Threads added since last time are from the Poinsettias Card for my Mum's workplace, who decided they didn't want it afterall so it's now framed and being displayed on my mantlepiece. Also added some yellow DMC threads from Somebunny To Love, who is coming on nicely as you can see :
Moving on to try and finish Somebunny to Love 'April Showers'. It seems appropriate given the weather we've been having in Oxford lately!
Secondly I finished off the Bentley Bear freebie kit from Cross Stitch Crazy magazine, I forget which issue but it's a recent one!
Bentley was the only piece of Christmas stitching I planned to do this year but then my mum asked me to finish a project she was doing for the window display at her work place, I agreed to but found myself having to start again as she had made quite a few mistakes which her work place won't accept. So now I have until Tuesday to do this design. 
Here's how much I've done so far...
On that note we're back to the Twilight theme. I had been working on the christmas Bentley Bear kit that came free with cross stitch crazy about a month ago when I realised I was running out of the threads that came with the free kit. Spent about half an hour matching the freebie threads to the threads I'd bought to stitch the papercrafting Bentley bear from a different issue of WOCS. By this time it was around 1AM and I was too tired to continue stitching.
The next day I picked up the lastest issue of Cross Stitcher magazine and was very excited when I saw the stitch a star chart was Robert Pattinson (Edward in Twilight) and was even more excited to discover that the threads needed to stitch Robert where the same onces I'd put to one side to stitch Bentley the night before!! Needless to say poor Bentley has been abandoned until now as I tried in vain to stitch Robert before the premiere of New Moon in the cinema. Obviously I didn't quite succeed but I can now say that Bentley will be finished by the weekend! I can also say that I am the sad loser who knows all the words to all the songs on the movie soundtrack as that is all I've listened to for the last two weeks!
Ok so new threads in my TUSAL jar, masses of browns, creams & ginger tones from Rob Pattinson, a few reds from Bentley Bear along with some more of the browns & creams, a few thread number paper things as I also managed to sort out some of my skeins onto bobbins but still have many many more to do lol. Will aim to be on time for the update next month as it'll be the last one of 2009!
Lol found this lush fabric banner in Waitrose (by John Lewis) for £4, seems like a bargain cos I can use it again, year after year... 
Also found this very cool card which I plan of framing because I love the image to much to give it away! The inside says 'Happy Halloween! Come by & stay for a spell...' Genius!!
Anyway, Stitching update....I've done nothing!
Stitching this month has been slow, I have managed to do some work on HC 'Trains' only a little bit of stitching left then it's onto the backstitch.
I have also been working on a freebie design from the passione ricamo website, but I am making very slow progress unfortunately. There is no way it will be finished in time for halloween but I shall persevere regardless, I love halloween anyway and will probably have this out at all times when it's finished :-)
Which brings me onto my TUSAL update for October, yes it's late I know but I really have been very busy :-( 
New threads this month from my PR freebie, including some very cool Glow-in-the-dark ones & also some ORTS from Humphrey.
The Margaret Sherry 'Stitch in time' kit was a bit of an indulgence as was the 'Tiddles' kit but the Humphrey's Corner kits were only £2.99 each and I love the one called 'Baby Talk' mostly because Baby Jack is holding the phone upside down!
and some really nice elephant charms for £1.
Most people know I love the Margaret Sherry cross stitch designs but I also love MS rubber stamps, stickers, etc so I was very happy to find these stitcker sheets for £1.50 each! I just love the little mice & hedgehogs! 
Should have him finished before the weekend is over, didn't realise just how hard the flowers are to do!
Lastest editions to my jar are the final threads from Archie Bear, Somebunny, Newton & some threads from my new start; Humphrey's Corner 'Trains'. Love this design & love how fast it stitches up! Next month should show more threads from water games among other things but only time will tell!
I know even I'm shocked and it's my plan lol, while I am well known for making plans & being quite organised, it generally falls apart days ater I put it into action. This is why my needle case is still MIA... anyway... 
Been stitching Newton all day and I've finally finished the cross stitch!!! All that's left is the backstitch!! 
I say 'all', the backstitching itself looks to be a complete pain in the backside, however I have 2 days left to stitch him so if I work hard I might just manage to finish him before Saturday! 
However as much as I would love to continue stitching now, I am very tired so I think it's time for bed! 
Have started on Humphrey's 'trains' and will post an update later in the week with photo's, I plan to stitch some more of Humphrey on Monday/Tuesday then finish off Newton before the stitching show at Sandown Park on Saturday! Then Sunday will be spent progressing on Water Games!
Anyway...on to other news, as I've already mentioned I finished my Archie Bear finally!! Ilove stitching this design, although I did noticed I've made a mistake, I'd of corrected it but I noticed it as I was backstitching it!
Back on to Somebunny freebie & Halloween Fairy now!
wasn't expecting to find much but boy was I wrong! Found a couple of games for my sega megadrive & playstation (I love retro consoles!) & a couple of books I've been looking for but my best buy for the day was probably 136 cross stitch magazines for £10!! Many of which still had the cover kits & freebie charts with them! On the same stall I also found two Joan Elliot design works kits for £6.50 brand new, so I'm a very happy bunny indeed! 
Been working on Archie bear this afternoon and I've very nearly finished it! Will post pics as soon as it's done!
I'm really proud of how much I managed to stitch today, this is the most I've stitched on this piece in one sitting and although I probably won't finish it in time for my mum's birthday I'm really hoping to finish it in time for Christmas.
Happy Stitching!!
Since last time there are so many new threads, my favourite being a rather nice bright blue/turquoise colour that is now about a third of the way down, it's from a WTP kit my mum started before she realised it was full of fractional stitches which she can't get her head round and so I ended up doing it, then found out she'd made a bunch of mistakes so had to frog the whole thing and start again. Also in my jar are ORT's from Water Games, Archie & Somebunny plus a few of the thread labels from my recent workbox tidyup. Have realised that I need a bigger workbox that is preferably not hexagonal as nothing fits inside properly.
Also made some progress on Water Games although not as much as I'd have liked due to being back at work (groan) 
but as I have bank holiday Monday off I plan to spend the day stitching & will hopefully have much more to show for it. (It'll be christmas by the time I finish at the current rate of progress) Also hope to finish the backstitch on Archie by this time next week.
Just one other thing I have completly forgotten to mention before and it's quite old news now, Cross Stitch Crazy printed my letter!!
Wasn't expecting it at all and literally began jumping up and down on the spot when I realised it was me!
Also finally managed to get hold of my friend Mary to give her the birth sampler I did for her daughter Karmay and she was so pleased with it, her sister-in-law loved it so much she's asked me to do one for her daughter Caitlin who's now 3 and my boss at work has asked me to do one for his new baby. Had great fun picking out the designs for both of them, now all I have to do is wait till the show at Sandown in September to buy the threads I need to stitch them, and I'm getting paid to do them as well!!
Think that really is everything for this week, except that I found 48 very old issues of cross stitcher, cross stitch collection, needlecraft & mary hickmott's new stitches (issues 1,2 etc) most of them complete with the free kits for £12.50 in a local charity shop! Has made for some plesant reading at least! Ok now that really is everything, will update again after the weekend!
Went to the boot sale on Sunday again & found a daylight company portable craft light (the old style with the cable not the rechargable battery style) for £4!! Snapped that up pretty quickly, especially as the bulb on my clip on lamp has blown again (3 times in 6 months, I'm begining to think it might be faulty lol)
Went up to Coventry today with the second carload of stuff for my brother and wandered round Coventry itself. Found a stitchy shop called Busy Hands so naturally I went in for a nosey...came out with 2 new kits; A Humphrey's Corner one called 'Trains' which is of Humphrey on his belly playing with a toy train & all the carriges have snails on top!! It's sooo sweet! I also got a Born To Shop kit which says 'Save the Earth...It's the only planet with Chocolate'. I love the born to shop stuff and had seen some of the kits at the stitch & craft show but I couldn't afford them so when I saw this one reduced I had to buy it! Lol I'm a sucker for a bargain! Problem is now I want to stitch one but I've promised myself won't start anything new until I finish at least one of the bigger projects I'm working on & all of the small ones I've started! Guess I better get cracking so photos will be up later in the week.
