Temperature Quilt - no red this week

A quick update on my Temperature Quilt. It's been much cooler here so no red on my day chart this week. It's been quite a wet week too and very windy!

The forecast is for warmer days next week, we're in London for a few days and it's usually warmer there than here in the Midlands.

Temperature Quilt  - day

Temperature Quilt  - night

It's great fun doing these quilts however I am still undecided on how to finish them.

Gifted Gorgeousness - August

It's Gifted Gorgeousness time - on the 15th of each month we share our latest gifts. Any gift given or received and any item made using fabric, threads, buttons, ribbon, chart, backing fabric that has been gifted is also allowed in our GG posts. 

This great idea is hosted each month by the lovely Jo at Serendipitous Stitching,  if you visit her blog you'll find the links to everyone's Gifted Gorgeousness posts. 

I have a few things this month to share, the first items are very special. Our super daughter and her boyfriend have moved into a new flat, no more sharing, this is just for them. 

As a new home gift I stitched them a zodiac coaster each and we bought them matching mugs. They were delighted with them. The designs were in an old magazine and matched the mugs perfectly. 

Zodiac coasters 

Coasters and matching mugs.

 Our lovely Philippa and her boyfriend Michael

As I was stitching for them I also made our son a coaster. This one I designed myself. He organises and runs game nights for his friends, they play Dungeons and Dragons. He's the Dungeon Master!

He loved his D & D coaster 

A while ago I stitched this for Hubby's sister who will be 60 in October. She lives in Michigan so we gave her her card and gifts when she visited the UK in June. She couldn't resist opening them which is why I can share the photo now.

Gift for my sister-in-law 

My final gift this month is a rose I bought for my Mum to say thank you for all her help whilst I recovered from my fall. It's a pink patio rose called 'thank you and I found the perfect colour matching pot at the garden centre.

Thank you patio rose

It's great to at last be able to show the gifts I made, there are a couple more but they will have to wait until next GG as I haven't given them yet.

Summer Postcard Blog Hop

I've received a beautiful postcard from Katie as part of Jo's Summer Postcard Blog Hop. It's a lovely design, beautiful stitching too.

Here's Katie's postcard and message.

Hello Friend. 

Great Smoky Mountains is a beautiful place to visit in the United State of America. One city in particular is Gatlinburg, Tennessee. 

My husband and I was celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary in 2011 and we rented a cabin in the mountains. It was a wonderful vacation. 

There is a stitching store in Pigeon Forge a very nearby town and I bought this pattern to remember the trip. 

Katie from Ft Wayne, Indiana

Thanks Katie for your lovely postcard.

You can hop around everyone's blog to see the othet postcard that have been received.

Jump over to Katie's at http://dragonsluver.blogspot.com

and don't forget to visit Jo's blog too http://www.serendipitousstitching.blogspot.co.uk

Happy Summer Postcard Hopping!

Summer Exchange with Needlecraft Haven

Yesterday was Opening Day for Needlecraft  Haven's Summer Exchange.  Those members who signed up had to choose between a dog or cat theme - I chose dog. 

We had to then stitch a pin cushion for our partner, and send it with a card signed 'love from everyone at Needlecraft Haven' as it was a secret exchange. That said with just four of us signing up I think we all knew who was sending to who, obviously I did as I organised the exchange hee hee

I was sending to Mary who chose a dog theme and Mary was sending to me ... I also wanted a dog themed pin cushion. I decided to stitch Lizzie Kate's 'dog leave paw prints' chart and made a pin cushion using an old Pandora charm box. I loved the design and planned to stitch it for myself when I get a chance.

I was absolutely delighted when I opened my parcel yesterday morning .... Mary had stitched me the same design. I absolutely love it. She has made a box finish pin cushion which will be perfect when I'm using the sewing machine ... I have quite a bit of machine sewing to do soon too. 

My gorgeous pin cushion from Mary

As well as the pin cushion Mary also sent three doggy charms, some beautiful fabric and a wheel of pins. Thank you Mary for a super exchange parcel.

My Summer Exchange from Mary

As I said I stitched the same design but I stitched it over one so it would fit on top of the small box. I couldn't find a charm small enough for the bone so had to stitch one instead. Inside I lined the box with some dog fabric and made a soft cushion for pins using felt and wadding. I have not made one of these before, it turned out really well and I might make one for myself (using a different design) for when I'm hand sewing as I use less pins than when machine sewing. 

I found a small dog cross stitch kit in my stash so added it to Mary's Exchange parcel and luckily I found a dog card in my card box. I've really enjoyed taking part in this year's Needlecraft Haven Summer Exchange. 

The top of the box pin cushion I made for Mary

Mary's pin cushion box from the side

Inside the box

The Summer Exchange Parcel I sent to Mary

For Gifted Gorgeousness July I had nothing to share so offered two charts as gifts - my lovely Hubby has picked the winners ....... drum roll ......

Shepherd's Bush Be Warm was won by Ariadne 

Lizzie Kate's One Hundred Years was won by Rachel 

I'll be emailing you both and popping the charts in the post soon - congratulations.

This month I will have a few gifts to share, two special ones as yesterday our daughter and her boyfriend moved into a new flat .... no more sharing with others .... and I have stitched them a little something sssshhhhh!

It's been HOT

We've had some very hot weather here in the UK over the last week, saying that yesterday and today it's been pouring down. 

Last week we had two days over 30 degrees, one day reaching 34 - our summers are usually mid to high 20s. It was so humid too, even with our fan on everywhere felt airless. 

Today with the rain the temperature is 14 degrees, that's more than half of Thursday's high, it feels lovely to be cool again ! 

A bonus is I got to use my 'hot' colours on my Temperature Quilts. I use the highest day temperature and lowest night temperature. The yellow on the night quilt is 15-19 degrees, that was the lowest so no wonder we struggled to sleep!

Temperature Quilt  - day

Temperature Quilt  - night

Our lounge and conservatory are nearly finished - the new laminate has been fitted and our lovely new table and chairs have arrived. We've ordered new sofas, they are the same dark colour but a slightly different style. We have new lights too which make such a difference.

Our new table and chairs

All the units are back, new carpet and new sofas coming soon

As we were going through stuff I found these two photos - do you think it's the same little girl?

The black and white photo is older .... it's me aged about 4 or 5 ..... the colour photo is our daughter Philippa when she was about 2 or 3

We are so alike in looks and mannerisms, people are always saying how alike we are but I was very surprised by these photos .... maybe because we are similar age in them.

No gardening today so it must be stitching time, thank you for popping by to read my news x x

Lovely warm colours

I've updated my day Temperature Quilt, we've have continuous warm weather the last week so lovely yellow and orange wuth one day over 25 degrees so a touch of red!

Temperature Quilt - day

My night Quilt has come to a mini halt - I have run out of DMC 502. No worries I thought, there will be a spare in my stash.... so Hubby lifted out my threads box and in the DMC 5** bag was ...

500   501   503   504 

..... but no 502. So unfortunately I will have to pop to the art shop ;-)

Temperature Quilt - night - paused!

Thank you to everyone who entered my gift away on my Gifted Gorgeousness July post .... I'll leave it open until  Friday 26th - good luck!

Gifted Gorgeousness July

Another month has gone by and although I have been stitching, it's stitching for gifts so I can't share just yet ....... therefore this months GG is from me to you!

I have two charts to gift - let me know in your comment which draw you would like to be entered into, you can be in both. My gift-away is open to everyone.

If you link my giveaway on your page and send me an email to let me know I will enter you twice for your chosen chart or both.

Be Warm - Shepherd's Bush
including buttons

One Hundred Yesrs - Lizzie Kate

Gifted Gorgeouness is hosted by the lovely Jo at Serendipitous Stitching. The 15th of each month we post about any item we have gifted or been gifted or have used that was once gifted. Jo has a link page each month for us to visit each other's blog and our blogs are linked to Jo's. It's lovely to read about everyone's gifts.

Good luck in my gift-away, happy GG blog visiting.... next month I'll be able to share the gifts I've been working on.