Quick and Slow Stitching

Posted on February 13, 2019 by

A couple of weeks ago Faby Reilly released a free pattern for Valentine’s Day, a very cute little heart. I love Faby’s cross-stitch designs, having stitched quite a few now. I nearly didn’t stitch it, thinking I’ve done a few Valentine ones this year… then I started to see it stitched on facebook..!

It is a very quick design to stitch as it’s just back-stitch, lazy-daisy, french knots and spider web stitch. I started it whilst cooking tea at about 6pm one evening, after tea I carried on stitching, I had about a half hour break when my son came round and it was finished by 9pm! So probably less than two hours actual stitching time!

Faby Reilly Valentine Heart

I think it took longer to finish it! I found some fabric in my stash which matched it beautifully colourwise, both with the straw background and the different shades of red. I’m still not sure if it isn’t too busy though. It needed a bit of a border round as it is pretty small, more scissor fob size. I fancied putting some ricrac round it but I didn’t have the right shade so I made some cord using two of the DMC threads and then couched it round with a cross-stitch every five stitches, I added a bead at the same time which just adds a bit of sparkle and co-ordinates it with the heart. I made enough to go round the edge too but I decided it was enough. I’ve added it to my February smalls, just in time for Valentines Day.

Cross-stitch smalls

I’ve also been stitching my mandala, this is definitely slow, relaxing stitching. I’ve finished the second ring and I’m now working my way round the outer circle with little buttonhole circles and spider-web stitches. I love the way it’s turning out. I’ve run out of a couple of colours but I know it’s due to my stitching, not the amount the company have provided. I find it easier to do a neat stem stitch like a back-stitch, so I come out ahead and then go back under, tucking in under the previous stitch. I find it easier but it does use at least twice as much thread as you can see from the photo of the back. (I’m feeling very brave here, I don’t think I’ve ever shown the back of my work before!!)

back of mandala

Hopefully I’ll manage to get some more pink thread at the weekend and be able to crack on and finish this one, then I just need to decide what to do with it. I’ll try to get some daylight photos for the happy dance post too!

Embroidered Mandala
Posted in embroidery, Smalls of the Month | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Making Progress Down the Rabbit Hole

Posted on February 10, 2019 by

I finally feel I’m getting somewhere with the quilting of my Down the Rabbit Hole quilt. The little rows of houses seemed to take for ever to quilt and weren’t particularly easy to quilt either as they are paper pieced. This is where I was three weeks ago, I was doing a mini happy dance for finishing those houses…

Three weeks later and I think I’ve made reasonable progress!

I stitched rays of sunshine from each sunflower at the corners of the houses border. I also stitched in the ditch along the purple border. I did make a slight boob here as I was stitching the rays in an ivory colour to blend in with the background so I carried on round the purple border in the same thread until I met the next sunflower. This was fine until I reached a section I’d obviously done before when I was bored of houses..stitched in purple! Luckily the backing fabric is so quietly busy you can’t see the stitching patterns anyway, never mind the colours!

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Having finally finished the houses border I could move onto the rest of the sunflowers. I decided to continue the theme of rays of sunshine, it’s easy to quilt and I think it’s quite effective. As these rays were going to be significantly longer I wanted to mark them properly, so I manoevred the quilt onto my cutting table and used a hera marker to make a mark. It gives just enough of a shiny line to be able to follow. I’ve almost finished the first sunflower, I’ve just got the shorter inner ones to do. I’m enjoying this section as I’m finding it easier to get a neat stitch as I haven’t got the bulk of fabric to get through. Once these rays are complete I can stitch in the ditch round the narrow border to the next one.

I haven’t quite decided how to quilt the Dresden flowers, but I’m thinking of echoing the shape or quilting in the ditch on the actual flower. I think I need an echo of some kind round the whole flower maybe an inch out as otherwise the rays of sunshine are getting rather far apart. from a quilting coverage point of view.

The straight lines you can see are the basting lines, I’m undoing these as I go and the holes are gradually closing. I think once it’s washed at the end (which having been a few years in the making it will definitely need!) they will pretty much disappear.I’m hoping to make better progress with quilting now I’m on an easier border, I’m certainly enjoying it more. It’s much easier to handle now too as I’m not so much in the middle of the quilt.

Hand Quilt Along Links
This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Lori, Margaret, Kerry, Emma, Tracy, Deb, Connie, Susan,  Nanette,  Edith, Sharon, Karrin, and Gretchen

I’m also linking up with Kathy’s Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday, a weekly celebration of hand-stitching. Why not follow the link to see even more hand-stitching..

Posted in Down The Rabbit Hole, Quilt-a-long, Quilting | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Coming Home

Posted on February 8, 2019 by

I’ve just finished the first block of Sarah Fielke’s 2019 BOM, it’s called Coming Home. It’s a gorgeous design with lots of cottages and trees on. It’s the second quilt I’ve made of Sarah’s, the first being Down the Rabbit Hole, which I am still hand-quilting. Sarah’s quilts are a great way to learn needle-turn applique as it always features quite heavily on her designs.

I’ve started with a box of fabrics in soft teal, grey, purple and peach, I’ve also got background fabrics in light grey and teal, though I’ve already had to add to them!

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It’s a medallion quilt so we’re starting in the middle with eight pieced cottages. It took some careful cutting and sewing to get those windows square, they’re pretty small!

Our applique homework was five circles. These can be quite tricky to get neat but Sarah’s method of using tinfoil wraps works a treat. I fussy cut mine to have a sprig of flowers in each one and then hand sewed them round.

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I was originally planning to use one of the background fabrics next to the houses but it just looked too dark. I tried plain fabrics in cream and very pale blue but they look too stark. Then I remembered one from my Splendid Sampler stash, it’s ivory with a tiny soft grey sprig, perfect!

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The block went together fairly easily, it just needed concentration and plenty of time when I wouldn’t be interrupted or rushed. I found my block book very helpful in holding various components safe whilst I worked on another area. I’m pretty pleased with how the colours have worked out so far and my points look OK too…and even more important, it’s exactly the right finished size, ready for the next border.

It’s now sat patiently waiting in my quilt block book for part two to be released at the very end of the month.

Posted in Coming Home Quilt, Quilt-a-long, Quilting | Tagged , | 16 Comments

UFO Time

Posted on February 7, 2019 by

I’ve been trying to have a bit of a sort out at home, including my sewing room. Whilst mooching through boxes I found an embroidery I did years ago, 1988 to be precise, I know that because luckily I embroidered my name and the year at the bottom. So it’s been sitting in my sewing box for thirty years waiting to be made into something!

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I seem to remember this was a Dimensions kit, one of those with a picture printed onto fabric which you then embellished with embroidery. My mum did exactly the same one, her version was put in a fire screen which now lives with us!

The embroidery isn’t perfect but I’ve got to the point with various unused items like this that I either make something or it goes! I decided to make a cushion.

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The embroidery is oblong so my original plan was to add a side border to square it up and make a 16″ cushion. The design already had a printed side border so adding another one would fit in. I even sent my OH out to a fabric shop to buy a pad! I found a fat quarter from my stash that matched pretty well both in terms of colour and style. However I discovered that to square it up the borders would actually be pretty narrow, I looked at making it oblong the other way, but I then felt I lost some of the design in the curve of the cushion.

I found another co-ordinating fabric! I stitched the first pair of borders on either side. I then added a 2″ border on all four sides in the darker green. It framed it nicely. There was also enough of the dark green to back the cushion. By this time it was a lot bigger than 16″, it was more like a slightly oblong 20″! As it happens I had just, the day before, put an unused IKEA 20″ cushion pad in a box for charity, on the grounds that I never make cushions that big!! I retrieved it from said box!

I’ve made the back with a pillowcase opening, it seems to happily stay closed without any buttons etc. I popped the cushion pad in, it will need replacing when I next go to Skipton as it’s a pretty thin pad, but it will suffice for now.

It looks great on the sofa in the conservatory, not too big either!

Posted in Crafts, Home | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Nineteen for 19

Posted on February 6, 2019 by

We’re already well into the first week of February, so I thought I’d better see how I fared in January with my nineteen challenges for 2019…

…I think I’ve made a reasonable start!

  • 1 Scrap Quilt; nothing as yet but I am collecting ideas and making plans – I probably just need to set too and make blocks instead of plans!
  • 2 Tutorials; nothing here either.
  • 3 sessions in the garden; I’ve managed this most weeks in January, and my garden is looking tidier for it!
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  • 4 workshops; I’ve booked two for May and June at Fabbadashery, ones a hand embroidery one and the other is to make Harold the Hare, a mixed media, machine embroidered picture. I’m quite excited about this one as I’ve admired Harold for some time!
  • 5 presents; I made a baby quilt for my niece who is due next week so she hasn’t seen it yet, but I’m counting it in January as I’ve finished it.
  • 6 quilts; One baby quilt finished already! My Spring Wreath quilt will hopefully be finished around May but by then I also need to make another quilt, I’ve been asked to make one for a charity auction. The Splendid Sampler quilt hopefully won’t be far behind either…
  • 7 new patterns; none as yet but I am planning a good sort out of my pattern stash.
  • 8 kits; I stitched my bobbin garden kit and I’m half way through a mandala, so one so far.
Sewing room cushion; www.thecraftycreek.com
  • 9 mini embroideries; we all received our new travelling sketchbook to cover and start ready for the February meeting, so I’ll be stitching one a month at least for a while.
  • 10 things; I made a quilt block book for my Coming Home quilt.
  • 11 cross-stitch smalls; I made a good start with three stitched this month, I’ve another another one which just needs finishing too.
  • 12 pages in my book; this is going to be quite a special textile book as I’m including all the pieces of handwokr I found when clearing my mums house, both finished and unfinished. I’m still making plans in my head.
  • 13 clothes made; I thought I’d made a dress in January, then I realised I sneaked it into December!
  • 14 drawers organised; I’ve started organising my machine embroidery threads, having bought a few from Raggedy Ruff designs for my Spring Wreath quilt BOM I now have quite a few, so they have a box to themselves. I’ve also started sorting my cross-stitch patterns, I must have dozens on my computer which I’ve either bought or found freebies, as I can’t easily see the picture I forget about them, so I’ve started printing them off and putting them into a file. I’m classing this as one completed.
  • 15 minutes tidying at the end of a sewing session. I can’t say I do this every night, but I am getting much better at having a quick tidy up, hanging things back on my peg board and clearing the cutting table.
  • 16 books; One read and almost finished the second, so a good start. I read A Golden Thread which was fascinating, all about the history of textiles through the ages. I’m now re-reading West With the Night by Beryl Markham, which I’ll tell you about when I’ve finished it.
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  • 17 blogs a month; I wrote 19 posts in January, which I was pleased about as I haven’t got the weekly photo challenge now.
  • 18 walks; I’ve had a good start here too, I’ve been on three walks, only about 5 miles each, but it’s enough at this time of year. I’ve walked on the Chevin twice and round Fewston reservoir once. It’s nice to get out and have a bit of fresh air.
  • 19 Splendid Sampler Blocks; I completed another four this month, so I’ve got twenty made altogether, all pieced, sandwiched and quilted.

So all in all, not a bad start to 2019!

Posted in embroidery, Nineteen for 19, Quilting | Tagged | 9 Comments

February Windows

Posted on February 5, 2019 by

Wild Daffodil is organising a monthly photo challenge with one theme all year, windows, so here’s another little collection of photos;

English Garden

This photo of the garden last summer reminds me that I really need to fix the window on the summerhouse – the door fell off in a storm and broke the glass, I’ve got two sheets of perspex sitting in the conservatory waiting to be fitted!

The window fittings at Blackwell House near Windermere were all individual, lots of beautiful designs typical of the Arts and Crafts movement. I visited last year with my Embroiderers Guild and enjoyed a fascinating guided tour.

Catbells

This was the view from the dining room window of our hotel in Keswick when we did our four lakes walk a couple of years ago. It is, of course, my favourite fell, Catbells!

The Old Barn

The windows on this old red barn are appliqued and embroidered. It is one of the blocks of the Anderson Farm quilt, I hadn’t mastered needle-turn applique at that point so I think they are bondawebbed on and stitched down.

Why not follow the link to Wild Daffodil and see else is sharing lots of window photos.

Posted in Photo Challenge | Tagged | 6 Comments

Monday’s Meander Round the Garden

Posted on February 4, 2019 by

We’ve had hoar frosts and a smattering of snow this week, not weather conducive to gardening, luckily today it’s warmed up a bit and everything has thawed.

The little patch of snowdrops by the pond is looking very pretty. A few stately homes round here open their gardens at this time of year for people to see the snowdrops. My WI is off to Goldsborough Hall in a couple of weeks time and they have a huge display.

Winter garden

For me, this time of year is all about hope, winter is passing, the days are getting noticeably longer and there’s shoots appearing all over the garden, bulbs, perennials and buds on trees. They may only be small, but they’re starting, spring will soon be here! These big red buds are the shoots of a peony.

Winter garden

There’s a few shrubs putting on a quiet, understated display at the moment, they are all the more appreciated at this time of year. The skimmia is in the Amber and Amethyst garden with it’s tiny coral coloured buds…

Winter garden

Hebe’s a great at all times of the year, there’s the flowers in the summer and the foliage the rest of the year. I’ve got several of diffent sizes and colours. This one has reddish-purple tinge to it’s leaves and will (hopefully) be covered in purple flowers in the summer.

Winter garden

Looking at the garden from upstairs at this year really shows the bare structure and plan of the garden, what it doesn’t show is everything that’s happening underneath 🙂

Winter garden
Posted in Garden | Tagged | 9 Comments

The Finery of Nature

Posted on February 3, 2019 by

Three weeks ago I finally finished by Tall Year Square etui, so it was time to start a new project for the stitch-a-long. I decided on a kit which will take a while to do but which I hope is straight forward enough for me to do in short spells such as whilst I’m cooking tea or having my morning coffee.

At Embroiderers Guild we have a sales table, anything a member no longer wants can be put on the table, and anyone can have it for a donation to the Guild. A few months ago I spotted this cross-stitch kit, it’s by Dimensions and it’s called The Finery of Nature. I popped a donation in the pot and it was mine!

The Finery of Nature

I liked the nature theme with it’s birds and butterflies, the flowers also reminded me of the medieval style tapestries, I think they’re called mille-fleurs. The only thing I didn’t like was the black aida, mainly because it’s so difficult to work with, but that was easy to sort out.

I chose a soft blue-green permin 32 count linen called sapphire. Hopefully it will work OK with the design. It took me quite a while to sort the threads out as there were four bundles to identify. I sorted them into colours so I have a card of blues and greens, one of reds and oranges and a third one of neutrals. So far it’s working pretty well. There’s a few different stitches in this design too, apart from the usual cross and back-stitch, there’s french knots, cording and couching too. Some of the french knots are with thicker thread too to make them stand out. It all adds interest!

The Finery of Nature

I’m working the quarter with the little bird first, I think he’d a chickadee. As you can see I’ve stitched the violets at the bottom and I’m just working up the stem to be able to start the bird. I’m aiming to back-stitch as I go along but there’s also quite a bit of gold thread used both for back-stitch, cording and couched stitches. I might leave that until the end as I’m using a hoop and I’m concerned about the couched and corded stitches in particular being damaged. I could change over to a frame, but the hoop is one of those you sit on whilst you stitch, so it’s easy, convenient and I can stitch with both hands so it’s quicker.

The Finery of Nature

This stitch-a-long is organised by Avis from Stitching by the Sea, we all choose our own projects and just share our progress every three weeks. It’s a great motivator to keep going! We’ve got two new members today too, welcome to Carmela and Jocelyn, please follow the links and see what everyone else has been stitching.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Kate, Jess, Sue, Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Catherine, Deborah, Connie, Clare, Mary Margaret, Renee, Jenny, Carmela, Jocelyn

Posted in embroidery, Stitch-a-long | Tagged , , | 29 Comments

A Bird in the Hand..

Posted on February 2, 2019 by

I’ve got two embroidery projects on the go at the moment, well actually I’ve got three, but one is my new stitch-a-long piece so you’ll have to wait til tomorrow to see that one.

At one of the big shows last year I saw a stall selling embroidery kits for mandalas, luckily they had samples stitched on display as I must admit if I had only seen the image on the packet I wouldn’t have bought it. It’s a french company called Chat Dans l’Aiguille and both the colours and the designs are beautiful.

I popped it in my bag a couple of weeks ago when I was going to Embroiders Guild, just in case I had chance to start it, I did!

Mandala

It’s lovely to stitch, the transfer is printed in pink on the fabric and so far I’ve used stem, chain, buttonhole stitch and french knots. The diagram telling me which stitch and colour to use is nice and clear, I’m finding it a really relaxing stitching project, the word mindfullness comes to mind! I’m tempted to do some more as I remembered I already have a book of mandala designs, I’m just hesitating as I’m not sure what you can do with them apart from hoop art or maybe a cushion.

Embroidered Mandala

I hope no one is offended by my next project, there is a bit of a trend in cross-stitch at the moment called subversive cross-stitch. It’s not my cup of tea at all as it’s basically stitching phrases with swear words. I’m not saying that the occasional expletive doesn’t pass my lips at times, but there’s something about reading the words that I really don’t like, whether it’s in books, memes or cross-stitch. However…this one made me smile and actually it’s more double meanings rather than blatant profanities!

It’s our twelfth wedding anniversary in March and over the last couple of years I’ve started a bit of a tradition of stitching a card. I’ve done hearts etc, I wanted something a bit different. I saw a design on Etsy of two birds, but it was only available as a kit and I think it will have been a little big for a card. I found a similar pattern on Etsy from a different designer of a smaller bird which conveniently she provided in reverse too, perfect for my plan…

Here in the UK we have lots of little garden birds called tits, bluetits, coaltits, long tailed tits and great tits. They visit our garden most days and regularly nest in our bird boxes too.

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Blue tits in our garden

My OH grew up in Australia and I think has only really learnt to identify British birds since meeting me. I’m not sure if it’s the school boy in him or what but I’m sure I still detect a slight smirk every time we see great tits in the garden!

I started stitching this in the clinic at the local hospital waiting for a mammogram (nothing to worry about by the way) which I couldn’t decide was apt or inappropriate! I positioned one bird a couple of stitches higher than the other and also made his ‘beard’ a bit longer, I think the males have a longer beard than the females. All I had to do then was join the two branches together, I also added a couple of tiny black beads to give their eyes a bit of a sparkle.

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I finished the stitching a couple of evenings later, I just need to make it up now so it can be on the front of a card and used as an ornament later. I think it’ll make him laugh!

I’ll be linking up with Kathy’s Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday, please follow the link for more hand-stitching.

Posted in embroidery, Serendipity | Tagged , , | 28 Comments

February Smalls

Posted on February 2, 2019 by

Yesterday I changed my little display of cross-stitch smalls with the beginning of the new month.I’m rather enjoying putting together these little groups, deciding which can stay and which to change. They’re all together of a burr elm bowl, which isn’t perfect shape wise as it isn’t really deep enough, but I love having a use for such a beautiful piece of wood.

This months smalls predictably have a valentine’s theme running through them, although luckily it’s not all red!

The snowdrop one is the only one to stay over from January as they are all just coming into flower at the moment. I made this one last winter. It was a very old cross-stitch that actually said lily, I thought they look much more like snowdrops so I unpicked it and changed it.

Cross-stitch snowdrop

I made three valentine themed ones last month…

Cross-stitch smalls

Of course the February small from the Snowflake Diaries set is out, this is one of my favourites with a pair of mallard ducks.

Joyful World February cross-stitch

The little red one on the left is one I made years ago, like about twenty years ago! I seem to remember it was a Just Nan kit. I was so pleased with it at the time I made my mum one as a present. She hung it on my dad’s carriage clock handle and it was still there when we cleared her house, so I have two versions now!

Cross-stitch smalls

I’m getting quite a collection of cross-stitch smalls to choose from now!

Posted in embroidery, Smalls of the Month | Tagged , | 9 Comments