First Concert!

So, yesterday my debut as a violist broke forth onto an astonished world! No sound files available, but here's a close-up of me playing:

<- Here's me with my duet partner, Catherine



And again at the back right hand side of the orchestra:
Can you see me??=)

And here's the ribbonwork

'framed' into a nice card ->

Ribbon Embroidery!

I haven't done any more on the stumpwork as yet as DH is often around when I want to work on it. However, he'll be out tonight and so I can get it completed. Don't know when I can post the photo as he'll also be around most of the time tomorrow and it may be hard to get a chance without him seeing it. Will think of a sneaky something though.

I finished the ribbon piece last night and here it is full frontal and also from the side so you can see the elevation of some of the parts of it. It's far from perfect. A close-up examination shows scrappy ends of ribbon that ought to be have been well hidden, but that this beginner struggled to manage with this gathering technique.

I enjoyed doing this, but am not sure I'll get very much into ribbon work. It's mostly that there are just so many different guages of ribbon used and I'd need quite a large amount of both cash and storage space in order to get a workable basic stash. Might do a few kits here and there and some other little bits with theplentiful leftover ribbon you get with VS accessory packs.

Margaret, you asked about fabric, esp on the Stumpwork Strawberry posting. Well, I almost always use plain old polycotton. If it's good enough for Helen M Stevens, then it's good enough for the likes of me!!! If I'm going to be doing heavy embroidery, (say raised work or a lot of silk shading), then I apply a piece of iron-on interfacing (Vilene) to the back to give it more strength. I also put this on silk when I stitch on that. Does that help??

WIP Stumpwork Ladybird

Thanks for all the nice messages about cutting down on net time. Seems like I'm far from alone with this problem. DH says he's heard that middle class housewives who don't have to work and are just at home all day are the worst in this case!!! Anyway, I have been diligently stitching and here's the stumpwork ladybird thus far:
The wired red wings are to one side and won't be fitted into the main embroidery until the last step. Should have this design and the ribbon one done over the next day or two, but they won't be officially 'finished' for a bit as I'm out of the relevant colour card blanks I want for them and am now waiting for the order to come from Impressive Crafts.
So, what else have I been doing instead of reading blogs, frequenting forums and what not? Not a lot as I've been ill (again!), but I have managed to finish one of the books on my list and press forward with another, so I've been doing something a little more useful than straining my eyesight and conscience on the PC!!! Now then, have to keep it up and even improve on it!! Oh, I won't be doing the SBQ anymore either as it's just one of the little things that adds up to a lot of dead time. Besides, it's meant for 'mainstream' cross stitchers, not the likes of me.

Forthcoming Projects

So, here are the 2 kits I plan to stitch up over the next couple of weeks, before we go away to the northern Dales for a week. One is a ribbon work kit and the other a stumpwork design, both to be mounted in cards. The stumpwork is for DH's anniversary card. Not the normal type of thing for such an occasion, but I think he'll like it and I can add little heart shaped stickers to romance it up a bit!=)

Funny thing with the stumpwork kit is that they supply you with everything, (as usual), then tell you to mount the red fabric for the raised ladybird wings in a 'suitable hoop or frame', but it wouldn't fit in any I've ever seen - it's tiny! I'll have to dig a piece out of my stash to use instead. The people who make the ribbon kits seem to operate a 'right first time' policy on behalf of their customers and only give enough ribbon for you to do the kit and not a scrap more, so I shall have to be careful with that one!

My First Quilt!

Here it is, the baby cot/crib quilt. The prospective parents, (baby due in about 3 weeks), seemed very pleased with it, so I was glad that I managed to get it done in time to give them in person today.=) Besides, I have enough things that I either behind with, or just feel behind with, so I was glad not to have to add another 'catch-up' project to the list!

I SewandSo-ed

Stash, stash, lovely stash! Got a great haul in from SewandSo this morning:


This is the most recent release in their lovely British Birds collection. I've already done the Chaffinches and bought the Bluetits and Seedheads one a while back too. They're to be done in co-ordinating frames and hung in the bedroom along that big, blank back wall. I also got 9 skeins of Marlitt rayon thread, (only a few left to collect now...), 2 of Lamé, a bright white stranded cotton, which I ran out of after Cataflute and a ball of #8 pearl cotton in cream for use on 28ct cream quaker cloth sampler type thingies.

Next card complete and first quilt started

<- Here's the latest addition to the card collection.

And here ->

are the squares all cut out for the baby cot/crib quilt. The smaller, turquoise ones at the front will be made into 2 regular sized squares. The scrap of fabric I had in that colour (which I really wanted to use) wasn't wide enough, so I'm having 2 squares that are different from the rest. If it looks naff, I'll sub in two other coloured ones. This will be my first stab at quilting, but it doesn't look like a difficult pattern. I'll need to get some nice fabirc for the backing of it soon as it's to be done by next Saturday ready for handover on the Sunday. After that, I can relax and finish the dog. The next 'due bys' aren't needed until July, then September.

Cards-ville

I finished the engagement card in good time (ie actually had it completed and mounted the night before I needed to hand it over - WOW!) and was pleased with the response.=) Here it is for everyone to see:

I'm already on with the next one, which is for another couple's 10th wedding coming up a week on Saturday. I just need to get another pack of beads before I can finish it off properly. No pic yet, I'll post that once I get it all done and mounted. It's basically the same design as my profile photo, (the yellow heart with ribbon work above), but in pink. Nice and quick to do, but effective. Look out for the that one on Weds or Thurs, I think.

Got a new viola the other day too and here's a pic of her:

She sounds SOOOO much nicer than my old one and I feel really quite motivated to practice with such a beauty to work on.=) The concert in 3 weeks and 5 days helps a lot too.....

Busy, busy, busy!

Finished the designing and transfering of the pattern for the engagement card last night, (used the glass in the front door as a light box as there's a light just outside!!! Much cheaper and easier to store than a real light box!!), and here it is thus far complete with threads and the card blank I'll be using. With the enormous colletion of threads I own, it takes almost as long to select the type of colour of threads to use as it does to design etc!! I suppose it's actually part of the design process. The heart itself will be done in this lovely pale gold colour, with bullion knot and rosette stitch flowers and fly stitched leaves. It's great to be able to use some of these lucious threads as many of the things I make need to be washable, (cushions and other practical things), and these over-dyed threads are not colourfast.

Anniversary card completed

Here's a card I just mounted for our friends' 5th anniversary which is on Friday. It's (yet) another Mary Hickmott design and can be found under 'Dainty Florals' in issue #88 of 'New Stitches'.

Got a package through from Sewandso the other day too - 2 lots of Quaker cloth in white and cream, 6 skeins of Marlitt, 2 of DMC Color Variations, 2 of DMC Light Effects and another pair of 3" gold bell pull ends, which will probably do for 2 bell pulls. Put everything away before I remembered to get a blog photo!!!

I treated myself to three new Victorian novels this afternoon: Charles Dickens' Bleak House, Ellen Wood's East Lynne and Mary Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret. Have started the longest, the Dickens, already, so don't expect too much stitching progress!