Unbacked, but stitching complete.

Here are the bookmarks in their present condition. They're not backed as yet, I intend to sew a co-ordinating piece of felt to the back of each one so as to protect (and hide!!!) the back of the work as well as to make a nice show through the cutwork bits.=)

OK, someone asked about the pattern. They're from a Donna M Olsen 'Satin Stitches' collection pattern, that I got in an exchange. Was it from you, Petra?? They're just bare charts with next to no instructions, so I wouldn't recommend them for beginners, or near beginners, in hardanger. The patterns are lovely and I have another called '3 Small Doilies' that also was part of an exchange, but as there are next to no working instructions and even the charting for the filling stitches is not clear, (I had to look one up in the 'Anchor Book of Hardanger' - the fancy filling stitch on the white/blue/silver one), only go for these if you're more experienced and confident with this type of work. To start out with, I recommend Mary Hickmott's 'Easing Into Hardanger' and 'Moving on in Hardanger'.

Many thanks again for all the encouraging comments. As Lili rightly says on her blog, that's what makes it worthwhile! You can have the world's most spectactular blog, but if you don't know that people are looking at and enjoying it, what's the point?=)

Hope to get a re-start back on the dog and get going on the 'wedding' present over the next few days, but first - housework, then, with that out of the way, I can relax and stitch with a good conscience! So no, work first, then pleasure afterwards without a nagging feeling that I should be doing.....

Added in later: NOOOOOOO! Just realised that the two coloured bookmarks were photographed upside down! So, what you are seeing here is the back of them! Well, no time to re-do it just now, but you'll get the front when I have them backed etc and re-photograph them. LOL!!!=)