If you like Easter Bunnies...

As my little cat ornament was so popular, I decided to try out a little bunny ornament for Easter.
And this is what it finally looks like when stitched:




As you can notice the eyes aren't stitched. I tried stitching them but they turned out rather gloomy. So I decided to glue on some plastic ones.
Must say this rabbit looks a bit scary still.... and when you move it, the eyes start turning giving it have a somewhat drunk expression...LOL
But, in a way, it makes this design completely unique and that's what I like! I hope you will too!

As of now I will put links on here for my charts and keys in colour and in black and white symbols as well.
Someone asked me for a symbol chart for the chicken mandala, so I made one and send it to her.
It reminded me not everybody has a colour printer, so I will give both links as of now.

So here goes for the coloured chart and key:
click in colours
And here's the black and white one:
click in B/W

Should someone want a symbol chart of any of my previous freebies, please ask by mail and I'll happily send it to you!

And, as always, if you stitch this bunny, send me pictures! I love to see your work!

Enjoy!

Fasolada = Greek Bean Soup

What you need:

* 500 g white dried beans which you soak in water for at least 6 hours



* 2 celery stalks, chopped
* 2 carrots, chopped
* 1 onion, chopped
* a bit of garlic
* some oregano, some black pepper and some chopped parsley
* olive oil
* 1 tin of tomatoe cubes
* 3 vegetable stock cubes
* 2250 ml of water

How to make it:
Heat up the water and once it's boiling you put your stock cubes in, the beans and the carrots. Simmer these on medium-low heat for at least 1 hour.



Heat up the olive oil in another pan and add the onion, the garlic and celery. Bake these slowly.
Add the tomatoes and let it simmer for at least 10 more minutes.



Add these ingredients to the beans.



Add oregano, pepper (to taste) and parsley. Leave it all to simmer for at least one more hour or untill the beans are tender.
Serve with bread.
At this stage the batteries of my camera were empty. So I can't show you any more pictures but I'm sure you will be able to make this soup! It's so rich you can easily use it as a "stand alone" meal.
This is a picture I found on the net, showing you what it looks like when served:



Enjoy your meal!

Easter Freebie Time!!!

I designed this chicken mandala somewhere in January and the idea was that I would first stitch it before putting the chart on-line.
Unfortunately I'm afraid I won't have enough time to stitch it before Easter.
And if I would find the time, it 'd be finished too late for any of you to stitch it on time!
So I decided to put this design up without a finished version to accompany it.
At least now you still will have time to stitch it before Easter is at our doorstep, if you like it, that is!
I'm sure I'm going to stitch it too, but I can't figure out when!
This design needs to be stitched on some dark 14 count aïda.
As you can see in the picture above, it has some white stitches around the eggs, the chickens and the flowers.
I haven't found a way to reproduce these white stitches on the .pfd file that shows the chart. So you will have to use both the picture and the chart to stitch it correctly.
Almost all the white stitches in the key of the .pdf chart don't have to be stitched! Just the ones as shown in the picture.
I hope it's not too difficult for you to see and stitch!
I have the file in PCStitch format, which shows it clearly on a dark background. If you would want it, you can mail me and I'll send it to you. Don't forget you will need to be able to read PCStitch files!

Here is the link for the chart and key:
click
I really am curious to know what you think of this design as it's a bit different to what I make usually. I rather like it a lot myself! And you?

Give me some feedback, I'd appreciate it a lot! And of course I'd love to see it stitched! Even if it's finished before mine!

Enjoy and thanks for the visit!

Doesn't this look adorable???!!!


This is my latest finish. It's not really for Valentine, it's just a very big heart I wanted to make for my boyfriend and me.
As you can see our initials are in it as well as the date on which we first met.
We're still together and probably will still be together for a very, very long time to come!!!

I can't give you any charts for this design unfortunately.
I found the "mould" of the heart on this nice site:
Chez MamigozThe cherubs and the roses are designs copyright protected by PCStitch, the program I use to make my own designs with.

I just felt like bragging a bit tonight by showing this cute heart off!

TTFN!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!




Nope, there's nothing wrong with your eyesight!

If you take a look at what I wrote on February 2nd, you can understand how much I had to laugh when I opened the Valentine present I got from my boyfriend! Apparently we both bought the same present!!!

Aren't we the perfect couple??!!
TTFN!

CAR TROUBLE...

I noticed this car on TV in a little documentary about the annual car fair, held in Brussels last January.
This car looks so ugly to me, it becomes lovely!!!
Yesterday my boyfriend and I went to a car dealer's not far from my home to have a closer look at this beast.
Like it said in an add I read somewhere, it looks like a bulldog with sunglasses on!
The salesman wasn't very convincing though, so we went out, with an offer but with a lot of question marks as well.

Next we went to another dealer to have a look at this car:
Just an ordinary car, nothing thrilling about it, but it might be more convenient for me...
The salesman made us an offer and that looked more promising than the first car, so we went out with a smile on our faces.
We were driving home but came accross a third dealer and we stopped.
There we found this:
No "woohoo" experience really, but the offer we got was very zingy indeed! And what's more, this car would certainly meet my requirements.
In fact, it's not a "car", it's a "van". And that's exactly what I need! Why? Because that would make my life easier!
I'd like to be able to make trips and take my recumbent trike along. I can put my trike in a car because it's pliable, but I don't like to do that and it still is difficult to get it inside.
With this van I'd be able to drag it in without any problems whatsoever and without being worried so stain seats and such.
So I think this is going to be what I am going to buy.... and maybe I'll put curtains in it with some cross stitched decorations on! LOL
As, if I buy this van, I'll buy it with windows all around it. I wanna know what I'm doing when parking it. LOL

And in case you're wondering what a recumbent trike looks like....
Leaving you now, my boyfriend has just arrived!!! And he took a present out of his weekend bag and put it on a cupboard. I can't see what it is 'till Sunday, it's wrapped but it reminds me of a bell I told you about....

Biscornu Time Again!!!
I'm just a bit frustrated as the pictures of the finished biscornu are not that sharp. But you can still see what it looks like!

This is the picture of both charts:


It's twice the same design but with contrasting colours.

And here's the link for the chart:

click
That's it for today.
My mind isn't set on stitches at the moment.
I'm contemplating buying a new car. My boyfriend and I went to have a look at some this afternoon and my mind is buzzing with valves, dimensions, gearboxes and the like.

Hope you have fun with my biscornu!
CUL8R.

Some more geometry
These are two ornaments I made somewhere last January.
I have been so busy with things and so many things happened since then, that I had no time to put the charts on here earlier on.
But these ornaments are timeless and can be made for whichever occasion.
Someone from the EMS forum explained how to work with beads and so that's what I did with both ornaments. I rather like the result!
This is what the charts look like:

Ornament I


and
Ornament II



And I guess you'll need the charts and keys if you want to stitch either one of them, so here they are:

Ornament Iclick

Ornament IIclick

I hope you like them and feel your fingers are itching to stitch! And, if you do, be sure to send pictures!

I stitched a geometric biscornu and Ort made it too, she also made a little scissor keep that matches perfectly! They are beautiful indeed!!! And thank you Ort for sharing this with me!!!



That's it for today! Thanks for the visit!

Stitch till you Itch!!!

Do you like geometry?!
I know I didn't when I was in school! I got a bellyache when I saw the teacher drawing all those lines on the blackboard!
I'm perfectly happy my schooldays are over!

But likes and dislikes change over the years it seems, and now I like geometry.
I mean, I like it, when it's integrated in stitched designs, like biscornus for instance.

So I made one for you to stitch on 14 count white aïda.
Instead of a button I used a bead for the center.
Makes it look a bit more bling bling!
This is what the chart looks like:

And here's the link for the chart and key:
click
Enjoy and send pictures pleeeezzzze!!!!
TTFN!

After the "bell" business it's time for some serious stitching again.
Though... come to think of it, this morning I said to myself: If this bell isn't doing what it's supposed to do (though it's not really necessary!), I'll take it back and ask the cashier for a refund...!!!
Anyway, it's time for a cube!
I found a cute one on this French site: Les chroniques de Frimousse
and I made it.


You can find the chart for this musical cube on her site. Go to the part where it says: "catégories", on the right side of her blog and click on the word: "dés", that's French for "cube".
I did make you a blank cube chart though, so it might be easy to use, just make up any designs you want, draw the cubes and start stitching!
This is the link for the blank cube:
click
Enjoy and send me pictures if you stitch it!!!!

What a way to start a day!
It's a long story but a funny one and it happened to me today!

The little red bell.
A rather hilarious thing happened to me this morning.
I was in a supermarket and walked past a stand that displayed different gadgets and small gifts for Valentine.
As I like the colour red, my eyes hovered over this stand with a little more attention than usual.
And I saw something that made me grin.
A whole bunch of bells, fire red with the text “Ring for Sex” stamped on in black.

Some other customers were also having a look at the different gadgets so I didn’t feel like picking up this bell to have a closer look. It made me feel a bit too uneasy.
Instead I gazed at a display with valentine cards, took one out I liked and put it in my shopping trolley.

At long last the other people continued shopping and I was alone in the vicinity of these silly bells.
I took one out of the display, grinned some more and decided to buy it.
I gently put it in my trolley, I didn’t want it to make noise and attract attention.
I shoved it under some other items in the trolley as it felt so ridiculous to shop around with a sexy bell on top of my groceries.

After a while I had finished buying what I needed and went to the check-out.
As it was still early in the morning there weren’t too many customers queuing so I thought there wouldn’t be too many to come and stand behind me. What with that silly bell and all….

But I was wrong. I was still waiting and soon I saw 3 or 4 more customers standing behind me.

When there was room I started putting my groceries and other stuff on the conveyor-belt for the cashier.
Again I stuffed the bell gently, I really didn’t want it to ring, underneath some other items and waited for it to be my turn.
Finally the cashier started scanning my shopping and found the little fire red bell…..
“Oh”, she exclaimed, “it doesn’t have a label… I can’t scan it..."
Here we go, I thought to myself...
She took the phone off the hook and dialled a number.
To a shop assistant on the other end of the line she said she had an item she couldn’t scan…. She said, rather loudly and with a smile, it concerned a red bell with the text “ring for sex” written on it.

“Oh yes”, I thought, “why not just yell it over the intercom for all to hear???!!!”

The words were out though and the customers queuing behind me grinned a bit. One older woman burst out laughing with a face almost as red as that bell with no price tag on!
The shop assistant couldn’t help apparently as the cashier put down the receiver and started dialling another number…

“Great”, I thought, “soon the whole shop is going to know about my little red bell!”

This time the cashier got no help as the assistant she wanted to call was having a coffee break.
So there we were, the cashier with the red bell in her hands, me grinning stupidly, the woman laughing and the other customers in the queue sniggering like little kids.

“You’re doing this on purpose”, I said smilingly to the cashier. And she rang the bell!!!! She really did!

The laughing woman behind me almost lost it completely now and her husband just stood there looking like a big oaf.
Other customers queuing in other lines also began noticing the fun we were having.

I got to feeling a bit embarrassed and so as not to keep the others waiting until my bell issue was solved, I paid for the rest of my groceries and waited.

The cashier started scanning the items of the husband and wife.
Suddenly she got a call, they did find a price tag for my bell!
She settled the bill for the couple and put my bell on the conveyor-belt behind her. It drifted towards the husband. “Oh yes indeed”, I said, “now you are going to take my bell along?” And finally the husband burst out laughing as well. He took his grocery bag and the couple walked out. It was my turn again.

This time the cashier knew the price but she didn’t know what category to scan it in… so she took the phone again and some other assistant walked over from the information stand. They started deliberating about what to do with it…. Scan it as a party article, a gadget? It sure wasn’t a cooking utensil and they decided to scan it in the “events” category.

Well, it sure was an EVENT!!!! And it cost me 5 Euro!!! But it was such a good laugh I didn’t mind a bit and finally walked out with my red bell on top of my shopping bag!

I came to one decision though… I would never buy slightly naughty stuff in a supermarket again! Next time I'll buy it anonymously on-line!

I wonder what my boyfriend will think when he sees the little red bell…. I think we are in for a big laugh too on February 14th!