My very first cross stitch photo upload!

Hi,
And here it is! My first photo uploaded! This is my current project, Adele Welsby's Knot Garden in blackwork. I have stitched it before, once on pink fabric in burgundy stitching and once on green fabric with dark green stitching (photos to follow in my gallery of finished projects once set up) but this time I decided to use the basic pattern in two colours and add two more borders. However, I have now decided to change it again and make it three borders including one of beads. So am presently unpicking the wording and repositioning it to insert the extra border. So watch this space!
Jane x

Cataloging my Joan Elliott charts!

Hi,
Gosh! I am so bad! I flit from task to task, never completing something before moving onto the next! Today, I was going to continue with the Adele Welsby Blackwork Knot Garden but instead I have been cataloging all my Joan Elliott charts for easy reference. Already down to 116 having only gone through five of her books that I own so far! Four more books to go and then loads of magazines, booklets and loose single charts. Could be here for hours but I will enjoy every one!
Jane x

Adele Welsby Knot Garden update

Hi,
So I started the second extra border of the Adele Welsby Blackwork Knot Garden I'm currently stitching and completed two sides of it last night. Just couldn't stop myself! Oh, ok, the wee small hours of yesterday morning actually! Then I had an even better idea for a new second border consisting of beads, some the same size as the orginal beads and some larger, more decorative, 6mm Swarovski Marguerite, flower shaped, almost flat crystals (as recently added to the Sweetheart Tree wedding sampler I recently completed). My newly designed second border is now becoming the third and final border, incorporating four larger, 8mm Swarovski Marguerite crystals, one in each corner, possibly with blackwork leaves or vines coming out from underneath? New chart of remaining border now drawn up by hand (does anyone know of any good, reasonably priced, computer software, that could do this for me?) and ready to start later today. Enjoying this so much! Wish I could do it for a living!! And think this piece is going to be so pretty once it's finished! :O)
Jane x

Adele Welsby Knot Garden #3

Hi,
Well, picked up the third Adele Welsby Blackwork Knot Garden piece I had stitched and have now designed the second extra border for it. Am just sewing in guide lines for this now and hope to start stitching the saying I want to have as the final border, tomorrow.
Watch this space. Will try and post a photo of it very soon. So good to be stitching again! Exciting times!
Jane x

Adele Welsby Knot Garden #2 completed!

Hi,
Yeah! The first completed WIP! Just sewn the last of the beads onto one of the Adele Welsby Blackwork Knot Garden pieces I had previously stitched. One down, still too many to go! Must remember to take and upload a photo. :O)
Jane x

One of 'those' feelings! Love Quilts UK

Hi,
Isn't it amazing how sometimes things happen? And how you feel they are meant to happen even though you didn't have any part in planning them?!
Well, this just happened to me!
I have been trying to get a copy of a Joan Elliott chart 'Angel of Cross Stitch' which isn't available anymore, for I don't know how long but so far, no luck. Then out of the blue I found a copy (original, no less!) on Ebay by accident and was lucky enough to just win it! The seller had other items for sale including a pattern for a celtic cross stitch heart by 'MagdaP Designs'. So I put this into the Google search engine and it bought up the website (see my 'Favourite Designer' links on the left hand side of my blog). I found out that the lady who had sold me my JE chart is, infact, the lady who's website this is and who designs these charts. Apart from the fact that they are amazing, for every chart bought online, she donates part of the cost to a children's charity called Love Quilts UK! Their link is also under my 'Favourite Designers' for easy access. What a very special lady! Then I found out she has a Facebook page (MagdaP Designs) which I love and have now 'liked' and will be watching as well! 
I then looked into Love Quilts UK and was amazed to find that it 'is a world-wide group of volunteer stitchers and quilters who cross stitch squares for British children under the age of 19 years, who have life threatening or life-long illnesses. The squares are then made into beautiful quilts which are given to the children with no cost to their families'. And guess what! They are always happy to accept new stitchers and quilters! All the details are there on the website.
So there it is! That feeling that something was meant to happen albeit out of my control! I was meant to buy that particular JE 'AoCS' chart, so I could find MagdaP and her designs, FB page, website and ultimately Love Quilts UK!
As a result I am definitely going to stitch a square and send it up to them. And who knows, although I never have enough time to stitch, I probably won't stop at one! Could be a very good, ongoing project for in between other projects!
Please take a little bit of time to look at their website. You never know, you may feel the same! After all, isn't that why you are reading my blog? :O)
Jane x  

My first ever blog!! :O)

Hi,
So here it is, my first ever post!
The idea of my stitching blog (and I've wanted to do one for ages but thought I didn't have skill!) is to let people all over the world see what I am currently stitching, have already stitched or what WIPs (works in progress) are lurking at the back of my craft cupboard crying out to be finished!
I will be up loading photos of finished pieces in due course and then hope to upload regular photos of current projects as I do them. I will try to update my blog on a regular basis but if I'm not around for a while please don't think I've gone away! I work fulltime so don't always get as much time to stitch as I would like!
I would welcome your comments and would also love to see what you are stitching, so please don't be shy!
I hope you enjoy my stitching blog!
Bye for now.
Happy stitching!
Jane x