And its been a lovely weekend again, so I'm feeling positive and I have a stitching show to look forward to next weekend, so all is well with my world!
For this month's WIPocalypse, Measi asked us to show our favorite stitching spot.
This is my sofa where I do most of my stitching - the other end is covered in stitching clutter and is not fit to be seen. The bluey-greeny fabric on the right is covering up Guardian Angels, and Corgi is kept in the dark blue bag below it. My Lowery floor stand is on the right, holding Carnation covered in a spare pillowcase. Out of sight is the folding chair that I sit on to work on pieces on my stand. All my bits for Carnation are kept in the bag at the right. Both bags come from family history conferences and Train is kept in another such bag. I have two family history conferences this year so am hoping to come home with more bags to put stitching projects in. The zebra cushion is made up from a piece of stitching which took me about 15 years to complete - my longest standing UFO.
This piece hasn't had much attention for a while, but now that Wedding is finished, I took Mouse & Robin to Patchwork Group and stitched the holly leaves at the bottom right.
April is working the headless horseman scenario. Next up is the watering can, followed by her head and wings. Then will come the back stitch and finally the lettering.
Corgi is coming on. The grey stitching on the left is part of the background and there are less than 20 stitches to go before I hit the left hand edge.
Finally some progress to report on Angelique. If you look very very closely at the bottom of her dress, you will see 34 one block Algerian eyes stitched with one strand of DMC white. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will show up better when the back stitching has been done.
Carnation has suffered from evening commitments this week - the ballet, Patchwork Group and babysitting for a colleague. However I have managed to finish one block and therefore row 12 is complete! I am also two thirds of the way to my monthly target - 4 blocks complete out of 6.
Train of Dreams got the benefit of the lovely morning sunshine today and is now two blocks further into column 5. That makes 4.5 blocks out of 6 for this month.
In other news, I put on 0.5lb this week (Chinese takeaway etc) so am back to 11 stone 6.5lb. However, easy on is generally easy off so I just need to try a little harder this week.
I'm going to finish now as this is the second time of typing (Blogger ate most of my first post), so all the best to you and yours and may the frog steer well clear of your stitching.
Well, I survived my first full week back in the office after the festivities, but it seemed very long and I was very glad when Friday came round. I also went back to Pilates after three weeks off, and the teacher was not gentle with us. Hope that you had a good week yourselves.
Things have gone reasonably well on the stitching front this week.
It was Patchwork Group on Thursday so I worked on Mouse & Robin by Margaret Sherry, as this is the only WIP that I have at the moment that is either not for a member of the group or too big to carry around. The robin now needs his legs (fractional stitches on aida are a pain) and the pink stitches are the mouse's toes. It still looks a bit odd, but not quite as odd as it did last time you saw it.
Please accept my apologies for this picture. I finished the back stitch on this section of April and forgot to take a photo before taking it round to Mum's for help in moving the fabric so that I can work on the angels. I find that you get a better tension if there are two sets of hands involved in the stretching. So, starting on the left hand angel tomorrow before work!
My last update this week is on Carnation. I've done another two blocks and, as you can see, have also done quite a bit on the next row down. I really like taking progress pictures of this piece because you get a far better idea of the development of the picture from a photo than you do when you are right up close and personal with the actual work.
Nothing to report on Angelique or Train of Dreams this week. This is because I had arranged a day out with my friend today, and so Sunday chores such as laundry and grocery shopping had to be rescheduled. I have not got my friend's wedding present sorted out yet either, because I need to work out the size and font of lettering to go underneath the heart motif. However progress must be made!!
On the weight loss front, last week was a busted flush. On the bright side, my weight gain was just 0.5lb and I am hoping that walking into, around and back from town today may have had an impact on that. I have promised myself that this year I am going to get a grip on all sorts of things - stitching, family history, weight loss, clutter clearing, going places and so on and so forth! I may however need a shove or a swift kick in the rear now and again, so if I look like I'm slacking, please do not hesitate to let me know!
All the best to you and yours, and may the frog steer well clear of your stitching!
This is becoming a bit of a habit, combining my WIPocalypse and IHSW reports - obviously the full moon likes to hermit and stitch too. However I wouldn't say that it has been a particularly productive weekend. I do have some stitching to show you, but not a lot.
This is my new start - "Mouse & Robin" by Margaret Sherry - a cover kit from World of Cross Stitching. I realised that I needed something small to take to Patchwork Group this week. I couldn't take April as that is for one of the other members, and everything else is either too big or takes up too much space. I'm not enjoying this - I have remembered why I don't like cover kits - the fabric is too small and the threads are poor quality. However I'm sure that I will be able to find a home for it once it is finished.
Speaking of April, it is coming on quite nicely. The only problem is that the linen is dragging down to the right hand side. I have tried taking it off the frame and putting it back on, but it hasn't made any difference. I am hoping that this is an issue which will be rectified once the piece is finished, washed and pressed.
Finally, Train of Dreams. Not a lot of progress this week - one block and three rows of the next block - but that is better than nothing.
It's been one of those blurgh weeks where getting out of bed and dragging myself to work has been an achievement. Actually doing anything non-essential has more or less gone by the wayside - which is why no progress on the Angels.
On the weight front, I put on another 1lb this last week. People keep leaving munchies on the desk behind me - if they were at the other end of the room, they would be so much easier to resist!
The weather man is now proffering sub-zero temperatures and possible snow in the near future, so I may have to succumb and put my central heating on soon.
I'm sorry that this has been a bit of a whinge this week. What can I write that is positive - I made a casserole in my slow cooker this week and I unexpectedly had tea at my sister's tonight with hugs and kisses from my nieces.
Right, time to put the kettle on for my hot water bottle. All the best to you and yours, and may the frog steer well clear of your stitching.
