Tropical Bookmark

Finally. The book mark with parrots has been finished :) I stitched it quickly but I took a little time to wash it, iron it and mount it (stitching is fun but I'm always a bit lazy about the technical finishes) :) Overall it came out nicely with all these cheerful breezy colours and trendy chevrons in energizing hues. I'm pleased. The bookmark was a freebie kit from one of the current issues of Cross Stitcher. 

Will test the bookmark tonight :)

By the way, to whoever commented on the book "Thousand Splendid Suns" here - I'm really enjoying it :) The heroine, the happenings, the culture, the events the book describes. The author seems to have his own special way of describing things - his language is simple and easy to take in yet picturesque and striking. The marriage of Mariam (the main heroine in the book) to a much older Kabul shoemaker - Rasheed is so heartbreaking and her six unsuccessful attempts to give him a son and to please her husband in many ways is very touching. I'm looking forward to finding out what else will happen in this book.

Linking up to Hand-made Monday tonight. Do join in :)

Knitty, Stitchy, Sunny...

Yesterday we had one of those miserable rainy weather days all day. I was afraid our amazing hot summer weather was gone for good but hey no! Today, it's back to sunshine again! Yay! So much more uplifting.

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With so many hobbies to maintain I sometimes have a dilemma what to choose. Shall I knit or perhaps shall I stitch or crochet something today? Or maybe should I get my glass paints pots out... or make cards? Decisions, decisions.- we all know it. If I do something like for example I knit, I regret I don't make cards. If I make cards, then I regret I don't practise my crochet skills and so on. Do you know that feeling? So I decided to satisfy my crafting craves and my plans for today are: cards, cards, cards for the 1st half of the day, then yarns and threads and needles combined with late evening telly watching :)

A good cup of tea, jam toasts and yarns/threads will definitely keep me happy today. (Did you know? I have a thing about jam and butter toasts - they have to be cut into triangles :) Dunno why, I just love them that way. My bf introduced me to this idea. It's tasty and kinda... cute. It's a bit of a British thing, I reckon). In the meantime, knitting the Nordic balls is back on track again ( a commission for a colleague) and I'm still cross stitching the tropical bookmark with parrots. 

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Sometimes I like to blog about the crafty stash I have particular liking / attachment to. I'm definitely VERY MUCH attached to stamps, as you can see :) If there are any stampaholics among my readers out there, watch out! I thought I'd share it with you. HeroArts and Basic Grey teamed up to create these wonderful sets of retro stamps. The left-hand set arrived at my door step well over a week ago and the right-hand set came through with the post yesterday. I'm in love with these trendy retro designs! 

When I discovered them I thought of my younger brother straight away. He is kinda "retro" :) He wears glasses (sometimes a moustache too!!!), loves riding a bike and obviously loves music to bits. These stamps will be perfect for his birthday card in December. 

Notice the moustache stamp - so trendy these days and chevrons and arrows. Love 'em all! Great job HeroArts and Basic Grey!