Guard this Keep update

Two weeks into 'Guard this Keep' and I've finished the border, the castle and trees and the lettering at the top - very pleased with myself as the border and lettering is all in Kreinik braid and rayon threads. Just got to do the dragon and the name of my parents' house (all charted and ready to go - Craft Creations do brilliant graph paper in different counts for designing) so hopefully I'll get it all finished in time to send it to France very soon.

Think I might have to put Maggie off again while I do a birth sampler - I'm going to be an aunty next week for the first time, very exciting. I hate when people don't know what they're having, it means I can't get a head start...

Greetings fom Brittany!

Writing from my parents' house in France - it's much warmer here than in the UK, although there was snow on the drive down from Calais on Monday. The lagoon next to the canal across the road is frozen and looks like frosted green glass - on a walk yesterday we saw hundreds of gulls floating on the river and being spooked by a buzzard which then wheeled off into the sky, coots chasing each other in the fields and cormorants perched in an old tree. My OH has been taking pictures so I'll post some when we get back to the UK.

I am managing to get some stitching done too, while Granny cuddles Tove and Daisy plays with all the 'holiday' toys! I started 'Guard this Keep' (Dragon Dreams chart) yesterday - requested by my mum to go in her hallway. It's on lurex-flecked aida and uses 4 or 5 different rayon threads which are too slippery for me. I stocked up on that miracle product Thread Heaven - that helps a bit, and I read somewhere that dampening the threads before use also helps. Any more tips would be appreciated. The design calls for Kreinik braids as well as the rayon so this could take a while!

Last week I made some progress on Maggie's BS - will post pics of everything soon....

Phone sock

This is the phone sock, version one - it seems a bit big so I might re-do it on smaller needles and tighten the top. The sheep button is from the same shop as the penguin one below. Would like to point out that the colours aren't quite this garish in real life, but our camera is a bit funny with reds and pinks.

Happy New Year!

Haven't made any resolutions but if I had...it would be to finish my WIPs. Instead I've spent Christmas knitting a scarf for my mum's birthday (another UFO) and yesterday I started knitting a mobile phone case for my new phone as I can't find a silicone one for it. I adapted a pattern for an ipod case that I've done a couple of times already and am using a Lorna's Laces sock yarn in 'Iris Garden', a pretty pink self-patterned yarn that's coming up lovely. Will add photos when I'm done.

Some lovely people added to my stash with presents at Xmas - a wolf and a Lickle Ted as well as a small DMC kit with the new scented threads - and an even lovelier person gave me a superstitcher.com voucher which I'd managed to spend by Boxing Day on a Bothy Threads kit and a penguin & chicks kit. Will I ever find time to do them all? No.... Do I care? No.....

The road to hell...

...is paved with good intentions. Haven't managed to pick up a needle in a week, let alone iron back the penguin or make the bag charm. Will try again when the latest baby growth spurt is over!

Pick up a penguin...

Finished the penguin bag last night! There were four stitched penguins in the corners but after stitching the top right-hand one two squares too far over I decided I didn't like him anyway and replaced him with a button I found in my stash. Just need to iron vilene onto the back and then he's usable.

I'm also going to add a bag charm - which involved rediscovering eBay and all the wonderful things there are out there! I probably didn't need 25 silver penguin charms, and I definitely didn't need the ladybird beads, the daisy beads and the mobile dangles but I'm sure they'll come in useful....honest.

Started another Margaret Sherry free kit last night as well - a cat in a hammock - but now that Tove is sleeping for longer I'm going to try and get Maggie finished.

Penguin bag

Have almost completed the baby penguin at the centre of the bag's aida panel, and having decided that I need some kind of border I'm thinking about what. The options are - plain stitching, small penguins in the corners or something else, maybe a 'wave' effect or fish or something watery. I'd hate to do the border and then decide it looks wrong so am thinking carefully...

Inquisitive Kitten

This freebie from Cross Stitcher has been in the stash for about 2 years I think - one of the few cover kits I've kept rather than passing on via the forum or to friends. Quite fiddly to do as the fabric was too small for a hoop and I'm too lazy to tack it onto another piece of fabric :-). Not sure what I'll do with it yet as I'm not doing cards this year. Head start on 2009 maybe!

Have started the large bag today - decided on a cute baby penguin from the David & Charles Polar Bears and Penguins book. Will need to add a border, maybe snowflakes or something like that.

Latest finish - Love Bug

Completed the Love Bug bag and backed the stitching with interfacing so anything in it doesn't catch on the stitching. Haven't started the bigger bag as I'm waiting for inspiration for a design (perhaps a knitting motif for my mum or a cat for the MIL? Or a penguin for me :-) ) so I've been occupying what time I can find with cover kits. Currently working on a Margaret Sherry one from Cross Stitcher a couple of years ago called Inquisitive Kitten, of a ginger kitten hanging on a wreath.

Love Bug update

Haven't got much done in the last week as Tove has been putting on a growth spurt - every time I picked up my stitching she demanded food! I have managed to finish the stitching on the Love Bug bag, only the back stitch to go. Trying to decide whether to do the same design on the bigger bag or whether to look for something else that will fit the larger panel better.