Coming soon to my Etsy shop! Digi stamps! :)

Hello lovelies, hope you are all well and happy?

When our mutinous house behaves itself again, and we can find our possessions once more (or even reach them!), I intend to concentrate a tad more on my Etsy Shop. I am afraid to say it has been really difficult getting on with anything in a thorough way in the chaos of a building site!

Anyhow, here are a couple of digi stamps which I have been tweaking for my shop.  Digi stamps are a very versatile tool for a crafter to use as they can be resized as desired and of course can be used as many times and in as many ways as you can imagine! Not just for card making at all, as you will see in my photos, I have used one to transfer onto calico and then embroidered it. This will be mounted in an embroidery hoop and popped onto a shelf in my shop soon!  http://www.etsy.com/shop/thecockeyedartymiss

As you can see, I need to do some work with my watermarks! Anyway, until next time Ta Ta! :) 

Suzie xxx

Hello Chaps and Chapesses! :)

Hello all you lovelies! I can hear you saying "who the heck?"... I know I haven't posted for an awfully long time and have most likely faded from blogland's memory as a faint dot of mist, soI must try to write a post a bit more often from now on! I used to do one every Friday, no fail.

What have I been up to? Hmmm let's see.. well.... I have just finished a new needle doodle for my Etsy shop 
but it just needs the backing put on before it goes on.. here is a little peek of it....

I have been a busy bee this week as I have also painted two ACEO's for my shop too, and once I have tweaked a couple of bits and bobs I shall be putting these on too. These are only diddly little things and measure only 2.5 x 3.5 inches each.

This must be my shortest blog post ever, and anyone who remembers me will know that I waffle a tad on occasions! Before I go out into Poulton for a meal with the long suffering George, I shall leave you with a picture of our latest family member, our 12 week old Old English Sheepiedog.. Dollie Dottie Daydreams or Doris as I sometimes call her! She is cute hey?

Next time I will put a pic of our other doglets too.. Bertie, Peggy and Edwoof, or Eddie or Ted as we call him.
We have also been sooo busy doing up yet another house, and this one is a mess believe me!

Anyway peeps I hope you all have a very Happy Easter and ta ta for now!

Suzie xxx

Da Dah!!! My Etsy shop is now open Peeps! :)

The last of the procrastinators! Always a reason to wait until tomorrow hey? I may move house soon, Oh no this has happened, ,that has happened. I am waiting for this, I am waiting for that.... well not anymore, the time for waiting has past, and off we go into the future with a song in our heart.......

And the song is.... " When the sky is a bight canary yell-ell-ow, I forget every cloud I've ever seen, so they call me a Cock-eyed optimist, imature and incurably green..."

Yes chaps and chapesses, I have finally opened my Etsy shop and it is called.....drum roll here (ha ha ha!!)

The Cock-eyed Arty Miss!      http://www.etsy.com/shop/thecockeyedartymiss?ref=si_shop

Toodle-pip peeps! Suzie! xxx 

I (itch2stitch) am back with a new name!!

Well look who the wind has just blown back through the door! It is me itch2stitch!!! I am back under a new name so please don't delete me! I certainly took taking a break a bit too seriously didn't I? It was only supposed to be for a few weeks. Hmmm, well better late than never hey?

Same blog really just a different name, as let's face it, I am not all about stitching and sewing, and as many of you may know, my stitcheries are from my artwork too (well mostly)! But all are fresh from my day dreaming imagination..

As I am soon to open my new Etsy shop, I thought I had better get my act together and give myself a kick up my own sorry bottom!  I will be selling a variety of hand sewn goodies and needle doodles (as above and below), and at a future date,  prints and original artwork will be for sale as well as a selection of paper crafted items.

I hope you are all well and happy! I have been keeping up with some of you on Facebook, but it is lovely to be back in Blogland again!!

Much love to you all until next time! Suzie! xxx :)

Fed up with blogging. Not sure! Maybe. Hmmmm.....

 Feeling somewhat reflective these days!

Oh dear! I have been AWOL! What can I say? Busy as usual, and other things going on in my life that are keeping me on my toes, so I am sorry for neglecting you all again. Will you forgive me folks? SO! Today I am writing a blog post about not wanting to write a blog post! To be quite honest, I am finding it hard to keep up with the old blog these days, and even worse, I am getting a bit fed up (whispered!)  with it too. Does anyone else feel like this? Then I find myself feeling guilty if I don't get around to reading all your lovely blogs. So somewhere between feeling guilty and feeling fed up, I find myself in the middle wondering why I do it at all! I find myself hankering for a time where there were no computers, no mobile phones and even no Facebook!  I have a keen desire to become a hermit!

Just at  this moment in time I find myself in a nesting mood, I just want to concentrate on getting my mutinous house under control, and get the garden sorted out for the winter. I have been planting some daffodil bulbs, and tidying the borders when I get a minute away from renovating the house that is!


Last friday I made a pissa ( No '-'s again on this puter! Here it is so you can know what I am talking about!  I made the base too, and it turned out quite tasty. The topping had artichokes, peppers we had grown ourselves, fresh herbs from the garden, and plenty of stick on the hips cheese of course! Oooh and tuna, it was delish!

I also made a lemon drissle (!) cake.  See, it is bad, I can't even be bothered to take a photo!   I am in a very ponderous, housey, reflective, quiet place at the moment.

I really actually do have an enormous urge to just walk away from my blog. What stops me? You! yes all of my friends in blogland who I would miss, and wonder how you are all getting on.  And would I change my mind when life becomes more settled again, and my little sun shines again.  After all if my little sun comes out again I will  be all chirpy and full of energy.

 Maybe I just need a darn good belly laughing session!  Chirpy and energetic is waiting for me !

That really is the main problem I think.....I just have very little enthusiasm right now. Lack of sleep and a few things in life which I have to get my head round have left me feeling somewhat depleted, and sometimes after, or during a busy day, when my head feels in a whirl, the last thing I wish to do is to write this blog! Then I worry about the fact that I haven't got to others blogs, and then that just stresses me too!  Does that make any sense to you at all?? Or is it just me?! Do you ever get the urge to press delete? Or have I stood up and blurted out the unspeakable in blogland?

I think I am quite tired though, maybe it is that simple, I never used to feel this way, I used to enjoy it all so much.  Maybe I just need some extra ssssssssssssssssss (!) See I have definitely lost them! Maybe I am just feeling the effects of time, like a creaking old gate. Heres a little funny to show that I am not a complete misery! A few of you will  have already seen it on my facebook page!

Today, which will be tomorrow (!) I will be getting round to reading all your blogs! ( I always post after midnight, therefore Friday, but it always says thursday! Yes, after midnight, after 1pm sometimes, and then I wonder why I am always tired!)

I hope you are all well and happy!  Have a happy weekend!  Lots of love to you all, top of the world to you all!  Susie xxx

More Handmade Christmas, Plus Teacosy Pattern

Hello again peeps!

Well it would seem that everyone who commented last week, certainly shares my longing for a more simple christmas with handmade gifts and old fashioned values, which may I say is very refreshing! Thank you so much for your input and lovely helpful comments. You have all inspired me further to press on with my quest!

So this week as I was busy sewing, drawing, painting, etc., I was still pondering over how hard it is to think of good handmade gifts for men, and I found myself smiling to myself reminiscing over past makes which didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped for.  There were the pyjamas I once made for George  out of an old sheet, very thrifty...(I know, poor George!). You know, sometimes an idea just pops into your head, and well, you just have to, don't you? Bless him, he wore them, even though the traced markings, ie. dots and the words cut here, never ever would wash out!

 Then there was the jumper I made him on my newly aquired knitting machine, which had one of those contraptions which allowed you to draw the shape on it, and then just knit it. Happily flinging the carriage from one side to the other, following the chart, I didn't realise that the jumper was growing longer and longer!  On that occasion George refused point blank to wear it, and I ended up wearing it around the house as a very long nightie/dressing gown!

Sadly no pics though, as it was in the days before digital cameras!

As well as trying to catch up with various jobs, such as a cross stitch I promised the lovely Lynne in Ireland many moons ago. If you are reading Lynne, it is coming along very well now! I have been a busy bee drawing and painting little pics for a few peeps, and still trudging on with my secret project.

There are a few simple knitted gift ideas too which I have to get on with.  This is a gift I made for my friend a couple of years ago, and she still has it, and tells me she treasures it more than any shop bought gift I have ever bought for her. Those words warm the cockles of my heart!

Another popular request is for this teacosy which I made too. you can find the pattern here folks!

Another handmade gift that I may make, is this pin cushion with needle keep which I designed and made a few months ago. But not many of my family and friends are into sewing, so I am not sure who I would make one for yet!

Or perhaps I could make some more of these?

I have also been trying, as you all may well know, to sort out our house.  The bathroom and the shower room which were to be started this monday, have now been delayed due to an internet purchase which has been causing us distress for a few weeks. It may be sorted out now, but for a while there we were feeling rather sick that we may have lost a bit chunk of our house budget! They had debited our card, but we could not contact them at all, desite numerous efforts. We have now managed to cancel the order and hopefully will get our money back, but it has caused a big delay, as our plumber has now got other jobs on. Here is a before pic of the bathroom, in a sad state of limbo!

Anyhow, sorry for boring you with that! It will all come out in the wash as they say, and there are worse things at sea!

GET STUFFED! Sorry! :) I have been stuffing this week..... stuffed marrow, and yesterday stuffed peppers. I love the stuffed peppers, and sometimes I use no meat at all. Yesterday I used a  bit of minced meat which I minced myself from some steak we had last friday, when we had thin slices of steak on ciabatta, with sauted onion and cheese! Ooooh yum.  I love being thrifty with food, it must have rubbed off on me from my Mum. It really delights me to buy a cut of meat and then see how many meals I can get out of it. So, I held back some of the steak and minced it.

 Stuffed marrows before the cheese was added and before cooking, with a marrow from the garden by the side!

Next, I made up a basic mix, with onion, celery, etc., and cooked it all with a bit of homemade sauce. So this week we had stuffed pepper and stuffed marrow another day,  twas yummy!  Mollye, you asked the other week how I stored my chili peppers, well I frose them, I didn't write this because, I have to spell it frose, as I have lost my ' ' and have to use 's'!!!  Its to be hoped that I don't visit the oo soon and have to write about the animals I saw a t the oo!

Talking of my Mum, it was the anniversary of her death on the 4th of this month, and my Dad's on the 7th. I still miss them like it was yesterday. It is hard to believe that they have both been gone for so long now.   I often long to have just another day with them both. I think of all those questions I should have/could have asked, but never did, because we always think we have all the time in the world don't we?  But we don't! So if you are both around somewhere... I love you so much, and miss you terribly. Grab someone you love today and give them a huge hug!

 My Mum and Dad! Years ago, before I was a twinkle in the eye!

 Anyway, I hope I haven't bored the pants off you today!  Will be trying to catch up with everyone this weekend!

Lots of love! Susie xxxxxxxxxxx

I'm dreaming of a thrifty Christmas!

Hello to all you fine peeps! Happy October! Did you remember to say White wabbits? I always say it!

This was a picture from last October, and I grew my own pumpkin, this year not one of my seeds germinated! No Pumpkins! Boo hoo!


Well its that time of the year again ( I know, already! :0). Time to look towards cosy nights by the fire, bonfires, fireworks, and then of course to top it all off with the cherry on the top........... CHRISTMAS!!! There, I said it.....CHRISTMAS!!!

                                                       ooooooh Yummy!  And next thing you know its.........

Now, I am no Grinch, I love Christmas, all the sentimentality, nostalgia, sparkle and glitter. BUT! This year I am getting out my sandwich board and going on a protest march! Why? Because each year that goes by, I despair at how it has all become so materialistic and driven by commercialism. People run about like headless chickens spending money that they can ill afford, and instead of getting the desired Christmas that we are told we should be getting by the media, all that a lot of us get is worry and one huge headache and  painful bills to match!

I yelled out last year that I longed for a long ago type of Christmas, the sort where people happily exchange a gift that has been lovingly hand-made. You know the sort, like in 'Little Women', where a face would light up at an embroidered handkerchief, as if it were a precious treasure they were looking upon. Eyes filled with the wonder of each stitch being sewn by someone who loved them.

SO! This year I have made a vow to myself, that where ever possible, I will be making gifts for my much loved family and friends with fabric and materials which I already have in the house. After all, I am a hoarder, and after last weeks post where I was confined to my workroom (what a hardship!), I started to look through all those pretty fabrics which I have been collecting over time, and thought....hmmmmmm!?  Obviously this is not a completely achievable goal, as I don't think my brother would be too excited about a pretty smelly heart or bird, etc!  Although it is good for men to let their feminine side loose sometimes!

This week, whilst confined to my sewing room, I started on some of these, which I will loosely stuff and fill with lavender nearer to Christmas, and of course finish them off with bright beady button eyes! .......

I personally would be extremely happy and content, and filled with sheer warm happiness if I pulled off the chrissie wrapping paper to discover a handmade with love gift! That would mean more to me than any expensive shop bought gift. I would rather have something unique and loved than any diamond or trinket that has no substance other than cost. This is to me what Christmas should be about. Simple but true comforts and love.


Oh, and before I go, I am so daft sometimes! Last week I announced the winner of my drawing, ( who was chosen randomly by drawing numbers out of a hat) and then completely forgot to tell you the name of Aunt Spicy's beautiful scottie doglet! What am I like?  Well the little dogs name is Fred (Freddie)! Thank you Mummy Boo Bear for your suggestion!  Fred (Freddie is liking his new name very much! Mind you I have still not decided whether said dog is a girl or a boy yet. What do you think Aunty Spicy, after all, you created this gorgeous pooch! Either way, tis all good..... Fred, Freddie , Fredrica!

Getting back to christmas, what are your opinions on it these days, and if you are handcrafting gifts, what will/are you making? I would love to know, it would give me inspiration. Here is a difficult one... well it is for me! Anyone have any good ideas for handmade gifts for men?  If you do, let me know PLEASE!!! ;0)

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Susie xxxx :0))))