It's the second week of January and it has been a cold one. None of the predicted snow arrived here although there is plenty of it around the country. We can also see some sitting on the hills around Taunton.

So it has been a hibernating sort of week although we did venture out for lunch on our Wedding Anniversary.

My Stitch Journal is slowly building and I am enjoying my daily visits. Here it is as of yesterday.

I shall add todays stitches later while the FA cup football is playing in the background.

Working with these threads and fabrics reminded me of the Slow Stitch book that first got me started on solar dyeing and so I pulled it out for a browse.

One immediate benefit of this was that I found a dearly loved bookmark which I thought I had lost!

It was lovely to browse through the book again, and I am inspired to dye some more fabrics this summer for next years stitch journal - I need to be held to this!

I also found this lovely quote which I thought I would share.

This week also found me pulling out my Chookshed Challenge no 6. It is to use some of the hexie flowers that I have received in swaps over the last few years.

Here they all are - 41 of them.

I have decided to add a blue pathway around them as I join and they will either be a lap quilt or tablecloth - decision to be made at some point in the future.

So far I have cut and basted a batch of blue hexies and started adding the flowers together.

But I have parked this now for a week while I crack on with quilting Wings - I would like to complete another outer border by the end of the month. No pictures but I can assure you I have started!

I had not intended starting any more knitting for the time being but along came the annual Winwick Mum KAL and I was tempted. There is a free pattern - use the link just above - which I thought would be ideal to use with this yarn which has been sitting in my knitting bag.

It is not necessary to use the pattern to join in - just something using any Winwick Mum pattern or yarn. See here for more information about the Winter Haven KAL. I am planning to get some stitches cast on this evening.

Well, I think that is all I have to tell you for now - hope you all have a great week.

Finishes and New Beginnings

First up a few finishes from the beginning of the week and my final stitch journal page is complete!

I have really enjoyed working on these pages over the year and look forward to putting them all into book form later this year.

I also completed another Field Journal embroidery - this was the one with bullion knots which actually turned out OK I am pleased to say!

And now for the new year. I have started on my stitch journal roll which I shall be working on every day this year (and posting daily to Instagram, link in sidebar). This is how it looks three days in.

A flower to brighten a few chilly days, but at least the sun was shining. Grey again today and possible snow later.

Another new start for this year is this Hatched and Patched tree skirt that I fell in love with last year.

I plan to embroider one of the little roundels each month and then put it all together in October. Here is the first embroidery complete and waiting to be trimmed and turned ready for appliqueing later.

Since the New Year another Field Journal embroidery was completed.

I wonder why that corner is missing!! This is my last FJ block for now as Wings and Pretty things will be coming out again soon.

I think I mentioned before that I had started some crochet but had no pictures. Well the crochet has progressed over the Christmas period and this is how it is looking now.

I bought a skein of this gorgeous handspun yarn in a local craft shop while searching for Christmas presents and just had to have it. I love those smoky sunset colours. I had no idea how far it would go so started out with the premise that it would at least make a cowl but that I would carry on with it as far as it would go. So I am pleased that I am going to have a reasonable length scarf. Just a little more to go but I do love how this pattern is working up - just simple chain and little picots which are easy and quick to work. I got the pattern from this delightful book which is full of lots of simple craft ideas.

So far I have not got around to my No 6 from the Chookshed Challenge which is to make something/s with the swap hexie flowers I have received over the last few years. I shall be getting them out for a play this week.

Well I think that is all from me for now, I hope you have a great week and I shall be back again next Saturday.
 

Your lucky day!

 Yes! two posts in one day from me, what ever is going on!

So this one is just a catch up post with what I have been up to this week.

Christmas was quiet but pleasant and we are now in that twixmas period. I have been enjoying a little hand sewing this week along with a few Christmas specials on TV although some of the repeats are getting very tired now. And no, we did not watch Gavin and Stacy!

I have of course kept up with with my Stitch Journal - and look - just three days to go! and that includes today which I shall work on as soon as I have finished this post.

Not a brilliant photo but the next one will be all pressed and looking lovely.

I have also finished a couple of Field Journal embroideries

These were straightforward - the one I am working on now involves bullion knots and I am slowly working up to them!

My next post will be in 2025. My thanks to everyone who has followed me over the last year and for all your lovely comments, so very much appreciated.

Happy Stitchy 2025.

Chookshed Challenge 2025

 Having looked through my drawers and UFO lists I decided a while ago that I would have enough projects to join in with this challenge in 2025. I have also decided that I will be giving the Rainbow Scrap Challenge a miss in 2025 which will give me more time to work on these projects along with all the other things I am working on or planning.

So here is my list of projects.

1. Another needle minder - I bought the magnet and canvas for this earlier in the year and have decided          that I need another one!

2. Turn my 2024 Stitch Journal pages into a book. This will be a big one as I will need to make two            cover pages as well as join my 12 pages together.

3. Sashiko panel - a kit I bought a few years ago.

4. Sue Hawkins scissor keep - I think I bought this kit a couple of years ago too.

5. Many years ago I mad a whole load of Japanese folded squares which have been sitting in a box ever          since - they need joining together and making into something!

6. I have a lot of hexie flowers from my swap group that need making into something or somethings!

7. I need a cover for a small handmade sketch book I made sometime ago and which looks at me every          day on my desk.

8. I have a quilted applique panel that needs making into a cushion cover.

9. Lavender bag kit I bought earlier this year from a junk shop.

10. Large tote bag for carrying quilting projects to my quilt group.

Many thanks to Deana for organising this challenge - I shall be linking up with her.

FNSI December

 

First of all many thanks to Wendy for organising our Friday Night Sew In's again this year.

As usual I started the afternoon with my Stitch Journal and Fridays star was the middle one of the bottom three.

Sorry for poor photograph - another grey damp day here.

I then walked to our nearest coffee shop with a neighbour and spent an enjoyable couple of hours catching up. However, when we left it was tipping down and we both arrived home looking like drowned rats!

I have completed the quilting on the first outer border of Wings and Pretty things.

Sooo good to have reached the edge. One down, three to go but I have now folded it away until after Christmas as space is at even more of a premium at the moment!

So yesterday evening I pulled out my Field Journal folder where fortunately the next few are already drawn up. This sweet little plant was very quick and easy to stitch up and I am looking forward to working on another one this evening.

I have started on some crochet this week - sorry no pictures but oh is it gorgeous! Some beautiful handspun yarn in a lovely colour combo. Pictures next time.

Meanwhile, I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and I hope you have time for some quiet sewing in amongst all the busy festivities!

Mid December already!

 And what a grey and dismal week it has been! The storm last Saturday was as bad as forecast with lots of damage in the county and West of the country. Fortunately we survived damage free, we are in a dip and do not catch the worst of the wind. However, I did enjoy sitting indoors and watching all the leaves from the trees to the front of our house skip away across the surface of the park! Hardly any left on the trees now. Since then we have had grey weather and yesterday was particularly damp and dismal but today is a bright sunny day with lots of blue sky.

As usual I have been enjoying my stitch journal.

I have been thinking for the last month or so about how I can continue on with this but in my own way. I have all these nice solar dyed threads and fabrics left from my boro flower panel - see header picture -

and thought that it would be nice to make use of them. So I have decided to use them to make a daily stitch roll using this lovely old mill spool that I picked up recently in a charity shop.

So I am all ready now to start stitching on January 1st.

And to keep myself on track I have decided a daily post on Instagram will make sure I am up to date.

I have been quilting this week too - no pictures - and have also finished these Kingfisher socks.

So Christmas knitting all done and dusted. Christmas decorations have gone up this week and I had a present wrapping session one afternoon. Just a few more to do. We shall be entertaining twice over Christmas so now I need to plan my menus!

Have a good week everyone and happy stitching.

Friday Night with Friends December

 

Friday was a grey and windy day so after a trip to the supermarket we were happy to spend the day indoors. So straight after lunch I got on with my stitch journal - a new page now for December and we are all starry!

These are quick and fun to work.

I have been busy the last few weeks quilting the wide border of Wings and this week I came to the end of all the cross hatching. Just so happy with how it is looking.

Now to work on the outer borders. I spent some time yesterday marking up the feathers along one edge and in the evening made a start on the quilting.

We are in the middle of storm Darragh today. We had a red weather warning this morning expiring at 11.00am but I am pretty sure the winds have been stronger since we moved down to an amber warning! Strong enough to blow over my cast iron garden chairs anyway. Evidently we are to expect another 24 hours of strong winds so plenty of time to play in the kitchen - mince pies need to be made as we have finished the first batch - and with my sewing.

Have a good weekend every one.