A First!

Up until now I've been stitching all these lovely ornaments but have yet to finish them up for displaying. So on Saturday I attempted my first pillow ornie. I used my just finished Stone & Thread Snowflake Mitten for the task. I don't have a sewing machine and don't do a lot of hand sewing so I was a bit nervous but it was a cinch! All I have to do now is practise my blind stitch. I really don't think mine was all that blind. However I was pleased with the results.

I'm afraid I really don't have much to show for the two weeks that have passed. I sort of lost my stitching mojo and it's only just returned. I spent most of my free time reading which has sort of taken a back seat to my stitching lately. Maybe it's all those cool nights we've had recently which have made me want to hunker down with a good book. In any case I've only got a small amount of progress on my Witches Garden and Peace Tree.

I've really got to get back to spending some time on Cirque. I've put Holey Sheet on the back burner for now. I ran into a small snag. Two of the DMC alternates listed on the chart do not exist. It obviously has to be a misprint. I've managed to figure out the one colour and for the other I've ordered the overdyed floss. In the meantime I've found a chart for my October ornie and got it all kitted up. It's a really cute design by Angie Williams from the JCS December 2007 issue and is called Jingle All The Way. With any luck I'll put in my first stitches tonight.

One of my favourite online shops which I use is 1-2-3 Stitch. I'll often enter their monthly draws for a free chart if I'm interested in the particular pattern. So in August I entered the draw and to my surprise my name was one of the 20 lucky winners which was drawn! I received my winning pattern last week. Follow the link to see Plum Pudding Needleart Stitched With Love.

I love it!

One of the main reasons I have less stitching time now is that choir rehearsals have resumed. Last year I only participated in one, choosing to sit out of the other for the year. This year though, I thought I'd give it another go, at least until Christmas so that means I'm out 2 evenings . This definitely cuts into my stitching time but I also find that singing is a release for me and I'm much happier for it.

I just came back from a short break during which I opened my mail and it looks like Holey Sheet is back in business. My threads were among the many pieces in today's mail. Much better than all those ad flyers!