The winner chooses

Hi, 

It's me again.  I have decided that on this occasion the winner will choose how he/she wants this finished.  It can be as a pin keep or a pin cushion.   I know those aren't a lot of choices but hey it's better than no choices at all, aren't they???

To get to the correct post, click on the word post for entering this competition which ends on November 15. (all images are clickable to make them larger) and sorry this photo is so much darker than the previous unfinished photo but this one was taken at night and the other one was taken during the day.

To save you having to read through the previous post here are the rules for this giveaway:

1.  Leave a comment on the linked (from the photo above) post for one entry
2. For two entries please leave a posting and/or a link in your sidebar to this Giveaway on your blog linking back to this or the previous entry
3. Leave a separate comment saying that you have posted an entry on your blog (I will check and that way I will get to (hopefully) see loads of different blogs, so that I know to enter you twice.
4. Silly me forgot to put the end date and that is November 15 at midnight BST (that's British Standard Time worse luck) 

 I have also finally finished (ok I did the stitching and Janet did the finishing for me) of the object below and okay I knew is was BlackBird Designs but just couldn't remember the name of it, okay so I'm getting old(ish).  It is called 'Buttons and Blooms For The Cure' and was a limited edition kit and I got one.

The bag was, of course, pre-made by BBD

And this is the little pin cushion

Now whoever is going to be choosing whether they want the unfinished (but stitched) BBD finished as a pin cushion please do not expect me to pipe it, but I might you never know.

So until next time ...

Lots of Love

Patti xxx

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

My 4TH GIVEAWAY TO YOU, 2 Giveaways I Won and 1 lost in the mail exchange

Okay, now I always say that when I am speaking for real - just ask anybody that knows me.  I think it has become a habit.

The first thing is my October PIF that should has been posted on here October 1 but I'm just a bit late and it isn't even finished!  What a devil I am!  Not on time and not finished but I will be and I will show another photo, probably either tomorrow or Sunday and show you what you will actually win (and it will be ironed).  You see I stitch in hand so stuff gets even more creased than it comes (this is R&R linen which does come creased).  But here is the almost finished photo of it - stitching that is.  It isn't that big and will either be finished as a pinkeep or a pincushion.  

I just want to tell everyone that this is my Pay It Forward you guys don't have t do anything but leave a comment as described below to enter into it.  You do NOT have to do a PIF.  It was just my way of upholding my end of the bargain with the three PIFs I signed up for when nobody wanted to sign up with me I just decided that instead of getting anybody to sign up for a Pay It Forward I would just stitch and finish one thing every other month.  So here is Month 4's Giveaway with NO STRINGS attached at all.

Now Sandra Carstairs finished hers like this and I am inclined to do the same.  I am just waiting for some gorgeous pins to arrive and as I have finally learned how to make twisted cord this week courtesy of my friend Angela (no blog but photos).  All you have to do to enter this giveaway is:

1.  Leave a comment on this, and only this, post for one entry
2. For two entries please leave a posting and/or a link in your sidebar to this Giveaway on your blog linking back to this entry
3. Leave a separate comment saying that you have posted an entry on your blog (I will check and that way I will get to (hopefully) see loads of different blogs, so that I know to enter you twice.
4. Silly me forgot to put the end date and that is November 15 at midnight BST (that's British Standard Time)
   

Okay and now for the two Giveaway wins that I WON!!!
First I won a Giveaway from Ellen Chester.  Boy was I ever excited because for those of you that know me I am a HUGE With My Needle fan and I chose Bunnies in the Garden and My Needles Workbox which is one of the new charts.   When I went to look for something else you will never guess what I found I already had!  Yep you have it in one.  I found Bunnies in the Garden so I would have had two of them.  So I duly wrote to Ellen and told her and she very kindly let me change Bunnies in the Garden to A Hornbook Exampler which I know for 100% that I do not own - ok it's one of the few of Ellen's that I don't have and here are my wins all safe and sound here in the U.K.  Ellen is just so lovely and yes I have met her in real life and she even came to my home once about 3 years ago I think with a load more people from The Sample Guild.  Thank you so much Ellen it really really really is appreciated and I promise I will stitch Bunnies in the Garden just as soon as I can.

and I can't wait to start stitching them but I am not allowed (by Ellen) to stitch them until I have stitched Bunnies in the Garden which thankfully is all kitted up.  But I won't let me stitch Bunnies until after I have finished one of my UFO's.

The other Giveaway that I was so lucky to win was from Missy Ann on Day 10 just after Mini Me ad I were discussing, via email, which one of us would win.  Deb said she would and I said I would and what's more I DID!!!  And here are photos of everything I won and thank you so very very much Missy Ann not only for picking me out but for sending me such a wonderful card as well with such lovely words in it.

And now on to what was lost in the British Post Offices strikes that were happening for what seems like months!  It was an exchange which was due to go to France and never got there so here it is for you all to see

I am so sorry it was lost in the Post because not only did I really like it but my friend Angela (no blog - link to her photos above) liked it so much before it went in the mail that I made her one exactly the same.  Never mind such is life but I have stitched and finished a replacement which I am really pleased with and as soon as it is received by who it is meant to go to I will put a photo of it on here.  I also finished a needlebook exchange but didn't mail it because I was so frightened of our darn Post Office strikes which thankfully have now stopped.  So I am mailing everything on Monday because hopefully the backlog will be under control by then.

So until next time ...

Lots of Love

Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

I was wrong ...

 just for a change!  So what else is new I hear you ask?  Nothing but I was really wrong because  Brenda at Pumpkin Patch Primitives is having another fabulous Giveaway at the moment. The VERY generous prize are TWO Fat Quarter Bundle of Red Rooster's Pumpkins & Spice Fabrics by Whimsicals plus a $100.00 voucher for her shoppe now how cool is that??!!! I, personallly, would love any of these three prizes because I really really love these Fat Quarter bundles and of course the $100.00 would be nice too.


So, rush on over to her blog, and if you tell Brenda that I sent you AND you post about it on your own blog, then I will receive an extra entry, so go on, help me to win – go on, you know you want to!!!!  

Another reminder that Missy's 13days of Halloween is still happening and I still have NOT won and today is Day 10 I think.  But going on often I'm wrong .... But go on click on her name which is a link to the giveaway and put your name down for this too! So until next time ...

Lots of Love

Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

An Amazing Giveaway

Okay apart from everything else I do I have now started quilting too.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE quilting almost as much as stitching and I really want to make a bag as well as a quilt.  I am attending quilting classes at Patchwork Corner which isn't that far from me and I am having a great time there but stitching is still my first love.

Brenda at Pumpkin Patch Primitives is having another fabulous Giveaway at the moment. The VERY generous prize is a Fat Quarter Bundle of Red Rooster's Pumpkins & Spice Fabrics by Whimsicals – how cool is that??!!!

So, rush on over to her blog, and if you tell Brenda that I sent you AND you post about it on your own blog, then I will receive an extra entry, so go on, help me to win – go on, you know you want to!!!!  


Another reminder that Missy's 13days of Halloween is still happening and I still have NOT won.  But go on click on her name which is a link to the giveaway and put your name down for this too!

So until next time ...

Lots of Love

Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

Some finishes - finally!

The very first thing I want to do on this entry of my blog is to thank every single person that visits it and leaves comments.  I really do appreciate each and every single one of you that come and look at what I've been up to.  


Some people email me and thank me for leaving comments on their posts and I never do that.  Bad bad bad Patti!  So I thought that the first thing I should do is thank you all from the bottom of my heart.


Then I thought I would finally post the finishes I got back from Deb in the U.S. and from Janet here in the U.K. (all images are clickable to make them much bigger)

Janet finished this for me and she is here in the U.K.!  It is, of course, Shepherd's Bush Quaker Heart which I decided I wanted finished as a heart.If you would like her to finish something for you you can reach her here
 

If you remember Janet finished this for me too and it really is exquisite, and I hope Deb loved it as much as I do!  So if you are as finishing challenged as what I am just EMAIL Janet and she can, and will, finish for you anything and everything expertly.

These next things have all been finished by Deb for me and the finishing here is extraordinary too and I love them all.

Just a freebie that I made into a pinkeep ages ago.  Okay I didn't make it into a Pinkeep - Deb of Artistic Needle finished it into a Pinkeep with a scissor pocket at the back

Now this is called A Queen and it's again a Shepherd's Bush kit that I really love that Deb finished into a pinkeep too and I love it!  I did this because Deb (different Deb) calls me Queenie so I thought it was appropriate!  It used to embarrass me but I doesn't anymore - in fact I kinda like it now!

This is the front of the Needlecase I stitched from an Au Fil Des Reeves Kit I sorely miss this designer as her designs were incredible

This is the back of it and as you can see I stitched this at least 3 years ago and it just sat here until i finally mailed it to Deb and she finished it for me

And this is the inside of it.  It was supposed to have brown ribbon on the outside and close it but dummy here forgot to enclose the ribbon when I mailed everything el

A reminder that Missy's 13days of Halloween is still going on.  Now don't too many of you sign this because I WANT TO WIN!  


So until next time ...

Lots of Love

Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

Does Anybody ??????

Know what this is and who the designer is please?  It's driving me nuts and I REALLY need to know this!  Thanks whoever tells me - you are a STAR (almost put tart there instead - if you live in England you will definitely know the difference)!

Also please don't forget about  Missy Ann's 13 Day Halloween Giveaway.  

Today is day 5.  

Good luck if you enter but I really want to win cause I think I'm becoming greedy!

So until next time ...

Lots of Love
Patti who's DH thinks she is too old to be called Patti anymore xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

Exchanges Sent and Received or not as the case may be

Hi
Ok this posting is going to be very full of pictures :-)
Some are exchanges I sent and some are exchanges I received.  Now I do not differentiate between forgetting who I mailed to and who mailed to me - I have forgotten the lot!  Useless is what my brain is!  
But here are all the photos.  I know what exchanges they were from but have really forgotten who I sent to and who sent to me - or have I said that already?  See I told you my brain was mush!  Oh yeah and all the images are clickable to make them HUGE!

Okay this first exchange was called 'By The Sea' and this is the gorgeous

Biscornu I received and if it's you that sent it I'm really sorry I forgot who you are But I really LOVE it and it sits in pride of place on my shelf dedicated to stitching

 

And this is the one I sent to somebody and I hope she liked it as much as I enjoyed stitching and making this up.

This is the Blackbird Exchange I received and it is really gorgeous and

I really really LOVE it and thank you so much whoever sent it to me

and this one is i a glass dish (big) along with some other small things 

that I LOVE

and this is the one I sent.  I did enjoy stitching this a lot because I LOVE Blackbird Designs and I even enjoyed making it up

This is the exchange I received for the Prairie School Exchange and it is absolutely GORGEOUS and I wish I could remember who sent this but I just can't.  I got two things instead of one and I LOVE them both and they are both on my shelf!

 This is the exchange I sent.  Now I loved stitching this but not making up because I wanted to finish it differently but couldn't because you know the old saying 'measure twice cut once' well I didn't and  it was too small to do what I wanted so this was the compromise. I am so sorry to whoever received this but it's still kinda sweet though not whatyou were going to get

Now this was the original one I was stitching for Nina's exchangebut it was coming out  so big that I stopped because even though I stitched this on 40ct it was still HUGE - much too big and I was unhappy

 So I made this instead and mailed it off and guess what?  Yup the British Post Office messed up AGAIN!  I am blaming them because they foul up so often and right now are on STRIKE AGAIN!  So I have had to stitch a replacement which I just have to make up and mail - tomorrow it is going

Apart from all the things I sent to Terri I stitched this for her too (you may have seen this on her blog)

And m friend Angela (Sweby) stitched thisfor me a couple of years ago and we agreed that we were going to have Christmas in July last year but it neve happened because somehow or other I lost what I was stitching for her but she still gave me this a few  weeks ago and I really really LOVE IT thank you so much my friend.

Please don't forgot about Missy Ann's 13 Day Halloween Giveaway.  Today is day 4.  Good luck if you enter.

I do hope you enjoyed today's post. 

So until next time ...
Lots of Love

Patti xxx

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

Missy Ann is having a GIANT 13 day giveaway

And what is more it starts today October 19, 2009!  Look you know me and I don't really want to share but I want more chances of winning this giveaway so there is a button on the right hand side of this blog which will take you straight there.  Good luck everyone!


So until next time ...

Lots of Love

Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

P.S. The heading on this entry will also take you to Missy Ann's blog!

I just had to share this photo

My daughter-in-law Danielle took this photograph (I think) of all the babies from her Ante Natal Group and my sister-in-law Sue asked if it was for real and I love it and thought you might all enjoy it.  You can, as usual, see the photo bigger by double left clicking on it.  (Can you tell I used to teach computing?)

Oliver is third from the right.  

He is the little boy with hair! 

So until next time ...

Lots of Love

Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

Boy oh boy am I ever lucky!!!!

 I can't believe it.  I have won not one but TWO giveaways and both of them are giving away two things.


First I won Susan's giveaway which was drawn last weekend.  I was stunned and never expected to win at all.  Susan has completed one of the items and will complete the other one before she sends them across the pond and here they are and they are just gorgeous

Firstly there is this gorgeous box with the LHN piece on top which I just love to pieces.

Secondly there is this second one which is lovely but more lovely (okay even lovelier) is the sentiment on it seeing what my brother is going through right now and I was told this morning that another friend's partner has stage 4 cancer too.  YUCK I HATE those words.  Not the cancer word as much as the stage 4 part, because Cancer is becoming more and more curable if caught early enough and hopefully Susan's mother will be just fine like so many of my friends who went for mamograms and faced it but are just fine now TG (that's Thank G-d).

And this is how the lovely above is going to be finished.

I must admit I was surprised at the lack of entries for this giveaway because it was in aid of "Relay for Life".  The purpose of "Relay for Life" is to raise awareness of cancer, and to raise money for such things as providing wigs to women who lose their hair due to chemotherapy, or to pay for overnight stays near where patients receive their treatment, etc.

Throughout the year, the company that Susan works for has been holding fund raising events to raise money for the American Cancer Society, and last weekend's Relay for Life event is the big fund-raising event of the year. They did raise oodles of cash for The American Cancer Society who's sole aim is to find cures for the various forms of cancer, sorry if I am preaching but I really feed strongly about this cause. 

My second win was to celebrate Ellen Chester's 100th post for her blog.  As most, if not all of you know Ellen Chester is the designer behind With My Needle.  Now sometimes I procrastinate but usually I just can't make up my mind.  This was NO easier trust me.  I deliberated, cogitated and thunk a lot and finally decided, I think, that what I want and I'd better drop her a line before I change my mind AGAIN, that the two charts I would like are:

With My Needle's Worke Box

and

Bunnies in the Garden

Because I love Bunnies and Birds and Flowers and this will be a really fun stitch.  So I have chosen a really new chart and quite an old(ish) one but I love them both none-the-less.

So what am I stitching you ask?  I am restitching an exchange that got lost in the mail - rotten British Post Office Workers who are on strike and loosing things right left and center.  I restarted it on Monday and this weekend I have been doing more destitching or frogging than stitching.  Destitching takes so much longer than stitching it just isn't true.  I will show you what it is when I'm done and dusted and it has been mailed and received.

Finally I have made up my mind, with your help, of course.  I am going to stitch Polly's Sampler for my box lid and thank you all so much for your opinions because they really really did help this procrastinator.

So until next time ...

Lots of Love

Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

It's FREEZING here and dark oh so dark

I want to hibernate and would if I could!  I HATE going out in the winter.  It's so cold an dark and yesterday, and I mean YESTERDAY, it was lovely and warm and today it is just freezing!


Ok I know my body likes freezing better but I personally don't!  So who is going to win?  Me? My body?  Well I'm more determined than my body so guess I'll win.


Why am I writing this post you all want to know?  Well Janet (who doesn't have a blog) is going to be holding a box making class next year and we have to stitch a top for the box.  Now knowing me as you all do - I used to be indecisive, but now I procrastinate all the time.


I have two charts and all the threads for both and fabric too but I don't know which one to stitch.  Whichever one I decide on will be stitched over one on probably 32count something or other.  Which one do you think I should stitch for this boxtop?


One is Quaker Garden by Blackbird Designs.  It was Loose Feathers No. 19

and the other one is by Examplar Dames Design Company and it is Polly's Sampler

Okay you have seen them both so please tell me which one you would stitch over one and use as a box top please?


So until next time ...

Lots of Love

Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

I received an email ...

... from somebody called Leigh who works for The Janlynn Corporation.  She (I am assuming that Leigh is a woman and I hope I'm right) said that she had been reading my blog, amongst other stitching blogs - so she may have written to you too!  I checked to make sure it was on the up and up and it is.  Janlynn have this great Cross Stitch competition and Leigh believes I would have the kind of members that would thoroughly enjoy what they have put together … and they have put this contest together for witty cross stitch enthusiasts of which, I hope, I am one.

This competition involves their Dolly Mamas™ range which is amazing.   In an effort to tell everyone about Janlynn’s Dolly Mamas™ Contest, with $1400 in prizes (Grand Prize -- $1000) I am asking you all to go and look at this terrific range of cross stitch kits and check out their competition.  I am even going to enter it, because I can but I think you all should too.  All you need to do is click on the link below the picture below and you will be taken straight there but you need to have a really good saying before you go and enter.  Have fun.

 

http://www.janlynn.com/dolly/

In fact I like this range so much that I have a school friend that I have re-connected with and she is a knitter and I have sent her everything she needs to start stitching.  I just thought that Gail (my school friend - we went to school together from the time we were 5) would really enjoy this.  Admittedly it is on Aida but everybody needs to start somewhere and as I'm not in New Jersey right now and able to help her I thought this kit would be perfect and what's more it is reasonably priced enough that you would just have to replace the Aida with a piece of linen or evenweave which is exactly what I am going to do

All of them have really cute quirky sayings and I just love them and hope you do too.
So until next time ...

Lots of Love

Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

And the WINNER is ....

come in NUMBER 2 - okay so you aren't on a rowing boat or a pedalo!  But you might have been on one.


Now how lucky was that for me!?!  I didn't have to count down to a huge number now did I?  Nope it was lucky old (ok not so old) number 2 who is KathyA.  So if you would please email me your full name and address it would really be my pleasure to send you your win. 

Ok now on to something else.  I was checking to see if Lisa had made a new posting to share who her winner is, but alas she hasn't.  But on the other hand have you been to her website?  Oh my goodness if you haven't you just have to!  


She makes and sells these wonderful bookmarks

Plus she has made this wonderful doll which is a pattern by Jill Maas and her name is Gertrude

And I have to make her.  I have fallen in love.  


Oh yeah and I have started quilting too and doll making.  So my stitching time will be reduced due to everything else I'm doing.   But I do have some stitching stuff to share with you as soon as I can take some photos (I'm just a lazy cow is all)!



So until next time ...

Lots of Love

Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

BLOGAVERSARY GIVEAWAY

Hi Guys

This is going to be the mother of all giveaways, at least I hope you all think it is! It's my 3rd year Blogaversary! So here goes:

Tokens & Trifles Britannia
Tokens & Trifles Filigree
Tokens & Trifles Eyelet Heart
Tokens & Trifles Petals
Abbey Lane Designs - Hearts for all Seasons - Spring
Sisters and Best Friends - Have A Cow which includes the sweetest little bag
Travellers Tales - Negev Bedoui Panel Scissor Case (complete kit)
A Needle & Fred - Striped Heart including a little stand
A Needle & Fred - Three Stockings
A Needle & Fred - Buzzy Bee
Carriage House Samplings - Cats
Carriage House Samplings - Tavern Signs Too
Carriage House Samplings - Deer
Carriage House Samplings - Elephant
Carriage House Samplings - Farm
Heart in Hand - Pocket Sampler Baby
Shepherds Bush Stocking - Sheree
Birds of a Feather - Pray for Peace (OOP)
Blackbird Designs - New Love
Full Circle Designs - Bruce & Friends
Full Circle Designs - Pair of Pears
4 Metres of CREAM COTTON KNITTED LACE 15MM wide
Fat Half of 32ct Zweigart Carnation Pink Belfast Linen
9" x 13" piece of Silkweaver Solo Blue Hand-Dyed 28ct Cashel Linen
Small(ish) piece of light pink/brown piece of Linen - it looks like 36ct but don't keep me to that one because I am just not sure

There are pictures for all the charts/kits and all you have to do is click on them.

Silly me I forgot to put down when it ends. My Blogaversary is next Monday so shall we give it a week and it will end on the 29th of September (or September 29, 2009).


It's not a requisite but I would like it if you could put a link from your blog (if you have one) to my giveaway so if you save the above photo (this is NOT part of the giveaway sorry - it is my favorite thing I have stitched) and put a link from this post to the photo that would be great.

Good luck to everyone who enters and thanks for stopping by my blog.

So until next time ...

Lots of Love

Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

P.S. Hmph ... if you don't have a blog don't worry about it you can still join in. Just leave a comment anyway but please leave me your email address. Thanks a lot.

L'Shana Tova or Happy New Year

I know I know tomorrow will be September 18, 2009 and NOT January 1, 2010 ...... but in the Jewish Calendar is will actually go from being year 5769 to 5770 when dusk sets in wherever in the word you are. So to everyone who is Jewish (including me of course but I can't wish myself a Happy New Year) so I am wishing to everybody else L'Shana Tova.

L'Shana Tova is the greeting which we give on Rosh Hashana and unlike the rest of our holidays this actually isn't actually based strictly on food. It is one of three of the main holy days of the year and is the first one of the Jewish Year. You are supposed to have fish head (I couldn't possibly) and apples and honey (this I can do).

So I am cooking already. We are having 11 people for dinner tomorrow night. My sister Linda and brother-in-law Tony (or Antonious as has been his nickname for years and years),their daughter Beth, son-in-law Dean and baby son JJ, my other niece Nicola her husband Dom and their son Alfie, our daughter Stacy, and son James and our daughter-in-law Danielle and our grandson Oliver.

So what is for dinner you ask? Okay I am making and we will be eating
Chicken Soup (and right now that is all I can smell as it is cooking but unlike the recipe I have given you I start it off on the hob and skim all the yucky stuff off first and then add the vegetables and cook it in the oven for hours at 150 degrees Celsius)
Chopped Liver (exactly how I make it) & Egg Mayonnaise (not together silly - I know Chopped Liver sounds awful but it is really very good if I do say so myself - it's a bit like rough Liver Pate I suppose)
Peach Chicken (I couldn't make the usual apricot chicken because we couldn't get the apricots in light syrup that I needed for it), Roast Potatoes & Vegetables
Lockshen Pudding (really really good trust me), Parev (means not made with any milk products so can be eaten with either a Milky Meal or a Meaty Meal) Ice Cream (and it is really good ice cream) and a Fruit Platter
Finished off by Black Coffee or Lemon tea (if I can be bothered that is because by then I am usually zonked)

So HAPPY NEW YEAR and Well over the Fast (which is next week). Who says our holidays aren't all about eating? They really are. Every single one of them

I will be back soon(ish) and show you loads of pictures I promise.

So until next time ...

Lots of Love

Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt



P.S. A HUGE thank you to everybody who helped with my problem but didn't need any help after all as Sarah had been on holiday (vacation) and had not received my email. Sarah if you are reading this please check in your Spam folder as I have sent you another email.