Invite your partner swap

I was lucky enough to snag Lily (Lilyvanilli on Craftster) as a partner for this swap. She sent me an awesome package- which will feature in my next post (I have yet to take photos) but if you can't wait to see the amazing goods you can see them here . Fellow Craftsters take note- next IYP be brave and ask someone you admire to swap with you- it is well worth it!
This is what she got from me in return:
ready for your close up?

Somewhat predictably it is based on an Angelique Houtkamp image (well her artwork is amazing). So much fill stitching- I like how the shading on her dress turned out. Her hair is done in lines of satin stitch to add texture- you can't see that on the photo as it's black so you'll have to take my word for it.
I also made an embroidered handbag mirror - which I'll post pics of at a later date and these little extras;
Lily has been a great partner (as you'll see when I post photo's of the beautiful embroidery she sent me) and this has been a fun swap, and guess what the best thing about the swap is? It's not over because I was greedy and signed up with two partners! I'm also swapping with Amy from SwellStitches (Amyracinrose) so there are more of my crafts to post once she receives (don't want to ruin the surprise).
Thankyou Lily- it's been fun we should do it again some sometime!
Night all!
x

because every little boy needs a spacesuit...

busy busy

I'm stitching up a storm at the moment. I'm in the middle of the 'Invite your partner' swap and have two great people to craft for. I have a couple of items nearly done and looking at them am beginning to wonder how much of my life is spent doing fill stitches! Am pleased with how they have turned out though- don't want to say too much and give the game away to my swap partners!
Other than that am wondering about trying to knit again as various family members are knitting away for the baby and I feel I should get in on the action. Me and knitting haven't got on so well in the past so if anyone has any ideas for an easy baby project let me know (by suggesting ideas you are volunteering to be my knitting mentor and I need a lot of help!).
Oh and as I'm craftin' for two these days I've also picked up a winnie the pooh cross stitch kit for baby's room- I don't usually do kits but this is sooo cute (my brain is turning to baby mush- too much baby shopping). My Mum has chosen a cute birth memento cross stitch to do for the room too- we are quite the crafting family- my dad is even talking about making some wooden baby toys as he's into his woodwork and woodturning. Nursey design craftster style!
So no new pictures to post right know but expect picture heavy posts once I've sent my swap packages, and if I pluck up the courage to get those evil knitting needles out I will post in progress pics of what is bound to be a knitting disaster.
x

Inny ansome? (that's Cornish for isn't he handsome)

that's my boy x

A christmas best forgotten!

It has been an eventful Christmas for me this year. On Saturday I had a car accident on the motorway. I was checked over at the hospital and luckily the baby is fine somehow my stomach is the one part of me that escaped injury. I have never been so scared as I was waiting for a scan at the hospital but baby was happily bouncing around on the screen seemingly unaware of their lucky escape! I am covered in magnificent bruises, very sore and my car is a wreck- thankfully no one else was hurt and I escaped without any serious damage.
It hasn't all been drama though- here I am pre-accident on Christmas day- check out that bump! I'm definitely showing now and wearing very fetching maternity trousers. And baby is making their presence known by wriggling and kicking in the evenings. Better get started on some baby crafts soon- I'll be finding out the sex next week so might pick up some babygros (onesies) to stitch on after that.

Also the time off work whilst I'm recovering from the accident is giving me chance to get stuck into my stitching- it's helping take my mind off things and is one of the few things I can do to keep busy that doesn't hurt! I finished up a bag I've been working on for my mum:
The design is from a transfer, I enjoyed doing something traditional and it was pretty satisfying to tackle this design because it proved to me how much my stitching has improved (the back of my work is still bloody awful though- but who cares what the back looks like right?)

And I'm now getting started on some pieces for the Craftster 'Invite your partner' swap where I am swapping with two people whose work I admire greatly Lilyvanilli (Lily blogs) and Amyracinrose (Swell stitches). I'd better do a really fantastic job as they are both supertalented. I have plenty of ideas for the smaller pieces I'm going to send but am going to have to get plotting on what to do as the main projects.

As for NYE, I be having a quiet one, I've had quite enough adventure for now.
Happy new year xxx

where's sophie at?

Well you may have noticed I've been missing. The reason is that I've got a WIP that has left me absolutely exhausted:

It might not look like much to you yet but I'm sure that when it's finished it will be the most perfect thing I've ever made! Yep I'm 15 weeks pregnant and until recently had been feeling pretty rotten which is why I've not been about much lately. Luckily my energy levels are starting to pick up (I no longer have to be in bed by 8 o'clock) and I've started to craft again. So between eating lots of ice cream and having strange emotional outbursts whilst slobbing in front of the telly here is what I've made:

The bag is a subversive cross stitch pattern although I've changed the colours- I used the waste canvas method. The penguin is going to be an Xmas card and the pattern was a freebie from Andrea Zuill's blog
It's great to be stitching again- I've missed it so much (although I have to admit there were a few days when I was feeling so sick and had to finish stuff for the tea towel tour where I was cursing the day I'd decided to take up embroidery a hobby!). I'm now working on two other totes before I try and finish some of my long list of works in progress. I'm also sketching some ideas for a magpie embroidery which will be the first thing I've done for a while based on my own design. Oh and maybe some cutesy baby crafts will start making an appearance... well hopefully not too cutesy, I promise not to go all pastel coloured on you ;)
x

TTT4

I have finished up on the Craftster tea towel tour my last piece of stitching was for Nannetta her towel had a sun, moon stars and astrology theme. So I did this:

Underneath the star is the constellation for Virgo (Nannetta's sign). It's a fairly simple design but I think it fits in with has already been stitched on the towel. I hope she likes it.
And I have recieved my finished towel- it is so fantastic.

Thanks to (left to right below) Sewsew-a-gogo, IamSusie, Timpani~Jax, UrsulaDiamond and Nannetta

I love everything on my towel- the designs are all very 'me' and the quality of the stitching is amazing. I was lucky to get a great group who have been fun to swap with- I really hope to swap with each of them again some time in the future. I feel sad that this swap is drawing to an end but it is great to see all the finished towels springing up on the Craftster gallery (it's a big gallery but you can click on 'show images only' to just view the pics)