Friday 4 June 2021

Swedish summer, Mother's Day and a few more finishes!

Hello Stitching Friends!

Hope you all are ok? Over here in Sweden summer has arrived, and me and my furbabies can go for long leisurely walks in the beautiful Swedish countryside. 


On my balcony I'm growing chives and basil for all those lovely summer salads. I have also had my first covid shot, and have my second one booked for the middle of July. Thankfully my parents are fully vaccinated now which is a relief, and my family are actually gathering next week to celebrate my wonderful niece who's graduating and leaving her school years behind her and who already has a job as a security guard lined up๐Ÿ™Œ.

But apart from all that, I'm mostly spending my days cross stitching whilst watching sports on the telly๐Ÿ˜. And my dogs use my balcony more than I do because I prefer to stitch curled up on my sofa๐Ÿ˜‚. As well as being a crafting addict, I'm also a very crazy sports fan and I've been known to plan my life around World Championships etc. So with all the icehockey going on right now (Stanley Cup playoffs and the World Championships), and then the UEFA EURO 2021 and after that the Olympics, I plan for endless hours of stitching fun in front of the telly this summer.

I have already had time to stitch a few smalls. It was Mother's Day here in Sweden last weekend so I stitched a card...

Original design from The World of Cross Stitching, issue 198.
Designer: Lucie Heaton

...and a bookmark...

Petal Markers featured in Cross Stitch Collection, issue 206.
Designer: Lesley Teare

...for my lovely mum.


In fact, I owe the bookmark finish to the amazing TIFF who kindly offered to send me DMC threads (and aida fabrics) from the US so I could finish this project and few other unfinished projects๐Ÿ’. Her wonderful kindness still warms my heart๐Ÿ’๐Ÿ™. Thank you again Tiff !!!

I have also managed to finish my snowglobe designed by Emma Congdon and I'm very pleased with it!

Festive Flurry from Cross Stitcher, issue 298.
Designer: Emma Congdon

My original plan was to display it in a hoop (like the original design) but hoops that size are just too expensive for me right now so I'll probably use a regular frame from IKEA in the end.


I love all the rich colours!


Finishing an old project felt soo good and really made me feel inspired to finish more projects so now I'm spending a little bit of time on this cute doggy picture every other day so I can get it finished too. I've already finished the top right corner and bit by bit I'm getting there. Lots and lots of white stitches left to do though...

It's a dog's life from Cross Stitch Collection, issue 224
Designer: Jayne Netley Mayhew

I have also finished the spring tree from the seasonal trees design by Cheryl McKinnon...


...and now I'm working on the brightly coloured autumn tree.


I haven't decided how I'm going to finish these yet...  Any ideas?

Seasonal Trees from Cross Stitch Crazy issue 260.
Designer: Cheryl McKinnon

I haven't quite finished cataloguing my WIP's/UFO's yet but I have taken some more pictures of them. Hopefully I'll finish that task next week before the EURO starts on Friday 11th. 

Now I'm going to leave you to go for a walk with the dogs before I get stuck into some more stitching. I saw these cute little dreamcatcher letters that I'd like to have a go at๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜‰...

Hope you have a lovely stitchy weekend wherever you are๐Ÿ’๐ŸŒž๐ŸŒธ!

Annie