late but with beautiful winter sunshine. I can cope with the cold so long as there's sunshine.

Enjoy what's left of the weekend so ...

Thanks for visiting

Tale care