Some Finishes!

I may not have posted over the last fortnight, but I have been busy with the needles, so have some things to show you now!

First up is the completed goldleaf dragonfly design. I did get this finished a couple of weeks ago, but what with one technical problem or another (camera was taking really dark photos, Photoshop Elements stopped saving on the PC and so I couldn't edit anything to any good purpose etc), I haven't been able to get it to you until now. Here's both the full thing and a close-up of the flower centre etc, which was worked with bright check purl (aka chips) in both gold and silver as well as French knots in one strand each of pink Reflecta and gold Ophir.

And here's the initial response to it!!

This is DH's 10th anniversary card which I adapted from a strawberry circlet design in an iron-on transfer booklet and worked in Pipers silks on a piece of blue-grey Mulberry Silks silk fabric.

Last February I stitched a simple goldwork dragonfly on the most amazing piece of royal blue silk. One of my friends, Abi, admired it on my Webshots and since then I'd been looking for a suitable 'format' to give it to her in, but it was too big for a card etc etc. Well, she recently got engaged and so I used the pattern in the latest issue of 'Stitch' to turn it into a casket:

And filled it with chocolates:

Not very practical, but well receieved nonetheless!!=)

DH bought me a super-duper new digital camera for part of my anniversary present (the other part was some good quality watercolours, which I haven't tried out yet), and we also got me a new laptop (not an anniversary gift), so I'm back in business technology-wise and, yes, Photoshop is working just fine on here. Phew!

Over the next week I'm hoping to get the band sampler finished up as a bellpull and the Chinese dress design made up into a small cushion/pillow. I've also started another hardanger cushion/pillow cover on white Oslo fabric with Caron Iced Lavendar threads - pale pink and lilacs.