There's been no such thing as a quiet night in this week - it's been one explosion after another. The Hindu festival of Diwali started last Sunday and finished on Thursday, and it was Bonfire Night on Tuesday. So every night has been firework night! I went to one myself on Friday night at my sister's - just a small gathering of family, neighbours and friends, including the most gorgeous and placid six month old baby girl, who just watched the pretty lights and smiled. I'm hoping that things calm down now for a bit. There will be fireworks again later on this month when they have the official Christmas lights switch-on, but at least that is only the one night.
On the stitching front, I have a start and a sort-of finish to show you.
I'm starting with my finish - here is Serena with all her backstitch completed. When she is beaded (eventually), she will have beads down the centre of her skirt, beads in her collar and hair, and beads round her head and at the bottom of her wingtips. I think that she looks good now, but will look even better when she is really finished.
I did start the next angel, but having had to frog every stitch that I'd done twice, firstly because I'd not read the instructions properly, and secondly because the blending filament was not co-operating despite a liberal coating of Thread Heaven, I gave it up as a bad job. The current plan is to start again at a different point on the chart to avoid total frustration, so hopefully I will have something to show.
This is a not very good photo of my new start, April. The ecru is not standing out from the sand coloured linen very well, so I am hoping that when I backstitch it, that will make it pop. I had to start this twice as well. The first time I was using two threads over two, but the coverage was not what I wanted, so I had to frog and re-start with three threads. It's going to use a lot more thread than I am used to, and as I had to 'borrow' some skeins from other projects, I can see some thread purchasing in the not too distant future.
Last but not least, Train of Dreams. This benefited from my frustration with the angels as I got a whole block stitched last night. Today I stitched the two whole and one partial blocks required to finish column 3 and got a few stitches in at the top of column 4. So good progress this week.
In other news, I maintained at Slimming World last week, so am still weighing in at 11 stone, 12lb. There are two factors at play here. Firstly, although I like eating, I don't like cooking - to me it seems a waste of time that could be spent doing other things. That is why I eat a lot of pasta - it's quick and easy, and it doesn't matter if you don't stir it all the time.
The second factor is the time of year. Once the clocks go back, I tend to suffer from seasonal depression, and for me symptoms include tiredness, apathy and a generally negative viewpoint. I do have a daylight lamp at home, which does help, but I work in an office with no natural light, and that doesn't! So things which require a positive effort, like slimming, become much harder this time of year. Stitching helps, because I have to concentrate on what I'm doing and therefore am not thinking negative thoughts. And every year is different, some better and some worse. At this point though, there's a long way to go before the sun comes back, so please bear with me.
All the best to you and yours, and may the frog keep well clear of your stitching!
The Met Office are promising us gale force winds and associated havoc, so I've battened down the hatches and will wait and see!
In the meantime, I have stitching to show you.
This is the snowman ornament for my youngest niece. I went for a singing snowman because she would like to sing in the school choir. Another quick start and finish for me - started on 21st and finished on 25th October. Now I just need to get my iron back from my sister so that I can wash, press and finish finish both ornaments.
Moving on to Serena, she now has both wings, eyes and a mouth. There is some more back-stitching to do on her gown, but I have finally decided to leave all the beading to the end. That way, the process can only drive me mad once and I only get the one opportunity to drop beads all over the floor instead of four! Now that Serena is nearly finished, she's looking quite pretty. I am now tossing up between Grace and Angelique for my next angel.
Finally on the stitching progress front, here is Train of Dreams. I got another three blocks done today and am now on the bottom page for this column. The green book is now completely finished and the next column will see me start on some new features.
I am however frustrated because I am having difficulty tracking down the fabric that I need for my next project. It is in an old issue of Cross Stitch Gold dating back to August 2002 and calls for 28 count Zweigart Cashel linen in beige. In the magazine it looks a sort of sandy colour, but there is no number listed to help me identify it on the Zweigart website. I confess that I am a bit OCD about this sort of thing - I need to be using the right fabric and threads, and find it difficult to make changes to projects.
On a brighter note, I lost 0.5lb last week, so still heading in the right direction, and am now down to 11 stone 11lb. Unfortunately there is likely to be cake or sweets this week as two of my colleagues had birthdays while they were on leave last week.
It still seems to be quite quiet outside but I am going to call it a day and turn in. All the best to you and yours, and may the frog steer well clear of your stitching.
Despite the distinct downturn in the weather which makes me want to crawl under the covers and stay there, I have another finish to report!
Bouquet 6 is finished!!!
So I can now show you all six Bouquet pieces together. As soon as I get my iron back from my sister, these will be washed, pressed and made up into cards which will hopefully sell at our Marie Curie coffee morning next month. I will have a photo of the finished finished pieces in due course.
Moving on to Serena, I have made some good progress here. She now has a wing, so just the other wing, the backstitch and the beading to go. I'm still not sure about when best to do the beading, and will need to make up my mind in the next week or so.
And last but not least, Train of Dreams. I am pleased to report that column 2 is now completed and column 3 has been started.
What else? Well, having lost 1.5lb unexpectedly last week, I put it back on again this week. I'm not worried about this - I have had a vile cold which is still lingering slightly, and consequently was not exactly concentrating on what I was eating.
I meant to show you the stash that I received from Ebay this week, but forgot to take a photo so will have to do that next week.
Having finished the Bouquet series, I have my next project already set up. As Christmas is beginning to loom over the horizon, I have chosen the pieces for my nieces' tree ornaments and will soon be starting work on a couple of musical snowmen. After that, Mum has reminded me that two of the Patchwork ladies are celebrating birthdays with a 0 on the end next year. We are not making them quilts as they have so many of their own already. Instead we are making 12" bound blocks representing the months of the year to be presented with a hanger so that they can rotate them as appropriate. I have to stitch April for one lady and November for the other. Time to put my thinking cap on.
I can hear the rain on the windows again, so time to put the kettle on for a hot water bottle and then turn in. All the best to you and yours, and may the frog steer well clear of your stitching!
now - that is the big question!
Until I went down with a streaming cold in the last couple of days, I was making good progress on Serena, the first of my four Just Nan angels. She still needs wings, back stitching and beading though. My question is this - on the basis that I have three more angels to stitch on this piece of linen, should I bead each angel as I complete her, or would I be better off waiting until I've done all four and then bead the whole lot at the same time? Some advice would be very much appreciated as this is a whole new ball game to me.
Although I can't work on a complicated piece like Serena with a cold, I can work on Train. I got another two blocks done this morning between loads of laundry, taking about 2.5 hours. All being well, my next session on this will see me finish column 2 and start column 3.
I've also made good progress on Bouquet 6. The bottom of the piece is now complete. It just needs flowers, leaves and back stitching. With any luck, another couple of weeks should see this done and I can start work on Christmas ornaments for my nieces. So I ought to start wading through my magazines now for suitable pieces.
I also had a successful Ebay session this week - specific old cross stitch magazines that I've been wanting for ages, two Teresa Wentzler charts, two Valerie Pfeiffer charts, a Just Nan chart with charms and a Design Works kit. An array of interesting parcels should be arriving at work for me over the next week :-) I'll hopefully be able to show you my haul in my next post.
What else? I've had a lovely week off (apart from my cold) - lunch out with my sister and nieces when the schools were on strike, lie-ins when it was raining, both the new books I was after being in the shop rather than having to order them in, and also miracle of miracles, a 1.5lb weight loss despite coffee mornings, parties, lunch out etc. The only drawback is that when I drag my cold-ridden self into work tomorrow, the chances are that I won't be able to see my desk for files and from past experience I may not even be able to sit on my chair without having to move some files first.
Right, I am going to dose myself, set my alarm clock and go to bed. All the best to you and yours, and may the frog stay away from your stitching.
And it's too damn hot! The temperature gauge in my toolbar says 30 degrees at gone 7.30pm, so I won't be getting much sleep tonight! I can only hope that the air conditioning is working properly for Kate - not the best of days to be having a baby!
I think that this is the second time this year that WIPocalypse and IHSW have come together, so here goes with the update.
Starting with a finish, here is Bouquet 3, which as with the previous two, looks so much better with the backstitch done.
Having finished the third piece, I moved onto No. 4 in the Bouquet series. This will be a blue teapot with flowers coming out of the top when it is done.
Next up is Serena, my first Guardian Angel. Her skirt is now finished apart from the central panel, which is backstitch and beading, and will have to wait til last. The next section will be her collar and her head, with the wings coming in after that. I am enjoying this, but it certainly requires more concentration than some of the other pieces.
And finally Carnation - I am now onto row 4 and enjoying every minute of it. I'm thinking that if I really put some effort into this, I could get page 4 finished for my birthday at the end of September. What do you reckon?
In other news, I lost another lb this week, bringing me down to 12 stone 5lb, so a total weight loss of 3.5 lb. The hot weather doesn't really help because I don't really feel like eating, let alone cooking.
Mum has been back to her consultant about her heart. He is not very concerned, but she is having a couple of tests done to check things out before they discuss whether or not she is going to have a procedure done. She is very much "I told you so" about it, so I'm keeping schtum about it.
Other than that, things seem to be fairly positive (if you like sport - I'm not that keen) and fingers crossed for a happy healthy royal baby and a happy healthy Kate. And for the rest of you, may your needles stay sharp and your thread never tangle, and your stitching keep you smiling!
We British always talk about the weather - and at the moment we do indeed have something to talk about. I know that for many of our American and other overseas cousins, temperatures in the high 20s are nothing to go on about, but for us temperate British types, it is indeed hot, hot, hot! And I will confess to not liking it at all. I'm not keen on extremes of temperature, but at least with minus figures, you can just put on more layers. When its like this, there is only so much that you can take off without getting arrested :-)
However, as it was so hot these past few days and I had Friday off, I stopped in most of the weekend and stitched.
Taking it from the top, here is Bouquet 3. The bottom of this piece is now complete bar the back stitch, and I am one flower down and four to go. It's still not ringing my bells, but I've started it so I will finish it!
Next up is Serena, the first of four Just Nan Guardian Angels, my first piece on linen. She now has both arms, so the next job is to complete her skirt, bar the central section which is beading and backstitch. Progress is slow but satisfying.
And finally another minor happy dance! Yes, that is row 2 of page 4 of Carnation complete. I'm enjoying this page because it seems to be moving on so quickly, and as usual it looks so good in the photo.
What else? Last week was not a good week weight-wise as I put on 1.5lb - must try harder. The boss is off this week, which will hopefully mean that I manage to get some of those "oh, I'll do it in my spare time" jobs done, like the backlog of archiving that needs seeing to. I also have a funeral to go to - one of my neighbours, but it is also Patchwork Group that night, which should cheer me up a bit afterwards.
Anyway, I need to go and sort my tea out, so here's hoping its good stitching weather by you.
Where does the time go? How does it happen that we are already halfway through 2013? Looking back at my goals, I've hit a lot of my deadlines already - page 3 of Carnation, Turkish Challenge and Enchanted Garden. There are still a couple of items outstanding - finish Guardian Angels for Mum's birthday (this might have to be Christmas) and complete page 4 of Carnation by the end of the year.
I'm starting with Guardian Angels, a piece that you haven't seen for a while as I last worked on this at the beginning of December 2012. Recent work on this angel (Serena) includes one over one hands (definitely a learning curve), barred & crossed oblong crosses (the bit still being worked on in the photo), more Kreinik and more straight cross stitch. I'm getting back into this but there is still a long way to go, and I am seriously thinking about moving the deadline to Christmas.
Bouquet 3 is showing slow progress. For some reason, I'm not getting the urge to stitch at lunchtime and end up surfing the Net instead. I really must get a grip on this as it would be better for my eyes to have a break from the computer screen.
And finally a very, very minor happy dance. Row 1 of page 4 is finished and you can now see the whole width of Carnation! It really feels good to see where the edge is and to have a better idea of how it will look when finished. And as always it looks so much better in a photograph.
What more can I tell you? Well, I went and got weighed on Thursday and I had lost 2lb, which was a very nice surprise. I'm not good at telling if I've lost weight or not, so I'm always a bit dubious before I get on the scales.
The weather here is up and down as usual - we had a lovely sunny weekend, and then it went grey and wet and dodgy again. However the end of the week looks better so fingers crossed. I'm really quite tired tonight, so here's wishing you all warm and sunny days for your stitching.
Apologies that this is a few days late but I would have had nothing to show you if I had posted on Wednesday.
However this is my new start. It doesn't look like much now, but it will eventually be a bouquet of flowers poking out of a lurid pink watering can. I am hoping that it will look more attractive once it is finished and made up into a card. It is the first of six designs from a World of Cross Stitching magazine, which I am stitching for my Marie Curie group.
Moving on to Mum's angels, I have made some progress on Serena. There is a column of plaited stitch in DMC 3743, which required a lot of concentration to work correctly. There is also a column of normal cross stitch and some stitches at the bottom in 3042. The stitches at the bottom mark are the bottom edge of Serena's dress. I am not making the progress that I would like with this, mainly because I only work on it once the week's blocks on Carnation are done, but also because it is a bit scary with all the special stitches, the Kreinik threads and the beads, so I procrastinate about it.
Today saw another two blocks finished on Train of Dreams. The blue bell in the top right hand corner is starting to come in quite clearly now. This one is also a slow burn. Considering that I started it in mid August and have only done 2000 plus stitches (mainly on Sunday mornings between loads of laundry), I'm not really doing very well.
And then there is Carnation - another three blocks done and into row 4. This is the one that really matters to me - the one with a real deadline to hit - finishing page 3 by the second anniversary in May 2013.
And then there are all the other projects that I want to do - the Joan Elliott Renaissance ladies, Lesley Teare's recent bird series, my HAED purchases and so on and so forth. Looking forward into 2013, I also have to bear in mind that I need to sort out my niece's 5th birthday present and my piece for the Turkish Challenge. There just aren't enough hours in the day, especially when you work full-time.
Update - Dad is still not smoking and I'm so proud of him. Mum overheard him telling my uncle on the phone that you just smoke the last one and then don't buy any more! Love him to bits!
Despite the somewhat nasty weather we have been experiencing this week, I have a finish to share with you.
I'm pleased to be able to introduce you to Elf H, my Christmas 2012 ornament for my eldest niece. I stitched most of him at the Patchwork Group's Sewing Day earlier this week. The original motif to accompany the H was a robin, but I didn't like it so swapped in the Elf. The intention is to finish finish him and Snowman A into hanging ornaments backed with a cream fabric with golden stars which I bought a couple of weeks ago. Just how this is done will have to be discussed with Mum. I'll show you a photo when they are done.
Next up is Serena, the Guardian Angel. Work on this is progressing slowly due to the special stitches and the special threads. This week I learned how to do Crossed Rice Stitch and used Kreinik thread for the first time. The colours are not photographing brilliantly, but I will keep trying.
Some nice progress on Train of Dreams this week. I completed another two blocks and have started work on the blue bell in the top right hand corner. I'm currently thinking that the best plan is to work down the right hand side until I catch up with the left hand side. However things may change.
I got the usual three blocks done on Carnation, but they were finished earlier in the week than usual, thanks to having some time off work . This next week will see me into row 4 ahead of schedule thanks to the extra block that I managed last week.
Good news to report on the family front - Dad has given up smoking again. He had to see the doctor about his lung function test results because the nurse didn't understand them. It turns out that his bronchial tubes are now permanently narrowed due to all the years that he has smoked. Even using an inhaler only slightly improves his results. So on the way out of the surgery, he told Mum that he had given up. That was over a week ago and he has stuck to it. I'm really proud of him and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he manages to carry on.
Well, I have quite a lot to report this time. A finish, a finish finish and a new start.
"I'm Snowman A and I'm very pleased to meet you. I hope that you will soon be meeting my good friend, Elf H." So that is one 2012 Christmas ornament for my nieces off the blocks. The plan is to start Elf H during my lunch break tomorrow and then take him to Sewing Day on Thursday. The only change made to Snowman A is to backstitch the outline of the white areas to make him stand out better - he was designed to be stitched on pale blue aida rather than white.
The finish finish is Little Miss Gorgeous' Teddy stocking to go on her first Christmas tree. I'll give him a press before I send him off, but I think that he has come out nicely. Her parents love the Noah's Ark, so I think that they will appreciate this piece too.
This is not a good photo of my new start but as it is being stitched on 28 count white linen, I think that the fabric doesn't help with photos at this early stage. This is Just Nan's Serena, being the first of four angels that I am planning to stitch on one piece of linen in response to a request from my Mum. This is going to tick off a number of firsts for me - first piece on linen, first piece using special stitches, first piece using Kreinik threads - and second piece with beading. I'm using a 30 inch frame with my Lowery floor stand, so another BAP to join Carnation and Train.
Another block completed on Train and some good overlap into the block below. I lost the morning light again today due to having to make an early shopping trip to accommodate Mum's birthday tea, but still some progress made. Despite the issues of using 25 count fabric, I do like the way this looks and how close it is to the original picture.
Lovely progress on Carnation this week. In to row 3 and it was so nice and straightforward that I got four blocks done instead of my usual three. That puts me a tiny bit ahead of my deadline of finishing page 3 by the second anniversary.
So for this week coming, I have a Sewing Day with the Patchwork Group on Thursday. My plan is to take Elf H and crack on with him with the hope of getting both ornaments made up by the end of the month.
Hope all is well with you and yours, and that you are keeping snuggly warm in this wintry weather.
