Motif Monday - The Porg

Motif Monday returns! Yay!

I'm still processing Star Wars The Last Jedi. It was an emotional rollercoaster I wasn't quite ready for.

One thing I do know is that the Porgs were flipping cute. And yeah...I also love the ewoks. If you're a Star Wars fan who hates the cute little critters of the universe then this isn't the blog you're looking for.

This week's free motif is dedicated to the little Porg dudes. It's a super quick stitch, and would be great for decorating a little one's t-shirt, or for stitching a legion of tiny little Porgs if you feel the need for a Porg army.

Porgs seems to be either brown or grey, depending on what point of reference you use. I've chosen brown for this design, but you can easily substitute for grey.

Here's the pattern:

Or you can download a pattern sheet, including the DMC threads colours I used, and a black and white version of the pattern by following this link:

Porg Pattern Sheet

Please only use this pattern for personal use, and if you share it credit this blog.

Happy porging everyone! I'll be back on Monday with another free pattern for you.

Sunday Best - Doctor Who Jewellery

I'm currently sat on my sofa, feeling a little bit under the weather and watching the end of Wimbeldon while waiting for the annoncement of the new Doctor  in Doctor Who. I love Doctor Who. It's one of my many geeky fandoms. I've fallen out of love a little bit for the run of the Twelth Doctor - not because Peter Capaldi wasn't fantastic, but I found the stories lacking slightly and quite honestly just didn't enjoy Clara as a companion. Bill Potts, however, was a fabulous companion and I'm so sad to have said goodbye to her.

So I'm sat here wondering what one of my favourite TV shows is going to bring next. It's a weird set-up where the main character - the one you bond with and travel on so many adventures with - is guaranteed to say goodbye at some point. I'm intrigued by the next change - will the Doctor change gender? Or race? Or not really change at all?

So as I'm waiting, and remember some of my favourite moments, I'm also browsing Etsy for some sparkly Doctor Who items. The photo above is a collection of some of my favourites. I'm hoping that the decision on who will be the next Doctor is an exciting one - one that promises something new and different. One that can connect with a whole new generation of young people who can learn the power of companionship and the importance of adventure, through travelling with a Doctor in a blue box.

If you'd like to wear your Doctor Who fandom with pride and buy any of the above loveliness, you can find them all on Etsy at the following links:

1. The Angels Have the Phonebox Necklace by Stella My Star 

2. Gallifrey Symbol Ring by Spooky Island

3. Tardis Watch Pieces Glowing Necklace by Sugar Oh Honey Honey 

4. Eleventh Doctor Necklace by Twuly

5. Tardis Earrings by It's Laura Crow 

6. We're all stories in the end earrings by Boutiqable

Bye for now!

That Friday Feeling...Patronus, Birthdays and Stars Hollow

Print from LittlePrintShopUK on Etsy

Greetings from my sofa on this most lovely of Friday evenings. We've just returned from an evening walk with the puppy, a chill is in the air and I have a mug of hot chocolate. All is good.

This week has both flown by, and yet also seems to have lasted for ages. I'm not sure how that's possible.

I hope you've all had a good week, and a fun weekend ahead. Here are a few little things that have made me happy this week...

1. It was my birthday! I got some truly beautiful presents and felt very loved. It's been a busy week at work, so proper celebrations start tomorrow.

2. Pottermore - pretty much heaven for any Harry Potter fans - you can now log in and find out what our patronus is. Mine is a dolphin. I always thought I'd be a woodland animal of some kind...or a sloth...so I was quite surprised by that outcome!

 

3. The Gilmore Girls - Until recently I had never seen an episode of The Gilmore Girls, but since it has appeared on Netflix I'm absolutely besotted with this TV show. I love every character. I love the witty and smart writing. I love the little 'La la la's' that form the background music. I'm on my second watch through at the moment and it's my perfect background TV for lots of activities...working, cleaning, sewing...blogging. 

I think it's now time for me to watch an educational documentary..errr..The Gilmore Girls, so bye for now!

Motif Monday - I Am Groot

James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy found a place in my heart after the first viewing - by the third viewing I was pretty sure it was one of my all time favourite films. Seriously. I went to the cinema to see it three times. That's a record for me. As it turns out, the third time was the evening before my (now) husband proposed to me so that has added an extra layer of happy attachment to it.

It's now the films one year anniversary as it was released a year ago in cinemas across the world. In that time - this little big fella has definitely become one of my most loved characters. Quite an achievement for a character who has a three word vocab. I love his sense of family, loyalty and friendship though - and his love of nature. Oh, and his big heroic act (which I won't spoil for anyone who hasn't seen this yet - although - what do you mean you haven't seen it yet? Go watch it. Now!) has me in tears every time. 

So if you're a Groot fan like me here's a little motif you can cross stitch to add some Groot love to the world. I haven't had a chance to stitch him up yet as I've been finishing a project, but I'm hoping to get him stitched up in the next couple of days.

Until then here's the pattern - nice and simple, although with a few half stitches thrown in to give him his shape. He just requires two different browns and a black, so hopefully not too taxing on your floss stash!

If you have any questions about the pattern just let me know. If you use him at all don't forget to post a link to your completed project!

We are Groot!

Happy stitching xx

Motif Monday - Finnick Odair Bookmark

Any Hunger Games fans out there? Anyone else totally fall in love with Finnick's character as the story unfolded? I put this design together for a craft swap a while back and thought I would share it here today. It's possibly one of the more random designs in my collection - Finnick's trident, and then his name spelt out in the Maritime Flag alphabet (I liked the maritime-water-Finnick connection). I thought I'd share it here in case anyone else wants a slightly obscure Finnick bookmark to add to their collection - and also to put it out there that if you would like anything else spelt out in the Maritime alphabet let me know!

I'm about to start another read-through of the books, but think I might make up this bookmark first. I still find myself enjoying reading actual books more than my Kindle - maybe because I've always loved bookmarks?!

Here's the pattern - no particular floss colour requirements - you'll just need a black, white, yellow, blue and red - nice and simple!

Motif Monday -- Star Wars Jawa

In honour of it being May 4th yesterday, the free motif for this week is a cross stitch Jawa, from Star Wars. I've always had a soft spot for these little guys - although really not sure why as they're kind of nasty!

This little guy does involve some half stitches, but only uses four colours, so is still a nice simple design for an evening. Here's a close-up of how he looks...

If you would like to stitch your very own Jawa (complete with mini Jawa blaster) then you can get the pattern as a PDF from Googledocs at this link:

Free Cross Stitch Jawa Pattern

If you use it for any projects get in touch and let me know!

Bye for now!

Kat xx

BEDM - It's Star Wars Day! + Sunday Best

May the 4th be with you!

Today's 'Blog Every Day in May' prompt is 'Star Wars Day - Talk about Sci-Fi'. As has already been evidenced, I'm a bit of a Sci-Fi geek and love Star Wars so I'm always excited when May 4th rolls around.

I celebrated it today by going to a local Sci Fi Convention - Devcon (I warned you I'm a bit lot of a geek) and loved it. For a long time I tried to hide my love for geeky things - then I realised life really is too short to care and now I'm proud of it, and have met some pretty awesome people along the way.

Devcon May 2014

Today has left me feeling a little bit inspired to follow some of my crafting dreams - but more on that at a later date. For now, I've just put together a treasury of some pretty spiffy Star Wars items on Etsy for today's Sunday Best:

Star Wars Treasury on Etsy

 

 

If you want to check out any of the above items just click on the link. In putting together this treasury I made the fatal mistake of searching for the word 'ewok' on Etsy. Cuteness overload. I swear.

Anyway, whether a Sci-Fi geek or not I hope this weekend brought lots of good things your way. I've been doing a but of stitching and have a new cross stitch pattern ready for tomorrow (hint - it may be Star Wars related *shock*).

Motif Monday - Loki

Hello stitch fans!

I'm happy to be able to share a new mini cross stich design with you - this time for Loki - the Marvel Supervillian we all love to...well...love. He's in his Avengers garb and although the picture doesn't highlight it very well, his helmet, staff and accents are stitched in gold thread - because, you now, he's kinda fancy.

Turns out gold thread is a pain in the derrier to stitch with but the end result looks fab - however, it could easily be substituted with yellow thread. 

If you would like to stitch your own Loki you can download a PDF with the pattern and key of which threads I used at this link to a Google Drive doc:

Loki Cross Stitch Pattern

Happy stitching - my better half was the creative genius behind Loki's design - he's been inspired by pixel art, so is mega easy to stitch but the finished product is oh so cute! If you do use the design, please keep if for personal use and comment with a link to your finished product - I love seeing the patterns in action!

And for fans of the man who brought Loki to life in the Avengers - here's a little pic of Tom Hiddleston to brighten your day....

 

Bye for now

Kat xx

Sunday Best - Geek Love!

Hello little treasury treasures, 

I hope your weekends are going swimmingly. It's pouring with rain here so the weekend woodland rambles I'd planned have taken a back seat - and snuggling under blankets whilst trying to talk myself into being productive has taken its place.

Inspired by signing up to the Geek Girls Penpals I've put together a treasury of a few pieces of geeky beauty on Etsy.

Link to the Geek Love Treasury on Etsy

I love seeing some of the items inspired by various fandoms on Etsy - especially the Doctor Who and Sherlock geekery that is available - and I might have to buy myself a geeky panda plush - so cute! To check out the items in more detail please click on the link above.

I think we've all got geeky tendencies - be it for a television programme, an academic subject, a set of books, make-up or a particular sport - being a geek means having a passion for something - and that's a good thing which should be celebrated!

Bye for now!

Kat xx

International Geek Girl Pen Pals Club

I just wanted to share this little gem I stumbled upon whilst heading down one of those rabbit warrens the internet so kindly leads us down when we let it (I love those times when you stumble across something quite lovely by complete accident).

I'm proud to say that I have some Geek Girl tendencies - my entertainment leanings are certainly considered to be on the Geek spectrum, so I was really happy to find this community of geeky girls looking to communicate the old fashioned way - as penpals - by signing up to the International Geek Girl Pen Pal Club.

Round 13 is currently open for sign-ups - so if you have a geeky passion and would love a pen pal then get over to the site now (it's free and very quick to sign-up, which makes a nice change - hurrah!). Importantly - it's not just for girls (although people are matched up with a pen pal of the same gender and from a similar age group).

I'm really looking forward to finding out who my pen pal will be...expect some future posts on geek-related stationary!

Bye for now

Kat xx

Stitch n Tell and a Motif Monday Teaser

I was hoping to have a new cross-stitch design ready for you today, but instead I've been doing a bit of stitching to make sure that the designs work in reality, and working with my boyfriend who has quite the talent for pixel art, which happens to transfer very well to cross stitch. This little guy is the end result of today's collaboration...does he look familiar?

That's right, it's Loki himself - burdened with glorious purpose and all that. It doesn't show too well in the photo, but the gold parts are stitched in a metallic thread...which looks lovely now it's finished, But almost got thrown across the lounge a couple of times as it is so frustrating to use!

From next Monday I'll have some weekly little motifs for you....and you probably don't have to be a genius to work out who you'll be seeing first! Your vey own cross stich Loki could soon be yours (and a few other Marvel characters to keep him company).

If there are any characters from film or TV who you'd love to see in miniature cross stitch form let me know and I'll see what we can do.

Bye for now

Kat xx

Sunday Best - Doctor Who Edition

I'm so happy Doctor Who is back on TV which, coupled with the news that David Tennant is returning for the 50th Anniversary, means that I'm in a Doctor Who obsessed place right now.

There is a lot of Doctor Who loveliness on Etsy, and here are a few of my favourites:

Handmade journal by Berna on Etsy

Silver glass necklace by Caleb Smith on Etsy

The Silence Cuff Bracelet by Sarah McGee on Etsy

Adipose Skirt by NerdAlertCreations on Etsy

Amigurumi Patterns of all 11 Doctors by Crafty is Cool Crochet on Etsy

I need that Adipose skirt a crazy amount. Seriously.

I hope you're all having a lovely weekend. I'm off to snuggle up with some green tea and blog reading.

 

Xx

Posted with Blogsy

Motif Monday...the 11th Doctor

I'm back! Phew!

And even better...I'm back with a free cross stitch pattern for the Whovians amongst you. Our beloved Doctor was back on Saturday...complete with his new assistant Clara and a rather spiffy new outfit. To celebrate his return you can now stitch him on pretty much anything you desire (a Doctor Who tea towel?...yes please).

The important question is...which outfit do you prefer?


Follow the link here for the downloadable pattern and as always, I'd love to see your finished pieces. I'm stitching these little chaps at the moment and will post as soon as they're finished.

Sunday Best...Feeling the Magic

Wow time flies, huh? Since my operation I've become spectacularly bad at multi-tasking. I'm hoping that full brain function will return soon, and until that time I'm busy making 'to do' lists like there's no tomorrow!

During my period of absence one of my most loved TV Shows has returned to my screen...BBC's 'Merlin'.

I'm a huge fantasy geek...give me men in armour fighting with swords, and a few dragons thrown in for good measure and I'm one happy girl. I'm already absolutely loving the new season, and that led to the creation of a new Merlin themed pinboard (I'm at a dangerous risk of creating a board for every thing I love...that's a lot of boards!), and here are a few of my favourite items...

This Merlin inspired ring is so pretty, I love the blue of the stone

Source: etsy.com via Kat on Pinterest

How cute is this little Merlin Chibi? I've just discovered the Etsy Store CuteChibisandMore and suddenly find myself needing tiny versions of Sherlock, Doctor Who and Hawkeye.

Source: etsy.com via Kat on Pinterest

I love the style of this etched brass shield ring, I need more brass in my jewellery stash

Source: etsy.com via Kat on Pinterest

I had the pleasure of seeing these cute mice up close at a Craft Fair recently, they make all kinds of adorable characters but little Merlin and Arthur are extra cute.

Source: etsy.com via Kat on Pinterest

Another ring (yep, I'm in the mood for buying rings). Love the Camelot etching around this ring, so unique.

Source: etsy.com via Kat on Pinterest

Sunday Best - May the Force Be With You

So the big Star Wars geek side of my personality is totally gutted that I missed posting on May 4th. Missed opportunity or what?

I don't talk about my Star Wars obsession too often - but yes, I'm a massive fan of both the original trilogy and (controversially) the prequels. The world of Star Wars fandom has brought a lot of happiness my way, not least because it was how I met my lovely beau.

So in belated honour of May 4th...here's my Sunday Best.

How cute? If I had any crochet skills whatsoever I would be all over this pattern by lucyravenscar on Etsy.

The Bantha was always one of my favourite creatures from the Star Wars universe - so big and fluffy. This plushie by ebinard on Etsy does them justice - love the button eyes.

There are no words to express my love for this...by Sweethoots on Etsy.

I always felt that the Wampa was the most misunderstood creature - well, him and the Rancor - I'm pretty sure they were just lonely and confused, so this hoop kind of melts me.

Admiral Ackbar is one of my all time favourite Star Wars characters (I mean..he's probably in the top ten, and he's fought off some stiff competition), so I think I may have to treat myself to this pattern to make my hoopla wall complete.

Adventure Time Swap

This week has still been a bit of a tough one health-wise and I was feeling a bit blue....until I received what was literally the most amazing parcel ever, because it contained these guys...

It's crochet Finn and Jake! I received them from Lucy for the Adventure Time swap over at Craftster. As someone who is (still) struggling with crochet, I am in total awe of Lucy's skills.

Finn and Jake are easily my favourite cartoon characters, so having my very own versions of them is all kinds of awesome.

And Jake's little backpack came filled with rocks from the Candy Kingdom! I'm finishing my project for Lucy today, while watching lots of Adventure Time...happy times! :)

Motif Monday - Keep Calm and Roll Out

For this week's free cross stitch design I've geeked out with a 'Keep Calm' design with a Transformers twist. Thinking of 'Keep Calm' designs is proving to be lots of fun...my favourite twist on it is still 'Now Panic and Freak Out' (a command I find it much easier to follow!)

You can download the full chart by following this link

Life is still a bit chaotic here but when things calm down (and it's time to roll out!) I'm totally stitching this in white on some red fabric.

If you use this design I'd love to see the finished product!

Stitching Saturday - The Hunger Games Edition

My swap partner for the Hunger Games Swap over at Craftster has received so I'm safe to post piccies of the items I stitched...hurrah!

I tried something new for this swap and made some embroidered buttons, which I used to make an arrow necklace...

And some hair grips...

I bought the self cover buttons and the button making tool from http://www.bloomingfelt.co.uk/. I think I might need a bit more practice with the tool but a new crafty love has definitely been born.

I also designed and stitched this 'Keep Calm' picture...

I might have a go at doing some 'Keep Calm' designs for Motif Monday. I realised after I'd finished and framed this that the 'and' is too big...doh!

I also made a couple of non-stitching related goodies...

A 'Girl on Fire' memory wire bracelet (I still love making these...so relaxing)

And a fimo Mockingjay Pin...

I loved crafting for this swap so much...I'm now counting the days until the film is released.

Let the Games Begin!