The Suddenly Kate Show

Hello there!

Thanks for all the comments about my thread organiser - I should start jotting down some notes on why I made the design choices that I did as in the planning stages I went through a variety of ideas and found out what did and didn't work for me.

Before I start with my top ten, I really need to thank Angie at Miaminas Musings for sending me some fabric that she no longer wanted/needed. I really have NO excuse for not getting some stitching done :) She has been so generous and I am truly grateful. So altogether....

THANK YOU ANGIE! So, today I have decided to post my top ten favourite nail polish colours, random but fun and I would love to know your views on nail polish.
As for me, I tend to lean more towards darker colours and avoid candy colours (not very summery of me!) and also I am not crazy about really long nails or funky designs, patterns or jewels etc. Give me the simple life when it comes to nails. So without further ado...lets go check them out...
1. This col…

Hellooooooo!

So, I did get a few hours of stitching in last night but it did involve some frogging of a letter I had started previously, I hadn't gone wrong but I made a gruesome discovery..hehhe...

When I picked the sampler up again and thought about which bit to stitch next I realised that I had misplaced the variegated orange thread that I had used, and I searched in my threads and discovered I had no match for it. The most likely reason being that I grabbed the thread initially and wasn't too bothered whether it was DMC or not. This has now backfired on me.

So...I had the choice of frogging that colour or coming up with a solution...the solution I was going to go with was to swap the same four colours around to the different letter sizes per quarter...but when I started on the page two I decided that I liked the full orange alphabet and would continue with that colour straight across and have done so. I then chose a DMC variegated thread in a colour that went with Orange a…

Hello All,

So I havent stitched on Faery 66 since IHSW and I think I will save her for IHSW only, and so I decided to pick up on an old stitch from a kit that I one in a giveaway.

A recap of this is that, its a nightmare!

Okay, maybe it isn't so bad....but it is stitched on black aida and I find black is best to stitch on for smaller pieces. I am probably not helping myself by not using a frame.

It is an alphabet sampler, and the original kit came with a single colour (a maroon) in which to stitch it all - but as all you long time stitchers know, that won't cut it and when you see that I know your first thought is...I shall pick my own colours. That's exactly what I thought I would do.

I'm not sure if I have said before but for those who don't know....I love orange...I really do...I think my soul is orange or at least a part of it. So with this I started by selecting an orange thread, but not just any, no no...variegated. I don't know if everyone stitches the s…

I love gadgets! Whether they are technology based or user specific and so I had a look at what was out there for the stitchers amongst us...and here are my top ten stitchy gadgets that I found on Etsy (that I want or use). I chose Etsy as it is 10 this year! and 10 is the number. [Click on the image to take you to the Etsy shop]

1. Laying tool
Now I looked this up on YouTube, and watched some stitchers using this technique, and I like it. However,  tested it out to see what the difference was and if you take your time anyway you don't really need a laying tool, this said I could see how it could easily fit into a rhythm and I quite liked that idea. So I had a browse at what style of laying tools there were - when i tested the technique I just used a needle.


I like the simplicity of this pewter one and it feels very arts and crafty in style too,

2. Erasable highlighter
I am not sure if this is on Etsy as well...its not homemade....but I like the idea of being able to erase highlig…

Hello! I have three posts today!! I am playing catch up, I had them in a draft version but no time to post in a marginally better than draft version. This post is related to the Myers-Brigg personality test, some of you may be familiar with it and some may not and some may not care about such things - but its just a bit of fun! Information on the Myers-Brigg test can be found all over the web but here is a link to make it easy. Ok, so I have taken this test a few times over the years and every time it comes back with the same personality type for me and that is an INTJ and when I took it again today STILL the same! Apparently female INTJ's only make up 0.8% of the population, and we are...imaginative yet decisive, ambitious yet private, amazingly curious, but do not squander our energy. If you have taken this test then I would love to know what you are! I am not impressed with my characters - as I think I am much friendlier and nicer than the characters below but...lets see... Anyway, …

Hello

I hope everyone is well and had a great weekend. I did stitch!

It didn't quite go to plan....

I had hoped to stitch on Faery 66 on Friday, spend Saturday opening, examining and playing with Serenity, and then on Sunday continue with Serenity.

My idea being that IHSW would be focussed on Serenity.

The reality was that Serenity never arrived - I am not going to be using that company again, I ordered two other things from two other companies after Serenity and they have arrived already.

I did still makes some progress.

I stitched on 66 on Friday evening and on Saturday and Sunday I also stitched on 66. I had to fit it around jobs and visits but I am pleased with the progress I made.  I also ended up watching Hercules and the Hunchback of Notre Dame, as well as Season 1 of Intelligence. So all in all it wasn't so bad.

Here is where I left off on Friday:


and this is where I left it on Sunday:




There were a few moments when it looked so wrong! Especially when I started the eye…

To some of you this may seem a little odd but yesterday as I sat waiting for a bus a distinct smell wafted beneath my nostrils and it was very comforting. Am I the only one who finds certain smells comforting? Nooooo. I am sure you all have some favourites so feel free to share them in the comments :D

Here are my top 10 favourite smells....

1. Wet mud
This might be due to a childhood passion of making mud pies...A LOT! and yet..I'm not a chef today..lol!

2. Fresh cut grass
I do have hay fever but my allergy is to Tree pollen so grass being cut doesnt bother me so much...and the smell!! Oh the smell...

3. Fresh bread
Maybe everything on my list needs to be prefaced with 'Fresh' but this smell was probably created by the devil him/herself as waft of this and your body craves it.

4. Bacon
I had to include this because the smell of bacon is mesmeric, I don't know why, but I think the smell is much better than the taste, but what a smell.

5. Roberto Cavalli perfume
This is my f…

Editing from my phone is complicated! So this is in a random spot, reason being the ever so important news! I found 225!! In a matchbox I was sizing. Doh! But...yayyyy!
Halloween is only 4 and a half months away - which seems quite long - but in stitching hours the witching hours are short!
I have seen many great stitches for Halloween but only once stitched for it, that was for a stitching exchange, and would you believe it but my burglar stole my exchange piece!! YES! It was that good. It was so good that I had it on display all year round and sadly it was never recovered when the burglar was arrested. 
There are some great Halloween cross stitch designs out there and some of the popular ones you do see pop up on peoples blogs, and its great, because its so inspiring to see the finished article.
Here are some that I would like to have in my Halloween stash (surely its time to stash by season, category, colour? lol!)....
1. Ravenmoon Hall by Praiseworthy Stitches

This one is a very …

Hello,

I thought I would give you all a stitchy update before IHSW this weekend.

When I last posted it was this:



and it is currently this:


with the eventually goal being this:


And here is a reminder of the finished picture:



In other news, my niece who has seen me stitching this has asked me to stitch her a picture for her birthday. She will be 4! She is sooooo adorable though that I thought, well, if I could find a simple pic of Anna or Elsa from frozen then I might be able to get it done by her birthday at the end of August....so I asked her if she would like a picture of Anna or Elsa (Anna is her favourite!) and I opened up a whole can of worms...

Ebony: I would like Anna and Elsa, and they need to be in the middle in their coronation dressess! Oh, and they also need to be in their Frozen Fever dresses too.

Me: I said....erm....okaaaaaaayyyyyyy

Ebony: And they have to be together, so Anna and Elsa in their coronation dresses and then at the side Anna and Elsa in their Frozen fever d…