Chart Title Quiz... Again

I was bored and decided to look at my past blog posts just to see how far I've come in my stitching. I realized that I've changed quite a bit not only in design taste but also in the materials I use nowadays. I barely stitched on Aida now and have become more or less a linen snob. I still stitch with DMC but I prefer silk a lot more. I've learnt quite a lot about beading, metallic threads and specialty stitches. With that said, I think it's time for another Chart Title Quiz! I did this once back in February 2006. I figured it would be fun to do it again just to see how my answers differ from then. On top of that, there are more new designs now to chose from.

So here goes... Again...

Are you male or female?

Garden Girl by Country Cottage Needleworks

Describe yourself.

Romantic Stitcher by Passione Ricamo

How do some people feel about you?

Wildflower Garden by The Drawn Thread

How do you feel about yourself?

Sunshine and Flowers by Cross 'N Patch

Describe your love interest.

Honor by The Silver Lining

Where would you rather be?

Sail Away by Shepherd's Bush

Describe what you want to be.

Traveling Stitcher by Little House Needleworks

Describe how you live.

Simple Joys by Little House Needleworks

Describe how you love.

Deepest Love by Mirabilia

What would you rather be doing (besides stitching)?

Take Time to Read by Jeannette Douglas Designs

What do you value most in life?

Love With A Capital L by Papillon Creations

Which trait would you wish to possess more of?

Patience by Just Nan

Your favourite time of the day.

Midnight by Lavender Wings (OOP)

Share a few words of wisdom.

Live Laugh Love by La D Da

All the charts I've listed are either a WiP, in my stash or on my wish list. Seems like all my answers (hence taste) have changed except for one. Not too much into the cutesy stuff anymore. Perhaps I've matured? LOL! That's something to ponder about.

I've added a few more questions to the original quiz. I'd love for you to play along too. As before, the only condition is that you must genuinely love the design and not just choose it for the title. If you decide to post this quiz, please leave me a comment and I'll definitely drop by to see your answers. However, I refuse to take the blame for the amount of enabling this might cause :P Have fun!

P.S. Credit is once again given to Anna who created it back in November 2005

Stitching... Among Other Stuff

Mikey's sister, Marjorie, celebrated her 35th birthday this year. He bought her one of my scissors fobs as a birthday present (Thank you, Mikey ^.^). I decided to make her a birthday card as well.

I was told that she likes cats and her favourite color is purple. So I came up with this. The design is from Form-A-Lines. Aren't the cats cute?

On top of that, Marjorie loves reading. With that in mind, how could I not tat her another bookmark? :)

The design is modified from Part 2 of Faizon's Foldover Bookmark.

I haven't gotten the hang of two shuttle tatting yet so I figured I'll keep it simple this time round.

Not much progress was made on the stitching front however. I'm still working on my Little House Neighbourhood and here is how it stands as of 20 January 2011.

Building of the third house is completed, the trees have sprouted leaves and people have moved in!

Two of my Birthday Giveaways have also reached their destinations. Nina took lovely pictures of her package here. If you've yet to check out her blog, please do. I promise you'll find lots of eye candies. I don't know how she takes such gorgeous pictures.

Thank you for dropping by. Happy Stitching!

Making Plans

HAPPY (Belated) NEW YEAR!

I'm not one for making New Year resolutions. Especially not when it comes to stitching. After all, a hobby should be enjoyable and setting goals and targets would only make it seem like an obligation. That opinion is completely mine though and I have nothing against stitchers who do.

However, I do like making stitching plans because fondling fabric, threads and charts is always, always fun in my book.

With this post, there are a few things I hope to accomplish. Firstly, with as few words as possible, I'd like to summarize what I have in mind for 2011. Secondly, this would serve as a reminder that I have more than enough stash for now which hopefully would help curb my itchy finger from clicking on all those wonderful sale items out there :P

Also, I love drooling over pictures of stitchers' stash. To thank all of you for sharing pictures of your stash with me, here's a portion of mine which I hope will serve as eye candy for the day :) So be prepared... Picture heavy post coming up.

Here are some of the projects I would like to get started on this year. Do keep in mind that my plans are always flexible. Changes are bound to be made at a moment’s notice ^.^

I've noticed that I've been accumulating a lot of CCN and LHN charts. Hopefully, this year I'll be able to reduce this pile you see here.

Not to mention those I've kitted up such as LHN’s Brave Hearts with my conversion of Vikki's silk and Vintage Lentil from Lakeside Linens.

Same goes for LHN Home of A Needleworker (Too!) which I'll be stitching on Sassy Fabbys' Spun Sugar.

Then there's LHN Sea to Shining Sea. The fabric I've chosen is Pansy by Picture This Plus.

I'm also dying to stitch Martina's designs. Two in particular.

Spot Sampler Victoria with HDF Ethereal Ice on PTP Fog. The fabric is 36 count linen which is something I’ve yet to stitch on so I’m rather apprehensive about it.

But dang, isn't the silk yummy?

Rose Quaker which I've been drooling over ever since Martina posted it on her Yahoo group front page. Once again, I couldn't resist converting it to HDF, this time in premium silk.

I've also vowed to make something with my charm packs and jelly rolls instead of having them sitting oh-so-prettily in a corner gathering dust. Gotta admit they make lovely decorations though ^.^

Don't worry, I've not neglected my poor WiPs. Here are a few which I've decided I would like to concentrate on this year, especially that Drawn Thread piece... If I ever get around to frogging most of Autumn out, that is. Most of it is off by one stitch :(

I did spend some of my New Year weekend stitching instead of just playing with my stash. I’ve been working on Little House Neighbourhood.

Not much progress since my last update but I'm having fun with... what else... the silks! LOL!

On the tatting front, I made another bookmark for my mum for Christmas.

A Clover Bookmark, again an online freebie. It’s kinda wonky though as I messed up and attached the picots of the clovers differently from the pattern :(

This year, I also hope to try my hands at something different. Couple things I look forward to are Silk Ribbon Embroidery and Bag Making. Guess we’ll find out how well that went come December.

So what are your plans for 2011? Happy Stitching!

Birthday Giveaway Winners

MERRY CHRISTMAS, Everyone! (Pic is Margaret Sherry’s Santa Claus which I stitched a few years back for one of my still uncompleted round robin)

I’m so tired after a long, busy day. It’s already nearly midnight and Christmas is almost over in my part of the world so without further ado, here are the winners of my Birthday Giveaway:

• Nina
• Margaret
• Kathy

Congratulations to all the winners! Please email me your mailing address so I could get the packages out to you.

Thank you to everyone who participate. I really wish I could have given each and every one of you a gift but unfortunately, that’s not possible.

I've really enjoyed holding this giveaway. I hope to have another one again in the near future. May your hopes and dreams be fulfilled in the new year.

Birthday Giveaway Unveiled - Part 4

A while ago, I mentioned that I was trying my hand at tatting. I was intrigued by the elegance and delicacy of this art. While still an amateur, I think I’ve sufficiently mastered it enough to show you a few of my handiwork.

These are bookmarks which I’ll be included with my giveaway pouches. Yes, you’ve guessed it. I'll come clean and admit that this is part of the reason for the delay. Not the greatest of photos I'm afraid as they're taken in poor lighting but you get the idea.

First from left is a pattern taken from Faizon's Learning Shuttle Tatting book. The middle Lacy Bookmark is an online freebie and the one on the right is a Jessica Bookmark, another freebie.

Last but not least, I’m also including five different cuts of lace with each pouch.

Once again, winners will be drawn on Christmas Day so if there is still time if you would like to participate in my Birthday Giveaway. Just remember to leave a comment on that post only.
Thank you for dropping by. I really appreciate it. Happy Stitching!

Birthday Giveaway Unveiled - Part 3

To those who are waiting for me to draw the winners’ names, please accept my humble apology. I’ll be postponing that until Christmas Day – 25 December 2010. Truth is, I was still getting the packages ready when I posted about it. I’ve been busy and couldn’t make it in time :(

Anyway, on to today’s preview... Another of my greatest stitching love is variegated threads.

Be the color changes subtle or obvious, I love them all.

These threads are taken from my own stash. I hope you don’t mind but a few are slightly used. Most, however, are brand new.

Thank you for your patience. Once again, I’m sorry for the delay. Happy Stitching!

Birthday Giveaway Unveiled - Part 2

As a stitcher/crafter, I could never resist fabrics. Ever. I love fabrics of every color and hue, be it bright and bold or soft and sweet. Now, my fabric collection is not that extensive… yet. Still, I figured I’ll share this passion with you by offering three pieces of fabric with each drawstring pouch.

These are Japanese cotton and measures approximately 20” x 22.5”.

Any ideas on how you’ll be using them yet?

I look forward to hearing them :)

Birthday Giveaway Unveiled - Part 1

I’ve been remiss in my promise to show you what’s in the drawstring pouches but before I do, I just have one question for you.

Do you like ribbons and trims?

I know I do…

I hope you do too.

Assorted ribbons and trims.

More will be revealed soon.

Birthday Giveaway!

It’s my birthday today and if that's not a good enough reason to have a giveaway, I don't know what is.

Even though it's been a rocky first half of the year for me with the end of a six year relationship and a job that I hated, I've been blessed for the second half of the year. I got family and friends who loves me (you know who you are) and whom I very much love back, a job that I love and on top of that, a sewing machine :P Hehehe... Oh,and I'm also at nearly 100 Followers too! Definitely cause for a giveaway celebration.

Okay, okay, I know you're all dying to hear what I got up my sleeves this time. Yes? No? Aww come on, show a bit more enthusiasm.

Anyway, remember my last finish? Renato Parolin's Camille, Paul Et Myrtille?

With the help of Maccabags' tutorial, here they are, hot off my sewing machine, transformed into drawstring pouches! I lined them with the Christmasy fabric in the background.

In case you're wondering, yes, I'm giving all three away to three lucky winners.

So what do you need to do to be eligible? Just comment on this post. That's it, no catches. However, I do require you to leave an email address if it's not listed in your profile in order for me to contact you if you win.

I'll really appreciate if you decide to tell other stitches about my giveaway though. The more the merrier :) And if you become a Follower to help me reach 100, you'll be making this birthday girl very happy ^.^

Birthday Giveaway deadline is 20 December 2010.

One last thing, if you're curious to see what else is included in the giveaway, do check back regularly prior to that. I'll be revealing the contents in the pouches periodically until then.

Thanx for visiting. Happy stitching!

Renato Parolin

I've been stitching up a storm this week and what's more, I actually have a finish to show! Let me introduce you to Camille...

Camille turned up real prettily in HDF BeCreamed.

This is Paul.

Paul is dressed in HDF Examplar Fried Pickles.

And last but not least is Myrtille.

Myrtille decided to make its appearance in HDF Old Maid of the Heart.

All three of them, ready to party!

Design: Camille, Paul Et Myrtille

Designer: Renato Parolin

Fabric: Natural Italian 32 count linen

Fibers: Hand Dyed Fibers Silk

Four pairs of scissors that I bought from Ebay arrived in my mailbox last Friday. I've been drooling over these Retro Scissors when I first saw them appear on stitchers' blogs.

I finally treated myself to them. My excuse? For my birthday! Aren't they pretty?

Recently, I won some tatted ornaments made by Cathy's mum. Don't you think these are just so delicate and exquisite? Huge thanks to both Cathy and her mum for having the giveaway. They'll definitely be treasured.

I had a BOMB on Saturday, attending NNC Yahoo Group's Stitching Bee. Wonder why it's called a Stitching Bee... never got around to asking but I digress. Anyway, thanks to Faizon I got a better understanding of tatting. I left the Bee with these...

The book is written by Faizon with clear, concise and easy-to-understand instructions. The threads are courtesy of Zarina. Two balls of size 50 threads and a yummy skein of "Orchid Garden" hand dyed by Zarina. In order to be able to use them, I must first master tatting :) Zarina also sells her threads on Etsy. Check out her Etsy shop here. Thank you so much again, ladies.

I'm planning to have another giveaway again soon so do drop by again in the next few days. Happy stitching!