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It's been awhile since I've shared some of my favourite things with you. Why not spread the word when you've come across something great? These things are just too awesome to keep secret! Lmk if you agree ;o)
Sophie Conran Dishes -
Omigosh, it took YEARS for us to find dishes that we liked! Either the colour, shape, size or feel was never right. When we moved to NS, we left behind all our old dishes so we had no choice but to find something new ;o)
One day DH and I were in a shop in Lunenburg and shezam...there they were! Sophie Conran's designs are beautiful for everyday use and also elegant enough for that special dinner party. The lines and shapes of her pieces are fluent. The dishes are light but heavy enough not to be too delicate and easily broken.
Her collection has expanded quite a bit over the past few years. All her pieces come in the white (that's what we finally decided on) but there are some (if not all but I don't think so) that also come in a Celadon green or Forget-Me-Not blue. She's expanded into glassware now. Maybe someday we'll add some of those pieces :o)
Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha -
The minute my lips hit this warm, delicious mix, I was hooked! The funny thing is, I was introduced to it in the most unlikely of places :o) When DH and I took the Digby ferry, I was looking for a white hot chocolate to warm me up. What I didn't know was that this little cafe sold drinks by Starbucks!
The other funny thing is I had NEVER had a beverage from Starbucks, let alone stepped foot into one of their stores. I 'can' tell you that that has definitely changed now ;o) OMG! Every time I taste that sweet chocolate taste mixed with mocha, I just want MORE...and MORE...and MORE!
Lampe Berger -
If you've never seen or heard of these before, I highly recommend that you look into one. DH saw them advertised in a magazine about a year ago and luckily enough, there was a dealer in the 'little city' and we immediately purchased one :o)
The Lampe Berger (I call it my Lampe Burger) originated in Paris, France in 1898. It's an oil lamp that cleans and purifies the air. Just fried some fish and have that fishy smell throughout the house? Light your Lampe Berger and within 20 minutes, the smell is gone! Originally the oil was not meant to contain perfume but now you can get different scents. Since I'm quite sensitive to strong smells, we purchased the non-scented oil plus one called Linen. We combine the two so it's diluted. The scent doesn't stay around like those sprays that you get in the grocery store.
How does it work? Here is what they say "Thanks to a unique process, high temperature catalytic combustion, the Lampe Berger is able to destroy the molecules behind unpleasant odors, halt the proliferation of bacteria (scientifically proven effective), and pleasantly perfumes the air." You didn't think they'd reveal the true secret of how it works did you? ;o) 
I have no idea what is up with me today but it's definitely not normal! To begin with, I was up at 6:30am with DH. For those who don't know me very well, I am NOT a morning person ;o) So what's up with that? I have no idea... DH wasn't the only one to question this odd behaviour because when he was talking to his dad on the phone this morning, he was surprised at my early appearance too. LOL!
I was hardly done breakfast when I dug out my Charmed Flake by Hinzeit. I know I said I knew how I was going to finish it but that has changed ;o) After looking and measuring I realized that this piece was perfect for a cube! I'm quite thrilled with the result -
What do you think?
We had one fabric shop in town and it's closing its doors :o( I went in the other day and found the perfect backing fabric for this project -
I'm not 100% happy with my bow but I will 'let sleeping dogs lie' -
I've decided to keep this for myself but would love to make another for the Pumpkin Patch Breast Cancer Fund. The only problem is...how do I get the embellishments? They came with the pattern so does that mean I have to buy the pattern again? :o( I wonder if Hinzeit can help.
When I was finished with my cube, I had beads on my mind :o) I dug out my tote and was inspired to make a scissor fob/cell phone charm -
This WILL be a donation for the Pumpkin Patch Breast Cancer Fund! I'm not sure what scissors I will put with it but they're on my DMC ones for the picture. The fob is made with Swarovski crystal beads, sterling silver findings and ribbon charm.
The morning disappeared before I knew it. I did some more work on cataloguing my DMC threads and finally I settled myself down and took out Sabrina. She's had a lot of attention lately so expect a progress picture soon ;o)
Back in February, there was an online event called One World One Heart. If you're not familiar with it, the basic concept is that artisans from all over the world hold giveaways on their Blogs. This year there were 871 people participating! It's a great way to see new Blogs and meet other talented craftspeople :o)
Unfortunately the event happened during our last funeral so I wasn't able to visit all the Blogs that were listed. But somehow and for some reason I will never know, I stumbled across one that truly gave me the greatest gift...
Jobi is the owner of WaterColor Your World and she specializes in watercolor portraits of animals :o) When I looked at her Blog, I loved what I saw. People's pets just came alive. When Jobi emailed me and told me that I was the Grand Prize winner, I just couldn't believe it!
When I emailed her pictures and told her the story of Brie, Brie gained another fan :o) I sent a handful of my favourite shots but I let Jobi surprise me as to which one she would use. Yesterday I picked up my winnings at the post office and I was just blown away! Here is Brie's watercolor portrait -
It's just outstanding and my eyes welled up with tears because I can remember that day at the ocean just like it was yesterday :o) She also made up some note cards with the same portrait and included them in my package.
I can't thank Jobi enough for what she gave me because it's more than just a picture and it's more than what I can put into words. I haven't checked with DH yet but I think we'll put our little girl in the television room with us so that we can see her every day.
If you have ever thought or would like to have a portrait done of your pet, I highly recommend Jobi. She's such a sweetie, with a heart of gold :o) Thank you again Jobi. You did a wonderful job of capturing our memory of Brie.
Despite feeling like crap, I managed to complete another project. Here is Charmed Flake: Survivor/Hope by Hinzeit -
I just love her, even with the pink nose ;o) LOL! She's so cute! The colours are rich and warm and the charms just add a touch of sparkle -
The only thing I worry about is that the word 'Hope' doesn't show up that well. Maybe it's not supposed to?
I do have one idea on how I'm going to finish her but I'm not going to do anything until I can find another item first. How's that for suspense ;o)
At least I still have my sense of humour even though I feel like s-h-i-t :o( Actually, I think shit would probably feel better! It started about a week and a half ago with slight body pain. Then last week it gradually got worse but I was doing some cleaning so I attributed the pain to that.
But then on Thursday a migraine came on so suddenly and my body pain sky rocketed. It got so bad that I dug out an old prescription of Tylenol 3 with Codeine and called the doctor. I don't see him until Friday though :o( I was popping the Tylenol like candy and it was barely touching my agony. Thankfully the body pain has let up but the migraine has not.
I've been limiting my time on the computer and therefore I am behind on my Blog reading and emails. Please bear with me! Hopefully I'll be back to being a regular pumpkin soon ;o)
Tis the day of the Irish :o) Are you wearing green?
My own shamrock plant is looking great and full of blooms. Mine is a descendent from DH's grandmother's plant so it has special meaning :o)
I 'should' be in a green mood but my life has still been consumed with white. Well...dirty white that is. LOL! Here's a picture of my newest WIP -
This is Charmed Flake: Survivor/Hope by Hinzeit. Yes, 'another' snowman ;o) You would think that I'd be sick of snowmen by now but that's not the case as you can see. LOL!
I love this design. It's so cute and fun to stitch. The colours are just gorgeous although I've never seen a snowman with a pink nose before... What's that about? I think the Bay Leaf fabric is now a favourite colour of mine.
So what have I been up to? Cataloguing my DMC thread. It seems that my records are a bit off. Hmmm...don't know what happened there. It feels so good to be organized though. I just need more room ;o)
Graduated Q-Snaps that is ;o) LOL! My girl is now framed in 11 x 17 inch Q-Snaps. She's heavy but it beats crushing any stitches or beads.
I'm SO excited because I 'finally' finished all the white in the section I've been working on! I even got to stitch part of the hem of her skirt so now she is being shown in full length -
What do you think? I'm still completely in love with her :o)
Once this middle section is done, there won't be much left but the last two small folds of the back of her dress. I can see the ending in sight and I couldn't be happier. Just knowing that there is a great possibility that she will be done this year is such a relief. I think this is the longest time I've ever spent on a project before.
I've started something new but I'm waiting until I get a little more done before I show you anything ;o) It's been a rough week health wise. With the sudden changes in temperature and weather, my body has taken an awful beating :o( I haven't had much sleep because of the pain and being on so many pain medications has screwed up my appetite. A vicious circle; one that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy let me tell you.
Tonight we 'spring' our clocks one hour ahead and therefore lose one hour of sleep but hey, we gain more daylight and that's good enough for me :o) Spring IS right around the corner and I can't wait to dust off the old camera and get back out there!
Have a great weekend everyone and thank you so much for all the wonderful comments on Chilly :o)
Needles were flying and scissors were snipping! There was smoke coming out the ends of my fingers I tell you! It was crazy! In the end, this was the result -
LOL! Yes, Chilly by Stitchy Kitty is finally done :o) DH asked me last night why I was still working on him. He thought that maybe it was a hard design. Nope...just plain ol' procrastination.
Chilly's now holding snowflakes ;o)
I had a little fun and added a fringe to the bottom of his scarf. I thought that it needed something. I like it :o)
This was a fun SAL and if it weren't for Jenn, Chilly probably would have never gotten stitched this year. I'm really enjoying doing SALs with other stitchers because it motivates me. To see Jenn's finish, head on over to her Blog. Thanks for the fun Jenn :o)
No, you're not missing anything ;o) There wasn't a progress picture for Week Three because I didn't have anything to show. Bad, I know! But today I'm happy to show you what's been done since last time -
Chilly is complete! Well, Chilly himself that is. LOL! I just have the border and snowflakes left to stitch. Woohoo! I'm almost done :o)
My dad saw me working on Chilly last month when we met up in Moncton and he commented that his hat seemed to be quite long for such a little snowman -
He's right in a sense but that was probably the best part to stitch. Of course, looking at Chilly right now without any snowflakes buttons to hold, it looks like he should be cupping some snowboobs. ROFL! Good thing Chilly is a guy ;o)
Since Saint Patrick's Day is not far off, I thought I would stitch something to celebrate the day. I've never stitched anything for it before but since I already had this kit, I figured I might as well make use of it and decrease my stash :o) This is Irish Luck by Just Another Button Company -
The pattern originally called for 32 count Sienna Natural linen but my kit already contained this 28 count green moulted linen. I have no idea what color it is and I've never seen it before so unfortunately I can't answer that question if you ask it. LOL!
I plan on making this into either a tuck pillow or pinkeep but I have no Saint Patrick's Day fabric in my stash! Hard to believe ;o) LOL! Knowing me, it will just go into my tote that holds all my finishes. Sigh!
Is there anyone else stitching something for Saint Patrick's Day?
DH just came home with the most wonderful package! I received my pin cushion from Patty, among other goodies -
I couldn't believe the weight of it! Is it stuffed with walnut shells? The rose pins and zipper pull are adorable :o) I love the little metal tags and the skein of floss (Valentine) by Nina is incredible! Thank you so much Patty! You put a smile in an otherwise dreary weekend ;o)
Oh Nia!!!! Guess what I got done today? ;o) Here is Block Three completed and just hot off my needle -
No, I didn't cheat ;o) LOL! This was such a quick stitch and a fun one at that. I had the time so I just sat my butt down and got to work. Here is my progress so far -
I actually took it out of my Q-Snaps and ironed it. I'm still not pleased with the colour when photographed though >:o(
I know Nia will call me a show off since I accused her of being one when she told me she'd have her block done by tomorrow :oP I guess I shouldn't have wagged my tongue. LOL! No doubt she will be close behind me though.
I've got a cute project picked out for this month and now I can return my focus to Chilly and Sabrina. Updates to come in another post.
