New Year - New Blog - New Cross Stitch Stash

Hello

This weekend I have moved my blog.  I've gone from blogspot over to Wordpress.  All my content has gone with me & I'm slowly making it home.  It'll be somewhere that I can have lots of different things all in the same place, such as my cross stitch, quilting, photos, twins, Lisa G Creations & Love Fabric.

I hope you'll come join me.

http://lisagillies.wordpress.com/

Impromptu Childs Pirate Outfit

This week the twins returned to school after the festive break.

Just a couple of hours into the day I received an email from the school reminding me it was pirate dress up day the following day.  It was nice to get the reminder, even more so because it was the first I'd heard of it!

We have one pirate outfit in the house & that belongs to the monkey, what was I going to do for little Moo?  What on earth does a girl pirate wear??  Oh I know... the same as a boy pirate only with a bit of bling :)

First up I need a white shirt with a bit of a ruffle.  A rummage around her wardrobe came up with a plain white t-shirt.  Now to add the ruffle.  Best I could find for this was a piece of lace (left over from some wedding ring cushions I made!).  Few pins & a bit of sewing & the shirt is complete.

Pirate Shirt - T-shirt & Lace

Next up, a jacket of some discription.  First of all I was trying to find a long t-shirt in either plain red or black.  Between the two of them, neither twin has either, can you believe it???  Time to re-think.  This time I raided the monkeys wardrobe & found a waistcoat.... bonus... that will do.

Waistcoat - straight out the boys wardrobe

Downstairs to raid the bag of Strictly fabrics (yes that would be all things chiffon & sequiney from Strictly Come Dancing!).  Found some perfect red fabric with a bit of bling.  The day was rapidly getting away from me here to it was time to work fast.  I cut out, very roughly I might add, some of the red to match the front panels of the waistcoat.

Rough cut panels for waistcoat front

Next up, I appliqued the red straight on to the front of the waistcoat.  I used red thread on top & black thread on the bobbin.  Again, this was done very quickly with not an awful lot of care going into turning & pinning the edges under (ooops!).

Waistcoat complete

With the waistcoat now complete it was just accessories to go.  I know for a fact that we have two pirate eye patches kicking about our house..... do you think I could find one of them??? nope... nothing.  Time to whip up a couple of eye patches.  Back to the strictly bag where I knew i'd seen a bit of black velvet.  This was just long enough to cut into strips & cut a little patch for the eyes.  Tiny bit of elastic on the back to join the two sides meant that I could be sure they wouldn't just slip straight off.  Of course the girl one had to match her waistcoat :)

Girl & Boy Pirate Eye Patches

Last up was some type of head gear.  Easy one, a piece of stretchy chiffon in bright red & cut into a large triangle would make a perfect bandana.

Triangle Pirate Headwear

Outfit complete & in time for dress up day too :)

Girl Pirate

What did I learn from this very quick outfit make?? Never work with children & sequins at the same time!!

Happy stitching :)

Cross Stitching Mojo

Well it appears that finishing the Cinderella cross stitch for a friend has really got me back into cross stitching in the evenings :)

I've started a nice new Christmas design from Hinzeit called Charmed Christmas Past.  I've had this chart all kitted up in my stash for *ahem* a while!!!  I'm stitching for 1-2 hours an evenings once the children are in bed.  So here's my progress so far:

Hinzeit - Charmed Christmas Past

It would be nice to have it completed in time for Christmas but I'm not concerned if it isn't, I'm just enjoying the stitching.

Just in case you are wondering about this weeks Silent Sunday post, both of the twins were poorly over the weekend & we were going through liquid Nurofen like it was going out of fashion.  Thankfully one of them is back to normal with just a cough but the other has developed tonsilitis so has been off school.

Happy stitching :)

Silent Sunday

I-Spy Quilt

This week I completed the i-spy quilt that I've been working on.  Friday I took it to the twins nursery & handed it over as a gift for them from Hannah & Robert.  All were pleased with it & shocked that   a) I'd made it myself &   b) that I could bare to part with it.

I hope future children at the nursery will have fun with it.

Quilt Front:

 Quilt Back:

Happy stitching :)

Red Nose Day.... When I Was A Kid

I remember the first comic relief... 25 years ago... does that make old?? don't answer that!

When I was a kid.....we all rushed out & bought the most awful hard plastic red noses that made you sore if you wore them for too long. We all paid a price to go to school in anything other than uniform, worth the 50p you'll agree :) The evenings tv was full up with fun & laughter, most enjoyable.

Now... some 25 years on I don't watch Comic Relief, yes it has some fun sketches but the it's the whole pulling at heartstrings bit that I just can't take anymore, I end up an emotional wreck. Once it gets back to a funny sketch you mop up your face, start to laugh & enjoy yourself & then all of a sudden BAM... they hit you with another relief story & you're back to hugging the tissue box again. I'm sorry Comic Relief, nowadays I just add my donation & enjoy a tear free friday.

Here I share with you the fun side of Red Nose Day.... the twins enjoying playing with their soft, foamy red noses, with thanks to Nanna & Grandad.


Happy Friday :)

The Life Of A Quilt + Other (image heavy!)

This Wednesday I decided to go back to the quilt that I started in November, the Pinwheel quilt. I made some excellent progress & have completed another 10 blocks. Now all I need is to square them all up to 12inches & the blocks are ready to sew together.

Strip pieced & cutting wide sections

Strip piecing the narrow sections

Narrow strips all cut

Chain piecing back together

Four patch squares created

More piecing

Blocks Complete

Just in case you haven't seen enough pictures I thought I'd share with you what else I got up to. This first quilt top is for my DD... aka Twin 1, Missy Moo, Little Moo or Hannah Moo. It's a disappearing nine-patch that I started at a one day workshop at Thread Bear that was with Carolyn Forster as the tutor. All I need to do now is add the border & then sandwich it. I think the border will be the lilac marble fabric as I have quite a bit of it & I think it would finish it off nicely.

This last one is a quilt top that I finished a few months ago but so far I haven't got around to sandwiching & finishing. I think I blogged about some of the stars as I was doing them but can't remember if I shared the finished top with you, so here it is.


I think that's everything.... for now... time to trim up some blocks.

Happy stitching :-)

Almost a Finish & Lots of Snow

Monday this week I took my aprons over to Frans to finish off & I also took along a mini quilt that I started a while ago. I have a burning desire to finish something for myself at the moment. I feel like I've spent so long making things for either the christmas craft fair, christmas presents or customer orders that I need something quick & small to finish for me :-)

I made good progress on Monday & this evening I've carried on with it for the last couple of hours & I'm really pleased with how it's looking.


Our plans for tomorrow have changed, rather than going out visiting friends we've decided to postpone until after christmas & after the snow. It does mean that I hope to carry on with the mini quilt & should have a finish to share with you soon.

We had quite a bit of snow fall this morning. In the space of about 2 hours the whole place went from being clear to being coated in a rather thick blanket of snow. MrG decided he was going to build the twins a snowman & to start with neither twin wanted to set foot in the snow but it wasn't long before Missy Moo decided she wanted to play in the snow & then the Little Monkey decided it wanted to play too. This was their result:


Happy Stitching :-)

Sew and Tell Friday

A very quick post to share with you what I made yesterday.

One of my twin mummy friends asked me to make a couple of little bags for her toddler boys. She purchased & supplied me with some lovely Cath Kidston fabric with lovely little aeroplanes on. I made the toddler tote bags yesterday afternoon & had some of the fabric left over. I checked with my friend & she was happy to let me run up something with what was left.

Here I give you the 2 toddler totes & the 2 "rustle something up" bags with the leftovers.


I wasn't sure what I could make so I had a look around to see what other supplies I had to hand & fortunately I had a nice blue & white checked cotton for a liner & 2 white zips which all seemed to go together perfectly.

Tomorrow they'll be delivered to my mummy friend.... I hope she likes them as much as I do.

For the first time I thought I'd link up with Amy Lou Who's blog & her Sew & Tell Friday. I hope you'll all pop over & check out some of the other items that have been made by her followers this week..... I know I've found at least 5 other things I'd like to make.

Happy stitching :-)

My Race For Life & A New Kit :-)

Last week was horrendously busy for me. It was the twins 2nd birthday on Tuesday & just as I was getting them dressed in their lovely party outfits & find that Hannah has the chicken pox :-( nightmare, we have 10 toddlers due in a couple of hours along with their parents. Well lucky enough we had a mixture of party guests that had either A) already had the Pox or B) wanted their little angels to get the Pox so the twins weren't alone. On the plus side Robert got the chicken pox too so after a week of dealing with 2 very unhappy toddlers we are now back to "normal".

Also last week my poorly Aunt lost her battle against cancer & past away. It was a bit of a relief towards the end but obviously still very sad. You may remember that I signed up to the Race For Life this year in the name of my Aunty & it is a shame that she wasn't still with us to see me run that race for her. Less than 2 weeks after her passing & I will be doing my race. It's this Sunday, I hope to do her proud.

I recently bought a nice new cross stitch kit too. "Remember Me" is a wonderful little sampler designed by Diane at Little House Needleworks Exclusively for Elegant Stitch. All proceeds from the sale of this kit go towards research & education in the fight against breast cancer. It's finished into a lovely little cushion which is also part of the kit. Details of the kit can be found here.



Happy Stitching :-)

Finally... I'm back!

Is it just me or did the Easter Holidays seem to take forever to go by?? The twins nursery isn't open during school holidays so my one day a week for stitching has been lost. Not only that but none of the playgroups are open during holidays either.... it's been busy...busy...busy with twins around here.

Now to get back to some serious stuff... the stitching!

Only one picture to share with you at the moment & thats my TUSAL picture. I finally managed to take it on the right day but haven't got around to posting it until now. The light threads near the top are all from my Sampler Quilt & the dark purple on top is also from the quilt. Above that is from the Christmas Design SAL.


Back to my stitching for a while now. I'm busy making up a little zip up bag & it's time for the zips... this could go one of two ways so wish me luck.

Happy Stitching :-)

How exciting!

My baby boy took his first proper steps this evening :-)

He made his way from mummy on the sofa towards daddy on the armchair & he managed half way before falling over. We clapped & cheered, even Hannah was clapping. Little Robert was soooo excited he crawled as fast as he could back to mummy & went for a 2nd attempt. Unfortunately on this attempt the excitement took over & his legs were moving way too fast & he just collapsed in a heap of laughter.

Ok... now I'm busy playing with Last.FM, something I've been trying to get around to for ages.

Walk of Life

Our babies are in the midst of a massive transition, they are currently moving from baby to toddler... yikes!!!

Hannah has started walking now & is so funny, it's like watching a little drunk stumble across the lounge floor on route to either mummy or daddy. Robert has been paying very close attention the last few days & is now making his own attempts, which are proving even more amusing.

Today we visited the shops with some fabulous friends & one of my purchases is the Little Life Daysack. Hannah has a pink one & Robert has a blue one... surprise..surprise!! They are brilliant & we even saw two people using them while we were at the shops. I can't wait to start using them with the twins :-)

I have recently posted on Facebook two very short clips of the twins. One of them when they were playing with their birthday balloons back in May & the other one of Hannah taking her first proper steps. Both are funny & I'm so pleased that I am lucky enough to have these clips to look back on.

Thats me done for now... back to Facebook for a couple of games & updates before bed. xx

Did I Mention.....

Almost 2 months have passed since my last post... so much for me getting back to blogging. Anyhows, lets give it another go.

May saw the first birthday of the twins & a lovely day was had by all. The sun was shining & the garden was filled with family & close friends.

June we've been busy as hell, loads to do as we have only 8 days until the wedding... Oh... did I mention... we're getting married next Saturday, at Hever Castle :-)

Babies are sleeping at the moment & it won't be long before they're up, I don't think I'll head into town again today, maybe down to the park for a play on the swings.

News from me.

OMG. how long has it been since I ventured into the world of Blog?? I completely missed the month of March & almost the month of April too.

Well lots has been going on. At home the bathroom has been done so thats another huge job out the way. The shop sale is finally complete so I no longer own a Needlecraft shop. The biggest news of all, we've booked our wedding (there goes the money from the sale of the shop!!!). It's very exciting & the closer it gets, the more exciting it gets :-)

My mum has started cross stitching birth samplers for the babies. Gave up on a twin one, they just don't seem to exsist. Instead I've chosen two Historical Sampler Company Birth Samplers, Animal Patchwork for Robert & Sugar & Spice Patchwork for Hannah. I shall keep you updated on their progress.

That will have to do me for now, my friend is due any minute for dinner which the bloke has just gone out to fetch :-)

Time to....

.... get a grip & stop dicking around!!!!!


The babies are now 4 & a half months old & to be honest I probably still look like I'm about 5 months pregnant (with a singleton of course as nothing could compare to the size I actually was!). It's getting beyond a joke. I have about 3 pair of trousers that I can actually wear, a hand full of tops & that's it. It's getting on my bloody nerves but I know that the only one that can do anything about it me.

I've been a person that has struggled with weight all my life & to loose the amount that I did & be as happy as larry for such a long time was a dream come true. I certainly wouldn't be without my babies (sorry that should be OUR babies) but my god did I gain some weight. It's been heart wrenching to open my wardrobe & see all the lovely clothes that I can't actually wear. I've been refusing to buy hardly anything in my new size as I just see this as temporary & if one more person says to me "it took your body 9 months to get that big so it'll take just as long to get it back to how it was".... I think I'll be looking at murder in the 1st!!!!!

Well this week sees the start of something new..... watch this space :-)

Oh yeah & in the meantime I hope you enjoyed seeing what I consider to be the greatest photo ever taken... until we get another greatest that is ;-) xx

Wow!! .........

.... look how old my babies are already ^^^^^ only 4 more days & they'll be 4 months exactly. Please someone slow things down a little bit, they're growing so fast I can hardly keep up!

Life is so busy at the moment there is no time at all for stitching or craft of any kind for that matter. A brief update, we're in the process of selling our home & buying a new one....Hoorrahh! I've sold my little KA... awwwww! I think I'll miss my little KA, it was the start of a new life & I'd had the little thing from new & now it's gone forever, lets take a moment to reflect (pause for all of 2 seconds), ok thats over... NEXT!

I decided the other day that I would make fairy cakes, what a bloody disaster that was. To start with we have already boxed up lots of the baking things, then I find (slightly too late) that I have the wrong type of margerine for baking, oh it was just one thing after another so I've given up for the time being. Although saying that it didn't stop me buying new cake tins in Lakeland :-)

Yesterday we went for a visit to DG's place down near the coast, all plans to leave home at sensible times went completely out of the window. Babies are following a routine & the majority of the time it works perfect, maybe half hour or so out but for the most part it's working a treat & yesterday was no different, unfortunately sticking to a routine is one thing but actually taking ones feed (Hannah) & bringing up ones feed (Robert) are uncontrolable so we ended up leaving home late, then arriving when it felt like half the day had gone. I was most upset on the way there that we had left so late & felt it was slightly rude on our part not to arrive a little earlier but DG was understanding & I was easily relaxed in the families company. In the end it was a shame to leave, it's the kind of calm & tranquil place that you long for to keep you out of reality... that is until both babies scream the place down!!!

It's feeding time shortly so for now I will leave you with the most wonderful images of my smiling children who continue to bring tears of joy to my eyes as I wonder at lifes miracle that is............babies :-)

Sooooo cute!

Ahhhh, some of my fav pics of the babies together!!

Potty Training Already???

No... well not actual Potty Training, more like Potter Training!!!

A couple of weeks before the babies arrived I made it my mission to get hold of the complete works of Beatrix Potter & it had to be the little white book versions rather than all them stuffed into one large book, I wanted them to be close to "original" as they could get.

When I was younger I loved the Beatrix Potter stories but never quite managed to get the entire collection of 23 (think I only managed 4!!!!). I was also lucky enough to visit "The Home Of Beatrix Potter" in the Lake District. A lovely place that is full up with everything BP, Peter Rabbit, Tom Kitten etc.

My main issue was that these books RRP at around £120, ridiculous. It was of course possible to get them through the childrens book club at some ridiculous price of £9.99 + P&P but that meant signing up to so many books a year, editors choice.. etc.. etc. Both me & DP decided that it wasn't something we wanted to commit to as we'd rather purchase our childrens books as & when we see fit rather than almost being forced to by some club. Next came the ultimate in finding anything at a pretty good price.... Ebay!!! I manged to get the complete set for £40, incl postage believe it or not... bargain.

Now that the babies are starting to spend a little more time awake after their feeds we've started on the collection & every evening during/after the last feed (last meaning before midnight) we read a BP book so now I have to run as it's around the time that the babies need relocating to the bedroom, bums changed, milk warmed & we all settle in for story time.

Tonights book is number 8 in the series - The Tale Of Jemima Puddle-Duck

Two weeks on!!!

Well our babies are just over 2 weeks old now... for those of you that didn't know, they were born happy & healthy on Sunday 11th May.
Hannah Daisy weighed in at 5lb 9oz at 22.21 & Robert Gregory weighed in at 6lb exactly at 22.22.
They are extremely cute & at the moment sleep quite a bit, feed quite a bit & fill their nappies... quite a bit. They rarely cry (for now!) & we are living it hope that they stay that way :-)

Now we can get down to the serious bit... birth samplers.. hmmm, none for twins. I shall have to put in an email to Historical Sampler Co' & see exactly how far the ladies have got with the designing of their twin sampler. In the meantime I have picked a couple of little ones from Cinnamon Cat (who else?) & their "Kitten" range. I intend these ones to be more of a door hanger for their bedrooms (when they eventually get a room each) rather than a sampler to hang on the wall.

Will keep you posted on progress of both stitching & babies!!!