Travelling Granny and Travelling Pattern

My Travelling Pattern arrived safely from South Africa, Cucki has been following the various TPs that are doing the rounds without winning one herself.  So she decided to start her own!  It's a lovely Lizzie*Kate design with a very appropriate motto - Love is Best when you Give it Away.  How suitable for a Travelling Pattern.  I have hand-coloured some fabric in a wild and kooky style to always remind me where the pattern came from.  I must just share the envelope:

Have you ever seen so many stamps on one small envelope?  It made me smile even before I opened it up.  Progress pics will follow.

Now, the Travelling Granny.  Here's her story:

This where we first met her :Stitch Bitch 2011/04

Then Connie had a great idea: Stitch Bitch 2011/04

So off she went to visit Connie here: Spinster Stitcher (Connie doesn't do labels but her blog is hilarious and well worth reading to find the right posts!)

Then onto New Zealand with Margaret here: Margaret's Blog - Madame Muriel Flat Flossie posts (Margaret does do labels so you can easily find all the relevant posts although her whole blog is also well worth a read).

And finally to me in the Old Country.  The idea is that I show Madame Muriel around, take her places, photograph her in those places then eventually send her on to somewhere new.  We have a few things planned and she will be spending Christmas with us too.  I have been warned she likes to take over the blog and make her own entries so watch out for those.

Here is the collection of lovely things she arrived with:

A lovely sheepie tote bag (I was rather rude about the sheep smell in my last post, I hope Margaret is the forgiving type!  It really truly doesn't smell of sheep at all.  And anyway the Butler did it, not me!!), some delicious New Zealand chocolate, a chart for a Blackbird Designs thread keep and the most exquisite needlebook with needles and pins included!  Plus a brochure for some weird place called Mishawaka, apparently it actually exists, I thought Connie had made the place name up to be humourous!

 Needlebook, outside and inside - isn't it just beautiful, I haven't counted to see what it's stitched on but it's very delicate and wonderfully made. 

Much better than I could have done, so don't expect anything this good, next Hostess!

And John James needles, size 26 which is fab as I have 24s and 28s but no 26s.  I think they will be perfect for 28 count evenweave as the 28s are a wee bit wee.

And also, this lovely chart: 

I don't have a scissor keep or a thread keep and this comes with a little antiqued split ring - perfect!

So, a big Thank You to Margaret and a Welcome to Madame Muriel.  Watch this space for more news on her adventures and travels here in the Old Country.

ps I have been stitching this week but some is for sending to people and some don't have much progress since last time.  I've done a little on several things but nothing worth posting yet.  I also went to the theatre and lost an entire evening's stitching.  We went to see Terry Pratchett's The Wyrd Sisters.  I thought my brother had the book so I phoned him and said "Do you have Wyrd Sisters?"  "Yes", he replied "Two of them"  hahahaha sibling jokes are soooooooo funny.