Small Update

Hurrah - finally the thread came through to finish my sister's little pincushion - so here it is (it's sitting on the fabric that I used for the back). I'm no expert sewer, so the finish detail is okay rather than excellent, and this was my first go at tassels. They are staying on at the very least, LOL!

I managed to put in a few stitches last night on the Shepherd's Bush tin top, but it is for some reason not straightforward to photograph, so this is my best effort.

I did do some stitching on Northern Lights on Monday, but I'm very dissatisfied with the Wisper (well, really I'm very dissatisfied with my ability to stitch with the Wisper, but I shall blame my materials) so I haven't taken a photo. I've decided to carry on for the moment as is, and I may decide to frog it all once I've finished the sampler (i.e. at some date very far in the future, thus absolving myself from making a decision about it now). I didn't get around to starting a new project on Tuesday; I'm humming and hawing a bit, and haven't quite settled on which one I'd like to do. Also, I went for a lovely long walk in the evening with H, and was too tired to make a decision on our return. We've actually had some decent weather this week for the first time all summer, although I see from the forecast that it's about to end quite abruptly just in time for the weekend!

Happy stitching all!

Big Update with Lots of Photos!

I've been quiet for a few days as I've had a couple of days' holiday - relaxing and cleaning and shopping and stitching. It's been remarkably refreshing not thinking about work! But now I'm back (and wishing quite hard that my short break wasn't over - I keep telling H it is time to retire, but somehow it hasn't happened yet LOL!)

So this is what I've been up to stitching-wise. I've nearly finished the inner heart border on Love Is Patient - although I had a minor heart attack which I've decided I will work around (rather than frogging). I was carefully stitching one row of the border and then diligently crossing it off on my chart, and it was all fine on the left hand side of the chart/heart, but on the right side, I got to the bottom to join them up and still had 2 rows left (allegedly) on my chart! Whoops! So I've just carried on and sort of faked it, and as long as the central wording doesn't get in the way, it should be all fine. It could all get interesting once I start the middle bit though!

I also got nearly done on the assisi pincushion that I am making for my sister's birthday. Unfortunately, it seems that I need 5 yards plus 8 inches of the Dinky Dye thread that I am using, so although I have enough left for the remaining two tassels, I haven't got enough to wrap the bottoms of the tassels or attach the tassels to the pincushion! So for the moment, it looks rather forlorn. It also looks as if the pincushion is going to be late to her (Royal Mail and Canada Post both being what they are) as the thread is currently on backorder! I'm not too worried about it, especially as I am still waiting for my Christmas present from 1994...

I spent a whole day on Paradigm Lost this weekend, carefully stitching the large left-hand motif. I am really really enjoying this project, but it is so big that it will be quite a challenge - and quite a day when I actually finish it! I've pledged to finish all of pages one and two this month, and I'm about halfway there I reckon, hurrah! I think my camera doesn't really show the variegation of the thread brilliantly, so I've taken a close-up (bottom photo) of the motif I stitched. It's a bit blurry, but hopefully shows the colour a bit better.

I spent one of my holidays on Northern Lights - this project isn't so big as Paradigm Lost, but it's full of tricky stitches and frequent colour changes, so I find I refer to the chart about six times before each stab of the needle. Time consuming rather than large (although it will eventually stretch to 20 inches as you can see in the 2nd photo, so it isn't small by any means!). I managed to finish the blanket toss/Tlingit mask row (the brown circles), and then a row of cloudberries and blueberries. I managed half of the polar bear before I just couldn't bear to stitch any further with Wisper and had to put it down. Arrghh. Luckily, there isn't too much of it left... (the Wisper, not the project)

Lastly, I worked on Silver Needle, which I am SO CLOSE to finishing - I have just half a handful of beads to attach and that will be a celebration from me. On the upside though, the project I want to start next isn't quite kitted yet (still waiting for fabric), so there's a few extra days for it to (hopefully) arrive in the post!

Thanks for your patience in getting this far! Happy stitching!

First Pincushion!

I've nearly finished my first pincushion! Last night I carefully cut the backing fabric, sewed together the stitching and the backing fabric, stuffed the pincushion, and then did a very awkward (and actually fairly untidy) slip stitch to close it all up - I did do my best, but my sewing skills leave a lot to be desired, as my mother can vouch for. But it will be hidden by the blanket stitch that I'm going to put all around the pincushion, so no real harm done, and I'm looking at it as practice, as in practice makes perfect! LOL

Here it is so far - yet to attach corner tassels and do blanket stitch. It is from June's The Gift of Stitching magazine, and I am pretty much finishing it as recommended, although am using cotton fabric rather than linen for the backing. The fabric in the background of the photo is the fabric I've chosen, as this is for my sister, and she is a rather funky girl.

Happy stitching all!

Pyjamas

Yes, Sunday was also spent in pyjamas. There is nothing I love more on a wet, rainy weekend than staying inside in my pyjamas and doing absolutely nothing active whatsoever. And the good news is, I'm winnning over H to love the same! Hurrah!

Sunday qualified under 'wet' and 'rainy', so we caught up on lots of films, and I stitched happily away on the Assisi Pincushion I'm working on (and have now finished stitching), and Silver Needle, which I'm getting darn near finishing.

With the stitching done, I just need to sew the pincushion all up and stuff it and make the tassel things for the corners - I thought I would experiment with tassels as I have never done one before. I realised that I don't have any coordinating thread, or even any pins to hold the stitched linen and the backing fabric together, so I'm off to a sewing notions shop tomorrow afternoon to pick up a few much-needed supplies. Photos hopefully soon of the completed article!

So with not enough key materials to finish this off, I thought I'd sneak in an extra session on Silver Needle, seeing as I've set a goal to finish it in July. I have only the bottom band to complete - it's quite fiddly however, with lots of tiny smyrna crosses - and then add in all the beads.

Happy stitching everyone!

Pincushion

My lovely big parcel of stash arrived, but I didn't get around to taking any photos - maybe later in the week. It was mostly linen, which is fantastic as hand-dyed linen tends to be the hardest thing to come by over here in the UK - it can take months to get a particular one! (Maybe we are not alone in this?)

So after carefully packing away all my lovely new purchases, I got out my current small project - the assisi pincushion from June's The Gift of Stitching - I'm nearly done, just need to finish off the backstitching, and then of course the finish-finishing. How lucky that I've only just received a large quantity of cotton quilting fabric, as it turns out that one of them is a perfect match! Once I've got some coordinating thread at the weekend, I'll get busy finishing that and will post some photos.

Assisi Pincushion

32ct Stitches and Spice Antique Rose Linen

Dinky Dye #91 Jarrah

(apologies for the slightly blurry photo)

Tonight, Thursday, a new project - I'll probably post some photos tomorrow, although there might be little to show LOL

Happy stitching!