We Got More

SNOW.

yeuck!!!!

It snowed last night , and is still coming. The local schools are closed , and fortunately my husband was at home last night and has decided not to go on his travels today. Something which I am very grateful for as I worry all the time.

This may look the same as from last post , but an hour or so before this picture was taken , my husband had cleared the car in preparation for going out. Other news , I have finished another Digimon square .

Only three more to go .

And , on Sunday I went to the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching show . It was a bit of a surprise as I wasn't supposed to go. My MIL was going on a minibus trip organised by the craft group she belongs to and someone dropped out at the last minute , so I got the place.

I enjoyed it , and would go again but I felt it was aimed more towards knitters than stitchers. I did get a bit of new stash , well got to make it worth the trip , lol.Bent Creeks' Winter Row , quite apt I suppose .

LK Housework and JBW A Very Merry Christmas And some Threadworx threads and some buttons , which I will hopefully be able to use with the JBW charts so I can do a few of them for next year. I also got some more scrumptious threads , but My MIL has claimed them for my Christmas present , so you'll just have to wait to see those , lol.

I heard from Michelle that I have won her giveaway , so that was a lovely surprise , thanks Michelle .

I will leave you with a shot of Mr Cool, our new resident .

Take care in the bad weather and if in doubt , stay in and stitch.

Thanks for dropping by,

Cath

A Good Post Day.

I was recently one of the very lucky winners of Mylenes' blogoversary giveaway. Mylene offered five beautiful ornaments as prizes as it was her fifth anniversary , and I was one of the people who won.

Now , all five of these ornaments were totally gorgeous , but one in particular drew me in . It was total luck as to which one I got , and I got my favourite !

After a bad start to yesterday , I was so happy to get a nice surprise from the postman , especially when I saw what it was.

My first Christmas card of the year too.Now , isn't this just totally gorgeous ?And so beautifully finished .

Thank you again Mylene . I love it .

This is my 100th post . I had considered a giveaway , but as I've just had the stamp giveaway I think I'll wait a while. Lots more to show , but this deserves a post on its' own , so "I'll be back".

Thanks for dropping by ,

Cath

Furry friends and other things.

I've just spent lovely half hour with both cats curled up on me . As it's wet and windy outside again , I can't think of many better things . Obviously , Finley thought it was a bit rough being ousted from my lap , so he went and snuggled himself under a fleece blanket , lol . And here's the boys together .

I have some stitching to show , I would have shown it sooner , but my laptop decided to throw a key at me , so it had to go to be fixed. Anyway , here are some more digimon squares for SFC.

And this is Mr Funny , I stitched him up yesterday . I'm now going to hopefully spread the joy a little . My local stamp factory/shop is closing down and getting rid of everything , so I bought a few extras and I'm offering them as a giveaway . I know a lot of stitchers also do paper crafts , so if you are interested in winning these brand new mounted stamps , just leave a comment on this post , saying that you'd like to be entered. The winner will be drawn on 20th November . (The one with no picture on the back says "have a lovely day")

Finally , one last thing in honour of the day .

REMEMBER

Thanks for dropping by ,

Cath

Giveaway

Just a quick note to let you know that Deborah at Cranberry Samplings is having a great giveaway. Cath Edit : Michelle is also having a giveaway , with a mystery prize too !

One in , one out .

When I took Chicken Run to the framers the other day , I was really pleased to find out that Moon Struck was all done and ready for me , so I brought it home . Just got to wait until next week to see if SIL likes it . If not , she can have the money and I'm keeping it , lol .

Jane has received her giveaway prize , so I'll be able to show you what else I sent to her now ,

I included a pair of craft scissors , and made a little hanging bunny . Jane loves bunnies ,so I knew this would be perfect for her .

This is the back

My husband also stitches and has a couple of projects in progress at the moment , but he's not stitching at the moment . Meanwhile , I've been getting fed up of having to hunt for threads I need when they're stashed away in his project boxes. So , I did a full check on my thread boxes and filled in the gaps .Lots of lovely stash . This was ordered from Sewing Club Express , and I'm really pleased with the order . DMC threads at 32p each , free p&p and they were delivered on Friday after being ordered late Tuesday afternoon. Not bad !

I have been stitching , but can't show it yet as it's for exchanges .

Denise is having a great giveaway , if you want to nip over and have a look .

Thanks for dropping by ,

Cath.

Another giveaway .

For another giveaway , on Bettes' blog , click here.

New Giveaway

Loretta is having a giveaway to celebrate 3 years of blogging . Go over and have a look . see you soon , Cath Edit : sorry , I put the link in wrong , but have changed it now . (Whoops)

Who is getting a new stitch pal?

Miss Martha wanted to help me choose the winner of my bloggy birthday giveaway . Like the pot? It's Poole Pottery , the design is African Sky , may favourite . This was a Christmas pressie from my husband >X

Lots of bits of paper.

And the winner is ..................................

Jane . Well done Jane , if you could send me your detail , I'll get your package in the post . Your stitch pal wants to come to his new home .

Thanks for dropping by , I'll be back soon with chicken updates .

Cath

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY

My bloggy birthday that is . Yep , I have been blogging for a year as of today , so I am holding a giveaway to celebrate .

If you'd like to be in with a chance of winning this

cute little Stitch Pal , all you have to do is leave a comment on this post only telling me who your best stitching pal is and why , before 30th August. This giveaway is open to anyone , anywhere but if you are a follower , you will be entered twice. Please feel free to mention this on your own blog , the more the merrier .

I will probably throw in some extra goodies , just don't know what yet .

So Thank you to all my followers , to the people who encouraged me to start blogging and those who keep encouraging me to continue by leaving lovely comments ,and to friends all over blog land.

I will be back soon , I've got loads of things to share .

Thanks for dropping by ,

Cath

Moon Gazing Hare ,and lots of lovelies.

The Hare is finished !

I put the last stitches in late Saturday night , and I love it . I'm surprised how much I like it actually , I think it will be hard to let it go . Got to get it priced for framing , then decide whether to frame or make it into a wall hanging .

If I do let it go , I might just have to make another one for myself at some point , lol.

I'm all set to make a new start , with a deadline . I'm doing a "different" wedding sampler , and it needs to be stitched and framed for early October. so , there will be lots of progress pictures to come .

I was very lucky to win a prize in Michelles' blogoversary giveaway . My prize came last week ,and what a prize it is . Look at the lovely goodies Michelle sent me .

Buttons , beads and charms .Beautiful hand dyed linen , DMC threads , and local (to Michelle) made thread . I have a couple of projects I could use the fabric for ,best get checking on measurements and see which will fit best.Ribbon and lace ,

And a gorgeous hand made fob , and a lovely biscornu , which I get to show twice , so you can see both sides.

The choccy bar is still around, but Michelle also sent some sweets for my kids , which soon disappeared .

Michelle, hope you got my e-mail , but Thank you so much again , I love it all .

All the gifts were wrapped up really nicely , but I was in such a hurry to open them , I forgot to take "before " pictures . I think I need some more practice ,so any offers of help would be gratefully received , lol.

My own blogoversary is approaching , so I will be having a giveaway soon, keep 'em peeled.

Thanks for dropping by,

Cath

Giveaway alert .

Just to let you know that Cindy is having a giveaway to celebrate getting to 100 followers. Quite funny , as I've just become the 130th ,lol.

Needles , hooks and reading books.

First things first , here is Miss Martha who helped me to pick out the winner of my giveaway.I decided to include some red-heart ribbon and a pack of red beads , just to make it more interesting. Look a little closer , and you can see that the winner is :Mylene , well done Mylene , if you can send me your details , I will get it in the post to you as soon as I can. Miss Martha was sitting in a charity shop when I went hunting the other day .I tried , I really did try to resist , I put her down and picked her up several times before giving in. I always said if I had a daughter I'd call her Martha , but my husband didn't like the name , so I've given it to a bear instead.

I'm still not really stitching much , but I have been filling my time . Lots of books have passed before my eyes , and today I tried something different.

I've wanted to learn to crochet for a while , but missed out on the first issue of the magazine that's recently been published over here , so bought a book instead and today was the day I decided to give it a go. Here is Miss Martha modelling the result.

I made a bag ! No pattern, it was a "wing it and see" kind of thing. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination , but not too shoddy for a first attempt.So , that's it. I've got reading duty now (well listening to reading anyhow) so best get on .

Thanks for dropping by ,

Cath

GOS ,and a Giveaway

I stitched the GOS challenge in the hope it would bring my stitchy bug back home . It helped a little bit , but not enough .

I was going to make a floss tag , but it seemed too obvious , so I hummed and haahed a bit before deciding to combine the challenge with a little giveaway.

As today is our wedding anniversary , I'm going to give away this floss bag , and fill it with 8 skeins of red floss , one for each year we've been married , so I'll also give you eight days to enter.

Leave a comment on this post before noon on 19th May if you'd like a chance to win , and I'll choose a winner , simple as that.

I stitched it on some even weave that was lying around, using DMC 321 and made a little bag. As I had the sewing machine out , I also finished off the prizes from my last competition (sorry for the delay ladies) , so they will be in the post this week.

Close up of the stitching.

My little bug has been visiting the last few days , but I'm doing secret stitching , so the reveal won't be for a while.

Thanks for dropping by,

Cath

Just like Eeyore

I'm feeling rather gloomy.

My stitching bug has done a bunk , and I just can't seem to get back into it. I have lots of things that need doing ,but am going nowhere fast. Help !

Last Sunday , we decided to go to the coast for the day , and though it was chilly if you were out of the sun , it was a lovely day.

Whilst it was quite busy in the town , the beach was fairly empty. The sea was still a bit too cold for paddling though . That said , I have been paddling in the sea in November , well , you can't go to the beach and not dip your toes in the water , can you ? I know some people are opposed to these wind farms , but I'm not . OK , they are not on my doorstep , but I don't think I'd have a problem if they were. At the end of the day , it is a sustainable energy source , surely that should be more important than aesthetics ? And , actually , I find them quite calming , and very graceful.

The kids were fascinated by this starfish , and we eventually had to catch it in the net and take it down to the sea.

Karan recently had a giveaway , and I won ! Look what lovely goodies arrived for me on Friday

Fab or what ? And , today I found these in a charity shop ,which are great . But , new stash and still no stitchy bug. what to do ?

Thanks for dropping by ,

Cath

Giveaways , RAKs and prizes

No new stitchy updates at the moment , I've been busy reading and refereeing . Thankfully , calm will resume now the kids are back at school and nursery ,lol . So , Edgar is having a giveaway to celebrate three years of blogging and 700 posts. Angela is having a giveaway for her 2nd Blogging anniversary , and Patty is having a giveaway for her birthday celebration . so , if you like prizes , go and have a look. I've seen this on a few blogs ,and think it's a fab idea , so I'm going to copy it lol. You know how it is , you want to stitch something and it would be a perfect gift for someone, you'd like to surprise them , but you don't have their address , so you have to ask and spoil the surprise. Well ,a few bloggers are sending a message out , that if you want to be in with a chance of receiving a gift from them, let them have your details , and then you may get a surprise one day. So , if anyone would be interested in getting a RAK from me , maybe , one day , please let me have your details (inc Blog so I can check out your likes and dislikes). On to the prizes ,the winners of my competition , please don't think I've forgotten you , I haven't , but the last couple of weeks have been rather mad with the school holidays. Thanks. Cath

Giveaways

Just to let everyone know , Gaynor , Debbie , and Angela are all having fab giveaways. Thanks. Also , a big Thank you to Blu , for helping to sort out these pesky links. I can't believe it was so easy , Duh !

Cards and a giveaway.

My husband is away this weekend at an Advanced Squad Leader convention .For most of you not in the know , it's a tactical war game which is played on board mats with lots of little counters.

Anyway ,it's two of his buddies birthdays around about now , so he got me to make up cards for them , using copies of the boards and counters. So , just to show that I do make cards (lol) here are some pics

I quite enjoyed making them , and it seems that they've gone down extremely well , so worth the effort.

I've got to say , I will be glad when he gets back tomorrow. After being out in town all day with the kids , shopping for my husbands birthday which is later in the week, I truly appreciate why I like it so much more to go on my own when they are at school. My nerves are a little frazzled right now. But then again , I was woken up pre 6.30 today and yesterday (and I'm not a morning person lol).

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments about my stitching. I can say that someone will be getting a little stitchy gift , but will leave you hanging at that , as there's still a chance to enter my little competition .

My decision about what to stitch next has been taken out of my hands , as I found out yesterday that one of the teachers at my Sons' nursery is leaving at Easter. Both of my kids love her to bits , so I will be trying to make something for the kids to give her on the last day. I'm thinking one of the LK teacher charts made into a cushion or hanging pillow, but I'll see how it goes.

Finally , if you like Carriage House Samplings charts , here is a great giveaway of the chart for Alphabet Blocks : http://carolyn-justonemorestitch.blogspot.com/ .

thanks for dropping by ,

Cath

Lots of stuff

I am pleased to say that Lindsay and Gill have both received their giveaway prizes ,and seem happy with them. Still not heard back from Kath , so hanging on to that for now.

Despite feeling rotten this week, due to a stressful week last week , lack of sleep and coming down with a yucky cold, I have had a few smiley moments.

First , thank you to Ranae for your lovely comments about my blog, it kept me beaming for hours.

Then , on Tuesday my husband went out to get some chicken food, and came back with these too

Just lovely . He doesn't buy me flowers very often , and when he does , it's just because , but I love it when he does.

Not much to show stitching wise , I have been doing lots, but can't show most of it just yet. I have stitched up a little freebie from Debbie Draper http://www.debbiedraperdesigns.com/ , which I have plans for , but keeping my fingers crossed as I've never done anything like it before

Is it just me , or can anyone else see smiley clown faces in the corners?

Michelle is having a secret stitchy giveaway , if you want to go and have a try http://stitchcraftplace.blogspot.com/.

Just before I started blogging , I joined up for a Pay it Forward with Chris at http://alwayssmiling24.blogspot.com/ , and this is what I received

A handmade scissor case , complete with scissors and a handmade beaded fob. Just lovely , and what's more , Chris made seven of these to send out. We are lucky , lucky stitchers.

So , in true PIF spirit , I am now offering a Pay It Forward on here

So , if you would like to receive something made by me , in the next year , and you're prepared to offer the same thing to three more people, please leave a comment on this post , stating that you wish to join the PIF before 20th March.

If you would like to receive something made by me , but aren't able to offer it on at the moment , please leave a comment anyway, just saying that and you could still be entered.

If I get more than three people interested , I'll draw names. If there are less than three people interested , you automatically get put in , and I'll offer the other item(s) as giveaways. If no-one want to join , I'll make up three things and offer them as giveaways, I think that's fair enough.

Well , that's it for now .

Thanks for droping by , Cath