First monogram done.=)

<-Got the first pillowcase done of the bedding set I'm working on. As you can see, it's a very simple design and won't take long at all to complete the whole set. In fact, I hope that a total of 10 days should see the whole thing completed and ready to give.=) I plan to do the 'M' pillowcase tonight. I haven't re-pressed this one yet, so the finished thing will look smoother, although I doubt the pic will show up the minor creasing here. It took about 2 hours to do, including tracing and transferring the design from the sheet I did the previous night and the trial piece I did to test threads and stitches. The chain stitch letter is worked in #8 pearl cotton and the rest in stranded cottons. The green is one of DMC's Color Variations shades. The basic letter outline came from 'Embroidered Monograms' by Susan O'Connor, but I put the rest in myself.

Do I seem to work fast, Tannia? I suppose I do as, once I get into a piece, I just get on with it - often as I'm racing a deadline!! That waterlily was neglected for weeks on end though, so progress seemed horribly slow to me!

So does progress on my lesson planning. Oh, how I WISH it was all done and I could forget about it! Talk about something bugging you 24/7 and, as I work mostly at home on it, I'm in the office all the time too! I've taken to retreating to the bedroom for all rests!!!! I never work in there, but the living room is 'polluted' now! LOL! Well, at the rate I've planned, Semester 1 should be completed this month, then I'll give myself the next month or two to get Semester 2's work done. Then it's on with another long neglected project. Three biggies back-to-back. Yes, it's a real stress, but, as I was reading in a book on stress management and health yesterday, if you never get these tasks completed, the stress response cannot turn off. So, a gruelling few months ahead, but we'ew planning to have about 10 days away somewhere warm in early January, after the holiday season is over and the prices go back down. Thinking about Madeira, so hope I get chance to learn some Portuguese first!!=)

First Posting from my Laptop!

Yup, I've gone really techified and got a laptop. Actually, it's Sir's businesses laptop, but as he'll only need it for training future clients on the software they'll be renting through him, to all intents and purposes, it's mine - and legitmately tax-deductable too!

Thanks a lot for all the lovely compliments on my stumpwork finish. Dunno if the recipients liked it or not yet as it wasn't opened in my presence, but I can find out next week when they get back. Need to get on with designing and stitching the next gift, then I'll sew up the cushion cover I stitched in July. After that, it's only nice, relaxing cross stitch for the rest of the year! If I do anything other than that, it will be someone else's design with lots of instructions to follow!!

Not much needlecraft going on as I'm in the thick of serious lesson planning. I got a nice order through from SewandSo today with the #8 pearl cottons needed for the bedding, which will be our gift for the next wedding on 22nd. Mercifully, I'm keeping this one very simple. As you can see though, I bought one or two extra items....... I know some don't like these 'scrap bag' things, like I've got here from Kreinik or that Weeks Dye Works at least used to sell, but I think they're great and am looking forward to using this one.



On the musical side of things, I played a simple piece that I hadn't touched for about 3 months yesterday and I can honestly say that all the work on bowing is paying off! No problems catching strings on the crossings now and even the B, which always sounded strained, is clearing up. That's a 'too close to heel of bow strain and scratch' problem, so I need to think about where to bow that one in order to get it to sound good. The joy has come back to viola playing though and I break from uni work and play Violette for a few minutes a few times per day, so progress should be much faster for the next few months whilst I'm slaving over a hot laptop.

OK, let's see if I can get the photo to upload as I'm still quite uncertain about what's where on this new machine as it's software that's 7 years newer than the packages I'm used to!

Done - TA-DA!

Here's the finished piece:

The waterlily has been adapted slightly from one in Helen M Stevens' 'Embroidered Flowers' p72. That one was all flat work and the flower was white (except the yellow stamens, of course). This one has been done in two shades of pink with the nearer petals being raised slightly - stiched over felt. The water is done in Madiera stranded silk, which is much thicker than the Pipers Silk the flower and leaf are worked in. Wished I'd used only one strand of Madiera as I feel it's a bit too prominent for its role, although you can't see that here, of course.

This is a close-up of the stumpwork damselfly from the side:


Here's the whole piece again, mounted in the frame (by me, for a wonder! Yes, laced properly on the cardboard and so on), and in the postbox I specially covered with fancy wrapping paper!!!

Will give it to the happy couple tomorrow and hope that they like it.=) Have bought a card this time as I really didn't want to be fussed making one.

Oh, I got a lovely new dress and jacket for the wedding today. It was either that or wear one of my old, old-fashioned ones - again! They were most of them 2nd hand when I bought them too, so it'll be nice to have something swish to wear for a change. The groom's sisters were telling me how pretty my old dresses are and encouraging me to wear one of them, but I can't help thinking that, if a friend deserves so much time and trouble as to make him the above, then he deserves that I should get a decent outfit for his wedding!

Waterlily now done and on with the damselfly

Ooof, this one is taking some time and uuumph! Only I could change projects so as to simplify and end up doing something far harder! Other folk would have more sense.... Anyway, here's what the waterlily looks like now. The water is done with Madeira silk, which is much thicker and far less glossy as it's twisted. The pinks are a little less red in reality, but I took the picture under my daylight lamp rather than in real daylight!!!!

When I came in this evening, I was half amused at the state of the living room, esp. my working corner. Just look at how much stuff is on hand to do one little damselfly stumpwork!! Ridiculous!

The groom's sister has now got her/our present for the wedding and is delighted with it. I'm sure he'll be thrilled with it as well as baby sister did so much of it.=) As soon as he sees it, he'll know I helped her, but naturally he'll be more interested in her portion of it. Rats!!!!!!!LOL!

Waterlily still unfinished, but...

<-Here's the waterlily progress so far:

Horrid photo taken in totally unsuitable light, but it doesn't matter too much at this stage, I think.

Anyway, the reason I didn't get too much of this done is that I decided to get on with finishing up this other piece instead.->

This is a co-operation between my 11 year old chum, Ellie, and me as her gift to her brother on his wedding. (He's the groom of the 31 August wedding and who the waterlily and damselfly piece is to be for from me.) It's been about 50/50 really as it was my idea and I did 95% of the designing (well, taking various elements from other designs and adapting them, but isn't that really what all samplers are??), including making a large scale chart for her to work from. I supplied all the materials, oversaw about 85% of the stitching and started off each piece to show how it was done etc. I also did all the cutting out, put in the ribbon on row 3, the filling stitches on the big heart, the whole row of cross stitch near the bottom and did a lot of fixing up loose ends and stitches that were coming out etc as well as all the sewing up into the bell-pull you see here, which took hours on end yesterday afternoon. Anyway, I hope you all like it and that the happy couple will when they're presented with it next Friday!=)

Yesterday's stitching....

Here's what I managed to get done yesterday and I also included the metallic threads needed mostly for the damselflies, but also a little for the water effect:

The flower looks a bit lop-sided to me..... The far petals on the flower are done in one strand and doing it that way made me ready to list my Pipers Silks on E-bay! So, the leaf is being done in two and is much better so far. I do NOT like working with such fine threads in one strand. Yack! Anyway, I'm hoping to ge tthe waterlily done today and even the water effect put in, but I'm not holding my breath. You usually get done less than you want to, right? I also have a LOT of lesson prep to do this morning whilst Sir is at a meeting with a client and I can use the PC freely.=)

New buys and current project

Hellooooooooo! Here we are back from London and this is what I treated myself to from The Delicate Stitches/London Bead Company shop there:

The beads are for this project ->

I forget to put the metallics in the shot... Anyway, it'll be 2 damselflies above a pinky waterlily.

Final SS parcel arrives

My Secret Sister parcel from the cross stitch newsgroup I've been on for a while arrived yesterday and here it is:

Wow-some, isn't it? My SS lives in Malaysia and don't the colours she's selected in ribbons and threads just speak of the vibrant society she comes from? I'm delighted with it all and look forward to putting it to some use over the coming months and years. It's been SO nice to have a parcel to open as the last 5 SS gifts have all been on-line store vouchers. It's nice to pick your own stuff once in a while, but it's so much more fun to have someone else choose for you. They often buy the stuff you wouldn't really get for yourself, (although it's on the wishlist), whereas I always make myself be 'sensible' and try to complete thread collections etc.

Have still barely done any stitching of late, but then I suppose many don't do much over the summer months. I need to get on with a vengeance though as I have only 2 more weeks to finish one wedding gift and then the next wedding is just under 4 weeks after that 'deadline', (I want to give it to the groom a few days before). I've done very little on the first and haven't even done the design for the second! If anyone has seen my motivation, which is currently AWOL, please discipline it soundly and send it back express!

Sniff, sneeze and splutter

Got back from Germany on Mon after a very busy weekend in Hamburg. Brought back some unwanted souvenirs - Sir has brought back 2kg and I've brought back my friend's cold!!!!

Didn't get much stitching done! I did a little bit in each of the leaves and nothing more. I also didn't get the cushion sewn up before we went, but as we're actually going back in mid October, I can take it as my gift for that trip. I did get a bunch more discount Kreiniks at Hobbycraft yesterday and also some of the new DMC colour variation threads and some bugle beads through from SewandSo just before we left as well as some dark blue silk to do some drgonflies on. Bought the bedding for the one of the wedding pressies yesterday, so I need to get on now.

Had my first viola lesson with my new teacher on Tuesday morning and she is GREAT! She's going to be strict with me, which means that progress may be a little slower, but it will be more solid. I'm back on bowing open strings and am only allowed to use first finger with the bow (and maybe 3rd, but if I can't use 2nd, I don't see why 3rd???), but I can do scales etc to keep my left hand work up pizzicato. So, that to do for 2 weeks. Haven't done any prac yet as I've been snivelling and sneezing myself silly (sillier???) ever since, but as Teach is on her happy hols, I have chance to catch up.

Yes, Anne, you're quite right. There is a subtle difference between viola and sax!!!!!=) Ever thought of taking it up again? It's a bit far for us to duo, but it is a lovely instrument. Sigh! Better go and do some dull bowing prac. The sooner I get on with it, the sooner I'll be able to move on.

More leaves

<- Here's the current status on the bluetit picture. There are some advatages to being ill after all! It may not look like much progress from the day before, but, as most cross stitchers will know, these outlines can take time. Also, it's worked in one strand of regular DMC and one of stranded metallic. I think this one is meant to be the wintry one of the suite. The chaffinches was distinctly late spring/early summery with it's lovely pink blossoms.

Met my new viola teacher this morning and she's great! You can tell she was a young person in the sixties as there's something quite 'of that era' about her, but I liked her a lot and I know I can really work with her. She'd already prepared so much material for her teaching, esp. for violin. Why do I find that impressive? Well, she's a violist herself and has put that extra time into the more unfamiliar instrument and clef unlike my last teacher who didn't even sit down and look through my book properly. First proper lesson is next Tuesday (hurrah!) and she's given me some bow hand exercises to correct some slight problems there to be getting started with. We played a short piece together from one of the tutor books. I was only doing open strings, but it was great. SO much fun to play even something so simple with someone else.=)