iStitch

Sunday, 12 May 2013

Sajou and country houses

First an update of page 4 of my Sajou booklet. As you can see it's coming along nicely and it won't be too long until it's done. The scissors were purchased on eBay and I have shown these before but I can't find the post at present. They are tiny, measuring 2½" and are engraved ER and dated 1953 so I assume they were released for the Queen's Coronation in that year.

During the week we took a trip to a garden centre near Canterbury and instead of coming home via the main road we drove through the countryside.We passed some wonderful old houses. This house 'The Old Rectory' is in Elmstone - a very tiny hamlet between Canterbury and Deal.

It has a small pond and the gardens were beautiful.

It reminds me of a Jane Austen type house - what do you think?

And literally just around the corner stands 'The Old Vicarage'. I wonder why there are two such houses - an old rectory and an old vicarage - so close to each other?

I wonder which house I would choose if I were lucky enough to be able to afford to buy one? Which one would you choose and why?

All the above pictures are clickable for closeup views.

Thanks for visiting

Take care

Labels: Blue, Sajou, Scissors

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Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Sajou and Bank Holiday Monday

My stitching and, hopefully, my blogging mojo has returned somewhat. I managed to make a start on page 4 of my Sajou booklet; if you remember I stitched this page sometime last year *here* but it came out much too small for the pre-cut finishing cards I had purchased for it so I continued on a different page on a different count linen. It is stitched 1*2 on antique white 48ct Gander linen with Needlepoint Inc silk thread 749. The scissors are tiny storklets by Kelmscott Designs *here*. These come in a variety of colours are are oh so cute!

Yesterday was May Day Bank Holiday here in the UK and for once the weather decided to co-operate and it was a beautiful sunny day. I live close to the Walmer Green where there was a Brocante Fair so we decided to take a look. It was well attended both by stall holders and the public in general plus their dogs.

One stall had this selection of ancient scissors. Too big for my collection but interesting just the same.

On another stall was this very pretty parasol. It wasn't a full size parasol but quite tiny. If only I had somewhere to display it. I wonder whether it sold?

I did however fall for this very pretty dish. It's made by Villeroy & Bosch 1948 - German company which is still in existence today *here*. This dish was priced at £2 so it just had to come home with me!

Now you may wonder why I have posted a picture of the backs of these people? Well the lady with the backpack is Miriam Margolyes and is quite famous here in the UK see *here*. She has a very distinctive voice and I heard her speak and recognised her voice before taking a second look. I didn't like to go around the other side and invade her privacy so I only have this picture.

We returned home to have lunch in the garden and, indeed, spend the afternoon out there too and, of course, my Kindle came too.

All the above pictures are clickable for closeup views.

Thanks for visiting

Take care

Labels: Blue, Deal, Sajou

| 4 comments

Wednesday, 14 November 2012

Sajou - Page 3

Click on picture for a closeup view

Page 3 of my Sajou booklet is now done. It was a quick stitch despite being double the size of the smaller pages - I really like the alphabet. I now need to cut and overlock (serge) another piece of linen to start on the next page. For the scissor enthusiast the two-tone Eiffel Tower scissors are by M Roulot of Nogent from whom I purchased these at the AEF earlier this year. I will certainly be checking out his stall at the AEF 2013!

Does anyone know which Sajou chart the stitching on the left is? I already have the one on the right but this is a 'stand alone' chart so I don't actually know what number it is either. I apologise to Chi at Country Village for using her picture which I found on Pinterest. I have emailed Chi to ask her about the pattern.

Last weekend I persuaded Ken to get my sewing machine out from the cupboard under the stairs. It has not seen light of day for well over a year (maybe two) so I had to spend an hour familiarising myself with it! Of course both the reel and bobbin were out of thread but luckily I found the manual and was able to get it stitching without too many problems. What am I using it for? Ah - all I shall say is 'secret stitching' which will be revealed at a later stage!

iStitch Designs Christmas 2012 freebie pattern will be up shortly so please come back if you are interested in this.

The JCS Christmas ornament magazine arrived a week or so ago but I've only just had chance to get a really good look at it. I must say I am a little disappointed this year. I looked back on past years and there are some much nicer patterns in the older magazines. For some reason I do not have the issue for 2005. I know I brought it but it is nowhere to be seen so I must check out eBay to see if there is one for sale or maybe someone has a spare copy that they would be prepared to sell or trade?

Thanks for visiting

Take care

Labels: Blue, Sajou, Scissors

| 4 comments

Sunday, 4 November 2012

Sajou booklet

Click on the picture for a closeup view

Here are the first two pages of my Sajou booklet. It is stitched 1*2 on antique white 48ct Gander linen with Needlepoint Inc silk thread 749 which is a very dark navy blue. The next page is the same depth as these pages but double the width. For the scissors enthusiasts, the scissors are Kelmscott's Elizabeth I.

A couple of years back I posted about my Christmas cactus that only produce one flower at a time *here* scroll down. Angela told me to place it outside on the patio during the summer months which I did last year and again this year. Although the actual plant doesn't seem to have grown much, there is an abundance of flowers this year. Shame it flowered too early for Christmas but at least I have more than one flower! Thanks for the tip Angela.

It's another miserable, rainy day here again. I'm not sure I will last through the Winter. I can cope with the cold but the lack of sunlight really gets me down. I think I need to relocate to a more sunnier clime!

Thanks for visiting

Take care

Labels: Blue, Sajou, Scissors

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Friday, 12 October 2012

Michelle's Sew Buttons

Michelle of 'Michelle's Stitchcraft Place' sent me a picture of her finish of Sew Buttons. Stitched with hand-dyed theads from her stash on 32ct Brittany fabric she finished it as a pinkeep for her friend Elisa's birthday - lucky Elisa! Isn't this pretty and I just love the tiny easel and check out those very pretty co-ordinating buttons. Thank you Michelle for allowing me to post this here.

Sew Buttons is still available *here* or by clicking on the CHARTS button on the sidebar.

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It shows that the weather has changed (not much time spent in garden now) as I have been really busy:

My Sew Hopeful model is stitched and finished and the chart is ready for release on the Online Needlework Show on October 18. I will also release it on the same date *here*. Here is a sneak peek:

I have also nearly finished my hoop box *here* and *here*. I am only waiting on a dolls house hinge to come from eBay which is expected any day for a final finish. I am so pleased with this and can't wait to show it off :-)

And not only all the above but the stitching of Gertrud Eckhardt 1902 *here* is also done and I will be framing this for my 'little red wall' as soon as I can get a suitable frame. Picture to follow shortly.

And - I have made a small start on my Sajou booklet. Well ... I said I had been busy!

Thank you for visiting and have a good weekend

Take care

Labels: Blue, Gertrude Eckhardt, iStitch Designs, Red, Sajou, Sew Buttons, Sew Hopeful

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Friday, 13 April 2012

Miniature blue

Picture clickable for a closeup view

I have finished stitching Sajou Miniature Blue and I now need to decide on a final finish. Maybe a needle book, a pin keep or a box top, if I can find a small enough box, but any suggestions are welcome. This is stitched 1*1 on 38ct Blanc Cassé Gander linen with AVAS Soie Surfine 2587 which is a very dark navy blue. The needle, placed to show exactly how tiny this is, is a Bohin 28. The design measures 2¾" x 2". This pattern is available for free *here*.

I will be re-starting this project again stitching 1*1 on 32ct Gander linen with AVAS Soie d'alger 161, again a dark navy blue. This time the stitched pieces should fit onto the pre-cut cards I purchased at the Sajou stall at the AEF in Paris last February. I will be stitching all the charts from Sajou Card No 2 and finishing as a fold-up booklet.

Picture clickable for closeup view

A few years ago my sister brought us an Iford Weeping Cherry tree that has an amazing story which I posted about *here* scroll down. Last year most of the blossom was blown off by the wind but this year we have a stunning display of pretty flowers.

Thanks for visiting and have a good weekend

Take care

Labels: Blue, Garden, Miniature stitching, Sajou

| 12 comments

Saturday, 24 March 2012

Sajou update

Just a quick post to show an update on my Sajou project. Not much further forward but I am enjoying this 'miniature' stitching. I have realised that I should be stitching on a lower count linen if the pieces are to fit the pre-cut cards I purchased with the charts so I have ordered some 12 fils (32ct) Gander linen and will either re-stitch 1*1 on this or maybe stitch 1*2 on 55ct Gander instead as I have a lot of this in my stash. Decisions, decisions. I will however finish the above which will make the perfect 'front' for a needle book or a tiny pin keep.

I thought I was over my flu and maybe I am but ... I now have the most horrendous cold so I'm not sure if its the flu making another appearance or a completely new bug. Whatever ... enough is enough ... I think I need some sunshine!

Thanks for visiting - enjoy your weekend

Take care

Labels: Blue, Miniature stitching, Sajou

| 6 comments

Tuesday, 14 October 2008

It's Su's fault!

Ever since I saw the Sajou Mini Sewing Set on Su's blog I knew that I had to have it too! Those tiny 'Monster' scissors called out to me "Buy me, Buy me" so as I did not spend too much at the Knitting and Stitching Show I decided to treat myself. The package arrived this morning (quick shipping from Susan at Hanging by a Thread) and it is even more delightful than the pictures show.

I also received a package from The Sampler Guild with a fat quarter of 36ct Puck Elne of Lynnyn fabric. You can see just see a peek of this fabric under the scissors (click on the picture for a close-up view). It's a lovely shade of hand-dyed linen and TSG website states that Puck is 'another tea-dyed linen but with a beautiful sandy cast' - it is beautiful - trust me!

I am ashamed to admit that I did not pick up a needle and thread yesterday as I made the most of the weather and went out into the garden with my latest book. It's called 'True Evil' by Greg Iles and is a gripping thriller about "a divorce attorney who has a cluster of clients whose spouses have all conveniently died apparently of natural causes ...". Well worth reading.

Nearly forgot, for those of you looking for a new look to your blog, I came across a website at the weekend here which has some extremely pretty templates. I could have saved myself an awful lot of work if I had discovered it sooner but I'm pleased with my new look and with a bit more 'tweaking' it will be just right.

Thanks for visiting

Take care

Labels: Sajou

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