Saturday 29 October 2016

October Gifted Gorgeousness... and October Smalls SAL update....

Hello my dear bloggy, stitchy friends, this is going to be a rather full GG post as it was my birthday this month (58 - where does the time go?), so I have some lovely gifts I was given to show you,  plus I took part in a couple of fun exchanges. So hang onto your hearts for some Gifted Gorgeousness...

But first, in case you do not know what I am talking about ...

Gifted Gorgeousness (or GG) is a SAL run by the wonderful SAL Mama, Jo from Serendipitous Stitching.  Basically, on the 15th of each month, we post anything which is stitchy gift-related.


Let's start with this GG piece did not quite make it into last month's post. But here is my finished and framed Where Flowers Bloom, which I stitched for a dear friend's 60th birthday.



Where Flowers Bloom
Blackbird Designs
unknown linen (although gorgeous to stitch on)
Own choice of speciality floss

I stitched this year (2016) and her initials in the bottom right corner.  Happily, she was delighted with her gift.




Next up is this gorgeous fridge magnet, which my Dear Friend, brought back from Scotland for me - it is Mary, Queen of Scots.  This feeds right into my Tudor fetish! lol!




The same dear friend, also gave me this sweet little ornament Wedgwood Jasperware teapot - so it was added to my collection of china and crystal.

Let's see, what else?

DD's London blanket is coming along nicely - I am well underway with Colour five, only four to go.  Furio seems to approve.


Now, I am coming to my Tea Cup/Mug exchange, hosted by the wonderful Stephanie from the sweet blog, The Enchanting Rose and you can read all about the Tea Cup/Mug exchanges here.

My first "Receive" was the Mug exchange, with the wonderful Gina, who luckily lives not all that far from me, so we were able to meet up at a local cafe, coincidentally on my birthday - so it was very nice receiving all of these lovely gifts .....






Look at all of the wonderful goodies she gave me, you spoilt me terribly, dear Gina.









Thank you, dear Gina, I absolutely love everything, which you so thoughtfully chose for me.

Next up, I received the Tea Cup Exchange in the mail from Lyn.


More gorgeous gifts ....



                                         Take note of the Tea Cup....



Yes, the Tea Cup and the Mug are the exact same design - how cool is that?  Talk about serendipity.


 Thank you, sweet Lyn, more gorgeousness for me, aren't I lucky?

But, there was more to come, dear, sweet Jo, to whom I sent a tea cup, sent me a thank you gift!


So kind of you, Jo, I am so glad that you liked your Tea Cup gifts and I adore my new Cat door plaque. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Well, I am sorry to say that I forgot to take photos of what I sent to two other ladies (not Gina or Lyn, the exchange did not work like that) but if you visit Stephanie's blog, The Enchanting Rose, on November 2nd you will be able to see all of the exchanges.

Smalls SAL ....

Now, it has taken me so very long to write this post that it is now time for my October Smalls SAL post - oh boy!

Not much to show, only two Smalls finishes this month and one of them is a little largeish, but I am counting it anyway!

First up is Summertime Stitching by LHN.
Stitched on 28 count Mocha linen using the suggested CC floss.







In the spirt of transparency, I must tell you that I made a very big boo boo but I think that I overcame it okay.

If you look at the first picture and see where the little heart shape in red is on the ground, nearest to the house.  Well, the two blooms to either side are meant to be beside each other but I totally miscalculated, so I ended up with all of this blank space.  To rectify it, I added the extra heart-shaped bloom and two more bluebirds.  I must say, I am actually very happy with my slightly different finish.

What do you think?

The other is Share the Spirit by Eudora Designs, stitched on 28ct Willow linen using Victorian Motto Shoppe Christmas Red and Green floss.




Okay, I am finally going to post this NOW!

Remember, if you want to check out everyone else's GG posts, 

click HERE

and

if you want to check out everyone else's Smalls, 

click HERE

Hugs, 


P.S. Off to Kangaroo Island tomorrow for a week's holiday with TraderVic and some dear friends, so I may not be on blogger much, although I will post on Monday for the Halloween Blog Hop.

K






31 comments:

Bea said...

It's been quite a month for you. Love the cup and mug and ll the lovelies that came with them. I can't believe the are matching in pattern! Lovely stitching finishes as well. An A+ month for sure.

Vickie said...

What a lovely framed piece you made your friend Kaye. You received very beautiful gifts in abundance for your birthday!! :D

Linda said...

Happy Birthday Kaye and lovely gifts.

Linda

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Thanks for taking part in GG this month. I can see why your friend loved her Birthday present and she gave you some lovely things in exchange. You obviously know each other well!
Nice exchanges too, how funny that they chose the same design out of all the beautiful china mugs and cups there are!

Daniela Bencúrová said...

congratulate you on your birthday!
Dear Kaye, wonderful gifts for birthdays!
Cup and mug are the most beautiful :-)

Barb said...

First, a very Happy Birthday to you. what a wonderful collection of gifts, you must be a very good girl. Have a super vacation and take lots of photos!

Melinda Forbes said...

what wonderful gifts. Hope you had a Wonderful birthday and Celebrate You and the amazing woman you are. Love the Mug and The tea cup. They ARE exactly the same!

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday Kaye ,wow what wonderful gifts you have received,i love how the mug matched the cup and saucer,that was amazing.
Also thankyou so very much for the lovely block that you made for my quilt,its so cute.
Have fun on Kangaroo Island,hubby and i are going there just after xmas.xx

Brigitte said...

Although it may be bit late: Happy Birthday to you, Kaye!

The present for your friend looks gorgeous. She must have been thrilled to receive such a beautiful piece. Just as you must have been thrilled to receive such wonderful exchange goodies. Your exchange partners knew you very well, didn't they? So cool to receive a mug and a cup with the same designs.

Julie said...

Such a lot of lovely things in this post. The mug and teacup and saucer are superb.
Great addition to the stitched design you included, it does look super.
Belated birthday wishes, you and your friend look right at home in the café enjoying each others company

Sarah in Stitches said...

Gorgeous stitching! And I absolutely love the idea of a tea cup/mug exchange. The ones you received are so pretty! And matching! That's awesome :D

Mii Stitch said...

A beautiful framed piece made for your friend & plenty of goodies!!

Mini said...

Lovely birthday gift for your friend. Lots of beautiful goodies received in exchnages.

Heather said...

Wonderful finishes. And happy belated birthday!


Thanks for taking part in the Smalls SAL!

Christine M said...

So many gorgeous things! Happy birthday, Kaye xx

Stephanie said...

My dear Kaye, first of all, Happy belated Birthday! What a delightful way to spend your day :)

I had the biggest smile upon my face as I read your post and saw you and Gina together. Truly, what a delight to meet up for her to give you your mug package. And oh my, what a lovely package! Everything is beautiful and I can tell she put everything together with love.

Thank you so much for joining the fun. Hugs and joy to you!

Skyeler said...

I love both your teacup and mug, what a lovey coincidence that they match, too! The kitty bookmark is so cute as well. The exchange lands right before my birthday, as well, so it feels like an early gift in the mail! It makes it that much more special. <3

Linda Walker said...

Love the matching tea cup and mug! What nice gifts you received! hope you had a lovely birthday!
Linda
mysewwhatblog

Snap said...

wow wow wow. i'd say you hit the jackpot on your birthday. all of your tea goodies are wonderful. your cross stitch is lovely, too. have a lovely tea day!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, they match! That is so funny! How cool!! You truly were blessed!

Marilyn @ MountainTopSpice said...

Incredible! I wonder if this has ever happened before? You signed up for two exchanges and received matching mug and tea cup? Wow! I am stunned! They are absolutely beautiful too, just love the teal colors! And so wonderful that you were able to meet up and have your tea exchange together, the joy in all this just keeps giving and giving, doesn't it! Enjoying all the fun tea-partying going on today, feeling so blessed and thankful! Hugs to you today :)

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

Wonderful gifts from both exchanges and I too am amazed that the teacup and mug match. A birthday to remember!
Nice to visit you through the exchange.

Debbie Harris said...

Now what are the odds of that, matching tea cup and mug! They are quite beautiful I must say. Love the teal color with the print.
How wonderful that you were able to meet up and enjoy sweet fellowship. Doesn't get any sweeter than that. :)

Happy Birthday to you!

So nice to meet you through my dear Stephanie's exchange.
Have a beautiful day~~

Michele M./ Finch Rest said...

Hi kaye- oh my goodness what wonderful treasures!

I am absolutely in AWE that your teacup and your coffee mug match. Yes, that's absolute serendipity!

What a fun exchange - Stephanie is amazing putting this together for us all.

Happy belated birthday. Mine is Oct 4th, I love the fall! Hope your November and rest of Autumn is nice!

Unknown said...

Wat a fun package and beautiful cup.

Trisha said...

I always love seeing what everyone gets and gives... So much fun!!

~Trisha

Kim said...

Oh my goodness, this post is filled with the prettiest of pretties. LOVE your pretty stitching and LOVE the lovely gifts you received as Stephanie's tea cup exchange. My goodness you were spoilt! Perfect tea cup! Perfect mug! I cannot believe you received the same pattern in both.

Michele Stravato said...

Beautiful stitching and great recovery with the flowers and bluebirds. You would never know by looking at your finished project that is wasn't supposed to be that way.

Gina E. said...

Hi Kaye! I have finally got back on to my desktop computer and been able to visit your blog for the first time since we met up on your birthday! I have been chuckling over all the comments about the mug and cup matching - you did mention it to me on the day, but I didn't really twig, but now, I see what you mean about serendipity!
Look forward to catching up again some time soon :-)
Hugs,
Gina

Margie said...

How fun that you were able to do your mug exchange in person on your birthday! What happy serendipity that the mug and teacup match each other. I love the gorgeous design!

Heather said...

Wow lots of great gifts! Happy birthday I hope you had a good trip!

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