Welcome to the Grow Your Blog Party 2015!

Welcome!

Especially to everyone visiting from Vicki's Grow Your Blog Party!  My name is Elizabeth Braun (pronounced almost the same as 'Brown') and I'm from Yorkshire in the United Kingdom.  I'm 43 at the mo and have been married to my German hubby, Martin, for 16 years in June this year.  We have no kids and no pets, but plenty of cuddly toys. =)  Just now we're living in Sheffield, but will probably be moving this summer, either back to my hometown of Leeds, or somewhere else, depending on where he finds a job when he's finished his PhD.  This picture was taken when we were in Japan back in summer 2010.  I was dressed up in a kimono and had some photos taken.  (See more about that in this post.)

Although I've started a number of blogs on different topics in recent years, this one has been the one I've given the most time to and that has gained by far the biggest readership.  I began it almost 10 years ago, on 25 June 2005, as a means of documenting my completion of some overdue projects.  From there, I kept on recording the progress of my embroidery projects of many types.  Here are some of my favourite pieces from over the last decade.  Enjoy!

As you can see, embroidery is my main art form, (although I do a little knitting and paper-based art too at times) and I've done quite a number of different types over the last 12 years or so.  Things are a little slow here whilst we're dealing with a number of family and health related issues, but should get back to normal in the fullness of time.

Sorry it's a rather short intro this year and I haven't had chance to put together a give-away either! =(  If you'd like to know a bit more about little old me, then you might want to have a look at one of my other blogs, Fluffy Little Idiot, where I'm currently doing a 30 Day Blogging Challenge in which I talk about various things - interests, goals, favourites and other snippets, each day.  You might also like to stick around here for a few minutes and check out some of the past projects on the pages listed underneath the header photos.  There are also pages dedicated to links to the embroidery tutorials and feature articles that have appeared in the past.

If you'd like to subscribe to my blog, you could add me to your Feedly, click the Blogger 'Follow' thingy, (if you're on Blogger, of course), click the Bloglovin' sub box, or submit your e-mail address in the other box you'll find on the sidebar.  If you choose this latter option, remember that your subscription will not go live unless you follow the steps for verification.=)  You can also add the blog Google+ page to your circles, if you use G+.  Link, again, in the sidebar.  Many, many thanks for your visit to my blog and interest in my work.  xx  Please feel free to leave me a comment and introduce yourself, or just plain say, 'Hi' and wave in passing! =)

One blog that you won't find on the GYB list this year as the writer has been too snowed under with work to get directly involved in the event, is Rachel's Virtuosew Adventures.  Rachel is also an embroideress, who works mostly her own designs, (unlike me, as I work mostly others').  So, if you like needle arts, do check out her work too. =)

For those who are regular readers are wondering what's the why of this post, you can find out more on Vicki's blog, 2 Bags Full, (dedicated mostly to knitting and her travels).  On this post you can see the full listing of the participating blogs.

PS If you are a new blogger, you may enjoy this article I wrote last year with tips on how to create an attractive crafts blog and build up a readership.  Enjoy!

Text and images © Elizabeth Braun 2015

Work In Progress Wednesday - 21 Jan 2015

Yes, I know, Sharon's not running this just at the mo, but I still thought that a Wednesday check-in wasn't a bad idea, (and I know I'm not alone).  All the more so as I finally had the desire to do some stitching the other day and so did some work on my Paradise Island cross stitch, on the lower left hand, dark-coloured leaf.

I'm sorry to say that I haven't put in so much as one stitch on the freestyle piece for a long time, and I realise that it's just not going to happen for the end of this month, but there is another hand-over opportunity in May, so I've mentally re-scheduled the finish for then.

At the mo, I just have so much going on, esp. with my poor mum, that I'm not troubling myself in the least about any stitching deadlines etc, although I hope I'll have a little finish to share later in the week for my Grow Your Blog Party post.  I'm also considering a bit of a stitcher's give-away too, so we'll see if I have chance to put something together....

BTW Anyone got any ideas on how to mark my blog's 10th anniversary in June?

Text and images © Elizabeth Braun 2015

First finish of the year - hardanger bookmark

Just a very quick post to showcase my first finish of the year, the hardanger bookmark I mentioned the other day.  It was worked on 2 and 3 January, and presented to the daughter of its final owner yesterday lunchtime  as her poor mum was in bed with 'flu, so I hope this will cheer her up a little.

OK, Sir is almost ready with dinner, so must fly...

=)

Text and images © Elizabeth Braun 2015

The Stitching Year 2014 - A Review

Here we are for the annual stitching review, where I get to showcase all the embroidery highlights of the year just ended.

Thanks to the Needlequest challenge I ran last year, I worked quite a few different styles and did a few things that I might not otherwise have done.  Having said that, I'd been wanting to do more thread painting for a while, so I was happy to complete two projects from the Trish Burr Beginners' book, and here is the best of the two.  I also did the yellow Welsh poppy design, but made rather a hash of the leaves, so I wasn't too pleased with that one.

For the May part of the Needlequest, I took my first steps in blackwork and did this little flower, a heart with gold thread as well (which I made up into Sir's anniversary card last June) and designed and worked a tiny shaded piece based on a Chinese tea cup.

From the beginning of January to some time in July, I was also cross stitching a Tudor Lady piece, which was quite sumptuous and included rayon threads, metallics, beads and petit point for more detail on the face and hands.  When I was in the early stages of this one, it looked like a piece of holey cheese.  Cross stitched Emmenthal, remember? =)

My favourite piece this last year has to be the wedding ring cushion that I worked in July.  This was the first time I had chance to put my new DMC stranded cottons to use alongside the regular Anchor ones.  I used several of the DMC greens in this piece.  There are also some Mill Hill petite seed beads sparkling away here.  It's based on one of Helen M Steven's designs in the 'Embroidered Flowers' masterclass book, with the addition of a stumpwork butterfly.

Looking at this photo of the completed feather, I just remembered that I totally forgot that I meant to take it to the Harrogate Knitting & Stitching Show in November to show my old teacher!  I started it as part of the C&G line design work and never got around to finishing it until almost six years later...  It was a real triumph to get that one done though, as it meant that ALL projects were finished at that point.  Nothing was hanging around half done or neglected.  The slate was totally clean.  =)

August was an excellent month for finishes as, not only did I get that feather done, but I also made up a cushion using the appliquéd I'd done for the Japan theme for February's NQ challenge.

Also in August, as part of the fabric colouring NQ challenge, I painted this flower and picked out some highlights etc in stitch.  This was also done in DMC stranded cottons.  I find myself reaching for these when I just need to get a pack of a certain colour out as I store them in colour bags rather than shade number order.  It's also rather nice to use the things I've bought, especially as so much time went into colour comparison and selection.

Next I completed this cute stumpwork/appliqué face and posted it as my one and only tutorial for the year.

August ended with my winning four placings at the Sheffield Fayre - two firsts and two thirds.  I only entered the green sampler for the sake of it and it won!

Mid September saw me conducting a monster great thread reorganisation, which, I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed!

Having created some space by moving things around and buying this handy Really Useful Box 0.3 litre storage system, I found I had room for quite a lot more stuff, so I amassed quite a lot more pearl cotton #12 balls, with two exceptions, the entire Anchor coton à broder #25 collection (about 79 skeins), plus a good few of the DMC ones to plug colour gaps.  This one shown here was the biggest thread haul I'd had in years!

The latter part of the year was rather light on actual stitching and there has been nothing finished since August.  I have two things in progress at the mo (three if you could the bookmark I'm halfway through and will finish tomorrow) and, frankly I'm struggling.  I'm not sure what's causing my current stitching apathy as there's nothing really pushing it out, unless you count that I'm rather more into books at the mo, so I suspect it has something to do with my health - I sometimes lose interest in my hobbies when things go a certain way out.  I have to get on and make myself finish the freestyle piece as it's promised completed for 31 Jan, so you can expect me to get back to that from, if all goes according to plan, Monday.

I have no plans for the year ahead stitchwise, as I really don't know if I'm going to regain my umph in the short-term, medium-term or at all.  Sometimes you just move on from an interest and I'm aware that that may be the reason.  In my late teens up to mid-20s, I was a very keen penpal, with dozens of letters going in and out every week to some of my 100+ global collection of penpals.  That fizzled out after a few years never to restart.  So, we'll see.  I'm hoping that getting some things done may spark my interest again, but I'm not going to force it.  Neither am I going to allow the current projects to just sit there.  I'll be posting to WIPW (although I'm not sure there'll be a post on Pintangle to link on, as Sharon's taking a blog break) with my progress on the Paradise Island and the butterflies piece as often as I can and see what else transpires in time.  There'll be at least three project finishes during this coming year anyway.  I hope my interest returns at least to some degree as Sew in Love will be marking its 10th anniversary in late June this year.

'Til next week, then! =)

Text and images © Elizabeth Braun 2015

Wrapping up the Needlequest

Well, here we all are in 2015!  Seems like 2 minutes since all the mad Millenium celebrations 15 years ago (which were a year too early....), and only about 5 minutes since I was in high school in the late 1980s!!  You don't believe that time flies when you're a kid, but you soon learn it to be true, no?

Last post of the challenge for the Needlequest now.  Just two of us had a go this month, just Pamela, Dorte and I.

* I did the tiny sample of a hardanger motif you can see above.  The larger one is on 22ct hardanger fabric and worked in #5 pearl cotton, whilst the smaller one is one 40ct linen and worked in #12 pearl cotton.  It's about 1/4 in actual size so very much like a lot of dolls house scale stuff.  Although the dolls house is (usually) 1/12, the stitchery tends to be the right size overall, but 3 times too big in terms of stitch size.  Had I wanted to get this to be actual 1/12 scale, it would have needed something like 132ct fabric and I dread to think what gauge of thread!!

* Pamela made a lovely bargello scatter cushion/pillow against the time when she hopes she might have another dolls house.

* Dorte posted a lovely stumpwork finish for the November theme using the leaves she'd created during her Autumn theme work and her work thus far on the December challenge.

So, that's it!  Thanks to all who've joined in at some time or even just enjoyed reading the posts and updates.  I've found it quite stressful as I've felt I needed to have something to write about all the time, and it's just not practical to carry on like that just now.  Also, participation was good to start off with, but waned so much during the year that it was a bit deflating.  Maybe I'll do it again later on, but I won't re-run the challenge in 2015.

In case you're wondering what my hardanger motif was for, you'll soon be seeing in the first thing I expect to finish this year, a hardanger bookmark in these colours, the same ones as I used in my main needlecase:

I hope to be back tomorrow with the stitching review of the year post, so, until then, t'rar! :)

Text and images © Elizabeth Braun 2014