Her Needle was Merely a Blur...

*Blogger wouldn't let me post upload yesterday, so this will be a very photo-filled post (and possibly a long one!)*

Saturday is Paradigm Lost, and I haven't managed to stitch on PL for a couple of weeks I think - too much going on on a Saturday! This Saturday, H and I were planning on playing a bit of golf. However, plans went out the window following his work outing on Friday night. It seems that I should be more careful when agreeing to his having fun with his workmates - last time he ended up in a freezing cold lake in April, and subsequently had a head cold and fever for a few days. This time, they decided that an indoor pursuit might be a better choice, so they headed off after work on Friday for a go-karting session. It turns out that there is a good reason why H doesn't have a driving license for the 'real' roads - I think the adjectives 'flagrant' 'kamikaze-style' and 'foolhardy' may have been bandied about during his laps, (as well as the noun 'revenge', which may explain the cornucopia of bruises he is now sporting all over his legs, arms and back!). So golf, although is not a particularly physically demanding game, was clearly out of the question from first thing on Saturday! So, PL it was :) I finished off the motif I was working on - the large central one - which means I have nearly completed page 2 (phew). The remaining motif on pages 1/2 spans the pages (and also down onto pages 4/5 - it's a biggie), so we'll see how I get on with this. I've also added a close-up of the central motif.

Sunday saw H heading off once more to Dublin for meetings early on Monday morning, so after I had dropped him at Heathrow, I had the remainder of the day to stitch away to my heart's content. The beautiful weather of Saturday didn't last either, so it was an easy choice between stitching (dry) and garden (wet) on Sunday! First of all I finished (hurrah!) Queen Anne's Lace pincushion! It's a bit of a funny size - a bit small for a pincushion, and a bit big for a scissor fob, but I had decided to finish it as a scissor fob regardless, and got out all the threads I was going to need to make a really snazzy green and pink cord and matching tassel. And then, steaming ahead, and excited about the prospect of finishing this, I started stitching together the first side of the fob, and then the second, and then the third, and then...and then I realised that I had completely forgotten to attach the cord and tassel (in fact I had completely forgotten to even make the cord and tassel!), so I decided that it wouldn't be a fob after all, but a pincushion as originally intended. Note to self - slow down a bit when doing finishing! Here it is:

Queen Anne's Lace Pincushion by Cat's Whiskers

28ct Cashel Linen - Platinum

Threads - DMC Linen as charted

Feeling quite inspired by my finish, I picked up Love Is Patient, determined to put in the final few stitches on this as well - which I did do, another finish! Although, having recently seen all the wonderful options for finishing on Focus on Finishing and on all of your inspiring blogs, I'm of two (or three or four) minds about how to finish this one: as a pillow? frame it?, as a fabric basket? maybe even a large flat fold? - it's only about 8" x 6" so it isn't that big... if you have any thoughts, do let me know!

Love Is Patient by La-D-Da

36ct Examplar linen - Lakeside Linens

Crescent Colours threads as charted

And it wasn't even close to bedtime! So I carried on with Spanish Wine - finishing the interior eyelet border (yay!) and starting the corners, one of which I finished (top R), and one of which I nearly finished (top L) - these are all in double running stitch, which looks fantastic (though I do say it myself) but which I'm finding very time consuming, working out a 'there and back' path (probably because I'm very new to this stitch). But loving this project as ever!

And, finally, after a lonely supper (LOL, self-pity is not my style :) I decided to round out my stitching marathon with Awake the Dawning Day - the vines around the house are getting there. It's quite a difference hopping from Spanish Wine, which is 36ct, to ADD, which is 28ct!

Monday - Northern Lights - I managed to finish the esker band and half of the iceberg band - the rather large gap between them is for a completely beaded band, and because this is such a long sampler, I intend to put the beads on last of all.

Phew - think that's enough for today :) Happy stitching!

Happier :)

A good sleep always puts the world to rights, doesn't it?! Thanks to all of you who dropped by and cheered me up with your comments yesterday :)

Last night I felt renewed vigour for Northern Lights, so I finished the 'reindeer lichen' band (the bottom-most completed band), and then started on the next one. I can't remember what it's meant to represent, but it's a row of lovely rectangular satin stitched boxes, and it's in a beautiful Thead Gatherer Silk 'n' Colours thread called 'Granite' which is all rich dark purples, blues, greens and golds, so I'm looking forward to carrying on with this one. I think that I've identified my restlessness with this project: any time I have to use Wisper, or else stitch an animal, I get bored and frustrated. So it's good that I'm in an 'in-between' bit with no animals or Wisper for at least 2 or 3 more rows!

Happy stitching to all out there - thank you again for all your kind thoughts!

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!

The Pipeline and Some Fireweed

Last night I managed to stitch the entire Alaskan Pipeline as well as a row of fireweed plants. I started with the blanket toss, but bedtime came before the it really got going. One of the many bothersome things about commuting fairly long distances - you need your sleep!

DH got a call last night about this possible new job in Dublin that he's been approached about, so I suppose we might meet some important people at the weekend when we are over in Dublin for a 30th birthday party. Time will tell what's going to happen...

Happy stitching!

Camera Safely Returned

My camera is safely back in my hands, and thus I can update you on stitching progress from Tuesday night, although there isn't truly much to show you! Silver Needle is progressing slowly at the moment - this band (about midway through the design) is a bit time-consuming, so I've already spent a couple of sessions on it and still am only partly done it. I may use my Sunday catch up session this week to press on...

And here is Monday's progress on Northern Lights - the band beneath the eagles is a 'design using colours common in Inuit art', and uses Thread Gatherer Silk 'n' Colours Granite, which is perfect for this and runs the gamut of smoky dark colours from gold to purple to green to navy. Sorry for the poor photo - I may have my camera back, but that doesn't mean I've worked out the best way to use it!

And - on a happy stash note! - the lovely Kate from Thread Bear sent me an email to let me know that the next Loose Feathers chart is in the post along with fabric, and Little House Needleworks' 'Home of a Needleworker' which I'm looking forward to receiving! And I have a sneaky feeling that an order which I put in with Wyndham Needleworks over a month ago is finally being shipped - hurrah! (May I just point out, no fault of theirs, as I had ordered a few things that ended up on back order, thus the long wait.)

Happy stitching!

Busy Week!

It's been a hectic few days, but here I am to update you on my progress over the weekend.

Friday is Love is Patient, and I have managed to stitch the first few words on this design, as well as put a significant(ish) dent into the heart shape around all the words. This is tricky stitching, my first attempt at 36ct linen, and this design entails very careful counting. I stitch a short row, whip out my highlighter, mark off the stitches on my blown-up image of the design (the original was printed so small that it gave me a headache before I even started), and then pick up the needle again. I find myself squinting a lot. Attractive, I'm sure. But it's worth it because the threads in this design are so gorgeous (Crescent Colours in beautiful rich tones), and of course the verse is part of a reading that we had at our wedding.

Then on Saturday, the grey and dreary weather persisted so we didn't get up to much bar our weekly trek to Sainsbury's. (During which trip we discovered pear cider! It isn't quite like BC pear cider, and in fact it tastes a little more like syrup than pears. But nothing ventured nothing gained I suppose.) On our return, I renewed my efforts on Paradigm Lost, and nearly - o so nearly - finished the first row of the alphabet, all the way to starting the 'T', leaving me only that and the 'U' and a flower motif before going to the next 'row'. This is a really enjoyable project, but it's slow going. (This is a theme that I'm noticing about all my stitching projects. I am resigned to being slow. Unfortunately the list of projects that I'd like to stitch is careering somewhat out of control...)

So Sunday, we had grand plans to go out and challenge the golf course again, but somehow the drizzle wasn't encouraging, and it was so muggy...so yes, we pottered around the house again. Weekends are for relaxing right? I think we'll have to push ourselves out the door a bit more though, much as I love curling up on the couch with the remote and my stitching. In the morning I finished off the last few stitches on the biscornu I'm doing (again, slowly!), which means that come Wednesday I'll be doing the 'finish finishing', which I'm quite looking forward to, my first ever biscornu.

Sunday night, I decided to press on with Their Song, as I am so nearing a finish. I've decided to do only a 6-day rotation so that I either can catch up with missed stitching at the weekend, or really go for it on something that I'm nearly done. I'd run out of WDW Moss for this design, and my order hadn't arrived yet, so I concentrated on all the others colours, and now I'm left with only (lots of) Moss stitches and a few Havana (brown) stitches. I'm feeling quite proud of this project - I'm definitely looking forward to the next Loose Feathers design.

And that was it really for the weekend. Little sun, little exercise, lots of stitching, lots of films watched. A nice dinner with some friends on Saturday night. Can't complain I suppose.

Last night (Monday) I carried on with Northern Lights, finishing the backstitching on the eagle and completing the next row, which was all satin stitches in 'Inuit colours' rather than being anything tangibly representatitve of the North. The next band is the Alaskan Pipeline - looks like a quick one as it's simply long and skinny :) I've lent my camera to a friend so she can take photos of her car to put on eBay (long story), so hopefully will have photos of this for tomorrow.

Happy stitching!

Cotton Pickin' Bunny

Monday night I was back to Northern Lights, and after looking at it critically, I decided that 2 strands of Wisper thread were not in fact what was required, so I frogged the bunny (it sounds like animal abuse!) and started over with a single strand - the design didn't specify, and I hadn't used the fibre before so I wasn't too sure. But now it looks much better. I'll have to find an old toothbrush or similar to really fuzz it up, but so far so good. I finished most of the 2nd eagle on this band as well.

Last night I spent doing more unpicking - this biscornu went fine on the first side, but the second side has been tedious, probably due to my short attention span, and the implications of stitching the same design all over again. I've nearly frogged as much as I've stitched! But finally last night, bar a few short spurts in the reverse direction, I've managed to actually get a lot accomplished, so I'm well on the way to finishing my first biscornu! I can't wait until I get to the finishing stage, that will be much simpler I reckon!

H has been away on a course, learning to be a leader, so I'm looking forward to his return tonight. Happy stitching all!

A Wonderful Busy Stitching Weekend

As I suspected, the proper piece of kit didn't arrive for H's laptop, so no blogging at the weekend. And with the weather being extremely liquid at the weekend, it meant absolutely no distractions from stitching - I got so much done! No bbq building, no golf, no gardening, but plenty of stitching :)

First, I finished off the scissor fob I started (I think I will send it to my mum when completed). I stitched this freebie from Drawn Thread called 'The Heart Throb'. The front side (on right below) is on 32-count cream linen and uses the DMC threads listed on the chart. The reverse (below left) is the same design stitched on 32-count English Rose (Permin/Wichelt) using Silk 'n' Colours Pink Elephant. Having stitched one side of the border as directed on the chart (a stitch called double faggoting which was extremely tedious and boring, although looked nice), I frogged it and just went with a simple backstitch border. I also managed to pop into the craft store and pick up wadding and some delicate dusty rose-coloured ribbon for the fob, so I am all set to 'finish finish' this (once I pick up some nice scissors, which the craft store most definitely did NOT have). H also bought my birthday present when we were in town - a daylight lamp and it makes stitching o so much easier - I am already so thankful for it!

Next, I pulled out Silver Needle and finished off 3 bands (the sort of wave-y white and pink one, the teal one, and 'Followed where my fingers led') and started a fourth, which doesn't look like it but will be another floral band.

And then, since it was still teeming down with rain, on Sunday I decided to spend a few hours on Northern Lights. I'm really pleased with how this one is turning out - it's chock full of speciality stitches and speciality fibers, so there is always lots to keep my interest! I finished several bands on this one before starting the 'animal' band. Everything was fine with the eagle and the snowy owl, but then I started the rabbit ears with Wisper thread (which I've never stitched with before) and suddenly lost all confidence because it didn't quite look like I was expecting it to, so...

...no problem, I simply packed it away and pulled out 'Their Song'! It's wonderful having a whole weekend of free time and so many projects on the go that I am spoiled for choice! Their Song is progressing famously well, with only the bottom quarter or so of the design to finish. I'm hoping to get this one done before the next Loose Feathers chart arrives on my doorstep, but I think that may be a race I lose as Kate from Thread Bear let me know the other day that the chart is on the way from the States.

And, then, finally, nearing the end of Monday I decided it would be a good time to start a new project as I have a couple of spaces in my rotation - so I picked through my stash and came up with Love Is Patient by La-D-Da. I'd bought the Lakeside Linen recommended fabric when I was over in Canada earlier this month (can anyone tell me where is a good place to get this, and/or R&R fabrics in the UK or Europe? I'm having a hard time getting them in any kind of a timely way from US distributors - it seems to take at least a month to get fabrics across!). The design uses only five colours, but they are gorgeous, sumptuous colours from Crescent Colours so very much looking forward to using them! I only managed to get a small part of the outer border in the design done, so didn't bother to take a photo - a single straight line of stitches just doesn't spark the imagination somehow!

And phew that's about it for my weekend. I'm hoping that my order from Wyndham comes soon, as I'm reserving the final space in my rotation for Spanish Wine, but I'm awaiting the LL fabric which is on the way. Fingers crossed that all the thread I've ordered from Attic comes through soon as well - I can't wait to get going again with Paradigm Lost, which has been sitting disconsolately in a corner for about 10 weeks waiting for the thread to arrive...

Happy stitching everyone!

Stash Heaven

Wow. I had SUCH fun yesterday! First we went to Broadmead Gallery in Saanich with Titania to get her framed up to finish off T's Christmas present. It transpires that framing is a bit more expensive than I thought, so Titania is now set to be T's Christmas and birthday present for at least the next 4 years. At least that'll give me a chance to finish a matching one for her :) I don't have any photos of the piece, as it will take a couple of weeks to frame up, and by then we'll have made it back to the UK (best not think about that), so hopefully Mum and Dad will take some photos and email them over when they pick it up.

Then we went to the Button and Needlework shop in View Street. What an amazing place - and the people were so helpful and wonderful. I could have spent hours there, in fact we probably spent at least two. I sadly don't have an LNS near me which is anywhere near this quality, so to see a shop where I can wander in and find an endless supply of really interesting charts, amazing linens, including lots of hand dyed ones, more threads than I could find in 6 shops together back home, not to mention a multitude of fancy buttons and lengths of ribbon, well, I did go somewhat nuts. Here is the photo of what I brought away with me, and it contains: The Token by Long Dog Samplers, Scarlet Berries by Carriage House Samplings, 32ct Pearled Barley linen from Lakeside Linen, 36ct Vintage Exemplar linen from Lakeside Linen, 34ct Cafe au Lait from Legacy Linen, and then one skein of Caron Waterlilies, 2 skeins of Needlepoint Inc Silks, 12 skeins of GAST threads, and 11 skeins of WDW threads. Phew. I had such a great time!

Oh, and yes, the reason I went there in the first place was to pick up a small charm for Northern Lights that Kim from the shop had ordered and put by for me. It was the least expensive thing I bought :)

A special note for anyone who is planning to go to Victoria or lives locally and hasn't seen this shop (although I can't imagine there are any local stitchers who have not!) - check out the walls, which are packed tightly from side to side and working up towards the top of the two-storey room with amazing examples of stitched pieces. It was the icing on the cake, and the work was BEAUTIFUL. It was really inspiring, especially as I found so many examples of things I wanted to do myself. I kept pointing pieces out to H commenting - I've started that one; or, Oh, look how beautiful that is; or, That's in my stash. I think he sort of glazed over halfway through :) I wish I had taken some photos, for it is truly wonderful. Check out their website at http://www.buttonedup.com as I think there are some photos of the shop in there.

Checker Stitch and Snow!

Tuesday night was spent on Silver Needle. I'm finding it really difficult to photograph properly, I think because of the colour of the fabric, which is a dusky pink colour. The stitching never seems to show up properly. I'll have to try and get some brighter light I think. I finished off the lettering, and completed the row below, which is 'checker stitch', or alternating blocks of diagonal satin stitch and blocks of over-one stitching. Somehow what I've accomplished doesn't look like much, but it took hours!

Wednesday I moved on to Northern Lights, as I feel I've slightly abandoned it recently. I finished off the pine tree band, and began the snow band, which is about 1/3 complete now. The blue fabric as ever is difficult to count on, and I'm very glad it is 28-count and not any finer as already I have to stitch slowly on it or risk a banging headache. So this project is going to take me quite a while I suspect.

I haven't let this put me off, though, and have just put in an order with Janice from Traditional Stitches for another chart in the series - Northern Shield. That one is luckily on a much lighter linen.

We're heading off to Dublin tomorrow for H's birthday weekend - his 30th, of which I am fleetingly jealous, and then I remember that I'm only 32, so I can't really be too worried about it. If I was really truly concerned, I'd probably be investigating lots of really expensive skin cream, which I am determinedly avoiding for at least several more years! I'll post another update after the weekend, and maybe even a few birthday party snaps!