The Knitting Lion?

It's been so lovely catching up with everyone's blogs over the past couple of days. I haven't managed to leave a comment on every single post, but I have tried to leave a note on the most recent one. Thank you all so much for your encouraging comments on my last post. I have been replying by posting on the commentator's blog, but is this the best way to do it do you think? I would love to hear what you think about replying to comments and how it should be done.

I received an email a couple of days ago from the lovely Catherine letting me know that her Birthday Stitch Surprise Parcel had arrived safely. I'm so pleased that Catherine loved her gift. Here's what I sent . . .

A card, a cut of floral fabric, a length of lace, a Lil' Britters chart, a pack of needles and a card :)

Emma is next on the list, I've already started collecting bits and pieces :)

And so to the title of this post. I have wanted to learn to knit for a long time. My grandmother tried, but I needed more practise than the one afternoon we had. My needles languished in a bottom drawer, but thanks to The Big Tidy, I've found them and a big small of gorgeous blue wool.

The thing is, I don't know how to knit. So, I went to my local WH Smiths and bought a knitting magazine. 

At £4.99 ($8.09), it was pretty steep for a magazine and a real treat for a student like me. But it came with a separate magazine filled with simple projects like hats, egg cosies and scarves. Perfect for this novice knitter!

I was hoping there would be instructions at the back about the basics of knitting. There was a two page spread about casting on, knit stitch and purl stitch - and that was it! Nothing about how to add different colours or the different types of wool. I was quite disappointed that this magazine didn't really help beginners.

However, I will not be deterred. I taught myself to cross stitch and I can jolly well teach myself to knit. I'm going to search on youtube for tutorial videos on knitting. I'm also going to look on the websites of the knitting magazines to see if they have a beginner's section on there. I really would love to learn this craft.

I have one big question for any experienced knitters out there. How much freedom do you have with knitting? Do you have to have the right wool and the right needles or the project won't turn out right? With cross stitch, I know I can mix up the colours and the fabric and it will still look pretty good. Is that the same with knitting, or is it more a stick to the book craft? Any help would be very much appreciated :)

That's all for today, I hope you're enjoying a wonderful weekend,

 

A Finish, A Treat, An Idea

Hello fellow bloggers! I hope you are all having a wonderful week. Wednesday is my day off from lectures, so I'm catching up with reading, wrapping a few more presents, and hopefully finding time for stitching too.
I have my first Christmas ornament to share! It's only a little one, but I could not be more pleased with how it turned out . . .


Christmas Greetings
Carol @iStitch
32ct Vintage Beige Evenweave
DMC and Duchess Threads

This is my first time finishing an ornament with a hanger and I really like it, especially with the red ribbon attachment.
Don't you just love Christmas backing fabric?

I've already got my next ornament waiting and ready to be stitched up. Hopefully I'll get needle into fabric sometime this afternoon.
So now on to the treat part of my title. Yesterday after lessons, I met up with my mum in Winchester. We had a wander round the shops and visited the Christmas market. It was so very pretty, with the ice rink in the ground of the cathedral and all the lit up stalls and huts. The only downside was that everything seemed so expensive. I only found some fudge for Lawrie, and a gingerbread man for me! Mum didn't manage to find much either, so she suggested we return to the shops in search of goodies to treat ourselves with. She found a gorgeous glasses case in Cath Kidston, and just before heading to dinner, we went to the Fabric Shop . . .
I had been looking at these for awhile. I don't own many pairs of scissors and it always annoys me when I have to hunt for a pair. So, as a treat from my lovely mother, I came home with these beauties . . .

These are my first pair of stork scissors and I think they are so very pretty. I can't wait to use them.
As I can never resist ribbon, I got this lovely length with the change . . .

How cute is this! I know exactly what design it will be good for, stay tuned.

Thank you to those who commented on my query about stitching challenges. I've had a thought about it, and I don't think I'm going to enter the Crazy Stitching Challenge. The truth is, I don't own 15 projects that I'd like to start, and I'd rather pick and choose throughout the year.
However . . .
I do have an idea that I'd like to try out, hence the final part of the title. I'd really like to give back to the stitching community as I have been treated to many gorgeous packages and parcels throughout this year. I'd like to send out a few parcels of myself, to treat my fellow bloggers at the perfect occasion. So . . .
Introducing the Birthday Stitch Surprise!
The idea is that whoever would like lets me know when their birthday is, I'll do a drawing so I have a list of twelve names for each month in the year. In that month, I shall send a package of stitching goodies and probably a stitched piece to the birthday girl! Does this sound like a good idea to you? I just wondered what my lovely followers thought before I made it official. Any comments would be gratefully appreciated!
Speaking of my lovely followers, I've nearly got 100 of them - my goodness! I can't believe so many of you care about this student and her stitching. Thank you so much. I love stitching, blogging and being part of this community and you make that happen, thank you again.
I hope you're all enjoying a lovely Wednesday,

A Query

Hello blogging community, I have a question for you, if you would be so kind.

I was just wondering if there were any challenges planned for early next year? I know at the beginning of this year we had the Crazy January challenge, and was wondering if there was anything of the sort happening next year?

As we all do around this time, I've been thinking about things I want to stitch up and such, and was possibly think of doing my own Crazy 15, but is there anything formal I can join up to?

Thank you very much for your thoughts on this :)

Being Creative

Hello everyone, I hope you've all had a wonderful week and are ready to enjoy a relaxing weekend. More on my weekend later.

First up, I got time this week to finally have a play on my new sewing machine. I was successful in setting up the machine on my first try, so that was a bonus. Then I started stitching, and that didn't go too . . .

Here is my first attempt, and yes, it has three holes for stuffing, whoops . . .

I'm in two minds whether to rescue this design and sew it again, or keep it as is as a memento of my first stitching on my own machine. We'll have to wait and see.

I was not deterred and picked up another design and tried again. This time it went much better. I am a big believer in making mistakes in order to learn and I think that's very true in stitching. So, here's my second attempt, a lovely plump pillow!

There's a pin at the top because I am in desperate need of advice - how do I sew the final seam shut? Any hints and tips would be very much appreciated from this novice stitcher.

I'm hoping to get some time next week to finish one of my Lizzie Kate pieces, but I want to wait until I'll got a good chunk of time because I don't want to rush them. I'm determined to get them finished as pillows before Christmas though!

In other stitchy news, I've got a new start to share. I've started County Cottage Designs, Gingerbread House and I'm loving it! Haven't got too far along yet, but I really love the pink colours in the middle of the house. I'm hoping to get this one finished and in a frame before Christmas too.

Lawrie is coming down tomorrow for a visit and on Sunday, we're heading to the Vintage Market. I went last month it was on and found this beauty . . .

I'm using it as a shopping basket at the moment, but when I head home for the holidays, I'm going to put all my stitched Christmas decorations in it to put in my room. How very festive!

Hope you enjoy a wonderful weekend,

 

Another Question . . .

I have recently discovered some wonderful scrapbooking blogs and would like to post more about my scrapbooking on this blog. But I wondered if my followers would prefer it to stay stitching related and then I could simply set up a new blog to talk exclusively about scrapbooking. Although this blog will always be mainly cross stitching (it's my favourite hobby after all!), I would like to post more about scrapbooking adventures.

What do you think? As my followers, it's up to you what you would like to read on my blog. Leave this blog to stitchy matters and set up a new, different blog? Or integrate the two crafts together?

Any advice, thoughts or comments would be very much appreciated!

A Question . . .

Hello blogging friends, I was wondering if you could help me. I was browsing on http://www.123stitch.com/ website and found some lovely things at a great price, thanks to the conversion rate. I was just wondering if this is a good website to use? Is service good? And to any English bloggers, have you used this website before? Does it takes ages for packages to arrive?

Any advice on using this website would be gratefully appreciated :)

No pictures from me today, but I hope to have a finish in the next couple of days!

Hope you're all having a lovely week,

Advice Needed

Since the summer began, I have been finding much more time to enjoy my stitching, which is why Charlie is coming along so well. I have been stitching this past week when I came home from Summer School and have got quite a bit done. I am hoping he will be finished this weekend so that I can start something new at the beginning of next week.



Summer School has now finished and I'm relieved to be honest. It was fun at certain points, but it is very tiring trying to keep younger children entertained. I'm glad I did it, but I'm glad it's over! And with the money I earned, I am hoping to buy a large cross stitch frame that will hold bigger projects. This is the part where I require some advice. I need a lap frame that can be easily stored, yet will still hold quite large projects. Does anyone have any ideas about which one, or which brand, I could look into? Any help or direction would be much appreciated :)

I hope you all have a wonderful stitchy weekend,