An Update

It's been a long time since I posted on my blog - I've been in a bit of a crafty lull as a result of changes in my job, but let me get you up to speed on the few things I've been doing.

My talented fellow cross stitcher friend, Jenny, makes amazing Christmas Tree decorations - including the one pictured below that she gave Bren and I for Christmas this year. So, I decided to try making some of my own. I was hoping to make some for my friends, family and penpals but of course other events put me behind. I've made a couple as Christmas presents but you'll have to wait until after Christmas to see those!

Snowflake decoration made by Jenny

Christmas pudding "N" initial - pattern taken from World of Cross Stitching magazine

I haven't managed to do much more of my "Dictionary of Cakes" piece, but I'm hoping to do lots over the Christmas break. I'm aiming to have it finished by the end of February - I'd say January but I'm being realistic and taking new job into account. I'm also aiming to complete one of these pieces from issue 211 of The World of Cross Stitching Magazine in honour of my impending trip to Paris with Bren. I haven't decided which one yet, but if I can change the hair colour to brown like mine then I'll probably do the bigger piece.

"Paris: Je t'aime" Issue 211 The World of Cross Stitching Magazine

The World of Cross Stitching Magazine Issue 212

 In other exciting news, I was part of the reader panel in Issue 212 of The World of Cross Stitching Magazine! All I had to do was send an email with a recent photograph of myself and in a few weeks the emailed back asking if I'd like to be on the panel for Issue 212. They then sent me a questionnaire for me to complete about my stitching history and habits and asking for my opinions of the featured patterns. As a thank you, I got a gift package of Madeira theads, needle threader and cutter, embroidery scissors, thimbles and needles.