New Stash

Every now and then I like to pick up either a charm pack or layer cake to add to my stash of fabrics for finishing. I think these layer cakes are absolutely gorgeous and couldn't resist! Both are by designer Kaari Meng - French General for Moda. I've had Rouenneries for quite a while now - Rural Jardin has only recently become available here in the UK. As you can see in the photos I also had to buy a few FQ of some of my favourites of the prints.

Rouenneries - French General for Moda

Rural Jardin- French General for Moda

I have a new finish, so hope to be back again soon once I've taken some photos. Thanks for popping by again! :o)

Blackbird Designs - Madeira Jelly Roll Tin

Look what came in the post this morning...the Blackbird Designs Madeira Jelly Roll Tin! As you can see from the photos I already have some of the Madeira fabrics, so when I found the empty tin on Ebay for 'Buy It Now' I just had to snap it up immediately...lol! Have you seen the pictures of Jane Timmer's (Fancy Work) Madeira Tin Project that she has on her Blog? Isn't it lovely! I would love to be able to make these accessories for my tin too! :o)

Tin top

Tin bottom

A Little Stashing!!

I've been stashing and I am really excited to have the Quaker Hornbook by Ellen Chester (With My Needle). I really love this but as it is only available to groups of 10 or more stitchers I never thought I would be lucky enough to have it but thought I would make enquiries with Ellen anyway, who suggested that I contact Linda at The Sampler Guild as she may be able to sell me a single kit and WOOHOO!!! she did and I'm so, so HAPPY!!! I haven't stitched a quaker piece yet but have a nice little collection growing which I'm really looking forward to making a start on!

My other new additions are A Quaker Pattern Book also by With My Needle and Ma Boîte à Trésors (My Treasures' box) by C Mon Monde...these I bought from Amy (Down Sunshine Lane). The Little House Needleworks and Country Cottage Needleworks Frappuccino and Rose thread packs are my October auto shipment from Mary Kathryn (Handcrafts Online). I've been collecting all the LHN and CCN thread packs but so far have only finished the first three fruit packs and I am now half way through Berries...I have a lot of catching up to do!!

No new finishes to share yet but hope to have a couple of small Halloween finishes to post soon! :o)

Blackbird Designs quilting fabric

Remember the lovely quilting fabric I bought a few months ago by Blackbird Designs for Moda. I loved it so much that a couple of months ago I just couldn't resist pre-ordering 6 of the new designs! They arrived this morning...aren't they gorgeous...I absolutely love the dark colours!


This time I ordered overseas from Colonial Crafts (scroll to the bottom of the page for the prints I bought). The total for the six ½ yds came to $24.78 (£12.20), shipping was $11 (£5.40). I thought the total of £17.60 was really good, especially with them being ½ yds and from overseas!

Surprise Package

Look what came in the mail yesterday...the most wonderful package from my dear stitching friend Katrina! We have both been collecting the Whitman's tins for the Fancy Work sewing sets. The Sampler and Bronze Griffin you can see in the picture were the last I needed to complete my collection and dear Katrina has found them for me! It was such a wonderful surprise...thank you so much for thinking of me Katrina and helping me to complete my collection...you know how much I appreciate it! :o)

I haven't been stitching much so no finishes to share this time! I could have got a good bit done last night but had settled down for a quiet evening with DH Colin to watch The Prestige on DVD. I'm stitching my first spider stitches so thought perhaps it wasn't a good idea to tackle these while trying to follow the film! It was Colin's birthday and we were home alone...lol! Our youngest Matthew had caught the train to London earlier in the day for an overnight stay with our eldest Jason...they both went to see Prince at the Millennium Dome in the evening.

Had a wonderful girls night out on Monday with my Mum, sister Sarah and my sister Debra who has been over from Cape Town staying with my Mum for two weeks. We went to the cinema to see Hairspray and then for something to eat after. We really enjoyed the film, it was so funny!

New Stash

This past week I've received some lovely new additions to my stash. My favourite though has got to be A Mon Ami Pierre's 'Victoria's Quaker'. I haven't got the Victoria Clayton silks I need for it yet but once I do I can't see it being too long before I'll want to make a start on it. The pinkeep is just gorgeous so I think I shall have to start this first! Little House Needleworks' 'Summer Silk Sampler' isn't in the picture because it's still in the post but it shouldn't be too long before I'll be adding this to my stash too!

Yes, that is another Whitman's tin you can see...lol! I really have Katrina to thank that I have this one! I haven't recently been checking Hanging By A Thread's 'What's New' page and could have missed this one if Katrina hadn't let me know they were there. Thank you so much Katrina! :o) I now only have the Sampler and Bronze Griffin tins to find to complete my collection for the sewing set charts by Fancy Work. I think these two are going take a little longer to find, especially the Griffin which I've never even seen yet!

Before I forget I must let Nicole know (hope you get to see this Nicole) that the fabric I used for 'A Place We Call Home' was the listed 28ct Country French Latte.

Got a little carried away again!

I just had to have a piece of this sampler print fabric after seeing how Anne (Tempus Fugit) had used it to finish her pinkeep. As you can see though, while searching for the multi coloured print I also found another sampler print in other colours by the same designer, which of course I just had to have too. You know what it's like...I just couldn't decide on which other colour to have so thought it would be best to play safe and have all three...LOL! Won't they be perfect for lining some of those little tins with their sewing accessories! I had to order from a couple of different sites but they were in the UK with next day delivery which was great because I just couldn't wait to get my grubby little hands on them!

The plain fabrics are also from the same collection, described as an evenweave fabric equivalent to 28ct and apparently lovely to stitch on. The four FQs were bundled together and with discount came to £7.16...how could I resist!

Pins, pins and more pins!

Look what arrived in the post today!


I think I may have got just a little carried away recently after visiting another stitchers blog I like to read. Not only did she post a picture of all her pins but she also mentioned the Ebay seller's ID and shop. I have a few pins already but you don't get that many of each colour on the rosettes you can get here in the UK.

I think I had better now make a start at some of those pinkeeps that I keep promising myself I'll have a go at...just hope I'm going to enjoy making them now that I have all these pins...LOL!

Oh btw, the seller's Ebay ID is Work4Pnuts and her Ebay shop is The Crafty Elephant. :o)

It's here at last!

My 'Milkpaint Sampler' by Mary Garry's Sewing Cabin. It's taken 6 weeks to the day for it to arrive from Kreinik. I was afraid it had gone astray in the post so had to e-mail Kreinik with my concerns, who informed me that their estimated delivery time to the UK was 4 to 6 weeks...can you believe that! I'm so relieved it's here safely now! I just love the way it's packaged in it's little box!

Another tin came this morning!

This is the last one I'm expecting...it's another Whitman's Cloisonné tin. I actually found this one on Ebay for 'Buy It Now' before I was fortunate enough to find my other one here in the UK (see previous post). I did wonder if in my desperation to have one of these tins and not knowing what to expect, whether I may have been a little bit hasty buying it. Now it's here though it really is quite pretty and I'm more then happy with it. It's a little bit different to the other...the tin is identical but has also been embellished with coloured crystals.

Happy Dancing!

A few weeks ago I received my Whitman's tins with the sewing set charts from Fancy Work. There were a couple of tins I couldn't get which I believe are now unavailable...the Cloisonné and the Sampler Heart! I've been searching the internet, checking out EBay and e-mailing my favourite overseas ONS to ask for help, but was sadly not getting anywhere. During my search though I ended up on a UK website I hadn't visited for a while. Some of the charts and tins were still listed but suggested e-mailing to check stock. Well after all that hunting overseas can you believe it...she still had the Cloisonné tin I needed...YIPPEE!!! The Cloisonné tin arrived safely yesterday and today I'm happy dancing because the Heart tin I found at last just over a week ago arrived safely this morning too!

Look at all my lovely tins...think I'm going to be a little bit busy stitching up sewing sets don't you...LOLOL!!