Today's eBay arrivals...

This duchess set and pair of miniatures are from the same eBay seller. She is fairly new on the eBay scene, and seems to have only top quality items, going by the linen I have won on her auctions so far. Guess I will be a regular patron from now on.. I finally signed up for Paypal today. Ken used to have a Paypal account which we used to pay for our occasional overseas eBay wins, but when my PC crashed a couple of years ago, for some reason we were not able to access the Paypal account any more, so we just let it lapse. But since I have been finding all those peacocks in the USA, and having to send money orders, it has cost me an extra $10 each time, not to mention sweating until I heard from the seller to say they had received my payment! So I opened up a new account in my name this time. Today I won another pair of pillowcases, and was able to pay the seller on Paypal, which means she can send them off almost immediately - yaaaay! Good Lord, what have I done now...made it easier for myself to bid for more overseas stuff without second thought - YIKES! Someone please lend me a set of brakes to slow me down - lol!!

Pair of miniature embroidered ornaments. The seller claims her mother made them. Can you imagine parting with these if your own Mum had stitched them??
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The two small doilies matching the centrepiece below.
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Centrepiece of a beautiful Duchess set. The edge is hand crocheted in violet cotton.
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Op Shop Heaven!

I love to visit Sharon. She lives near the best opshops in Melbourne and is always happy to show me where they are. Last Thursday, being a nice sunny day, I offered to take Sharon and E. to a nearby shopping centre to visit an op shop there, and grab a coffee later. Well, half an hour later, I had spent the last $20 in my wallet, and vowed to return as soon as possible. I had just started to look through a pile of cloths on the front counter, when Sharon called me over to where she was, about half way down the room. She had discovered a couple of cartons full of old craft stuff, including a HEAP of embroidered UFOs. I methodically went through it all and retrieved what I thought I could pay for. At the counter, I had to put some items back, as I didn't have enough money with me. But these pictures are of the items I brought home. And this was before the shop staff could show me the huge pile of embroidered items they had in a glass cabinet!! Roll on Tattslotto...not only do I want to keep buying more vintage linen, I need to buy a warehouse to store it in!

This is the reverse side of the apron. Just have a look at them both - how the heck did this person do that stitching without anything showing on the back except for a few outline stitches???????? Can anyone tell me???
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This was going to be an apron. It is a piece of calico with the lines printed on ready to be cut out and made up. I have quite a few like that. But the most fascinating aspect of this item is the incredible stitching. The picture adjoining this one (above or below - never sure where Picasa is going to put things!), shows the reverse side of the stitching.
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This is one corner of an unusual yellow tablecloth. This is the only corner that is complete; the others are either partially stitched or not started. There were some skeins of floss wrapped up with this cloth, so it obviously hadn't even been unwrapped by the shop staff before they put it out for sale. My gain!
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I seem to be finding heaps of Australiana stuff lately! Here is yet another item with a koala - I now have tablecloths, aprons and doilies featuring this lovable little critter. The stitching on this one is very neat, and there is even a length of grey floss at the back, left by the original stitcher when she was half way through doing the Koala!
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This tiny apron looks like it has actually been started by the little person who would have been wearing it! The colours and stitching are that of a child who is just learning. I may pull it all out and redo it...if I ever get the time!
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Had to have this 'doyley' (as spelt on it here!). I have a matching suppercloth, so I will be able to coordinate the colours.
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Birthday exchange card.
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One small step for Gina, not for mankind!!

What do I say dumb things like that for...this is a little card I have just finished for a birthday exchange I am in, with an MSN Cross Stitch group. My next little project half finished is for a very special blogger who reads this now and then, so I can't put any progress photos on here, because it will spoil the surprise. Hope to finish that in a week or so.

I stitched this for the 25th anniversary of our friends. Sue and I went to school together. She is one day younger than me. She does a lot of crochet, and has finished off many of my UFOs that I have embroidered, but not been able to finish, as I can't crochet. She doesn't embroider, so I think she will like my effort here.
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Doiley matching the centrepiece shown here.
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This is the centrepiece for a duchess set; there are two small matching doilies with it. Very fine stitching using one thread of floss.
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This is such a sweet little suppercloth. Each corner has the same design, but the lady's dress is a different colour in each corner. I folded the bit over at the top to show part of the centre of the cloth - a circle of flowers.
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New stuff..

Gosh, more than a week since I posted here - I'm slipping badly! Not really - I have been busy working on a small memento for a friend's 25th wedding anniversary, and now that I have finished it, I can show it off here! And I had a few wins on eBay last week, so they are here too.

This is a small cloth, cross stitch on evenweave fabric (not linen), and it is quite lovely - such a crisp clean look with the blue and red on the white. The design here is in the centre, and the border at the top is repeated twice all around the cloth.
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More Aussie animals! This is on a teacosy. The other side of it is the same design without the words. I should put all these things out next year for our Australia Day party!
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While I'm in patriotic mood, here is a doiley UFO featuring a lyrebird. I have some other doilies with lyrebirds on them, but haven't checked my stash to see if this is the same design. Needs ironing!
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Another apron, but this one completely unworked. I have another calico apron with a koala embroidered on it, but a slightly different design to this.
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Here is another half apron. Calico with crocheted edging and two pockets with this floral design embroidered on each one.
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This is one of two cross stitch motifs on a blue gingham half-apron.
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Roll up! Roll up!! New eye candy!

Yeah, well...now that I have your undivided attention! I have finally got around to scanning these few bits and pieces and decided to get a wriggle on and put the pictures on here. Each item has its own description as usual. Nothing startling, but I hope you enjoy looking.

Gone fishing? Not quite!

Sharon posted an amusing graphic along those lines on her blog last year, when she didn't have much to say on it for a while, and I was going to do a similar thing, but decided to simply post a brief comment instead. I have had a few wins on eBay recently, with more to come, and everything is piled up here ready to scan, but I just haven't got around to it yet. I'm also working on a couple of small stitching projects that I hope to finish within a week or two, so I'll be putting them on here as well. So, for those of you reading this who might be wondering - yep, I'm still here! Just a bit busier lately...