Two BBD Finishes and IHSW

Hello everyone!

I actually have some stitching to show all of you.  Last week, my hubby and I went for a 3 day camping trip to Porpoise Bay.  It was wonderful there.  So warm and not too busy.  I brought one of my BBD WIP's with me to stitch and I had to buy an internet pass to look up how to do a buttonhole and chain stitch! Buttonhole stitches are actually quite easy once you get the hang of it.  I finished the design a couple of days ago and am rather pleased with the result.  

Here is Buttons and Pins, stitched on 40 ct. Light Examplar with the recommended GAST threads.

My hubby suggested I try doing a twisted ribboned edge.  I will see how that works out once I get it sewed together.  I also finished a very sweet little BBD last week.  I started it in Prince George and it's for a very dear friend.  I will be making it into a box for her as well.  It's from the Flowers of the Field booklet, stitched on 36 ct. Vintage Buttercream with the recommended threads.

 love that dark bluey grey in this.  Such a pretty design.

For IHSW weekend, I stitched only on Hannah and just for two nights.  I really tried staying up late stitching but my  eyes got very wiggly and I was making mistakes.  Must not stitch at night!

I'm feeling so close to the end I just want to press on. 

 

 The box for Life's a Stitch needs a few more shiny coats on it before I can add the design.  I hope to finish the box and the pillow tomorrow if all goes well.  

That's all for stitching.  What I'm really excited about is that I started from scratch my very own curry!! I followed a Masterchef Australia recipe, called Desi Murgh Chicken Curry.  It was delicious but took me about 1 and 1/2 hours to make! I've always wanted to cook a proper curry and now I understand the process a bit more than I had.  

Yum!!

Here are some photos from our little bike trip.  Enjoy!

I'm obsessed with close ups as you can see.  I would love to save up for a really good camera with a micro lens, but that's 1000's of dollars....sigh.

Last but not least, a shot of my favourite summer bush flowers: hydrangeas.

I hope everyone is staying cool as I've read quite a few people's blogs that there are heatwaves going around.  We have been so fortunate with our weather.  So please take care! Sending you my thoughts and hugs!!


Anne

The L*K Traveling Pattern Goes To.....

Annette in California!!

Enjoy stitching this lovely little pattern.  I certainly did!!

Thank you to all of you who entered.  Follow the pattern and you may be next!

I am currently painting the box it will be on so I will show you all as soon as it's done.  

Life is a Stitch.

 

 

Family Reunion and Prince George trip

Beware....loads of photos....

My trip up to Prince George and Quesnel for the family reunion was wonderful and waaaay too short. My aunt and I drove up from Vancouver in her luxury car the day after school ended. I love that drive, seeing BC in all it's glory. 

Once we arrived at Quesnel in the evening, I got to meet all the Doll family and there were a lot of them! We laughed, we talked, and we ate a lot of great food.  There was also a lot of games of cribbage, of which I won two games against my 94 year old Great Aunt, who is smart and sharp as a whip.  She would count my hand before I could even begin! Winning that game with a 21 hand brought me back memories of my first game with my Great Grandpa Doll when I was nine.  I won against him too with a 24 hand (which is very high in the game of crib).  The reunion took place at my cousin's house in Quesnel, which is a quaint little town about an hour away from Prince George.  Her garden was sublime.  I loved walking around her garden and took lots of pictures.

It was great fun hanging out with my brother and sister in the town of Quesnel.  I finally got to walk over the walking bridge!! This is a bridge we have passed by in our travels many, many times before but we were never allowed to stop and take a walk.  It was always...get to Vancouver with no stopping! So thankfully, with this trip, I managed to see a number of sites I've always wanted to see since I was a little girl.

Did I mention it was boiling out? Oh it was so hot! I loved dipping my feet in the cool river.  It felt wonderful!

My brother, sister and I got up to shenanigans in the mall....

Silly little brother!!

Then it was back to Prince George.  It was sweltering on Canada Day.  My sister and I went to the Park to watch some dancers and eat some food.  We were glad to head back to her place to cool off and prepare for a bbq.  Look who I found in my suitcase...

Spalding! My sister's kitty

The rest of the week I helped out my mom and Dad sort things, visit my Grandma, have more bbq's and take a wonderful trip to Purden lake, where I was eaten up by flies and mosquitos...blech...hate the bugs in the summertime.  The bugs LOVE me I'm telling you!

Here's some more photos of my trip.  The first few are of my old elementary school. My brother I took a walk down memory lane.

Purden Lake

An extra fluffy Stellar Jay

Backyard bbq with a glass of sherry

The road trip home....My aunt and I have always wanted to take the trolley across the deepest, steepest, craziest part of the Fraser River since we were both kids.  The place is called Hell's Gate and is probably the coolest spot, or should I say hottest, in BC.  Unfortunately, we got there an hour late and the place was closed....I was so sad.  Hopefully, one day, I will get a chance to go there again.

The water moves so fast it looks like it is boiling

We also stopped at Yale, a super small little town that had a flea market going on.  I bought two vases and bargained with the lady.  I love bargaining.  I forgot to take photos of my vases, but here's a cool pic of the market.

You never know what you can find along the highway from Prince George to Vancouver.  

Back at home, I had little Titus waiting for me and my lovely husband.  

Titus was super playful, as though he hadn't been played with all his life!! 

Just so this isn't a completely non-stitchy post, here's my minute progress on Hannah.  I really didn't have much of a chance to stitch on her.  I did start another design, a BBD, but it's for my friend's Christmas gift so I can't show you that one until much later. 

 Hopefully, you enjoyed this post.  I am sad and glad to be back at the same time! Glad to be home with the man and cat, but sad to say goodbye to my family.  I'm happy to be reading all of your posts and cycling and doing all sorts of fun summer activities.  

Oops! Nearly forgot to show you what was waiting for me when I arrived.....

My name was picked to win this SANQ from the lovely Vickie.  She sent me some darling pins and a lovely note too.  Thank you my dearest Vickie!

Well, that's it for now! 

Anne

Life's A Stitch Traveling Pattern

Well hello everyone!

I'm back from my family reunion/vacation.  I will do a follow up post on that after this one! 

The traveling pattern truly did travel with me.  I failed to realize when I picked out the teeny tiny 40 count fabric, that it would be quite difficult to stitch on during the car trip.  I had to wait until I took it out in the sunshine to be able to see the holes! My poor eyes! I finally finished the satin stitched border today sitting in the sunshine of course! So I hope you like my version and if you like to stitch it next, please comment on this post letting me know you want to stitch it next.  

Details: Stitched on Mirage PTP 40 ct. with threads from VMShoppe, Dinky Dyes and WDW.

Until the next post, happy stitching!!

Anne

2 More Days and IHSW

That's right!!

2 more days and I'm done with school! Thank goodness because the last few weeks have been exhausting.  So glad that my reports came back with no errors and my principal said he enjoyed reading them! Yahoooooo!!! I always worry that I say the right thing about a child. Hopefully the parents and their child will appreciate them too.  I'm pretty happy to be coming back the next year and already have loads of ideas and improvements.  But what I'm really looking forward to is the time to cycle, read, stitch, catch up on blogs, and all that summer brings. 

Lots of things to share with you today.  I have been overly blessed as of late and have been chosen by hubbies, pets and fate to be the winner of a number of giveaways.  First, I was chosen to be the next recipient of the traveling sisterhood's "Life's a Stitch" chart from the sweet Valma! I've followed this chart for awhile.  So glad to be given the chance to stitch it.  I will be literally traveling while stitching.  I'm off to a family reunion this Saturday and will be visiting the family for a couple of days, then back to the mainland the following weekend.  Can't wait! Here's the fabric and floss toss.

Not sure if I will make it into a box or finish it as a pillow.  I'll decide when I'm done.  When I get back from my trip, I will do a post to pass it on to the next person.

Then, I was very lucky to receive one of Lee's exquisite beetles.  I just fell in love with the enchanting creatures when I saw them on her blog.  She is so very talented with embroidery and stump work. The beetle may end up on a magnet or I may make it into a brooch.  Thank you so much Lee!!

Last, but definitely not least, my name was drawn to win Jeanne's, from Willow Tree Stitcher, massive giveaway! I've followed her blog for awhile now admiring her stitching and sewing, which are both impeccable. To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement.  She made me one of her lovely project bags and I've been looking at her sewing skills...wow! My hubby is impressed with her ability to sew straight, unlike me O.O  She sent me loads of charts, some linen, Vikki Clayton silks!, and a couple of kits all ready to go.  I will be tackling a couple of these charts this summer for sure! Thank you again Jeanne!! 

Wow right?!

Now for a pic of my IHSW stitching.  I completed the border and it sort of matched.  I had to fudge it a bit but I don't think anyone will notice at all.  Put in some more blooms and filled in grass.  So nothing terribly exciting. I'll apologize ahead for the wrinkles.

That's all the stitching I have done. Those flowers take me over an hour to do for some reason.  Jane's flowers took my 40.  Hmm.  Maybe I've slowed down a bit.

Onto other news, my hubby and I finally had a day off together with some sunshine, so we booked it over to Stanley Park and enjoyed ourselves smelling roses, eating salmon berries, hiking, talking, just enjoying ourselves.  Enjoy the photos.

I love crows and can't resist a good photo opportunity with the black birds of the sky.

 

That's all until I get back from the Doll family reunion.  

Thank you so much for commenting on my last post. I didn't have time to respond to all of your lovely comments but I appreciated all of them so much.  Bless you all and happy stitching!!!

Anne