''Stitching Time''

Took the afternoon off, today. There's been a lot of cleaning and breakfasts going on over the last couple of weeks and I needed a little ''stitching'' time. And add to that a trip to A & E last weekend, and tending the wounded, for good measure. (A & E? sure you can guess - involves a bike, rocks and luckily just one finger but a surprising number of stitches for such a little pinkie!) Yeah - I needed this afternoon!

So, I finished off this little sweetie. You know how some things you make you just absolutely love them - well, this is one of them for me. It's a gorgeous little pincushion pattern of Brenda Ryan's - there's also a daisy design in the same pattern that I'm only half way through but this is the finished hollyhock one.

I added the feather stitch down the seams cos I love the way it looks.

And I've used Pams Cottage Garden Threads - aren't they so gorgeous.

Speaking of Pam's threads - she has just released another 34 new colours! I think I've died and gone to heaven! They arrived yesterday and I have been oogling them ever since - I'll pop them on the website soon, I promise.

This is my little "Days in Provence" quilt - all finished. The quilt is a design of Jackie Nicholls (http://www.houseonthehill.co.nz/) and it's another one of those ''I really love this'' things!

I quilted really simply around each block- was wanting the ''naive'' look and decided that chunky stitches using perle thread would work. Then got a little carried away on the outside border and quilted it around and around, in quarter inch lines (not perfect quarter inches though - eyeballed it all the way!) It's given the border a sort of scrunched effect and that's what I really like - sort of a vintagey look.

Had another little delivery this week which was fun - a lovely range of fabrics called Wild Thyme - the most gorgeous shades of pinks and green. Do I have plans for this - definitely!

We're off for a few days holiday next week - will be walking amongst the real wild thyme - so hoping for some lovely sunny days and balmy evenings. And I get to choose a new little project to take with me - my holiday stitching project!

I've narrowed it down to about 4 - so might have to flip a coin a few times to make the final decision.

Happy stitching

Jenny