Progress on the card.

Hello!

Hope everyone's having a good week. The weather here is DREADFUL! Wind and rain. I hate both together, 'cos you can't use an umbrella and I have to go out in a few minutes and get drenched and blown away. Sigh!

Anyway, here's what I've done so far on the anniversary card, which I hope everyone likes. There's a sparkly border in the new lilac iridescent DMC metallic thread as well as the usual back-stitching and even some beads to go on there too. Mounted in a nice, lilac card blank, it should be quite impressive, I hope!=)

Bookmark all finished

Here's the complete bookmark ready to be given to its new owner later on today or tomorrow morning. It has a lovely lilac coloured, felt backing which I think it's a shame you can't see. I would have preferred a lilac tassel with this one too, but you use what comes in the kit most of the time, right? Can't be fussed making cords and tassels at the mo. I make enough changes and so on already, without creating even more work for myself!!! I'm planning to start on that lovely butterflies and buddleia bookmark as soon as the current project is done, (no, I haven't done any of the dog yet. I wonder if that will ever truly be finished???).

I'm also already on with the 10th anniversary card and you can see the start of it here too. Hope to get at least a little bit more done on it over the w/e, but I'm not holding my breath, at least not until Sunday anyway.

Some Photos

Here's the latest on the Victorian Pansies bookmark as promised. I've done a bit more since I last mentioned it. In fact, the XS is almost completed and certainly will be this afternoon. I have LOADS of housework to do, but I'm having such a hard time sleeping at the, that I feel just too much like a zombie to manage much physical stuff. Ugh!

Also on display today are the latest buys. I won this blue tit XS kit on E-bay. Had to bid for it as I just love blue tits. Haven't a clue where or who to stitch it for, but I can't resist the things!!! Alongside that is the 17" R&R Craft frame which I really need for larger hardanger things such as cushions and so on that are really too big to fit in the 14" one. Speaking of which, the green #5 pearl cotton is for the cushion that I started and goofed, thus having to take most of it out again. I needed another skein so that there's going to be enough to finish it!! And I will count very carefully this time, you can be sure of it! The fabric is ½ metre of antique white Jobelan (28ct) which is to be for the bird XS pics for our bedroom.

A Start on Something...

....but not the dog!! Well, I have got the RSN book out again and I went through the bag of threads for the dog too, making sure they were all there and throwing out scrag ends of thread that had found their way in there. Anyway, my appointment with Mr Woofer isn't until tomorrow....

I made a start on the Victorian Pansies bookmark. There's quite a lot of stitching involved in this one, so I wanted to make sure and have it done in time, esp. as it often seems to take me yonks to get around to sewing these things up as well!=( Hmmmm. Well, I haven't got yonks this time, so need to get my finger out. I've been feeling unwell the past few days with a recurring viral thingy-whatsit, so I just couldn't cope with the compexities of the dog, so a bit of XS was just what the doctor, (i.e. me!), ordered. I've done the main x-stitching on the plentiful border. There's a fair amount of backstitch and so on to do in there as well, which is next up. Doesn't look very interesting so far, but it will improve soon!!

Stash'n'dog

Here are the goodies I got from Stitch Direct the other day. They are reliable, Shell, I've never had anything go astray, but they are nothing like as quick as the likes of SewandSo, (I use Tandem Cottage - cheaper and free P&P over £20, but take a day or two). This order took around 10 days. So, order well ahead of the time you need the stuff. Using the website gets you free P&P too....=)

These are the kits that I've bought of late. I'm going to do the 3 musical cats separately rather than all together, but it was cheaper to get it this 'chart only' version from a US on-line store as and I have more than enough fabric and thread!!!) The birds one is one of 5 things I plan to do for our bedroom to frame and hang when it's redecorated after our imminent complete re-wire! Dunno who's gonna get the blackwork design, but I couldn't resist bagging the bargain on E-bay. The bookmarks are already designated for friends. It's the 'Victorian Pansies' (bottom one on the pic) that is to be done in the next couple of weeks. There's rather a lot of stitching on both of them though.

Lili, here are the Anchor patterns I was referring to, for ring cushion designs. The bookmarks aren't by Anchor, they're from Donna M Olsen's Satin Stitches range, which really aren't suitable unless a stitcher has a fair amount of experience with hardanger. Even then I needed to find out how to do the complex filling stitch on the white one from The Anchor Book of Hardanger. I've never seen the Olsen patterns anywhere either, they were sent from the US in exchange games. Anchor ones from SewandSo.

The dog. Yes, it's rather a colourless piece and, I'm a child, I love bright, colourful things. Also, it's a tricky project, esp. as I'm about to do the eyes...... If I mess this up, (I've already stitched and un-picked them once), then I lose the whole thing. The eyes are always the main focus with an animal or person. It's thread painting/silk shading, so no comfortable chart to refer to, just the photo in The Royal School of Needlework's Embroidery Techniques. So, those are the reasons why this one has been avoided so long. Need to get it done and off my conscience though as it's long been promised and is already more than 2 years over-due. Eeek! Disgraceful!