Working HARD

Ugh, I'm pooped! I set myself 5 tasks, big ones, to accomplish within a week (last Weds-the coming Tues) and have done the 3 biggest already:

1) Mucking out the bedroom.

2) Getting all the typing up work done for my post-grad Chinese classes.

3)Finishing 'Child of Spring' in terms of the stitching. I'm not sure if I will make it up into a little cushion or just let her get it framed/made up herself. Depends on time, but I'm really ready to be totally through with this one as it was a deceptively fiddly and time-consuming design!

Left to do are:

4) The design for my young friend to stitch up. This needs fully and neatly charting as well as the fabric cutting and some contrasting thread guidelines putting in so that she can see where to put the various elements. I plan to get this done this afternoon/evening. And:

5) Mucking out the kitchen.

Have updated my Webshots 'Sale or Trade' album with recently finished kits and designs in case anyone's interested.=)

Some photos to share=)

<- Here's the latest on the VS piece:

Still don't feel like I'm getting much done on it. In fact, everything feels rather behind. Might have something to do with the fact that it is behind, huh??

Called in at Hobbycraft on Friday evening whilst DH was getting some more envelopes from Staples (next door). They seem to be discontinuing Kreiniks, so I got all these at 99p each as clearance price! There are 2 blending filaments, (the 2 'on top') and 5 cords. Some of the thicker guages are £2.99, but I managed to get a few here that I think will be useful, even though some look a bit bright. I've noticed that in Helen M Stevens' latest 2 books she uses multicoloured blending filament (or other fine thread of that type) to portray the iridescent look of insect wings, so I thought the vibrant looking varigated one in the middle might do the same trick. Might call back in there soon to see if there are any more of any interest as I was pushed for time as Sir was in a hurry.

A bit more done and a thread parcel

Got a little bit more on the COS done - just put in the missing beads on a row I thought I'd completed and did this ladder stitched row as well. I ended up having to make that longer than intended (8 rows instead of 6) as I accidentally cut threads 1-5, then 7!!! I couldn't hide it, so had to do 2 more whole rows. Looks OK though, I think.

Got my secret sister package through for June. I got a £10 SewandSo voucher and spent it on completing my Marlitt collection. Paid for the other 4 threads myself.

Latest Set of Photos etc

So, I took the dog in to be framed today - almost £60, if you please! Ouch! I didn't put the whiskers in in the end, as it would have been so great a contrast to the fabric that it would have looked tacky and I was in no mood to spoil 3½ years' of work!!! Will post a shot when the framed item is done. I've picked a light cream, circular mount with a light copper frame.

I've also made a start on the VS design. Haven't done much as yet, but here's the story so far, complete with the design and the rest of the colours etc that I'll be using. The recipient loves red, so I've redded it up for her.=)

<-This little load came in the post yesterday as part of my anniversary pressie from dh! Aren't they great? Can't wait to be able to start on some of the projects, but, as always, that'll be stuck in a line behind stitching for other people's events!!!

And finally, here's the picture of Bolton Castle as it really is, (see previous post for my sketch, ha-ha-ha!!)

Home again - with a surprise!

Hi there! Thanks a lot for all the lovely comments on my stumpwork card.=) Sir loved it as well and it is now proudly displayed in our living room.

We got back from our holidays/vacation/break/whatever you wanna call it yesterday lunchtime. Had a nice time, although the weather was rotten for half the week. In fact, they say a month's worth of rain fell in about a day all over the country and there was widespread flooding. Both where we are at home and also the place we stayed on holiday are on high ground, so we had no problems.

I take it all back when I said to American friends that England isn't full of castles as it seems that the north (north of where we are even) is chocka block with them! We went to Bolton Castle last Monday and here's my (rotten) sketch of one of the towers. I'll add in the photo DH took when I can get it, (he's put the holiday snaps on his laptop or external hard-drive and I can't yet get at them), so you can see Bolton Castle as it really is too!

Now for the surprise. Well, it was a surprise to me! When I took the dog with me, I said that I would be happy if I just closed up one of the gaps. I never ever expected to get into it again and close them all up! Here he is:

He's not actually finished yet as I need to do some softening of the darker lines on the cheeks and then put in the whiskers, but he's 99% there. I honestly thought I'd do one ear at a push and get 'Child of Spring' done, but realised when said ear came on well and quickly that it was better just to press on with that and get it done as I seem more able to get on with it whilst away from home. I'll finish him completely over the next day or so. WOW!

Then it's on with 'Child of Spring', then the Brazilian piece, then..... Also have a LOT of lesson planning and course prep to do before September as well as more work around the home - getting things cleared up and helping to clean up during and after the decorating (DH hopes to get the hallway done over the next month or so, the last room - HUZZAH!) and then another great big, hard project to get back to. So, far from being restful, it's going to be a gruelling summer, but at least Mr Bow-wow is pretty much done! YEAH!

Stumpwork complete!

I think this side view is the most effective, but there's also a full frontal below.=) I wish that they'd given us a more white piece of fabric as this one doesn't go too brilliantly with my choice of card, but all in, not a bad finish. I'm quite pleased with it. I hope Sir will be!

We're away for a week now, so there'll be no updates until next Friday or Saturday at the very earliest, but I'll be taking the eternal dog portrait with me, (if I just close up one of the gaps - an ear, say - then I'll be happy with progress on that one), and Victoria Sampler's Child of Spring. Here's a photo (pinched from Sewandso) of the design, but I'll be doing it in reds and red mixes with gold rather than the pastel mix and silver that you see here. It'll be a cushion/pillow eventually for babiest sister's new bedroom.

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!