Hello lovelies!
I can't quite beleive that we are already sailing into July and as it is as it is the 4th of July I would love to wish all my lovely American friends a very blessed Independence Day! I hope you are having some lovely celebrations!
It feels very strange to think that we are nearly half-way through the summer. I don't know about you but I have so many things I want to do and it feel like I just don't have the free time available to do it all! I suppose life is always like that, we are torn between what we want to do, what we ought to do and what we have to do.
Creative Finishes
I've had some good finishes this past week. I finally finished my Hermoine's Everyday Socks that I started at the Buxton Wool Gathering in early May.
I used The Magic Faraway Tree colourway and I love how they turned out. All those swirling pinks, puples, yellows and greens look wonderful.
I have also been meaning to knit up some fresh new disch cloths for the longest time. I only use hand-knitted cotton dishcloths to hand wash dishes.
There's nothing quite like them. They are thick, soft and durable and I love that I can pop them in the washing machine and resuse them. They last for years!
On Saturday while my darling husband was taking out some hedging in the garden (another post - lots of gardening loveliness to share!) I sat watching copious episodes of Poirot and Miss Marple and knitted up three dishcloths for the kitchen.
I used Drops 100% cotton for my dishcloths and my one and only go-to pattern by Debbie Andriulli of Homespun Living Blog. She has not blogged in a while but she has some great posts that she has written over the years to enjoy.
WIP's
I have picked up my cross-stich again. I feel like I have the headspace to be able to focus on this project now that my studies have finished for the summer.
I'm working on a lovely wintery Christmas sampler called "Forest Snowfall" by Country Cottage needleworks. I am using Classic Colorworks embroidery thread for this sampler.
I bought my chart and threads fom The Patchwork Rabbit here in the UK. It seems to be out of stock at the moment but I see that you can request to be notified when it comes back in stock.
As I was taking a photograph of my work I noticed this sweet bee enjoying the lavender. Isn't he just so fluffy and lovely!
I keep my cross-stitch project in a little tote bag that I embroidered and made years ago.
This is my own little design, a little stitchery of my cat enjoying a nap on our garden bench.
When I unearthed this cross-stitch project I was reminded how much I enjoyed working on little embroidered projects like this. It's funny how you can 'forget' some of the things you enjoy when life takes on a new season or direction.
Seeing this little stitched bag has inspired me to get back to doing some of the creative needlework arts that I enjoyed so much.
I have a quilt that I need to finish (that will be for another post) and I have treated myself to a new Moda Fabric Jellyroll. I am inspired by Jenny from Elefantz so I will glean some inspiration from her when using this.
My thoughts are also turning towards planninig my Christmas makes. I know it seems early but things take time to make and if you are wanting to make them beautifully then it's never to early to start planning.
I have decided that I am only making gifts for people who I know love receiving handmade gifts. Not everyone does and hey, that is ok. I get it. There is joy in giving and receiving and I think that as makers, we love giving our hand makes so much that it can be easy to forget to bear in mind the recipient and what their love language is. So each recipient and my handmade gift will be carefully thought about!
Anyhoo, I hope you are all having a lovely {creative} summer so far. I'm off to get an hour of stitching in and perhaps a sneaky episode of Midsommer Murders!
See you back here very soon!
Thank you for the Happy Independence Day wishes! I’ve enjoyed your blog posts since back when you were still homeschooling your daughters. Like you, we have finished our homeschooling journey now that our children are grown. I also love to embroider and cross-stitch and would like to say I now have more time, but life does tend to get in the way, doesn’t it? Love the embroidered kitty on your handmade project bag!