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Monday, 1 March 2010
Alphabets à ... finish!


Click on the picture for a closeup view


I put the final stitches into Alphabets à... last night and then added my initials and the year 1*1 in the top right hand corner which wasn't very easy considering the fabric is 48ct! This French Gander linen can be found at Simply Necessaries for those of you brave enough to try it. The sampler measures 8" x 6" so you can imagine how tiny the stitches are.


Click on the picture for a closeup view

Although you cannot tell from the really awful photographs, the linen is a very pale ivory and the red thread was AVAS Soie Surfine 109 stitched 2*2. For the scissor enthusiasts, these tiny golden scissors are Elizabeth 1 by Kelmscott Designs.

I have no idea what I shall work on next. I have three new designs charted but I am wondering if interest is waning or is it simply that the Nashville Fair has been too much temptation to all? Maybe I will pick up an older project that was put to one side; such as the miniature red stitching shown *here* from Miniature au Point de Croix by Françoise Prax which I got from amazon.fr; or maybe a re-start of the Merry Cox Diminutive Sewing Set shown *here* - I really did not like this much although I adored the tiny wood tray so I may design my own version based on the dimensions used by Merry; or how about the long forgotten Loara Standish sampler *here*? The list goes on ...

The sun has got his hat on .... hip hip horray!

Thanks for visiting
Take care

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Saturday, 27 December 2008
Christmas lights


I hope you have all had a great Christmas - I know I did. We spent Christmas Day at our daughter's and today we spent at our son's house. I have eaten far too much so it's now back to my healthy eating plan as I do not want to put back on the weight I lost! Before we came home this evening we drove around looking at the Christmas lights. The above display is alongside a river and is really pretty. Usually the house on the bottom right hand corner picture has a snow machine going but we must have missed it tonight. Yes, I know some of you have the real stuff but it's ages since it snowed here so we have to rely on a machine.  

I have found time to stitch and yesterday I put the final stitch in Hannah Beeby although that's not quite true as I have now decided to hem stitch it, so you could say there are a few more stitches to go in! I also made a start on my section of Rowyn's QFRR and part-stitched on a private exchange. No pictures to show as I want to complete the hem-stitching on Hannah before I show her again although I will take a picture of Rowyn's sampler either tomorrow or Monday. I am planning a new start for the New Year but I am undecided as to start Beatrix Potter Quaker sampler or to start my re-stitch of Merry Cox's Diminutive Sewing set. Both are kitted up so it could be either although I am completely changing the alphabet on the MC project so I will see how this goes. And I really have to decide on something to stitch for my blogoversary draw too so don't forget to check back for the draw posting!

We have visitors coming tomorrow so I don't expect to get any stitching done tomorrow.

Thanks for visiting
Take care

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Monday, 7 April 2008
Hannah Beeby update


I am really enjoying my Hannah Beeby SAL even if I am a week behind! My eyes have adjusted to working on 40ct so I am really enjoying it and I will find it hard to put to one side because after tomorrow my week is up. 

I am undecided as what to stitch on next but I have a couple of exchanges to work on and I am also expecting Wendy's QFRR to arrive any day. And there's always my re-start of Merry Cox Dimunitive Sewing Set. Oh so many projects and so little time!

Yesterday we woke up to snow - I think this is the first snow we have had in this part of the UK for a couple of years or more. It snowed for most of the day and I thought that I would wake this morning to find a winter wonderland but no, just slushy ice and now that the sun has come out I expect it will all disappear shortly. It's still fairly cold out though but I am glad the snow has gone as I have to run a few errands later.

Thanks for visiting
Take care 


Edited: Wendy's QFRR has just arrived together with another package so I will be posting again shortly!

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Tuesday, 1 April 2008
Eggling update

I thought you might like a 'eggling update'. I cracked open the egg and have been watering it. It's sitting on my kitchen windowsill but doesn't seem to be doing much or am I just much too impatient? It's kind of cute and I am looking forward to at least a few green shoots so watch this space!

I was up early today and have finished all my chores so I am going to have a stitch day. I had planned on working in the garden as the grass really needs cutting but it's raining yet again. I know I really should have done it yesterday but I was busy and ran out of time although I did find half an hour to actually sit out there and catch a few rays of sun. Oh the sheer pleasure of holding my face up to the warm sun - maybe I should have been a flower? I thought it was a good sign that Summer was actually around the corner but today I am not so sure.

I am finishing up stitching some gifts and, hopefully, get around to putting them together later. The mail man has just been and still no sign of my silks for Hannah Beeby. Again, I think, I am being a little impatient but I really do want to make a start on this and also in the same package should be some fabric and floss for my re-start of the Merry Cox Diminutive Sewing Set. I have chosen 35ct optical white Brussels linen and Au Ver a Soie silk floss so I hope to also make a start on this shortly.

Right off to stitch!

Thank you for visiting
Take care


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Monday, 17 March 2008
Old Colonial Basket



This is the Old Colonial Garden Basket. It is stitched on 32ct Mocha linen using Weeks Dye Works and Gentleart Threads. There is a needlebook which is attached to the space in the top right hand corner but there are still a few more stitches to go into this and I hope to finish it later today. The basket has a wonderful wooden lid with a cute little knob in the middle!

I have finished stitching my pinkeep for the HOE exchange so only need to finish it off and then put together a gift package before mailing it to my partner. I hope she likes it. 

Next weekend I am hoping to make a start on the Hannah Beeby SAL  but this does depend on whether or not the Needlepoint Inc silk threads I have ordered arrive in time. I am now going to use NPI silks in Ultra Dark Forest Green instead of Vicki Clayton's Imperialosity.

I have also decided that I will start again on the Merry Cox Diminutive Sewing Set! I know that I made a good start on the sampler but I am not happy with it! Maybe it's the colour of the threads and/or the fabric - I don't know - but there's something not quite right.  I love the tiny wood carrier, the silk mattress and the idea of the 'smalls' so, rather than continue with a project that I am not 100% happy with, I am going to chose a different fabric, different silk threads and will probably change part of the chart too. I wonder if it would look good monochromatic? Any comments? 

Thank  you for visiting
Take care   

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Tuesday, 5 February 2008
A few more stitches and some frogging too!


I managed to put a few more stitches into my Merry Cox piece and I also frogged some too. I removed a whole line of lettering in the next to bottom area but I am tempted to frog the lot and start again as I am not happy with the spacing, I really dislike split words but bearing in mind it's stitched one over one on 36ct fabric, I am not happy with frogging either.  I think I might put this project aside for a while or maybe get on with the 'smalls' that go with the sampler so I can come back to it with a fresh mind. 

The Hannah Beeby chart arrived from Canada today (really fast shipping from Gitta's of Ontario) so I have ordered both fabric and floss. As I am still undecided what to use I ordered both 36 and 40 count flax fabric and 3 colours of Vicki Clayton silk threads. Mermaid Blue, OMG Red (the darkest option) and Imperialosity Green and I will make my final decision when I can do a floss toss. I was originally looking to use the blue, then changed my mind to green and then to red and back again! I have never been so undecided about a project before - maybe I should think to where I will hang it when it's finished and look at the colours around me but, bearing in mind all the walls in my house are painted white and all the carpets are a pale beige, this really doesn't help me that much!   I have seen examples stitched in all colours and I love them all so perhaps I should stitch it three times!

Thanks for visiting
Take care
Carol

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Monday, 21 January 2008
Shaker Box



I worked on my Shaker box finish yesterday although I have not glued it into the recess on the box as I was not too happy with how it fits. I used the template that came with the box and put some batting between the fabric and the template and then laced it but when I placed it into the recess it seems to be just a teeny bit too small so I think I will undo it and place another layer of batting that overlaps the edges of the template to give a more tighter fit.  Or does anyone have any other ideas?? The pattern is by Merry Cox called Where Thy Heart Belongs.   

I also part stitched another scissor fob identical (apart from initials) to the one I stitched for the HOE fob exchange as I was really pleased with the one I had made for my partner and wanted to keep it for myself! I will post photos once my partner has received it which hopefully should be either the end of this week or the beginning of next week.  

Thanks for visiting
Take care
Carol

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Saturday, 19 January 2008
Two finishes!

I managed to get two finishes done today:

Firstly Eliza's Pyn Keep, a freebie chart from With My Needle. This is for my darling friend Diana who lives in Canton, Ohio and who I only get to see once a year when we both vacation in Siesta Key, Sarasota, Florida. The photograph at the top of my blog is a sunset on Siesta Key - wouldn't you just want to be there now? I do not know if she reads my blog but if she does I would like to tell her how much I love her and Stan and I miss them loads. It's Diana's birthday next week and the pinkeep and other goodies will be winging their way to her shortly.  The tiny pins are Applique pins made by Clover - aren't they just dinky and ideal for a tiny one over one piece that you don't want overshadowed by large headed pins.




The second finish is the scissor fob that Karoline from Karoline's Corner won in my draw.   This will be sent to Karoline after my workshop on February 15.  I hope she like it.



I though you might like to see some 'pegs' that I picked up in the local supermarket. These are supposed to be for delicate items and items that you would not want marked by ordinary wooden pegs. And yes they do work and are also good for closing the tops of opened bags - just fold over the tops of the bags and clip on a peg. And ... I found another great use for them - I used them to sandwich together Diana's pinkeep whilst I was putting it together. It was like having another pair of hands! They do not mark the fabric (you can see the little pads on them) and they are extremely light weight and if you drop the project (as I did) in early stages of finishing it stays together. Brilliant eh?
  



I still need to do the lid of my shaker box - maybe tomorrow now as the light is fading fast. I am trying to decide as I finish this post whether to start my book - Sepulchre by Kate Mosse, watch a dvd - Perfect Strangers with Sam Neil and Rachel Blake or do a bit more on my Merry Cox project.  I think the book will win as my right hand (the one that needs surgery) is really painful - maybe  I have overdone it just lately! 

Thanks for visiting
Take care
Carol

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Tuesday, 15 January 2008
It's worth clearing out cupboards



A few more stitches in Merry Cox - but oh dear, I redid the verse and miscounted!  I did not want to split my name and now I have ended up with two split words and two gaps.  Oh well it will have to stay - I am certainly not frogging as it's stitched on 36ct over one thread!  Now I must think of something to put in the gaps - any suggestions welcome. 

Yesterday I decided to clear out a cupboard and ended up clearing out two wardrobes too. I felt really industrious and, although I only got one sack of rubbish, I did manage to sort out a lot of stuff to go on ebay on the next cheap listing day and ... I came across my unfinished Loara Standish  sampler.  I started this a few years ago and I think I am about 2/3rds of the way down so I really must pick this up again and put some more stitches in it.  I have seen the actual sampler in the Museum at Plymouth Mass.  It's absolutely wonderful and well worth a trip there if you are in the area and the kit for this sampler is for sale in the gift shop.   

http://pilgrimhall.org/s_sampler/htm 

I also came across an antique sampler that I brought 2 or 3 years ago.  This needs framing and I did sort out some raw linen to mount it on so will try and get that framed shortly.  I will take photos of Loara and the antique sampler tomorrow.  I also found a forgotten stash of fabric and other stitching goodies so it pays to clear out your cupboard occasionally!     

Thanks for visiting
Take care
Carol 

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Sunday, 13 January 2008
Weekend fun?




I didn't get a great deal of time for stitching this weekend but managed to do the above. It's a birthday gift for a very dear friend (I don't think she reads my blog and if you are reading this pretend you haven't seen it) and I will finish it as a pinkeep and will post a finished photo when it's actually finished. I know is says 2007 but it's hard to stitch an 8 over one block and it is only just 2008!



And here's the reason I did not get a lot of stitching done! This is Georgia - aged 7 and a bundle of fun.  It was my son Justin's birthday last Wednesday and AnnMarie, his partner, had booked tickets for a London show and a hotel overnight for his gift. That meant finding somewhere for the two girls, Alex and Georgia, to spend the night.  Tom and Meg live with their mother and spend every other weekend with them so no problem there.  So Georgia came for a sleepover. She was really good and I wasn't too exhausted when they collected her. 

I am now going to work on my MC project - it's been sadly neglected this past few days.

I will be making the draw for the scissor fob next Wednesday so please don't forget to leave a comment - you have to be in it to win it!

Thanks for visiting.
Take care
Carol

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Sunday, 6 January 2008
Progress on MC
A bit more progress on MC - at least the birds look like birds now.  I was up far too late last night working on this - just one more stitch - how many of us know what this is like?  I was also watching the movie 'The Village' - I know it's an oldie but I hadn't seen it.  Is there a 'Village 2'?





I am expecting my daughter and her family around today for a traditional Sunday roast dinner today so I don't expect to get any stitching done.  I just hope that there isn't football (soccer) on the tv - I just hate football - give me good movie any day.  So I expect I will retire to another room where I can finish off my shaker box so hopefully I will be able to post a photo tomorrow.

Take care
Carol

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Friday, 4 January 2008
Merry Cox and Crystal Snowflakes

Hello again

There's a little more progress on Merry Cox Diminutive Sewing Set - I was not able to stitch yesterday.  I really must stitch today even if it's only to give those little blue birds some legs, wings and beaks!!



I have been busy finishing off a few items these past couple of days but I am unable to post pictures as they are gifts and an exchange so I will post these at a later date.  I will say that I am very pleased indeed with my scissor fob, so much so that if I hadn't already put the recipient's initials on it, I would have kept it for myself!  This means I am going to have to stitch it again for me but the only problem here is whether or not I can remember what I did.  I meant to scan it before putting it together but when I did think about it it needed pressing and once it was pressed I immediately started to put it together.  However, I am able to post a photo of the crystal snowflakes as promised in my last post:


The two on the left were made by my friend Lynn who teaches beading at our LNS.  The two on the right are my efforts - I think I definitely need to practise some more but I was quite pleased with them for my first efforts!!  They are all made with 4mm and 6mm Swaroski crystal beads and seed beads.  If I can master the technique I may, as suggested by Sue, another member of my group, hang them from a painted twig so they can be displayed all year and not just on the Christmas Tree.

I also wanted to post some photos today of a postcard which my maternal grandfather sent to my grandmother during the First World War but I am having problems uploading photos in between text.  For some reason they want to head up to the top of the page.  Can anyone help here?  I suppose I could upload the photos first and the add the text in between but there must be an easier way.  I tried clicking on 'none' when asked for the position of photos but then they wouldn't upload!  I will try again tomorrow so be sure to visit me again.

Take care
Carol

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Wednesday, 2 January 2008
A New Project for 2008

Pyramid Etui
Designer: C A Wells












January 1st, 2008 New Project Start
Diminutive Sewing Set
Designer: Merry Cox




Welcome back and thank you all for your kind comments on my first blog - much appreciated.  A special thank you to Cindy for guiding me in the changing of the URL!  


I decided to start a new project for 2008 and chose Merry Cox's Diminutive Sewing Set.  I fell in love with this project when I first saw it and contacted Merry to see if she would be teaching this in the UK but alas she said not in the near future.  I regularly surfed ebay to see if someone would put one up for sale, again no luck  :-( and then a very good friend of mine in the US said she would send her mother to one of the classes to get the kit for me!  So now I have the fabric, the silk threads, the finishing kit and most of all the tiny wood carrier.  I couldn't wait to start it but the Christmas ornament frenzy had already started and  I had also decided to stitch pinkeeps for my friends in my stitch group so I put it to one side thinking it would be my holiday project but again I was too busy to make a start and then a friend sent me this  "The Metrostitchers is a fun group of stitchers with activities all through the year.  Although bases in the metro NYC area, there are members in other states and even a few in other countries -- they are moving towards world domination! They have a tradition, begun many years ago of starting a new project on New Year's.  No matter how many projects we have going, we celebrate the New Year with a new start, small or large. We carry on this tradition as a way to honor all those stitchers who have gone before us -- the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, friends and all who have taught us to love fiber and needle. We hope you'll join in continuing this tradition..." .  And so, I decided that I, too, would start a new project on New Year but with the proviso that it must be finished by the end of the year!! 


I also have a few other unfinished projects that are stitched and which I need to finish - a scissor fob, a pinkeep and a design to be affixed to a shaker box lid and, of course then there are those UFO's that we all have hidden away!  


Last Sunday - Dec 30 - my stitch group met up for the day.  We started at 10.30am with a coffee and a chat and then Lynn, the beader of our group, said she would show us how to make snowflakes out of Swaroski crystal beads.  We had a terrific morning and all managed to make 2 snowflakes - pictures will be taken and posted soon.  I was a bit out of my 'comfort zone' as I don't do much beading but I was rather pleased with my snowflakes even if they didn't quite come up to Lynn's standard but they say practice makes perfect so I will have another go and see if the saying is true.  After lunch of lasagna and salad followed by not one but two delicious desserts, we all decided to stitch.  I worked on Eliza's Pyn Keep stitching on 32ct lambswool linen with DMC threads and surprisingly nearly finished the front.  We finished at 4.00pm and decided it was a great day and that we must do it again soon.  


Laura asked me about CA Wells' pyramid - this is a beautiful piece Laura (see photos) but this is a class piece.  You might be lucky and find one on ebay but expect to pay quite a high price for it.


Daisy Girl - I have been to visit on Fair and Square and yes I would be interested in joining but not yet as I am due to have surgery on my right hand in the very near future and I would not like to join and not fulfill my obligations so, maybe when the surgery is done and I am able to stitch, I will contact you if that's ok with you?   I am not sure how long my recovery will take - I had the same surgery on my left hand last April and it was 8-10 weeks before I was able to stitch - very frustrating but the hardest part of only being able to use one hand was the everyday things;  tying my hair back into a pony tail, putting toothpaste onto the brush, spraying deodorant under the good arm and even worse - try pulling up (or down) your panties with one hand!!!  Moral of this tale - do not leave it too long before you visit the bathroom!!!


It's my first day of not working today - did I enjoy it? Oh yes but why did it go so quickly?  A work day doesn't fly past that quickly.  It feels as though I am still on a break as Ken does not go back to work until next week - I expect I will feel differently when I'm "home alone".


Thank  you for visiting with me again.
Carol

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Monday, 31 December 2007
My First Blog!

Abide Thy Heart Shaker Box
Designer: Merry Cox
Fabric and Floss: 36ct sandstone linen, Soie Crystal silks threads




Royal Sachet
Designer : CA Wells
Fabric and Floss: 36ct antique white linen , NPI silk threads



My sampler wall
Designer: Darlene O'Steen
Fabric and Floss: 36ct linen,  Au Ver A Soie silk threads


Today is the first day of the rest of my life - my first day of retirement!  After 30 years of working in a law office It's now 'my time' so I decided to start my blog and share my life with you.  I am new at 'blogging', despite my numerous visits to various blogs in the past, so, if this blog seems very basic, please bear with me and I will try and make it more interesting as I go along.


So ... where shall I start?  I suppose by telling you a little something about myself.  I have been married to Ken for 43 years; I have two children and six grandchildren whose ages range from 7 to 18 years.  I live in a very small seaside town on the south east coast of the UK - on a clear day we can see France over the channel!


I have been stitching for over 30 years.  So how did I start to stitch?  To cut a longish story short it started with my daughters attendance at a local dance school.  Each year the school would put on an annual show and also enter competitions for which she needed costumes.  One year she was doing a Czech national dance and the description of the costume she would need stated "... and a heavily embroidered headsquare". Oh dear, my heart sank, I had no idea where to start.  OK - I took a deep breath and reached for the sky blue fabric I had used for the skirt, ironed on a transfer, brought some DMC threads in emerald green, black and white to match the braid I had purchased for the bands around the bottom of the skirt and I was off - albeit very apprehensively.  I found I was enjoying it - so little by little, stitch by stitch until I had finished. Oh wow it was beautiful and I was extremely pleased with the finished result. She didn't win the competition but her costume looked good and I thought she danced well - not that I was biased of course! Unfortunately I have no pictures of my first effort - maybe a good thing as maybe it wasn't stitched as well as I remember it to be :-) 


So ... that was it, I was hooked and for a while I stuck to traditional embroidery until a couple of years later I discovered cross stitch.  I went from basic cross stitch pictures, to cross stitch samplers to multi-stitch samplers and then, in 1998, I went along to a CA Wells' class in London.  The project was the Peacock Needlecase and I was very pleased with my finished piece.  Since that time I have attended more of CA's classes and even went to Cape Cod for a couple of them.  Since then I have enjoyed making 'smalls' and I am sure I will continue to do so.  My favourite project is the Pyramid Etui - I think it really has that 'wow' factor.  I also like Merry Cox projects and Darlene O'Steen's wonderful samplers.


When my first grandchild was born I, of course, stitched a birth sampler for her and have done so for each of my grandchildren in turn.  I also stitched a picture for each of them every Christmas until I found I was spending my precious stitching time on large picture projects so one year I made tiny stitched stockings and backed them with felt.  I filled them with tiny gifts of chocolate, candy canes etc and a tiny teddy poked his head out of the top.  The following year I made my first ornaments.  A little Christmas mouse holding gifts, dragging a tree or draped in baubles adorned the fronts and on the back I stitched each child's name and the year.  Since then it has become a tradition where I hand out the ornaments and then they hang them on their respective trees.  Sometimes I use a ready charted design, sometimes I use a part of a design altered to suit and even some I have designed myself - a Noel cube with a jingle bell inside, a 3-sided ornament etc.  The youngest asked me a couple of years ago "Nan, are you 'knitting' us ornaments for the tree again this year?"  She now knows the difference between 'knitting' and 'stitching'.


This Christmas I joined my first exchange group and designed a piece called 'Holly Noel'.  I have now joined a scissor fob exchange and have made a fob called 'Strawberry Humbug'.  


My eldest grand-daughter also likes to stitch.  She started at 4 years old with 6ct Binca fabric, some skeins of coloured wools and a very large needle.  She stitched a square of cross stitches and her initial K in the middle.  She progressed from thereon to pictures and eventually at 12 years old she joined me at her first CA class.  As we entered the room I overheard one of the ladies say "Oh no, someone has brought a child along".  At the end of the class this same lady came over to me and said how wonderful it was to see a child of her age sit and stitch along with us and how well behaved she was.  We also did ornament exchanges at the class and one lady received Kirby's ornament two years running and she was absolutely thrilled.  She came along with me for the next few years until she discovered boys!!  She still stitches and is hoping to go into fashion and design in the future.  2 of the other 3 grand-daughters like to stitch and I have provided them each in turn with a filled sewing box.  


Well if you are reading this you have survived my first attempt at blogging and maybe you will come back and visit with me again?  And now I am off to stitch some more.  I am due to have more hand surgery sometime soon so I need to stitch as much as I can before then.



A Happy New Year to you
Carol
   

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