I love surprises!

I was a winner of the giveaway at Carols blog Stitching'n'Stashing and this is what I won!  The cushion is so cute and as you can see she included lots of other stitchy stash for me to enjoy - she even included a bag she made herself - aren't I a lucky girl?  thankyou so much Carol I have already put the fabric you provided to good use as you can see below.

I have been working on my Papillon piece all week but it's been slow progress and lots of frogging due to the fact I am struggling with reading the chart as to where to put my needle - it seems I am only capable of counting in a straight line, beyond that I am in trouble. After all my work and finally completing stage one - I decided I wasn't happy with the colours I chose and ripped half it out!  Notice I have not provided a photo?  I hang my head in shame ...

  I took a much needed break from my Papillon and did something I knew I could do which is Cross Stitch!

  My new start - Summer Hill by By The Bay Needleart using the 32 count Antique White Belfast linen so generously provided by Carol from Stitching'n'Stashing.

  On to some bad news - I don't want to say to much because I want this blog to be about my passion for needlework not my personal problems but my baby was born with a health problem, he is currently very ill and needs an operation - this being Taiwan things are not going smoothly at all and I am extremely worried for my sons health, I won't say anymore and will leave it at that.

  On to another subject, did anyone buy anything from Picture this Plus this July sale?  I was sorely tempted but my spending has been out of control lately and I felt way to guilty to spend anymore.

Thankyou for taking the time to comment - I enjoy reading them!

My La-d-da finish!

Okay, first up is my finish of Sarah Lowell - this one has taken me a while because it came as a kit with the wrong fabric which I stitched half the flower on before I realised - yes I'm a bit slow... that the fabric was wrong and my thread colour didn't stand out against the fabric - so I had to put this one down while I waited for the right fabric and some more silks to arrive from the U.S - insert pout - however she's done and now if you see the fabric has wrinkles - deliberately I presume - but I really feel like ironing them out - am I being too obsessive - what do you think?

I framed my By the Bay Needleart SAL piece myself in an old frame I had stashed away - I had intended on admiring it for a few days - but as soon as my 5yr old daughter saw it - she snatched it up and took it to her room to be displayed there - I am happy she likes it :)

I turned my Always bee yourself - into a stand-up - I have no previous experience in finishing - so this is my first attempt - note to self - look for glue that is non toxic - so 3 year old son will not get high while pressing the stand-up against his nose and inhaling even though being told not to!

My Somebunny is also finished - I intend to pull my still-in-the-box sewing machine out and turn this into a small soft pillow for my daughter to cuddle if she so wish :)
The bee and the bunny are both freebies from Cosmic Handmade - she has so many cute designs which I will be stitching more of -

now for my new starts - have joined the Papillon Creations Sal - am hopefully going to gather my fabric and threads for this one today - I had better hurry as everyone is already on part 3! Hopefully I shall be able to catch up as there are 24 parts to this one - lots of specialty stitches I have never done before - should be fun!

another new start will be this Blackbird designs chart - Blessings and Kind Wishes - am waiting on fabric and threads to arrive -

Thankyou for all your comments I love reading them and I also enjoy reading everyones blogs - even though the unfortunate side effect is a longer wish list  - enjoy the rest of your weekend!

La-D-Da Sarah Lowell progress update

I really wanted to do a post before the weekend - unfortunately it's been a real struggle to find time - my little ten month old has finally gone down for sleep so a quick post before I myself (literally) pass out for the night - I'm spending the day at the beach tomorrow and with 3 little ones it's going to be a long day - especially with the temperatures hovering around the 36 - 38 degrees celsius range  - and no matter how much sun screen I slap on or how much I try to hide from the sun I inevitably always end up by the end of the day painfully burnt to a bright red - whereas my oblivious husband and children turn a shade darker brown - nice for some - never-the-less I shall put on a brave face - flip flops and sun hat - slap on the sunscreen and hopefully have a pleasant family day - my husband will be test riding the newest Seadoo jetski - with all his mates - so I know at least one of us will be having fun and hopefully the kids won't be too scared to hop on and have a ride as well - it will be a good experience for them.
I had better finish my post before I fall asleep at this computer as I am so- so tireeed... -
Okay so here are my lastests wips - wrinkles and all!

Sarah Lowell by La-d-da

30 count linen - Straw

NPI Silks

 freebie by Cosmic Handmade

28 count linen - Charles Craft

DMC threads

 freebie by Cosmic Handmade

28 count linen same as above

Coffee-dyed by me

DMC threads

Some Bunny loves you

freebie by Cosmic Handmade

28 count Monaco

DMC threads

If anyone would like the link to these freebies let me know and I will email you the link -

Big hugs and kisses from me to you - my La-d-da won't take long to finish so expect another post from me soon - take care and luv ya all!