There’s been a twenty-four hour delay in photographing and sharing this wonderful package from Carol. Carol is my partner in a seasonal exchange and she has stitched two beautiful presents for me! On the left is “Spring fob” by Trail Creek Farm stitched on 32ct Vintage Country Mocha Belfast with WDW floss - so pretty! And on the right, “Red Desert Scissor Pocket” by The Cat’s Whisker’s Design Studio, stitched on 28ct Lilac Cashel with some beautiful Sugar Maple Fabric Candy Floss in a limited edition colour. This is just gorgeous in real life!

Carol really spoiled me with all the lovely bits and bobs she sent along with the two stitched pieces. I am still a little overwhelmed! Thank you so much, Carol.

What has been keeping me busy was preparing for the class I went to today with Janie Hubble, the designer behind the wonderful designs from The Cat’s Whisker’s Design Studio. The aim of the class was to teach the finishing for the “Christmas Toybox Stitcher’s Toys”. I’ve not yet finished my box but I had got the two toys we were going to work on today finished (last night at 9pm, which for the uninitiated, is my bedtime). I took along my new scissor pocket from Carol to show Janie, who was suitably tickled with the colour changes and finishing.

Today we finished “The Present Fob” the little cube shaped scissor fob and the totally fabulous “Christmas Tree Thread Keep Holder”. The class was a small group and we were all friends. We had such fun stitching together and catching up with each other.

We were at Historic Fawkes House in Carmel (the Perth Hills) which is just fabulous and a wonderful setting for Janie’s Class. Caroline, our host prepared a fantastic Christmas lunch and kept us fed and watered all day.

During the day I got the impulse to check my mobile for missed calls and I had missed a call whilst we were having morning tea (with fruit mince pies, my favourites!), I have an interview next week for the position I was applying for in my last posts. It’s funny, when my employers heard I was applying for another position, they offered me an opportunity to work in what I think would be my ideal job at my current library (The State Library of WA) for a 10 week long stint whilst the lady who has the job is on her long service leave, so I am really, really excited about working in that role (and less so about leaving if I got the position I am interviewing for!!) There may be an opportunity to join this team in the new year (I would have to apply and sit an interview for the position and there are no guarantees) but I hope you can see why I am feeling so excited about my future prospects for happiness at work.

So life is good! Sorry to leave it so long to post, I’ll try to be more regular in future…

I had a flash of inspiration yesterday whilst I was stitching with my girlfriends at Janine’s (I had a holiday day yesterday). I decided to change the blog’s title to “No sampler left behind” - this title is kinda inspired by the Stargate SG1 series that I am a big fan of. “No man left behind” is a phrase that often gets trotted out by the SG1 teams whilst pursuing their missions (I suspect that is the theme of any war movie, I just don’t watch those).  It also comes from the fact that I rarely go over to Janine’s and leave any new stock behind. So, it’s a kind of truism. It’s also time I changed the header and updated my 2008 finishes page.  Something to do tonight when I get home from work!

Here’s the really rather wonderful box Goldie made me as a thank you gift for last years Seasonal Exchanges. I just adore it. Thank you Goldie! It has made my day.

Goldie has stitched Take time to stitch by Jeanette Douglas - it is just beautiful.
I’m starting to feel a bit better now, thank you for the comforting words. I’ve been catching up on my sleep and done a bit of stash shopping and even finished an exchange (biscornu for the SBEBB), which has made me feel a bit less stressed and miserable.
I’m working on a job application at the moment - they are always such fun. It’s due by the end of the week but I am self sabotaging at the moment, finding other things to do (even stitching!!) or spending time with the lovely Joel. It is a good position and I know I could do a good job at it, should I get the opportunity. Not that there is anything wrong with where I am right now. I’m just getting that itch again…

In the war against ennui, we have another casualty. Yes, I am bored.

The winter doldrums have hit hard folks. I’m not stitching, I’m eating like a pig and I’m not exercising at all. Just feeling a bit blah. Everything feels like hard work. I like to think we have all had these moments (it can’t just be me, surely).

You will wonder why I’m feeling so blah, when you see the piece I am stitching (when I am stitching, that is) - a class piece designed by Janie Hubble of The Cat’s Whiskers, this piece has Pizazz! Here are some thumbs of my progress so far…

These doldrums are a temporary thing, I’ll bounce back soon - my natural temperament is unbelievably cheery.  Annoyingly so, in some cases.  Till next time, friends.

I finished these two strawberry fobs this morning.  I’ve written a tutorial on making Stawberry fobs for the Focus on finishing blog, which I hope you will find useful. Looking at the photo, I prefer the strawberry on the left.  The ribbons used for the second are a little too wide, but it is still pretty cute on the whole

Sorry to be so quiet lately, work has been crazy and I haven’t had much time to be online.

I finally sat down and stitched a baby piece for my new niece Cate. The day after she was born I grabbed all the baby themed pieces in my stash (a surprisingly large pile) and asked Lucy to choose the piece she’d like stitched for Cate. Lucy selected a Lizzie Kate Snippet, Welcome Baby (S70). It’s all finished except for the JABC button which I’ll add later when I have one.

I’ve also stitched Lizzie Kate’s 1st Christmas Snippet (S61) for our little Cate. I stitched one of these for her brother Niall during his first year (he’s three next Friday, can you believe it!) I really like that the ornament matches her birth piece. Don’t be concerned, those traveling threads you can see in the scan are not so obvious in real life. I’ve still got a bit of that fabric left and I am thinking it would be good to make a name plate for her door using another LK chart - ABCrazy.

Here’s one of my little finishes from my weekend away with my Stitching Girlfriends. This is Shepherds Bush’s Take my heart. Very cute and a fun stitch.

I don’t remember if I shared this finish - here is one of the Prairie Schooler’s Christmas Strawberries (PS chart no 101). Stitched with Hand-dyed fibres by Vikki Clayton - Old maid of the forrest and Old maid of the heart on White belfast fabric.

And here’s another (this one was started and finished on the weekend away) using the same fibre and fabric combination.

And lastly here is my little start on The Shores of Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings. I’m using Vikki Clayton’s silk conversion with Vintage Autumn Gold Edinburgh linen by Lakeside Linens. I like how it is looking so far and it has been a fun stitch so far.
Well it’s late, time I was in bed really, so I’m going to leave this post here. Happy stitching everyone.

My mail box runneth over! Here’s another wonderful seasonal exchange from Barbara! Barbara has been stitching seasonal exchanges for me for the past year and this is the last package I will be receiving. Barbara sent a wonderful needlebook and fob designed by The Sampler Girl. It’s just beautiful!

Here you can see the outside of the needlebook. Barbara has used linen banding to great effect.

And here is the inside of the needlebook, I love the fabby inside, which is also used on the back of the fob, which I neglected to photograph. Thank you so much Barbara, this has been a lovely year of packages - each piece you have sent has been delightful.

Here’s a picture of the Spring Exchange I sent to Goldie.   This is part of Cherished Stitches’ Amethyst  Collection (The LE tin, needlebook and fob).  This was such a fun stitch! I am going to do it over for myself sometime soon.  I’ve had to borrow this picture from Goldie because (like the utter boob you all know me to be) I carefully wrapped the exchange stitching and goodies up in tissue before I realized I had forgotten to take a picture.  You can see some other pictures of the whole package I sent over on Goldie’s Blog.

I’ve been away this weekend with my stitching friends, Janine, Marilyn, Maggie, Kathy, Margaret and Bev.  We stitched, chatted, ate and drank way to much!  I have a couple of little finishes to share with you but I am a bit bushed right now and can’t be bothered getting up to go to the scanner so I’ll share them with you another day.  I also started The Shores of Hawk Run Hollow (I just happened  to have it in my WIP basket). Pictures to follow soon…

Stitching has taken a bit of a back seat this last week, Dad’s been visiting from Adelaide. He’s been looking forward to meeting my sister’s new baby since she was born in April.

Once I finished up with my seasonal exchange for Goldie, I was at a bit of a loose end. I know I really should have got started on my next seasonal exchange for Carol, or the biscornu exchange for a secret recipient but instead I decided to pick up my And they sinned… This is a restart with the called for GAST fibres. Very pretty so far - I have to admit I thought the colours were a little garish to start with but I am starting to really like how the piece is looking. Want to see a bigger pic… follow this link.

Now, I couldn’t end this post without a picture of the reason Dad came to visit, our sweet baby Cate. She’s 2 months old now! What a cutie!

I’ve just finished my blog browsing for the morning and saw on Amy’s blog that Down Sunshine Lane has the new issue of Just Cross Stitch - which is the ornament preview issue… very exciting to see! The only piece I wouldn’t stitch (at the moment, never say never) is the kid with a snowball at the bottom (though maybe this might be a good ornament for Baby Cate).

Of course whilst I was browsing DSL I also saw the new Limited Edition Prairie Schooler Kit - a must have for me - I love him! I also love the new Lizzie Kate - Normal is just a setting on the washer (which I hope to stitch for our laundry room someday along with this piece which is already in my stash).

In stitching news, I completed my spring exchange pieces for Goldie last night, I’m reasonably pleased with them - I hope she will like them. Now to get them packed up and ready to post! I also have the name of my partner for the Biscornu Exchange on the SBEBB - I know just what I want to stitch!

And because I don’t like to post with out a picture, here’s an old picture of Felix all wrapped up warm under a blanket. As it is getting colder here, I find he is getting much more insistent on joining me for cuddles!