Mini Updates!

Moving!

Finally, after nearly nine months I'm finally moving into my first home. This is a big step for me and one I can't wait to crack on with, as I will finally have a decent space to create my work in! Something I've been dreaming about ever since I put an offer on the flat. I'll certainly be blogging about my adventures into interior design.

This also means that my etsy store has gone into a temporary hiatus and will be back up and running again on Sunday 4th August.

Honeycomb Tutorial

Apologies to all, but with the move I've had to delay the release of the tutorial till September. The delay isn't just to do with the move, there is another very exciting reason...scroll down to find out more. However, to make up for this I will be releasing a new little planet embroidery design next month instead, as I can get that out quicker than the tutorial.

You can in the mean time check out what the honeycomb tutorial will look like by clicking here.

Secret Squirrel

This is where I get to become a bit of a secret agent. I've got a very exciting project for the next month to work on, commissioned by Crafty magazine. The only other things I can tell you, aside from how awesome its going to be, is that the magazine will be hitting the shops on November 7th. Not only that I am also in discussions with the magazine to arrange a little competition especially for all my lovely readers! So do keep your eyes peeled over the coming months.

Tea Time!

It really sum up my weekend, when I found myself stitching tea, whilst drinking tea....

Text looks a little bumpy, but with a little bit of tweeking with a needle I've managed to give it a much smoother finish...

This is my last full weekend of stitching for what I think will be a fortnight, I have family commitments and I'm moving (finally) into my new flat. Life takes over, and all my lovely projects have to be packaged up safely and carefully, pending it's travels to Farnham. Then well hopefully I'll have my studio/room up and running in quick time. I kind of need to get it sorted quickly, as I have a commission which I will be accepting tomorrow to get done by the end of August. It's not a private commission but something for a magazine. I weighed up everything, and I thought what the hell, what's life without a little bit of pressure ;) 

This isn't of course my last blog for a while, I can still squeeze in time for that! And I have a newsletter to get written and out by the 1st August too. 

Market Finds and Tutorial Design

Just a wee post today, I want to take advantage of the cooler weather today to get on with the stitching, I am way behind on a couple of projects owing to the heat (sweaty hands do not aide sewing). I didn't crack on with it first thing this morning as I nipped out with my mum to go over to Midhurst to have a mooch around the junk shops and market. There was plenty I could have brought, but I was pretty self controlled, and purchased just a couple of small items. Easier to pack! 

Double the value - cute old tin, full of buttons! Bargain for £4.50

Tiny little petite stitch brooch - £3

Naturally I didn't either of them, but I got them anyway. The brooch makes a welcome addition to my other antique and costume brooches. 

Now for those who get my monthly newsletter they will have already known that my next Honeycomb Tutorial, will be satin stitch. What they haven't seen is the design. Admittedly I had hoped to get the tutorial done by now, but life has somewhat overtaken my free time, and I have it now in place to work on post move, in a fortnight, so it will be in August (fingers crossed). I thought in the mean time I will show you what the design will look like. Okay, colours don't match my Honeycomb colour palette, I had to work with what I could lay my hands on. But you get the general gist, little satin sweets! Which means the tutorial name is going to be Satin Sweets. Don't roll your eyes! Hehehe

I hope you all enjoying your weekend, wherever you are in the world! Will be posting tomorrow about the progress of my latest embroidered quote. Bye for now!

Ode to the Sun and the Winner is..

An ode to the sun....

Your lovely and cheerful,

And put us all in a good mood,

Mostly.

Except I get all cranky,

Itchy,

and its far too hot to sew.

Yes, I'll admit I'll never make a poet.

Yes, me and the heat/sun don't get along all that well but this isn't a moan about the weather, lord no, I've just never coped well in the baking sun. I'm more of a shade worshiper. So yesterday I didn't get a massive amount done on the stitching side of things, wee bit annoying as I really wanted to crack on with my friends' birthday present and start my next embroidered quote. The quote that will be the one I eventually turn into a kit/ or a new pattern. I was just too hot and kept getting headaches, which eventually saw me go to bed at 9:30.

What I did manage to do though, before the early bedtime, was get my haircut, and also went to see my soon to be new home. Yes, we are nearly there readers. Only a few more weeks to go. Completion/exchange date selected! By god, I'm sure you will all be happy that I stop saying 'nearly moving' in a blog post.

I don't have any pretty pictures of work in progress to show you this morning, so instead this morning's blog post I shall select my winner of the competition that ended yesterday, to win a couple of my mini embroidery patterns. 

I had 15 entries, with some very sweet comments about what they would want on their little home planet. Comfy chair was one the most requested item. Might well have to do another design soon with a chair on it.

Using the power of random.org. I assigned all the comments a number 1-15 and selected the following:

And that means..*drumroll* 

The winner is Xenia!

Who said they wanted on their little planet: 

"My planet would have a comfy chair and a lot of books."

See what did I tell you about chairs ;) 

Well done Xenia, I think I saw on your blog an email address, let me know if that's a valid email by posting a reply I'll get the patterns emailed to you soon after.

Time for me to disappear and actually get some stitching done!

Craft Book Review: Storyland Cross Stitch

Every now and then I come across a craft book, usually randomly stumbling across it on the web whilst looking for something completely different. Or I happen to be following the author's blog or twitter feed. Now for this particular book I can't quite remember where or when came across it might well have been osmosis. Basically I saw it and I wanted it. 

Storyland Cross Stitch by What Delilah Did a.k.a Sophie Simpson, has for me a winning combination of an awesome feeling cover (I do love a bit of texture) and wonderful looking projects (great photography). I opened the package and did the classic 'Oooooo, it's so pretty'.

The book arrived on what has to be the best day ever to sit outside and stitch, which was exactly what I ended up doing. After a quick dash about the house to gather various tools and materials. So that was my exercise for the day...not really...sort of was.

I must point out that I needn't have worried too much because rather handily the book comes with a little added extra, in the form of small piece of fabric, thread and needle. Perfect for when your caught short and in desperate need to stitch.

Me getting well and truly stuck in

So yep, today really was one of those rare moments when it just felt right to go 'sod my to do list' and work on something completely different and this was largely because I really, really wanted to do every single one of the 15 projects contained within the book. That doesn't happen often. In fact it took a lot of will power not to crack on with one of the larger projects, like the crown cushion.

It has something for everyone, and there are some great projects that I think solves my what to make for the hundreds of kiddie winkles (my term for a baby) that are due later this year. Suddenly all my friends are expecting.

What I think is so great about the book is that its subtly broken up into three stitching levels of beginners, intermediate and advanced, which I think is great. As it slowly eases you up the levels without barring your way or scaring the bejeebus out of you and making you discard the book.

The designs / projects are so utterly charming and for me they are the sort that I would be more than happy to do more than once. As there is nothing worse than getting a book that you only end up making one thing from it. I'm already thinking there will be plenty of keys, frogs, Jackalopes and foxes on the horizon.

Storyland Cross Stitch, will now sit perfectly within my collection of craft books (sadly they are currently in boxes pending the move), and I can easily say that if Sophie were to write another book then I'll eagerly purchase it. Though that time round I will actually remember to buy it from her site and not from everyone's favourite/least favourite e-commerce site that is the name of a rather large tropical rainforest. 

To purchase, nip over to Sophie's lovely site www.whatdelilahdid.com, stop and take a moment to admire her work, maybe pick up one of her other cross stitch designs whilst your there.

Book summed up in three words: wonder, lush, stitch-able 

ISBN: 978-1-908449-39-9
Images copyright What Delilah Did

Life is a Big Puddle Jump In - Embroidery Complete

There is always a silver lining to feeling poorly, additional days at home. And being the sort that always has to be doing something I've been able to finish my latest quote/typography embroidery piece, 'Life is a Big Puddle Jump In'. This piece is yet to be mounted, that's the next bit to do. And once I've got that sorted I'll be taking some higher resolution images to allow me to turn the image into purchasable postcards and greetings cards. 

Competition Time: Win Embroidery Patterns

Yes, folks its been a while since I did a little giveaway and I thought, why not give away something for you to do. So how would you like to win a set of two, full embroidery patterns (digital copies) from the Little Planet series; Little Home Planet and Planet of the Trees. 

Each pattern includes:

• Full colour image
• Pattern
• Stitch and thread guide
• Hints & Tips

How to enter? 

Well, nice and simple just leave a comment below (please no anonymous comments), perhaps telling me what would be on your little planet?

Competition is open to UK and International folks, as long as you have a valid email address.

Deadline for entry 13th July, the winner will be announced on the blog on the 14th July*.

*As long as I haven't been attacked by wasps or fallen down a well.