February's Challenge and a little progress

As it's the last Sunday of the month it is time to reveal our stitching for Needlecraft Haven's Monthly Challenge. Christine, one of our lovely members, puts up a challenge every month for us to stitch but keep secret until the end of the month. We all send her a photo of our finished items which she puts into an album and reveals them all on the last Sunday - thank you Christine.

This year we are alternating between Christmas and general stitching - February's challenge was a Valentine's theme from Primitive Hare  I decided to change the date to the year of our wedding so I can display it both in February and June.

February's Challenge

I did have a few non stitchy days but I have managed to do a little more on Sampler Bouquet. It's hard to find time to work on it with gifts, SALs and challenges but is is growing and hopefully I have a little time this week.

Here's my progress so far - certainly over half way now :)

Sampler Bouquet

February has been a busy month and of course a short month. It's hard to believe March starts on Thursday, I am looking forward to celebrating St David's Day with daffodils and a Welsh dinner.

A very special Gifted Gorgeousness

Today is our daughter's birthday - we have just spent two lovely days with her in Cardiff. She is spending her birthday weekend in London with her boyfriend seeing a couple of shows and eating in nice places.

I always stitch something for her birthday - this year was another Newton's Law. As a youngster she loved blowing bubbles so when I saw this chart it was perfect. I loved stitching him, he seemed to come to life with every stitch.

Newton's Law

The finished gift was her very own sewing box, I lined the inside and added the essential sewing items. She isn't a cross titcher but did needlework at school and is a dab hand with a mending needle.

Inside the box

Matching cording to finish

The Essentials

Newton's Law sewing box 

I loved stitching this, I enjoyed making it up too and finding the pieces to go inside. Philly loved him too: he now lives in Wales :)

Newton's Law is my special Gifted Gorgeousness for February - thank you Jo for organising this each month. It's lovely to read everyone's gifts both sent and received. There is a list of blogs taking part on Jo's Blog Serendipitous Stitching - here's the link to the sign up page if you want to take part each month.

My other gift this month was for Barb, a lovely member of Needlecraft Haven who looks after The Parlour, our virtual stitching haven on a Wednesday night. It was a special birthday this year for Barb. I made her a Blackwork Bookmark using Weeks Dye Works Deep Sea thread.

Bookmark for Barb

Thank you for calling by to see my Gifted Gorgeousness gifts for February. 

Secret Stitching Sweetheart & Friendship Exchange

Jo at Serendipitous Stitching has organised a Blog Hop for Valentine's Day - everyone taking part has sent Jo a photo of something they have stitched that is suitable for a friend on Valentine's Day.

Jo has sent everyone one of the photos to include in their blog post - but of course we don't know who's photo we have or who has ours. There is a list of all the participants on Jo's blog, the fun part is visiting all the blogs to see who has your photo.

This is the beautiful photo I received - if this is your beautiful work please reveal yourself by leaving a comment.

Secret Stitching Sweetheart 

Thank you Jo for all your hard work and another great Blog Hop - I'm off to see who has my photo !

Valentine's Day is also the opening day for Needlecraft Haven's Friendship Exchange. I really enjoy organising the exchanges - we are just a few but a very friendly few so a Friendship Exchange was the perfect choice.

Everyone has different stitching commitments and mojos so I decided to make the exchange open to everyone with the first part being to make, stitch or buy a friendship card. The other elements of the exchange were to find a freebie friendship chart online and print it off, include two threads relating to either the chart or the friendship theme and a small friendship gift.

My Friendship Exchange parcel travelled a very long way - just 20 miles up the motorway to Julie who I've been friends with for quite a few years. As well as online we occasionally meet for a coffee, always good fun but the time flies too fast.

I loved the Blue Ribbon Design sampler chart as soon as I saw it and as it only required four threads I popped them all in the parcel.

I included chocolate hearts and flower petals that are hand wash soap sheets and a organiser set that Julie can use for stitching/sewing projects or just general notes.

Friendship chart for Julie from Blue Ribbon Designs 

Happy Valentine's Day Julie 

My Friendship Exchange travelled a little further, it came from Deb in the United States of America. 

Deb sent a beautiful card, two skeins of ThreadWork variegated thread, hand dyed green 28ct fabric and a super chart from Casa Mia. However that was not all - Deb surprised me completely with a beautiful table runner themed on wine (my other hobby which you can read about here) - it is gorgeous and I feel very spoilt - thank you so much Deb.

Beautiful gifts from Deb

Stunning table runner from Deb 

Now it's time to own up - I opened my exchange parcel yesterday, not because I was impatient but because today we are travelling to Cardiff to see our daughter for her birthday. For a change we are taking the train not the car and so being as I had to be ready for a set time this morning I wrote my blog last night (it feels odd to be writing in the future) and saved it as a draft. This morning I just clicked published and hey presto here it is :-)

I hope you all have a lovely Valentine's Day - with friends, with family and with loved ones 

Another bookmark and a bit of progress

This week's catch up is short as I haven't actually done much stitching. Friday night our friends came for dinner and it was so nice to feel back to normal after 10 months of upturned lifestyle. I love entertaining and was very pleased with how the table looked this time. 

Ready for our dinner guests

It was Justine's birthday last week and I stitched her a bookmark using Weeks Dye Works Begonia. I am really enjoying blackwork, it's very therapeutic. 

Bookmark for Justine

I have finished another gift but that is still secret for a few more days ssshhhhhh!

Wednesday night I joined the lovely ladies at Needlework Haven in The Parlour - it's our get together in cyber space each week hahaha. Sampler Bouquet is coming along nicely and I'm hoping to get a little more completed tonight or tomorrow as we're then away for a couple of days.  

Sampler Bouquet

That's all from me for now - thank you again for all the lovely messages last week when I was Blogger of the Week - what a lovely way to meet new bloggers, have you popped along to meet this week's Blogger?

New month, new lifestyle

All change - my lovely DH retired on 30th January after 39 years as a metallurgist/engineer at Landrover.

I'm so proud of him, getting up at 4.45am every day, staying positive when ownership of the company changed (many times), always smiling at the dinner table no matter what work had been like that day, and providing  for our family giving us a good life and great home 😍

Now it's his time to enjoy himself, although typically he has come down with a heavy cold. To start this new phase of life in style I booked us a Winter Escape night away at Kilworth House Hotel - pop over to my wine, food and travel blog Aimetu's to read about it.

He had so many cards and a lovely book of messages - he'll certainly be missed. Some lovely gifts from work too.I had a wine glass engraved for him and gave him a particular bottle of wine he's been wanting to try for a while.

Life will certainly be different having him home all day - so long as he doesn't interrupt my stitching we'll be fine 😆

I have been working on finishing more than stitching this week - a gift I'm putting together for a special lady. So far so good 😉

I have also managed to pick up the needle on my Sampler Bouquet and have now nearly stitched the next panel - not far off half way now.

DH has had his tools out already and Angel Blessings looks great in the kitchen. I persuaded him to put the Year Sampler on the conservatory panel (using adhesive fixings) - just need to convince him the other two need something now 😉

Finally I have a HUGE thank you for Jo at Serendipitous Stitching for featuring me as Blogger of the Week

Jo you are so kind and thoughtful, your work in blogger land with SALs, Hops and many other activities is really appreciated - thank you 😍