Some Scrapbooking and the End of the Summer...

Postcard Blog Hop, that is.  The weather still seems to think it is Summer apart from the Autumnal nip in the air in the mornings.

The final postcard came to me from Mouse.  She sent me a choice of pictures, one of which went into the main Blog Hop and the other I kept for Lucky Last.  Can you guess why I kept this picture for me?

Here's the full list of who sent  in postcards and where they went:

Jennifer's postcard sent to Tales of a Stitching Mouse

Mouse's card sent to The Southpaw Stitcher

Southpaw's card sent to Julie's Stitchy Knitter Journal

Julie's card sent to Julie and Yes Dear

Julie (and Yes Dear)'s card sent to Cucki's Stitching Cove

Cucki's card sent to Gracie at Needles, Pins and Dragonflies

Gracie's card sent to Lesley at Lesley's Stitching Diary

Lesley's card sent to It's Geek to Me

Heather's card sent to The Alchymyst's Study

Christine's card sent to Tales of a Stitching Mouse

The links all go to the actual postcard post but while you're there take the time to look round the rest of the blog if it's new to you, they are all great blogs and well worth the browsing time.  In fact you're pretty much looking at a Top Ten of My Favourite Blogs!  (Top Nine really because Mouse is there twice, once for stitching, once for the cuppa and cakes she provides).

And now the Scrapbooking part of the post.  I started stitching alot of smalls last year and rather than have loads of frames all over the place I decided to scrapbook them.  The scrapbook is a proper crafty one with clear slip-in pockets for the pages you can buy.  Most people make photo montages using embellishments but I just stick my stitching on the pages instead.  The range of pages is incredible, some perfect for stitching backdrops and all costing pence rather than pounds!

Here are the Warhol Pansies:

The paper came with the little flowers cut out already.  I backed it with four different coloured pieces of card to match the fabric which was coloured before stitching using fabric pens.  I then stuck some floral embellishments in the centres of the larger flowers.

And the first two of the Brooke's Books Birthday Cakes series:

June

August

Eventually I'll have all twelve cakes completed.  I do love a series of designs!

Finally, here's a blog that deserves a wider circulation - SAL Directory.  We all love a good Part-Work SAL don't we?  And we all kick ourselves when we miss a sign-up date or have to play catch-up because we're five parts behind everyone else.  Well here's a solution.  Blu has started this blog to list all the Part Work SALs out there on t'internet.  If you know of one starting soon then drop her an email and she'll add it to the blog.

August TUSAL

It's TUSAL Time again!

Here is mine, posing with Papillon's Around the World in 80 Stitches and the lovely folder I use to keep all the ATW80 charts in.  I decided it would be easier to have each page in a separate plastic sleeve in a folder.

I was lucky enough to win this lovely kit from Linda the Keeper of the Crowes to celebrate her First Blogaversary.  The chart uses standard DMC threads but Linda has subbed the two main colours for these gorgeous Gentle Arts threads.

I have used the gold one already on an exchange I'm stitching (so you can't see it yet!) and it's very subtly variegated.  It's so hard to get these different threads without having a proper LNS so it is lovely to win some.  I received some from Ruth the Musing Badger a while back and have used her Cherry Bark on the same exchange too.

Finally, it's Jan's Birthday today.  She will be celebrating in her Thread Garden along with an e-card I sent her:

This is another one of Brooke's Books monthly cakes.  The original has a big A (for August) on top of the cake but I missed it off because Jan's name doesn't begin with an A!  The border isn't a variegated thread because I didn't have a nice pale blue, instead I did batches of about 20 stitches of 5 different blues all the way round.

I'm planning on stitching all 12 (I did June's for Joyzse already) so if you'd like an e-card of your month just let me know when your Birthday is.  E-cards are so environmentally-friendly and also save me on postage!  Half my spending money seems to go on postage these days!  And muffins.  They are three for £1 at the Post Office corner shop and it's the Large Boy's reward for walking there with me!

And Another 11 Things

This is a Brooke's Books design I stitched for a blogging friend's Birthday, I emailed it off to her last weekend.  I stitched it on 32count lavender evenweave using the recommended DMC.  I subbed the 818 for some beads which look great.  I also added some straight stitches to the flower centres.  I stitched the border in one of the variegated threads (105 from memory).  It's a nice chocolaty colour anyway!

I'm planning on stitching all 12 of these, there is one cake for each month, so if you'd like an "e-card" for your Birthday then let me know when it is!  I'm going to scrapbook the originals in pairs as I stitch each one.

Ruth the Musing Badger has just answered her 11 questions and posed these for anyone who wanted to have a go!

1.      Does all of your family understand your stitching obsession?

Pretty much yes.  The Large Boy is very interested in what I'm stitching and the mechanics of it.  Hubby is fascinated but can't understand why I can't sell the finished pieces for large amounts of money.  He points out the hours of work and the fact that they look as good as any painting!  Small Boy thinks "it isn't food, what's the point!"

2.      Do you own an e-book reader (Kindle, Nook, etc)?  If you do, do you think it makes you read less or more, and do you think it will make a significant dent in your physical book purchasing?

No, they are the work of the Devil LOL.  I also really dislike that the word "kindle" is used by the general public to mean an e-reader.  It's a bit like "hoover" and vacuum-cleaning.  Since working in the bookshop I often have several different books in different rooms, some being advance copies not available yet.  If I had an e-reader it'd forever be in the wrong room or lost under a cushion!

3.      Do you have a theme song—or a pet song?  One that you always catch yourself humming?

"It's just another Manic Monday" every Monday!  We use rhymes and songs with the Small Boy alot to help him.  How about "Let's go change your nappy" sung to the Conga tune!

4.      What’s your favourite trip you’ve ever been on and why?  Would you want to go back, or is the experience in one way, shape, or form non-repeatable?

I won a holiday to New York in 2001, we flew back to the UK on Sunday 9th September, 2 days before 9/11.  I guess that trip is pretty much non-repeatable.  I collected my photos 2 hours before the planes hit, I have some of the last pics of the Twin Towers.  Weird.

5.      What stitching piece of yours are you most proud of and why?

Teresa Wentzler's The Castle, my first BAP with a multitude of blended threads.

6.      What piece of your stitching do you sometimes wish you had never started?  Or did you/do you love them all?

A gorgeous alphabet on the most hideous scratchy 14count aida.  I actually have a burn mark on my wrist from where it rubbed!  I'm using a variegated thread too so have to think about the placement of the colours.  It's a UFO for a reason!

7.      You have an entire weekend free and clear to stitch – do you want your stitching time to be enlivened by:  a TV show marathon on (if so, what show), a movie (or series of movies) (which movie/s), a new music release (what music?), or a new audio book (which one)?

At the moment life is so hectic I actually like stitching in silence.  Usually I like an audiobook, it's great if it matches the stitching.  I listened to the Empress Orchid while stitching an Oriental lady for a RR.

8.      What’s the goofiest thing you have ever done because of your stitching?

Stitching standing up to finish a challenge piece to a deadline because if I sit down the Small Boy thinks it's lap time!

9.      Can you cook without recipes?  Or do you only like cooking with precise guides?

I don't enjoy cooking at all.  My idea of precise instructions is "place in a pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.  Remove and eat".

10.  Iron  Chef America or Iron Chef Japan?

I don't do cooking!  Or watch it happening!  I don't think we even have those programmes in the UK unless they're on some obscure cable channel?

11.  Do you have antique stitching passed down through your family?   Have you ever bought antique stitching?

I have two of my Great Aunt's stitched pictures which she left to my Mum and Mum passed to me when she moved into a smaller house.  They are on my bedroom wall well shaded from natural light.  See this post here for pictures.

I hope you're all enjoying these 11 things because Minnie has tagged me back!

Finally, a reminder about the Summer Postcard Blog Hop, the postcard must be a stitched picture rather than a scenic photograph.  You can send a photo too and I'll forward both but this is mainly a stitching blog hop!  I'll be accepting photos until the end of August so there's no hurry!  Hopefully even more people will join in as we go.