Building Houses

A new day and a fresh new year and I have started it with a new project. If you want to join in then the details can be found at Jeanneke's blog. I am not sure yet if I will make all 366 houses and if I can stitch them all on time but I will have a jolly good try. They are tiny blocks and I am hand stitching them. One down, 365 to go.



A few days ago I managed to finish this pair of socks. They are for my sister and only 10 months late. I am sure she will be pleased to see them though.



No resoultions this year. I fail miserably to keep them. What I have promised is to just go with the flow of things and to not worry if things don't go to plan. Does it really matter how many UFO's I have or how many more I start? One thing is for sure I am going to enjoy every stitch and I am also going to enjoy seeing everyone else's stitches and maybe with a more relaxed attitude some of those projects will become finished ones.

Happy stitching.

Love Shirley.

I Believe...

Father Christmas was most kind and generous to me this year and the festive time has passed peacefully and with love.

My friend Judith made me this fabulous cushion. I love it and it fits so well in my home.



This is honorary quilter Pip the dog at Kate's in her festive outfit. Pip mostly sits quietly at our gatherings until she hears the rustle of paper and she immediately thinks it is food and then she visits us one by one in the hope that we will feed her a scrap of something tasty.



Just before Christmas I was lucky enough to win a lovely pack of fabrics from Vreni at Oops-Lah blog. What a fabulous service from the postal offices on both sides of the world. It came from Singapore to Taunton,UK, in 7 days. Amazing. Thank you Vreni, I shall think carefully of how to use it and maybe next christmas I will have something finished.



My Christmas tree twinkling away. Well, what did you expect? I love the pink baubles.



I am plodding away still at the hexagons and this is progress so far. Almost half way and many more plain hexagons to prep yet. Every one made takes me closer though and one day it will be done. Just as well this quilt cannot talk as it has had my most private of thoughts lashed into it this year and I hope that next year it will have lots of happy thoughts sewn into it too.



Sarah bought me a new charm for my bracelet. It is a tiny pair of scissors and they actually open and shut. Rachel gave me a lovely gift box full of yummy things, chocolates, alcohol, perfume and much more.



Stina put out a lovely tutorial for a mystery bit of festive stitching. I followed it very well but just didn't get around to finishing it. It is going to be a pincushion.



I have planned that next year will be a year of many finishes and starts. I have so many things that need just a little bit of attention and many things that require ongoing care and a lot of work, some may get it and some may not see the light of day. I am not going to worry about it and will just go with the flow of it as I see fit. On the list of starts though, phew! where to begin. I have Sue Daley's Antique Sampler kit ready and waiting, I also want to join in with the Building Houses From Scraps project not to mention all the patterns that I have bought and want to make. It is going to be a busy year at Stitcherydo but I am looking forward to it and what is more I shall look forward to seeing what every single one of you fantastic blogging buddies will get up to.

Happy New Year to you all.

Secret Stitching

Apologies for the lack of posts recently and thank you for showing concern. I have been feeling under the weather and have a course of antibiotics to get through and still feel a bit rubbish. I have had an infection in my nose that has been immensely painful and swollen, at least the face looking back at me in the mirror now looks like me. Sarah's comment was that Rudolph would have been very proud of it. (Hmmm, one less present for her methinks).

I have been stitching and cannot show just what in case certain girlies are viewing. No peeking now.

This pattern is by Mandy Shaw and took a lot of fiddling for a small project. I am pleased with the result though. I hope the new owner will like it. Cannot show you inside as it contains a few surprises.



I found a new use for the humble hexagon and again I cannot show you what it is but the pattern is by Gail Pan.



I am trying to make myself feel a bit festive with this delicious smelling candle from Yankee Candles. It is Kitchen Spice. Love the smell of this one.



Tomorrow we have our last sewing day at Kate's and we are having our Christmas lunch. All the presents are wrapped in readiness.



My fingers did a bit of tap tapping on the send button and I bought another Trish Harper pattern. I am such a fan of Trish's work and would like to make all of her patterns. I am not forgetting though that I still haven't finished Camelot or the Dancing Dollies. The New Year looks to be a very busy time for me with so many projects to manage. Trish's patterns can be found at Broderie.



Hope that wherever you are you are managing a bit of stitching time. Not always easy with so many things to do in the run up to Christmas.

Love Shirley.

Lush Knits

A few weeks back I went to the Autumn Quilt Show at Malvern with Kate and Margaret. It was a great day out, did a spot of shopping and saw some lovely quilts. Sadly, we are no longer allowed to show you them but this display I loved and have permission to show you.

These mini quilts are the brainchild of Sandie Lush. Sandie is one of our top quilters and has won many awards for her craft. These little quilts are made to look like sweaters and you really do have to see them up close and personal to appreciate the attention to detail. All the quilts come with labels that say Lush Knits and are sewn in to the neckband.









I bought a couple of patterns from Sandie and she said to me "Shirley, I do need to see those patterns made up and finished", before I could reply there was a very loud guffaw from Kate and quite a few heads turned to see what was happening. Did I say that Kate was my friend!!! Thankfully Sandie didn't set me a deadline or a challenge.

Outside of the hall I managed to capture the fabulous colours in the trees.



Happy stitching.

Love Shirley.

Drum Roll, Please!

It has been a long time coming but, at last, the Little New York Beauty quilt is FINISHED. Now that I can stand back and look at it I can say that I am pleased. It languished in a cupboard for such a long time simply because I didn't have the courage to continue the machine quilting that had been started way back when...
It is never going to win any awards but I have learnt a thing or two and that is I CAN machine quilt - maybe not expertly, AND, that you just have to relax those shoulders and just do it. Because of all the dense quilting in the middle the border looked so wavy that I wondered how I would ever get it to lie flat. Luckily for me that Anne Baxter came to my rescue and gave me some sound advice - put the binding on first a little tight and then quilt narrow straight lines framing all around the border. I also gave it a shot of steam on the back when it was done. It worked a treat. Thank you Anne.

Anyone wishing to see it in the flesh will have to go to Dotty Dolly to see it hanging up. Don't look too close though.



I woke up the other morning with this idea in my head that just wouldn't go away and so had to commit it to paper and then fabric. So far, so good. It is all ready for some hand quilting. I have just drawn all the feathers straight onto the fabric freehand so I hope this works and doesn't look a ridiculous mess when it is finished.
I have noticed that there are a few plain fabric projects creeping in and I just have to stick my neck out here and say watch this space as I predict that it is going to be a big trend. This is my contribution to the new trend. The star is made of shot cotton for a bit of sparkle and shimmer.



On Saturday my husband said that he would take me down to Cowslip if I wanted to go. Didn't need asking twice I can tell you. Jo and her hardworking team were holding their Christmas Fayre. It was such a lovely day there, the sun was out, the food in the Cafe as good as ever and lots of stalls to tempt you to part with your money. The added bonus was lots of Christmas themed quilts dotted around the place to sigh over.

This purchase had to come home with me. I loved its shape and can imagine it filled with sherry and sat on a tray with some yummy mince pies when my family come over.



Now this bit was really exciting and I almost missed it.(I apologise here as silly me forgot to take her camera but if you want to see what it was like at Cowslip you will have to wait for the Christmas Special as Kirstie Allsop was there on Friday filming for her show). Jo had Petra Prins from Den Haag and Wagenmakers and also Mary Koval staying there and both with lovely stands. Of course I had to indulge, it would have been rude of me not to, these came home with me. I would have loved more time to see Mary's beautiful antique wares.



Also indulged in the shop too. Added a few greens to the stash plus a few more brights and some hand quilting thread.



It was a super day and it always fills you with a good sense of wellbeing after a visit there. Just as well it isn't on my doorstep though as my purse wouldn't stand the strain. Well done though Jo, hope to see you again, soon.

Happy Stitching

Love Shirley.

There was a little girl.......

Who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead,
When she was good,she was very, very good,
But when she was bad, she was horrid.

This is Violet. Violet is the leader of the troupe. Woe betide those girls if they step out of line. She likes things to be just so and expects things to be done her way. Or else!!



There must be something in the name Violet that means trouble. I am thinking of Violet who will thkweam and thkweam until she is sick and also the bubblegum blowing Violet in Willy Wonka who liked her own way.



The four patch blocks for the border are done. This quilt is just full of bright and happy colours that say FUN.



The ripple blanket is growing. I am enjoying making this. The only colour I don't like is the grey. In real life it is an oatmeal colour but against the lavenders it looks grey. Maybe against a different colour it will be more true.

It always amazes me just how colours behave when set against each other and how different they can look. My personal preferences are for the strong but pretty shades of pinks and lavenders. You may have noticed. Sometimes though it is good to challenge yourself and try other colours. I would find it hard to work with sludgy, sombre shades. What shades could you not work with?



One of my favourite plants are Heuchera's. I love them for their colours and because the leaves are just so interesting. The flowers are fairly unassuming.



Happy Stitching.

Love Shirley.

Autumn Inspirations

Today I managed to get my act together and sit and do a little bit of free motion quilting. It is not my thing and this quilt will never win any awards but, somehow the process has grown on me. Nothing has been marked or drawn and it is done totally by a huge leap of faith that it will turn out ok. There are many wobbly bits but a blind man would be pleased to see it and I will learn with practice. Hopefully then a few more quilts will get finished. Apologies to Debby and Joan who will have to wait a bit longer to hang it up in the shop.






The ripple blanket has grown a little bit and is now less christmassy looking. I am thoroughly enjoying making this. It looks more autumnal now. There are more greens and pinks to add and then I may mix all the shades up again or even add a few more to the mix.



This is my inspiration for the colour scheme and this large cross stitch picture hangs on my wall.



I am not too fond of the yellows and golds that abound in the Autumn but this is the colour in my garden.



Michaelmas Daisies by the wall. In past years they have given a wondeful display but this year there are literally a handful of flowers. Love the colour though.



Japanese Maple - Bloodgood, hanging on in there and the colour is amazing. A sharp frost and the leaves will be gone.



I don't know what these berries are. They are in my neighbour's garden and hang over my fence. At the first sign of snow they are invaded by Fieldfare and they strip the tree bare. They must be so delicious or the birds may just be so hungry. In the Spring this tree has the most prettiest apricot coloured blossom. The berries are about an inch wide.



Sedum - I love them when they turn this deep burgundy. Amazing to have all this colour still now that we are into November.



The Dancing Dollies are busy practising ready to make their first public appearances. They are not quite up to it yet. Patience.

Happy Stitching.

Shirley.