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Sunday, 1 January 2012
Jane Rees update




The above picture shows my progress on Jane Rees as at 31.12.11. Not a great picture as it's rather dark here today but you can see the progress. The fabric is 55ct antique white Gander linen and the thread is AVAS Soie Surfine 109.




As you can see from this picture I have a long way to go. I am aiming to finish the alphabet section as soon as I can and once that's done I will make a start on the pre-stitching of the Sherri Jones' Blue Ribbon Box for the class I have booked in London on April 21 *here* (scroll down).


Last night, as we were dog sitting, I spend a few hours surfing blogs and checking out Wish Lists so I could gift a chart or two. Unfortunately not one blog/wish list I visited had a iStitch Design! I wonder what that's telling me?

Have a wonderful New Year and a big thank you to those that follow my blog and leave encouraging comments.

Thanks for visiting
Take care


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Wednesday, 28 December 2011
iStitch in Williamsburg?




Two stitching friends of mine, Lynn and Sylvie, went to Williamsburg in early December and while they were there they spotted the above car registration and took this picture for me! Is this your car? I would love to hear from you if it is. Thanks to Lynn and Sylvie (also in the photo) for sharing the picture.

We enjoyed a lovely Christmas Day at daughter Nicola's house and Boxing Day at son Justin's house but the celebrations are not yet over as we are having a family trip to the Pantomime at The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury tomorrow. This year it's Cinderella and we are all looking forward to checking out the new Marlow Theatre after the renovations.

Amongst my gifts I received was an antique sampler, a French stitching book and other stitching related goodies (including two pairs of scissors for my collection) - more about these gifts in a future post.

I have also been working exclusively on Jane Rees over the holiday period so not too much of the alphabet section to go now before I start on the motifs. I will finish off the alphabets and then take a picture.

Thanks for visiting
Take care


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Tuesday, 3 May 2011
WIPs




First up is an update on Jane Rees. As you can see she is coming along slowly but surely - nearly four pages done and only 21 more to go!





I also made a start on Douceur de vivre by Jardin Privé.

As can be seen by the needles in both fabrics both of these pieces are stitched on high count linens. Jane is on blanc cassé 55ct Gander linen with Soie Surfine 109 whilst the other is on nacre 48ct Gander linen with an HDF conversion. I need to stitch with a magnifier under my Ottlite on both pieces - I hope I still have my eyesight when these are finished! Click on the pictures for closeup views.





Maggee of Stitching Devotee sent me a picture of her finished of iStitch Designs Easter freebie. Unfortunately she did not let me know what thread or fabric she used. Maybe you can let us know Maggee? Whatever you used it certainly is very pretty and thank you for allowing me to post this here.

This Easter freebie is still available *here* - you could get a head start for next year!


Kirby has now gone back to Uni after a month's Easter break. I will miss her a lot. I have a great picture of her to post but will leave it for another day.

Thanks for visiting
Take care


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Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Janes Rees WIP




An update on Jane Rees which sampler has been sadly neglected of late due to stitching of gifts. I am undecided whether to carry on working downwards or start working sideways once I have stitched the two rows of numbers underneath. I placed a Bohin no 28 needle in the linen so you can get some idea of how small this stitching actually is! I'm sorry for the wrinkles but I don't want to keep ironing this each time I want to take a picture.





And this picture shows roughly how much I have left to stitch. It looks rather daunting doesn't it?

Thanks for visiting
Take care


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Monday, 20 September 2010
Jane Rees




As promised, here is an update on Jane. The bottom two lines are from page 2, the rest is the whole of page 1. I guess this one is going to be a long haul but I am enjoying working on it so if I put a few letters in each day I will eventually get there. For those of you who have missed previous posts about Jane click on the label link. It is stitched on 55ct (yes I said 55ct) blanc cassé French Gander linen with AVAS Soie Surfine thread (109). My last 'biggie' was Beatrix Potter - remember her - how I hated it? If I can finish Beatrix, I can finish Jane!

I have three new charts that need to be stitched up - two of these are for Christmas and I hope to get these done shortly.

Kirby is on her way back to Loughborough Uni and, although we will be able to Skype', I will miss her a lot. She is making a weekend trip home before she comes home for Christmas but we will be away then so we will not get to see her. 

Autumn is definitely in the air, the leaves are starting to drop and the nights are closing in. Tommy is very lethargic and it won't be long before he settles down for his long winter sleep. I will miss him too.

Thanks for visiting
Take care


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Saturday, 14 August 2010
Jane - WIP and rain!







As you can see I abandoned using my frame/stand for Jane Rees. I suppose I should have persevered longer as I know that the linen does not get so creased and it would keep cleaner but ... my arms and shoulders started to ache and I kept knocking my stitching hand against the frame! So back to a hoop and I am now enjoying it more and stitching a lot faster. Only a tiny section of the top left hand corner done with a lot more to go but it's a start.




Picture clickable for a close-up view

Just after lunchtime yesterday it suddenly went very dark, there was a clap of thunder and a flash of lightening and within minutes it started to rain the most enormous raindrops. Luckily I managed to get the washing in off the line and the sun-lounger cushion indoors before the heavens really opened up and it rained heavily along with a few hailstones. The water laying on the patio and the grass is about 2" deep! Tommy marched off at a tremendous speed (yes he is a speedy when he wants to be) and hid himself up and was already out of sight by the time I got the camera out. A lot of roads and shops are closed today due to flooding as the drainage system couldn't cope with this deluge of water. It's still dull and gloomy today but at least it's not raining.

I have picked up my Dutch Band Sampler to work on again as it was a good project to take along to Stitch-n-Bitch last Wednesday evening. I have no idea why this one got forsaken but it will make a good piece to work on alternatively with Jane. I'll post a picture later.

Not much else to report so enjoy your weekend
Thanks for visiting
Take care


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Wednesday, 4 August 2010
ABC




As promised yesterday, here is a picture of my start of Jane Rees. Not a lot I know but please remember this is being stitched on 55ct linen! I have placed a Bohin size 28 needle in the fabric for scale and if click on the picture you'll get a close-up view. I must admit I had some difficulty working with a frame and stand as I have not done this for a long time and I am wondering if I will find it easier to go back to using a Qsnap or a hoop and moving it around as I did with Beatrix Potter. However, using a frame does keep the work in pristine condition rather than it getting screwed up by working in hand so I will persevere for a while.


I saw Rowyn's day book journal on her blog and though I would play along too.

Outside my window ..... clouds
I am thinking ....I can’t wait for my Florida vacation
I am thankful for ...... my health, my family and my life
I am wearing ..... black shorts, blue top, flip flops
I am loving …. my new iPhone
I am stitching .... Janes Rees and a new iStitch design
I am hoping .... to lose a few pounds before my vacation
I am drooling over .... HDF silk threads from Vikki Clayton
I am sorely tempted by ...... an iPad
I am hearing ...... silence
I am reading ..... The Assassins Gallery by David L Robbins
On my mind ..... Spring bulbs to be planted soon
From my picture journal…. Italy 1979




If anyone else decides to follow Rowyn's lead and does the day book journal, let me know and I'll come and visit!


Thanks for visiting
Take care

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Tuesday, 3 August 2010
Jane Rees




After months of decisions and awaiting deliveries, I am now ready to start Jane Rees. I have the pattern; I have the linen (55ct blanc cassé Gander); I have the thread (Soie Surfine 109); I have needles (Bohin 28's) and my beautiful Nogent scissors.




The longer bars for my Millenium frame arrived this morning from Needle Needs - fast service thank you John!




The linen is overlocked (serged) and fitted to the frame and lays upon my Needle Necessities floor stand. The light and magnifier are clipped on the stand. So ... I am ready to start. Come back tomorrow to see WIP!

Thanks for visiting
Take care


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Friday, 18 June 2010
Decisions decisions!





Last Friday I posted a picture of two tiny samplers *here* which I stitched as test pieces to help me decide what fabric and thread to use for Jane Rees and, despite many of you saying that you preferred the one of the left on that picture, and top centre of the above picture, I was still undecided so I stitched yet another Sew Easy on 55ct cream linen using Soie Surfine 109. It was better and I had almost decided to go with this when I remembered I had a cut of 22 fils (55ct) Gander linen in blanc cassé (off white) in my stash so I stitched yet another test piece (although something different to Sew Easy this time)! I think this is as close to an original Bristol Orphanage Sampler that I will get. I knew what I wanted and I needed to keep searching to achieve it - so this is it - my chosen fabric and thread for Jane! I can't wait to get started now the decision has been made.

Sew Easy chart is still available for free *here* or click on the CHARTS button my the sidebar.





And do you remember my Iford Weeping Cherry *here*? After a pretty display of pink blossom earlier this year, I have now noticed that there are cherries forming! How amazing are these and how stupid am I not to realise that this tree would bear fruit? LOL 




And, last but not least, the daisies! I know some people hate these pesky little flowers that often appear in the lawn but I like them. Such a sweet little flower.

Thanks for visiting and have a good weekend
Take care

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Friday, 4 June 2010
What do you think?





This picture is clickable for a closeup view


For the last few days I have been stitching Sew Easy as test pieces to help me decide whether to stitch Jane Rees on pale ivory 48ct Gander linen with HDF Perfect Red 6215 or on white 55ct linen with Soie Surfine 109 and here they are. To the left is the 48ct linen; the 55ct linen is on the right. I am still very undecided and would ask you to please comment with your views. If I stitch Jane on the Gander linen she will measure 15" x 19.8" whereas on the higher count she will measure 13" x 17.6" which is closer to the original measurement of 10" x 13½" as Jane stitched hers on 70ct linen. As much I like high count linens, 70ct, even if I could get it, would be a bit much for my eyes! Please, please comment - I value your opinion.

For those of you who are interested in Sew Easy this chart is available free *here* or by clicking on the CHARTS button on the sidebar. My test pieces measure 2½ x 3 on the Gander linen and 2 x 2½ on the 55ct fabric.  I nun-stitched each piece in HDF silk threads (Natural on the Gander linen, B5200 on the white linen) to enable me to cut them down with a neat edge.





And here, just a few days late, is my Tusal jar. If you peek inside you can see pink thread from Sew Sweet, the red Soie Surfine and HDF from Sew Easy and the cream of Sew Seasons. I am on the last season now - Sew Winter - so the chart will be ready soon.

The sun is shining and my place is booked in garden, my book is to hand and a cool drink ready to be poured - have a lovely weekend.

Thanks for visiting
Take care

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