Special Gifts

Happy New Year dear friends - I hope you have had a great start to 2017 so far. We had a very quiet evening on New Years, a barbeque, a few glasses of bubbles and in bed well before midnight, I don't think we've seen the new year in for quite a few years now.

I was intending to finish off the last of my 2016 Christmas stitching and the wonderful gifts I received on here before we went away on our annual family holiday to Lake Taupo, but didn't quite get there so I will share a few pics today and then be back soon with some snaps from our holiday.

This year I decided to make my friends a Rosalie Dekker stitchery design using these gorgeous doily frames I purchased from the Country Yard. I used a variety of Cottage Garden Threads.

I really enjoyed making these for all the ladies.

I was very spoilt and received some gorgeous crafty and other gifts from my stitching friends.
From Kath, this neat fabric Santa,

Several charts from my wish list, yippee, which to do first?

Some new T2 tea to try, delicious.

From Wendy, this lovely little set for drinking tea

From Clare, this very cute ornament for the tree

and a Gail Pan Pattern and gingerbread ornament.

My friend Elizabeth stitched and finished this little mat beautifully.

She also made a set of felt ornaments for Hannah and I, I just love these.

I am so thankful for my wonderful stitching friends, and I look forward to our stitching catch ups again during 2017.

See you soon x

From the Weekend

Last weekend we got to enjoy an extra long weekend with public holidays here last Friday and on Monday. Glenn and I had lots of around the house jobs planned but with the weather more like winter again, much of our to do list will have to wait for a fine weekend. We still managed to get the barbeque cleaned, the outside deck and all the patio furniture washed down and the vegetable garden planted with some more seedlings potted up.  There was also a catch up with friends and a few glasses of bubbles consumed to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary.

I didn't much crafting done either but I was able to finish off one or two things. I had stitched this Country Cottage Needleworks ornament ages ago, and after being inspired by a similar finish on Pinterest, I decided to have a go at crocheting a trim around the outside. 

Angels by Country Cottage Needleworks

stitched on 32ct cream belfast linen using the recommended threads

I also finished several of these little Angels, ready now for the pressie box. This is a little pattern by Rosalie Dekker.

Other projects on the go include more sock knitting, I've started the second sock using the gorgeous Bleating Art Yarn I bought back in August.

I also started a simple granny square blanket using the left over yarn from Hannah's cupcake blanket.

This will be a dolly/teddy sized blanket for a friend's daughter.

See you soon x

Happy Easter

The long weekend is almost here so I wish you a Happy Easter if you celebrate it, and a relaxing, enjoyable weekend, whatever you might be up to xx

(Bunnie pattern by Rosalie Dekker)