Two more crazy finishes .... am I on a roll???

Hi all from the rain-battered west coast of Scotland.   This horrible weather we've had the last couple of weeks has prevented me from getting up to the gardens but I managed to get some pics of my lovely poppies before the rain set in and will post them a bit further down.

As the title suggests I have not one but two!!!! Crazy finishes to show off.  The only "good" thing about being out of work at the moment is the fact that I am getting absolutely loads of stitching done, so hopefully by the end of the year I will have an almost empty WIP basket ready to fill up again next year.  This Crazy Challenge has been a godsend for me and I haven't felt pressurised to finish absolutely everything either; just a little progress on some of my older WIPs is better than nothing at all.

Royal Blossoms 2007 ~ Just Nan

So ~ I know you are all desperate to see the finishes and here is the first one; Royal Blossoms 2007 by Just Nan.  This was a wee kitted up freebie sent to me by DJ and was an absolute pleasure to stitch.  I love the colours and the fabric has such a pretty sparkle which is picked up by the beads.  It is just absolutely gorgeous and I am thrilled to bits with it.  Thank you DJ for such an absolutely perfect gift and I only hope I have done it justice.  Also big thanks to my stitching partner in crime Mouse who gave me some invaluable assistance with those pesky eyelets and helped me along to my finish.  I have now passed the chart on to Mouse so I expect she will take about 2 days to stitch it lol!

Christmas Carols ~ Country Cottage Needleworks

My second finish is .... Christmas Carols by Country Cottage Needleworks.  I picked this chart up in Harrogate last year.  It caught my eye at Trudy Anne's stall and I just had to have it.  I am not the biggest fan of Christmas as many of you will know (nothing but sad memories for me there) but I am a sucker for Christmassy type charts and winter themed charts so I just couldn't resist this one.  It kind of reminds me of the midnight carol service at our church when I was younger.  In my late teens and early 20s we would be at Joe's birthday party and break off to go to church and sing the carols and bring in Christmas Day and then go back to the party; and latterly mum and I would go up there to bring in Christmas Day with old friends then come home to tea and toast and open one of our bigger pressies before heading off to bed.  This design was also such a pleasure to stitch - the more I stitched the more I wanted to stitch and I loved watching it grow.  I eventually put the last stitch in at 5 minutes to one this morning and texted Mouse to let her know it was done because she had been hanging on all evening for me to do it. 

Phew ~ that's finish numbers 4 and 5 out of the way and my little notebook is filling up with finishing dates.  So ~ now its on to number 6 and possibly number 7????

Number 6 will hopefully be my crocus cushion.  I even pulled it out ready to go right after I finished Christmas Carols - forward planning or what??  Mouse is going to be here from next week for a few days of tea drinking, stash trawling and stitching so who knows what might happen!  She's bringing her sewing machine with her and is going to give me some lessons and is also going to try out my antique Frister & Rossman hand crank sewing machine for size.  We're also meeting up with some of my Scottish ladies for a day out in Largs and some ice cream sampling so watch out for a blog update and lots of photos just after that.  I have told Minnie so often that "auntie" Mousie is coming to visit that I think she thinks her long lost mousie is coming home.  Mouse ~ take care that she doesn't try to stuff you under the sofa or fridge but if you get too tired she will willingly carry you through to bed!!!!!!

Oh and thanks to Parsley I am taking part in her secret penpal exchange and I had my first letter from my penpal in Canada on Saturday morning!  Oh she did make me chuckle ~ I am really going to enjoy her letters and can't wait to find out her identity in December.  I sent my letter off at the beginning of last week so my penpal should have it by now.  Hope it arrived safely!

Right I am going to go get myself up to the gardens but before I go here are the promised pics of my poppies and some other bits and pieces up there.   I'm going to take Mouse up for a looksee when she's here and we may come back with some onions lol.

Thanks all for popping by and for the much appreciated comments which really do go a long way to encourage me.  Take care all and look out for another update in a week or so.

Love and hugs,

 

Ally xxxx