A slight obsession with books

Crafts, cats and books


13 Comments

SAL – Hooties year round minis #1.5

This is the scheduled three-weekly post for the SAL that I’m doing with several other crafty blogs and I’ve done no stitching at all. I’ve just had too much going on to find time to stitch but hopefully I’ll get something done for next time.

2021-07-24 14.11.37

For the stitch-a-long I’m linking up to these lovely blogs.

Avis, Claire, GunConstanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, CindyHeidi, Jackie, SunnyMegan, DeborahMary Margaret, ReneeCarmelaSharon, Daisy, Anne, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

Do allow for people being in different time zones, so not posting all at the same time, but it’s well worth doing a bit of blog hopping to see all the lovely projects that are being worked on.


22 Comments

SAL – Hooties year round minis #01

This is the scheduled three-weekly post for the SAL that I’m doing with several other crafty blogs and after finishing Los Gatos last time, I’ve started stitching on Hooties again. My original plan to do one Hootie per month fell by the wayside when I was unable to stitch with the arthritis in my hand, so I’ll just carry on with it and finish it when I can.

I haven’t done much to it this time, but at least the border is done for the next two Hooties so it’s a tiny bit of progress.

2021-07-24 14.11.37

For the stitch-a-long I’m linking up to these lovely blogs.

Avis, Claire, GunConstanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, CindyHeidi, Jackie, SunnyMegan, DeborahMary Margaret, ReneeCarmelaSharon, Daisy, Anne, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

Do allow for people being in different time zones, so not posting all at the same time, but it’s well worth doing a bit of blog hopping to see all the lovely projects that are being worked on.


24 Comments

SAL – Los gatos – 07

This is the scheduled three-weekly post for the SAL that I’m doing with several other crafty blogs and I have finally finished Los Gatos.

Los Gatos 07

Apart from almost stitching my compression glove to the back of the fabric, I had no problems. My hand was ok for a couple of short sessions, so hopefully I’ll be able to carry on with the SAL properly going forward.

Thank you to all the SAL members for bearing with me while I gave my hand time to recover, and apologies for the lack of comments from me on your own lovely projects. I will make up for that this time 🙂

For the stitch-a-long I’m linking up to these lovely blogs.

Avis, Claire, GunConstanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, CindyHeidi, Jackie, SunnyMegan, DeborahMary Margaret, ReneeCarmelaSharon, Daisy, Anne, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

Do allow for people being in different time zones, so not posting all at the same time, but it’s well worth doing a bit of blog hopping to see all the lovely projects that are being worked on.


18 Comments

SAL – Los gatos – 06 1/2

This is the scheduled three-weekly post for the SAL that I’m doing with several other crafty blogs and once again my hand is playing up, so no update from me. This time my thumb is quite painful and the finger that started all the trouble is really bad. I’m struggling to even use a touchscreen or touchpad. Hopefully it’ll be better for next time.

Pic to show where it was up to last time.

 Los Gatos 6

For the stitch-a-long I’m linking up to these lovely blogs.

Avis, Claire, GunConstanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, CindyHeidi, Jackie, SunnyMegan, DeborahMary Margaret, ReneeCarmelaSharon, Daisy, Anne, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

Do allow for people being in different time zones, so not posting all at the same time, but it’s well worth doing a bit of blog hopping to see all the lovely projects that are being worked on.


12 Comments

SAL – Los gatos – 06

This is the scheduled three-weekly post for the SAL that I’m doing with several other crafty blogs and this time I do actually have an update as I’ve managed to do a tiny bit of stitching. 

Previously, I’d completed four of the five colours. I’ve now started the final colour and we have cats. Finally!

 Los Gatos 6

I’ve got just over half done so hopefully, if the arthritis co-operates, I may have a finish for next time.

For the stitch-a-long I’m linking up to these lovely blogs.

Avis, Claire, GunConstanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, CindyHeidi, Jackie, SunnyMegan, DeborahMary Margaret, ReneeCarmelaSharon, Daisy, Anne, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

Do allow for people being in different time zones, so not posting all at the same time, but it’s well worth doing a bit of blog hopping to see all the lovely projects that are being worked on.


19 Comments

SAL – Los gatos – 05 1/2

This is the scheduled three-weekly post for the SAL that I’m doing with several other crafty blogs.

I still haven’t managed to do any more on Los Gatos. The arthritis in my hand is improving but I don’t want to push my luck just yet. Just a quick pic to remind you what it looks like, and hopefully I’ll have stitched on it for the next update.

For the stitch-a-long I’m linking up to these lovely blogs.

Avis, Claire, GunConstanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, CindyHeidi, Jackie, SunnyMegan, DeborahMary Margaret, ReneeCarmelaSharon, Daisy, Anne, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

Do allow for people being in different time zones, so not posting all at the same time, but it’s well worth doing a bit of blog hopping to see all the lovely projects that are being worked on.


24 Comments

SAL – Los gatos – 05

This is the scheduled three-weekly post for the SAL that I’m doing with several other crafty blogs.

I haven’t managed to do anything on Los Gatos since the last update. The arthritis has been quite bad in my hands recently and holding the needle aggravates it, so I’ve avoided stitching for the time being. I hope to get back to it soon though. This is how it looked last time, and hopefully it’ll be finished for the next update.

For the stitch-a-long I’m linking up to these lovely blogs.

Avis, Claire, GunConstanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, CindyHeidi, Jackie, SunnyMegan, DeborahMary Margaret, ReneeCarmelaSharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

Do allow for people being in different time zones, so not posting all at the same time, but it’s well worth doing a bit of blog hopping to see all the lovely projects that are being worked on.


13 Comments

SAL – Los gatos – 04

This is the scheduled three-weekly post for the SAL that I’m doing with several other crafty blogs and Los Gatos is almost done.

I’m still doing just one colour at a time. This is what it looked like last time with all of the yellow and dark grey done.I’d already made a good start on the pale grey when I posted last time and finished it off quite easily. Then I got started on the orange/yellow. I love how it adds a layer of richness to the design. That’s 4/5 colours done now so I should have a finish for the next update.

I’m already thinking of what to stitch next and having seen several of my fellow bloggers doing other types of embroidery, I’m tempted to try to finish one of the projects that have been sitting in the WIPs box for some time. I just need to find one that doesn’t need the large scroll frame as the Hooties are sitting on that and I don’t want to have to keep swapping them over.

For the stitch-a-long I’m linking up to these lovely blogs.

Avis, Claire, GunConstanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, CindyHeidi, Jackie, SunnyMegan, DeborahMary Margaret, ReneeCarmelaSharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

Do allow for people being in different time zones, so not posting all at the same time, but it’s well worth doing a bit of blog hopping to see all the lovely projects that are being worked on.


2 Comments

Cybercropping

Last weekend there was a cybercrop at Peartree Cutfiles. I’ve got a few of Marie’s cutfiles in my stash and really needed a kickstart with my scrapping as so far I’d only done two layouts this year. There were four challenges but you could enter each one as many times as you liked. Every layout had to include a Peartree Cutfiles cutfile.

The first challenge was a moodboard, which included hearts, colourful flowers and a cat. I was well away there. I have plenty of cat photos so did two for that challenge.

This one uses a Vicki Boutin background. I’ve got a whole pad of them and I really need to start using them as they’re gorgeous. I added some Cocoa Vanilla Sunkissed as I thought the colours were a really good match for the background. The photo is Rosie snoozing next to me on the bed. The bedside lamp throws a soft light onto her face when she lies there so I’ve got loads of similar photos.

The other one I did for the moodboard challenge is a simpler one, just taking the cat bit from the moodboard. I just love this cutfile. The next challenge was to use ‘pears’ of things on the layout. So, two patterned papers, two photos, two embellishments and two small things. I used Vicki Boutin’s Wildflower and Honey, which is one of my all time favourite collections and I love how this turned out. Challenge three was a shape challenge, with the shape being flowers. I had a couple of floral cutfiles so used those. The first one was so fiddly to back, even though it looks quite a simple one. I do enjoy backing cutfiles though, so not a problem. It’s quite relaxing to do. I used Pink Paislee Again and Again for that one. That’s another of my favourite collections.

Finally, I did this one. I used another Vicki Boutin background, again with Cocoa Vanilla Sunkissed. I was going to add some embellishment clusters, but after staring at it for twenty minutes, I decided it was fine as it was and called it finished.


27 Comments

SAL – Los gatos – 03

This is the scheduled three-weekly post for the SAL that I’m doing with several other crafty blogs and I’ve done some more on Los Gatos.

I’ve carried on doing just one colour at a time. This is what it looked like last time with all of the yellow done and a start on the dark grey.This is what it looks like with the dark grey finished. I realise this is not the most impressive update 😉 I have made a good start on the pale grey, but haven’t taken a photo yet. Hopefully next time I’ll have all the pale grey plus all the dark yellow to show you.

For the stitch-a-long I’m linking up to these lovely blogs.

Avis, Claire, GunConstanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, CindyHeidi, Jackie, SunnyMegan, DeborahMary Margaret, ReneeCarmelaSharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

Do allow for people being in different time zones, so not posting all at the same time, but it’s well worth doing a bit of blog hopping to see all the lovely projects that are being worked on.