Say It With Flowers Bloghop!

Today it's time for me to show what I made for this fun bloghop Say it with flowers! Finally! This fun bloghop is organized by the lovely Madam Samm at Sew We Quilt , and Carol from Just let Me Quilt is our lovely cheerleader.

I have been stitching and sewing two, actually three items. 

The first one I sewed is a Knitting Needle Roll. I used a tutorial from Handknits by Susan

As I wasn't quite satisfied I sewed another one. I have several kinds of needles, so I'm sure I can use them both. This piece of fabric brings up sweet memories, as it is brought to me by friends, who, seeing this fabric, knew I would love it!

The third item took some more time. I stitched tulips, lots of small tulips, as I wanted to show I am a crafter from the Netherlands. I used part of a chart designed by Nicole Dostal that appeared in Just Cross Stitch March/April 2012. 

I finished it as a purse, in which I can take my stitch accessories.

And then there is something else I wanted to show. I just finished it yesterday, as a gift to DD who is going to visit the USA. She will be away for at least seven weeks. I know, it doesn't shout: flowers, but the flowers are added in the picture. And, there is a stitched flower in it!

It was such a fun to be involved in this bloghop. Thanks for visiting my blog and you are happily invited to visit the other bloggers. Here's the schedule for today:

May 28^th

Secretly Stitching

Anolisl’s Kreative Seite

I Like To Quilt Blog

Hill Valley Quilter

InGa

Coto Patchwork

Stitching & Stuff (that's this place)

De Quiltborch

Jatajomi’s Stoff-nadel-fadenwelt

Gingini’s Crafts & Quilts

Debby Kratovil Qults

And for the whole blog hop schedule just look HERE

An Exchange and two finishes

On the HoE blog I am involved in an exchange, stitcher's choice. And today a small envelope from America arrived! In it a lovely surprise, wrapped in thin paper and closed with a sweet bow tie.
After unwrapping ( I always unwrap with a sort of regret) I found a lovely ornament, together with a sweet note from Marie P. Thank you!

I myself finished two items. My pair of socks are done. May I present: Strawberry Fields!

And I also finished the drawstring bag for youngest DD. The stitching is a design by Lizzie Kate. I will take it to NY with me and when our ways seperates (me returning home and she on her way to Dallas) I will slip it into her baggage.
I took several pictures. Front, back, inside. In this drawstring bag I put all my love for her and my wishes for a safe return after a great trip!

A finish and half a sock

I warned you last week, I might have a finish this weekend and yes, Promise Me is a finish! That is the stitching part, now I have to finish it as a little bag or something.

I couldn't imagine I would have that fun knitting socks. I casted on a toe up sock, a quite different design so, again, a challenge. But until now the description is quite clear, so here is the result until now.

I also casted on two new shawls, but there is no picture yet. One is the Kauni Roses Shawl, from Strickmodeller 8.
I hope to show more next week!

Mission accomplished!

Yeah, as you can read in the title, my mission is accomplished. I had to repair the fallen stitches in my knitting and I managed to do so. It turned out to be a wonderful shawl!

And finally, finally spring arrived in The Netherlands. And like a cow that comes out of the barn for the first time and 'dances'  in the meadow I went outside, to clean around the house. I washed the windows, swept with my broom the fallen leaves (from last autumn) on a pile and threw them in the carbage can. 
And after cleaning up DH and I went to the garden centre to buy some plants to put in containers.

  In the evening I stitched on Promise Me. It is almost finished!

And my second sock is done, so now I have a pair, like I should have. 

 I already casted on a new pair of socks, I think this might become an addiction ...

A challenging finish

First I'd like to thank you for your nice comments. I love reading them and sometimes I answer them by mail. Last week Patti was drooling over my sock yarn and wanted to know what is was. Well Patti, as I couldn't answer you by mail, I will answer here and now ;) It is Opal Sweet & spicy, colorway Pflaume.

As for my challenging finish, I'll show you some pictures. Ebony and Ivory is finished, but I ran out of yarn during the bind-off. So I took some other black yarn, divided the thread in four plies and used one of it to bind off. No problem, but when I blocked my shawl I noticed I dropped a few stitches. That will be quite challenging to repair!

 Promise Me is coming along nicely. A few words added, a branch stitched and I finished the flower in it. I think I will be able to have a finish when we leave for the US!

Finally!!! It looks like spring!

All your kind wishes and my avid stitching must have helped, because finally it looks like spring is coming! Although we had very low temperatures over night, during daytime the sun was shining and the northern wind  kept quiet for a change.
I even could sit on the balcony and stitch. And as I didn't need to stitch my own spring I turned to something else. I told you all last week I am going to stitch a little something for youngest DD. The first words are here now and so is the beginning of a flower. Oh and don't mention it to her, it 's a surprise (she doesn't read my blog).

Knitting my first sock has been incredibly easy. I always thought it was a difficult thing to do and it was on my to-do list for quite some time. But in a week I finished the first sock and casted on the second. I hope to have them both finished by the end of the week.

And all of a sudden (thank you dear friend!), I am involved in a blog hop. 

It's my first one, so I have to figure out how it works. All I understand until now is that I have to quilt or sew something with flowers and post it in time on my blog. That must be a piece of cake ;)

Am I boring?

Am I boring you with my complaints about winter and still no spring? My apologies for that, but we had snow again last week. Even yesterday. It is Easter, so we should enjoy some sun now! Nevertheless I continue to make my own spring in stitching on Plantation Sampler. 
A horse is born and even a cow! The grass is growing and becomes greener and greener, so to my joy, on Plantation Sampler spring arrived.

There was also some time for Call of the Raven this week. The month is ending, over 1000 stitches are added again. Her dress is almost finished!

Clue 3 of Ebony and Ivory is done, I started clue 4 this week. I am behind and I don't like that at all, but I have to live with that. I wanted to do Renee Leverington's Spring Mystery too and another nice KA, provided by Deby Lake, is waiting for me.

But instead of being wise I started another project yesterday. I am feeling down a bit, these days, so I decided I needed something new, something challenging and something fresh. So I started to knit my first sock! It is on my wishlist for quite a long time and better start something that cheers you up than finish something that drags you down. (New motto LOL).
I never ever before knitted a sock (new to me), I hardly knitted with four needles (challenging) and I choose a lovely springy colour (fresh). The pattern is available for free at Ravelry, Gänsemagd. I knit it with Opal Sweet & Spicy, colorway Pflaume. 

Soon I will start another small project. I told you already, DD is going to travel to the USA  and I am going with her for one week to New York.  After that she will be on her own (okay, she stays with trusted people, but she has to do without her caring, loving family and friends).

So I am going to stitch this for her . I want to finish it as a little purse for make-up or something like that. It says: Promise me you'll always remember you're braver than you believe and stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. 

I know she is!