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I seem to have missed posting a picture of Week 7 - bands 15 and 16 with a second colour (in my case blue to match my side lettering) being introduced in band 16. 

Week 8 of the Randje per week SAL from Soed Idee gave us bands 17 and 18. Band 18 is mainly back stitch or double running stitch. I was unsure how this would work with me stitching one over one as I though the silk floss might disappear under the linen threads but all was ok and I am pleased with the result. It's not too late to join this SAL. Go *here* and leave a comment on any post that you wish to join. All charts can be found by clicking on the Randje per week button in the top right hand corner. There is also a Facebook page where participants are posting their pictures *here* but it is a closed group so you may have to join to see the pictures. 

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I finished stitching Camille Jullien 1897 ages ago but forgot to post a picture. This sampler is very tiny being stitch 1*2 on 64ct white linen. Yes I said 64ct and not only was it such a high count linen it was also an uneven weave which made it extremely difficult to work on. This was stitched with Glorianna's Tudor Silk in Bellagio Red #240. I now need to find the perfect frame for this one.

I almost forgot - check out those gorgeous scissors which my dear friend Valie got for me from M Roulot of Nogent at the Aguilles en fête needlework fair in Paris together with some gorgeous vintage spools. Thank you Valie! 

At last there's a sign of Spring! We have daffodils, crocus and snowdrops flowering in the garden. It's been a very long wet Winter and I am glad to see the back of this awful weather.

Thanks for visiting

Take care

January 4 saw the start of the Dutch SAL Randje Per Week *here* and there is a Facebook page *here*. There are, I think, some 600+ participants of this SAL. I decided to stitch this on the banding as suggested by Simone but it's 28ct and those of you who know me know how much I prefer miniature so this project seems enormous! I do have 3" and can easily get the 4¾" banding from Sew and So but without the red edging so I may re-start this. This SAL is a year long weekly project which will, at the end, produce a 2m long band which I am planning on mounting on wood rods with finials. I will then roll it up and tie with a heavy twisted cord and keep in my sewing box. As I am not sure how I will finish the back I am trying to keep the back as neat as possible. I purchased the red-edge banding from Soed Idee and am using DMC 498 and stitching 2*2. There is a secondary colour to be used and I am undecided whether to use blue DMC 336 of DMC Blanc. 

Just before Christmas a friend of my daughter asked me if I would stitch the above verse in commemoration of the year's anniversary of the still birth of her first grand-son and this is what I did. I have no idea where the verse is from or who wrote it and if anyone recognises it I would be happy to give credit. It's stitched 1*1 on 36ct white linen with HDF BeGrimed for the words and the butterfly bodies and Woad Blue 2407 for the butterfly wings.  

Kati of Threads, Thoughts and Other Notions  stitched Sew Advent in the recent iStitch Designs SAL. They are both stitched on the same fabric, 28ct foggy morning jazlynn by the crafty kitten. The threads used... DMC 815, 3362 and then ecru for one, and B5200 for the other. Thank you Kati for allowing your lovely stitching to be showcased!

If you have finished your Sew Advent or, indeed, any other iStitch Design which you would care to show here, please send me a picture, together with details of fabrics and threads used and a blog link if you have one. My email address can be found on my profile.

Two new iStitch Designs have been stitched and the charts prepared. I only need to 'finish' the models for the frontsheet picture and I can then release them for sale.  

I've also finished stitching Camille Jullien which is the SAL I was stitching on 64ct uneven weave linen with Tudor silk thread.  Instead of turning out oblong it turned out square but I'm happy enough with it and will post a picture as soon as I frame it. 

Click on the picture for a closeup view

Camille Jullien SAL is coming along slowly but I didn't expect to get this far with stitching on 64ct uneven weave linen! The picture doesn't actually do this justice ... the day is dull and I thought any picture was better than no picture at all. 

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iStitch Advent 2013 SAL will now definitely take place and the chart is almost ready. If you are interested in taking part please email me (my email address can be found on my profile). 

This SAL will run from Dec 1 to Dec 24 and will comprise of 24 tiny parts, each part to be released on a daily basis. Fabric and threads are to be your own choice although I will be stitching with a white or cream silk thread on 40ct raw linen. There will be an occasional accent of colour. The sampler can be stitched entirely in cross stitch but for the more adventurous the dividing bands may be stitch in the suggested stitches and stitch diagrams will be provided. I will let you know the exact stitch count as soon as I am able although I can tell you that it's 39 stitches wide. I will be stitching along with you but will start a day early so I can hopefully send you a picture with each part.

The cost of this SAL is $10 and I will email you once I am ready for payment. As numbers are limited I have opened a list and will add your name as soon as you are happy to go ahead. Please let me know your full name, your email address (also your Paypal address if it's different to your regular email address and your blog link if you have one. This information is for my records only. I will the parts to your regular email address unless you state otherwise.

You do not need to send me progress pictures to receive the next part. You will receive each part automatically. However, if you do wish to send me pictures at any time I would love to see them and I will be happy to post pictures on my blog of your 'final finish'.

I will probably hemstitch my sampler and a tutorial for this is available - click on the Tutorials button on the sidebar - if you wish to finish your sampler in this way. Of course it is entirely up to you how you finished your sampler. 

If you would like any further information please do not hesitate to email me. 

Thanks for visiting

Take care

I cannot believe it has been so long since I posted last - I've no idea where the time has gone to!

Just recently I received the above picture from Yuko in Japan showing her wonderful finish of Sew Buttons. There are some more pictures on her blog *here*. I love the co-ordinating fabrics that she used  and the leather handles. Thank you Yuko for allowing me to showcase your beautiful bag. Sew Buttons is still available *here* or by clicking on the CHARTS button on the sidebar.

I am still stitching on Camille Jullien and there's not too much to go now. It's been very slow going on the uneven 64ct. As it was such an uneven count, I miscalculated the linen and ended up with a very small margin at the bottom. I shall have to add a piece of fabric on the bottom to aid with the framing but it will now fit in a standard size frame.  I was hoping to post a picture today but the weather is not co-operating and it's too dark to take a picture. Hopefully it will brighten up and I can get a photo. 

And now for some exciting news ... I am working on an Advent Sampler SAL if I can get enough people interested. There will be 24 tiny parts to be stitched each day of Advent. It can be stitched on whatever count fabric with any threads you have to hand. There will be limited places available and there will be a charge. If you are interested please leave a comment or, better still, email me (my email address can be found on my profile) for further details. 

Thanks for visiting

Take case

My stitching of the Camille Jullien SAL on 64ct linen with Tudor Silk thread is coming along slowly but surely! Apologies for the poor picture it looked fine onscreen but now looks a little blurry. I will try to get a better picture for the next update!

Click on the pictures for a closeup view

Last Sunday we had another Mini Adventure. If you remember last May we went to France *here* but this time we stayed local and did the Ham Sandwich run. You may wonder what the Ham Sandwich refers to - it's nothing to do with food but refers to two local places - Ham is a tiny village and Sandwich a town in Kent - see the road sign! We started from the Transport Museum in Dover *here* and drove cross country to finish up at the Viking Ship *here* where we had a Teddy Bear's Picnic. Most people had brought along a bear to join in the fun so there was a competition to find the best bear chosen by Georgia. As Georgia is my grand-daughter, my bear Winston, was not allowed to be in the competition but I am sure he enjoyed the day out and for those who are wondering, he was allowed to travel inside the car and not on the mirror! After an enjoyable lunch part 2 of the rally began which was another cross country route to finish at the Hornby Centre *here*. Part 3 took us again cross country to a final finish at the Griffins Head, Chillenden *here* where there was a BBQ and the prize giving. We didn't win as our mileage was under what it should have been - I guess we took a shortcut at some point ;-)  It was a really fun day and we are already looking forward to the next Mini Adventure!

I'm off to the dentist now - wish me luck!

Thanks for visiting

Take care

Hurry hurry time is fast running out to enter into iStitch Designs giveaway of Sew Angelina chart complete with a kit for stitching as per the model. You have 5 days in which to enter. All you have to do is purchase one iStitch Design *here* and you have a chance to win. Purchase two charts and you will get two entries and so on. The kit contains a cut of gorgeous burgundy French linen with a spool of HDF white silk thread. 

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Here is an update of Camille Jullien SAL. Not too much progress - just the A-F of the larger alphabet.  I have no idea why the fabric looks so grey when it's actually an off-white. The scissors are Kelmscott's miniature gold storklets - aren't they just the cutest of scissors? These come in a variety of colours and are available *here*. Why not have a pair to co-ordinate with each of your projects you are stitching? After all you can never have too many pairs of scissors!

Our mini heatwave is almost over but I certainly enjoyed it while I could. I took a walk to the seafront at 4.30am one morning last week to see if I could get some sunrise pictures but alas there was too much cloud cover but the top left hand picture certainly shows how it might have been. It was so quiet at that time of the morning - no traffic and the only person I saw was a guy also waiting for some sunrise pictures! I returned later in the day for more pictures. 

Thanks for visiting

Take care

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An update on Camille Jullien SAL. As mentioned in my previous post  I was struggling with the 64ct uneven weave linen so I decided to overlock (serge) pieces of 48ct and 55ct Gander linen ready to give in and restart Camille but I persevered with the 64ct and above is my current progress. I am only able to stitch this is daylight with a magnifier but I am loving the delicacy and how tiny this sampler (181 x 146 stitch count) will be. This might be my last foray into such high count stitching although I never say never and I do have another piece of 64ct ;-) ...

Not such a nice day today so no reading in the garden unless the sun makes an appearance this afternoon.

Thanks for visiting - enjoy the weekend

Take care

Click on the picture for a closeup view

I made a start on Camille Jullien (Ouvrages des Dames) last night. The fabric (despite looking grey in the picture) is an off white 64ct  unevenweave linen; the thread is Glorianna's Tudor Silk in Bellagio Red #240 and the needle, placed to show exactly how tiny this stitching is, is a Bohin 28. This was extremely difficult to see even using a magnifier and under my ancient Ottlite so I may have to re-think this one before I go much further. I do like it but perhaps a smaller project might be better for this linen. I am going to try again in natural daylight and hopefully I will not find it as difficult to stitch. 

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It was a beautiful day yesterday so we took a walk along the seafront with Hector. I remembered to take my camera and took a few snaps to share. I also took a few pictures of Hector ... here's one of them.

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As you can see Hector is disabled and has been for the past 18-20 months. He is the loveliest little dog that you can imagine and is quite happy to go for a walk on his custom-made set of wheels. He is well known and many people stop to say hello to him and he is quite happy to pose for pictures! He does not have to be on a lead and is very obedient when told to wait to cross the road and waits quite patiently to be helped up the kerbs if they are too high for him to manage. He can go down steps but has to be carried up them. Isn't he the sweetest little dog?

Today is also a gorgeous day and my lounger and Kindle are ready and waiting so ...

Thank you for visiting

Take care