Enjoying a sense of peace one stitch at a time
Finished needlework
This month I decided to work on one of the pieces from Grandma’s Stitching Treasures by The Cat’s Whiskers. This is the scissor pocket from the set … or at least it will be once it’s finish-finished 🙂 It was really enjoyable stitching this one … now I’m looking forward to stitching the remaining two pieces – the scissor fob and the needlebook. I think the scissor fob will be the next one to be stitched.
Well, so far my SALs have been going OK this year … I managed to put the final stitches into scissor keeper late last night – I opted not to re-do all the stitching, and just decided to change the bee’s flight path so that the back-stitching was closer to the right-hand border margin. Funnily enough, though, the scissor pocket cover model looks the same as mine on the corners, but with one cross less on the top and bottom borders … so I think perhaps there was either an error on the chart, or the instructions changed at some point. Oh well, either way, it’s done now … and just needs to be made up. Next month I’ll probably do the scissor fob to match, then this little set will be done and dusted! Sorry, but I can’t get a good photo of this one for love nor money – I need to charge up the proper camera, I think, rather than trying to use the iPhone like my lazy self has gotten into the habit of using!
“Bee Keeper” by Cindy Valentine Designs
stitched on 28ct Quaker linen in Misty Blue
with recommended DMC and Mill Hill beads
Started 11 January 2015 – Finished 24 January 2015
It appears I seem to be missing a post I could’ve sworn I’d made about joining the Halloween Ornie SAL for 2015. I haven’t been accepted by the blog owners yet, but I’m still going to go ahead and do the SAL even if it’s just on my own blog for now 🙂 In fact I got so excited when I first heard about the blog that I went ahead and created my own button just for the occasion 😉
And funnily enough, it seems that this SAL has spurred on my first finish of the year – the January theme is Witch, so here is my January finish:
“Halloween Ornament #5” by The Floss Box
Stitched on 32ct Thunderstorm Belfast linen
with recommended DMC floss (except I change the cat’s eyes to yellow)
Started 17 Jan 2015 – Finished 18 Jan 2015
I also just realised that I haven’t managed to do my January post for the 2015 WIPocalypse, so here goes my first post for the year. You’re supposed to introduce yourself and outline your plans for the year … well, I’ve already outlined my stitching plans in the last couple of posts, so I won’t repeat myself here. For those of you who don’t know me already yet (if there is anyone else reading this haha), my name is Anne, and I’m a duck-loving stitcher … hence the name of the blog, Feather Stitching. I’m … cough … 48 years old, single and working in a job with some really long working hours. My stitching time is much more limited to what it used to be, so at least one day a week you’ll find me playing hermit in my bedroom with stitching in hand trying to ignore the outside world and catching on a week’s worth of recorded TV. Born in England, I moved to New Zealand when I was 5, and as an adult followed my job to Australia, where I’ve now lived for 11 years.
So what stitching have I been doing since the start of the year? I’ve still been working on Prairie Schooler’s Autumn Leaves, which is relatively close to a finish really, but I put it to one side while I started my monthly SALs. Unfortunately, though, my January Smalls SAL isn’t quite going as planned ‘cos I’ve totally stuffed up the border for my first project choice – I didn’t read the chart properly, obviously, and thought the little corner crosses were the same as all the other crosses around the border … I only worked out how wrong I was once I was stitching with that hideous DMC metallic floss and doing the beading on the back section. Now I’m in a quandary what to do … either rip out the entire border (and the sunflower centres) and start again (which I’m kinda loathe to do, ‘cos I hated stitching that border!), or perhaps just unpick the bottom bee’s ‘flight trail’ and make it sit closer to the border on the right, which is how it’s supposed to look … that’s probably what I’m going to do, as truthfully I don’t love it as much as I thought I would, and now I just want to get it over and done with so I can move on to something I enjoy more (like the Halloween ornie I stitched this weekend). The only reason I really pulled this one out of the ‘to-do’ pile is because it’s been sitting kitted up for too many years to mention, and I want to get as many of those part-kits completed this year. The design is “Bee Keeper” by Cindy Valentine. Anyway, this is where it’s currently at – if I leave it as it is, it only has the sunflower petals, backstitching of one bee, and the front piece border left to be done:
And here’s the latest progress piccie of Prairie Schooler’s Autumn Leaves:
And that’s basically my stitching summary for the last month or so. I’m hoping I’ll still get the Smalls SAL finished in time for the end of the month, if I can summon up the ‘suck it up courage’ to finish it and not throw it into a corner where it will hide for the next two years … 😉
As normal, I totally missed the December deadline … truthfully I haven’t been doing too much stitching, with some more long hours at work that cropped up. I’m finally enjoying a fortnight off work over the Christmas break, and catching up on some chores, including my final catch-up for the year here. I spent Christmas Day with my closest friends in Sydney, which was wonderful – we sat superglued to the lounge sofas for 4 days and watched all 4 seasons of Game of Thrones – that also meant I got a bit of stitching done, although I was more distracted by the TV, 2 dogs and 2 cats to get any finishes under my belt 😉 So, here goes the most recent stitching recap, and the final one for the year:
The first finish I had was Poppy by Mirabilia – this is a gift for my hairdresser, whose favourite colour is red, and she asked me to stitch something for her. I just need to frame it now for her and give it to her in the New Year 🙂
“Poppy” by Mirabilia/Nora Corbett
Stitched on 32ct hand-dyed Belfast by Countrystitch ~ colour Winter Sky
with recommended threads and beads
Started Sep 2014 – Finished 30 Nov 2014
“Summer Arbor” by The Drawn Thread
Stitched on 32ct Light Mocha Belfast linen
with recommended threads but substituted the brown beads
Started 7 Dec 2014 – Finished 23 Dec 2014
“The Greatest Gift is Love” by Lizzie*Kate
(from 2001 JCS Christmas ornie issue)
Stitched on 32ct Natural Belfast linen (I think)
with a mix of recommended and substituted threads
Started 23 Dec 2014 – Finished 23 Dec 2014
While I was away at Christmas I managed to start the following two new projects (I took those because they were relatively easy to stitch so I didn’t have to concentrate on them 100% while being distracted by the TV and chatting to company).
First up was Red Lace Sewing Case by The Drawn Thread. Sadly I ran out of thread for this one, stupidly thinking one skein of Gloriana silk would be enough, and no doubt a replacement skein won’t match the same dyelot, but I’ll have to wait and see once I get around to a stitching order. I was surprised just how quickly that design chewed through the skein of Gloriana! This will eventually be going to a new home (hence the hiding of the letter in the centre), so hopefully it won’t look too bad when the new skein arrives … The only change I made was to use two strands of silk for the alphabet – I used one initially as per the design instructions, but I hated the look of it, so doubled the strands (sadly that wasn’t the reason for running out).
Then I ended up starting a Prairie Schooler design called Autumn Leaves. This has been in my stash forever! In hindsight I wish I’d chosen a lighter fabric so the colours pop more, but I chose 32ct Lambswool that I thought the design called for … presumably they used a different linen to the Lambswool I chose! 
Oh well, I’m sure I’ll still love it when it’s finished … (sorry, but the weird colouring of the fabric is due to my bed’s duvet cover behind it!)
It looks like I had a relatively poor stitching year compared to normal, thanks to some mental working hours. Then again, though, some of the projects were quite large in comparison to other years, so all-in-all I’m still pretty stoked with my progress this year. Here are all the projects I completed in 2014, including 1 older UFO and 2 WIPs carried over from 2013:
When I was sticking to my rotation it really worked for me this year – and it gave me a place to start again when I did fall off the rotation wagon. Therefore I’ve decided to keep going in 2015, but I’m leaving it as very much a ‘fluid’ rotation again – if I feel like stitching more than the allocated 10 hours for each slot, I’ll do so … whatever keeps me enjoying my stitching, and actually doing stitching, is what I’ll follow next year 🙂 In saying that, though, there are a few projects that I’d really love to work on during the year – I wouldn’t call them goals as such, rather a wishlist of sorts … but I know I change my mind on a whim where my stitching is concerned, so I won’t be too surprised if I change my mind again during the year! Anyhoo, here are a few projects that are currently calling my name for my rotation next year:
Medium-Large projects:
WIPs & UFOs:
Small-Medium projects:
Large-BAP projects:
I can’t see many of those getting done, but I can certainly see a few new starts from that list getting started! 😀 As long as I enjoy the journey and continue to enjoy what I’m stitching, I don’t really have any other ambitions other than that 🙂
Life got crazy at work, with some major hours being put in, so I’ve been locking myself away from the online world for much of the last two months. I’ve now taken two days off as time in lieu (even though I’m probably due about 2 weeks of time off!) and thought I’d make the most of the time to do a catch-up. While I haven’t been having evening meals half the time during the working week, never mind stitching, I have managed to do a wee bit on the weekends – in fact some weekends I’ve had some major stitching marathons just to make me feel ‘normal’ and I didn’t have the energy to do anything else. So this will probably be a big post stitching-wise, with a few finishes under my belt. Here goes …
The biggest stitching news was finally finished my version of Angel of Love by Lavender & Lace. I have decided to leave off her wings and I think of her now as my ‘regency lady’ for some reason. I have to say I absolutely adore her, and think she looks just fine without the angel wings. I really really enjoyed doing the beading – apparently there are just over 4,000 beads in her, and I enjoyed stitching every single one of them on! I’ve added a photo of the detail in her skirt – just stunning!!
“Angel of Love” by Lavender & Lace
Stitched on 28ct hand-dyed linen by Silkweaver, colour Dark Tan
with mostly recommended threads and beads – I substituted the DMC metallic with Kreinik braid
Another piece I absolutely ADORE is the result of completing my Canvaswork rotation slot – while I was a bit concerned about the high level of coral pink in this initially, the final result is a tremendous blend of colours that work so beautifully together … these pieces as such FUN to stitch, it’s almost always a disappointment when they’re finished …
“Surf and Sand” by Northern Pine Designs
Stitched on 18ct Eggshell mono canvas
with recommended threads and beads
After finishing Angel of Love my next rotation slot was Christmas ornaments and freebies, where I managed to whip up a couple of finishes:
“S is for Spring” freebie by The Prairie Schooler
Stitched on 32ct Lambswool linen by Wichelt
with DMC threads – I substituted the pink threads with blue ones (I bet you didn’t expect that from me LOL)
“Starshine Penguin” freebie by Margaret Lee Rigiel
Stitched on 32ct hand-dyed Lugana (can’t remember who the dyer is, sorry)
with a mix of recommended threads and substitutes
“Poissons Bleus” freebie by Si le point compte (website no longer around)
Stitched on 32ct Ice Blue Belfast (I think)
with DMC variegated thread
I’ve tried to go back to my rotation as well, which means Quaker Christmas II saw the light of day again in September, and I’ve almost finished the top of the chart now. Not sure if this will seen the light of day again before Christmas, but it will eventually get done for, say, 2018 … 😉
Next up in the rotation was Poppy by Mirabilia – she’s now become my focus piece as she’s a gift for my hairdresser, Giselle, whose favourite colour is red.
Before my hours got mental crazy at work, I started putting together a quilt top for a lap quilt, to start getting used to my new machine (thanks again Alison), and using a cheap jelly roll I bought at a craft show a few years ago. Sadly this is the state it remains in, but hopefully I’ll get around to finishing this one soon:
I also managed to frame my Bluebell pixie in a discounted white frame – sadly the joins aren’t perfect in the frame (I only realised when I was framing), but it’s for me so I think it’s fine:
8 October – Are you a Halloween or Christmas stitcher?
The answer is a yes on both counts … although I have to say that Halloween is one of my all-time favourite stitching themes. I don’t even celebrate Halloween, but I just love the ghostly ghouly designs, and the bright colours. I’ve been going through phases with my Christmas stitching – I used to stitch quite a few Christmas ornaments, but these have tended to tail off over recent years and I’m focusing more on larger pieces.
6 November – What are your favourite and least favourite materials to use in your stitching?
Least favourite would have to be rayon threads, DMC metallics and Kreinik Blending Filament – and perhaps even Weeks Dye Works. As for favourites, I love all the different threads and textures of canvaswork, and adore stitching with silk threads (Gloriana, Belle Soie and Au Ver a Soie in particular). Cotton threads I love Crescent Colours threads and Needle Necessities/Threadworx the most.
Only 2 days to go before the September WIPocalypse post is due … oops … life sure has a way to interfere with plans, and my memory is shocking, so yet again I’ve missed the deadline. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been stitched, although I have to admit I haven’t been stitching as much as I normally do. Work pressures have yet again put a hold of any mid-week stitching, although each weekend I’ve made sure I’ve had one day dedicated to stitching my little heart out.
So, here goes … here is what I’ve managed to get up to stitching-wise over the last two months. I figure I may as well just have this as my September WIPocalypse post as well, as I can’t see me doing any further stitching between now and two days time that will be worth shouting from the rooftops 😉
First up I decided to just keep on stitching on my Eiffel Quaker until it was finished – I just love this one!
“Eiffel Quaker” by Jardin Privé
Started 11 January 2013 – Finished 28 July 2014
Stitched on 36ct antique white evenweave from Sewitall
with French Au Ver A Soie Soie d’Alger silk threads
Stitch count 150 wide x 143 high
I then decided to be responsible (unusual for me!) with my stitching and get a charity quilt block out of the way that I had committed to – I absolutely adore this one, and I’ve left the DMC threads etc all sitting with the chart in readiness to stitch this one again for myself … I love, love, love it! 🙂
“Chambered Nautilus” by Green Apple Co (artwork by Janet Powers)
Stitched for Love Quilts Australia
Stitched on 14ct white Aida with DMC threads
Then last weekend I started back loosely with my rotation, and picked up my pastel needleroll to finish off:
“Thistle Needleroll – Pale Colorway” by M Designs
Started 26 January 2014 – Finished 31 August 2014
Stitched on 32ct Lambswool linen by Wichelt
with a mix of Olde Willow, Crescent Colours and DMC threads
(I had to substitute some threads and mix the colours as my Olde Willow threads
had faded so much over the years they were almost white!)
And then my final finish took place yesterday – I only had about 3 hours of stitching left in my ‘small/medium projects’ slot, but I opted to just keep stitching until I finished it (hence my comment about ‘loosely’ following my rotation!). This was a real joy to stitch, with some good challenges, and it just needs to be made into a little pincushion now.
“Blue Bell Sampler Accent” by Periwinkle Promises
Started 31 August 2014 – Finished 6 September 2014
Stitched using kit threads (AVAS silks) and linen fabric
Inbetween working on my rotation slots, I have opted to leave my current focus piece project sitting in the lounge on my floor frame. Every 2nd weekend I spend one day stitching my little heart out on her while catching up on recorded TV … which means I’ve sort of taken her out of my rotation, and I just stitch on her when I feel like sitting in the lounge. The rest of my rotation stitching is done in my bedroom sat up in bed stitching (my most common stitching location these days – I got into the habit of that with my last flatmate as I hated spending any time in the lounge when he was home). Anyhoo, here she is in her current glory (well almost anyway, I’ve actually done a bit more since this photo was taken – she’ll definitely be finished by the end of this year, which is awesome). Angel of Love by Lavender & Lace:
After I’d finished my Victoria Sampler’s Crimson Fire Sampler, I needed to find another old UFO to take its place, and I chose this piece stitched on Congress Cloth. I managed to finally finish the darned bees on the left-hand side of the fabric, but my thread snapped while I was stitching the 2nd side of the hemstitching rows so I decided to give it a miss for a while and started stitching over on the main pain of the stitching. I hadn’t realised just how much metallic thread is used on this project, and it was a relief to finally get to the bee’s head and have something lovely and soft to stitch with. I opted to stop, though, at the end of the 10 hours rotation slot, but look forward to seeing that slot come around again in the future 🙂
And next up in my rotation is Quaker Christmas II – this hasn’t seen the light since I did one rotation slot on it back in February, so it will be nice to add a few more stitches to this one … and that’ll give me something to show for my October WIPocalypse post 🙂
Talking of which, I guess I also need to answer the WIPocalypse questions for these two months as well, so here goes:
10 August:
“Tell us about your oldest and newest WIPs.”
Well, I guess my oldest one now is probably Stoney Creek’s Natures Rest. This is possibly one that will never ever be finished – aside from making a massive blue on the tree stump and the need to frog a huge section, because I can’t work out what was wrong and what was right, it was also using some older threads that I no longer have so there’s every likelihood that I will have mis-matched dyelots and this will show, especially with the greys. I don’t have too much love for this old project (my first ever on evenweave fabric, and I didn’t follow the instructions properly so I used 2 strands of thread in the background instead of 1 strand …). Whatever could go wrong with this piece, it certainly did – and it remains relatively unloved because of it!
My newest WIP according to my rotation records is a canvaswork piece called Sand and Surf by Northern Pine Designs. My canvaswork rotation is coming up soon, so I can’t wait to get back into working on this one again. I have a feeling I won’t stop until this one is finished, as canvaswork tends to go quite quickly with some of the big chunky stitches.
9 September:
“Who is your favourite person to stitch for, or do you prefer to keep your stitching yourself?”
I have to admit over the years I’ve given most of my stitching away – over the last 10 years, though, I tend to stitch more for myself with the odd gift given out. I like to stitch gifts for people, but as soon as I make a commitment to do something my brain goes into meltdown and it removes the enjoyment of stitching for me – I’d much rather stitch something then decide after it’s finished to gift it to someone.
If you managed to read my previous post, you probably have an idea why there was no WIPocalypse post for June … and I’m back online again just in time to complete my post for July … which means for the 2nd time in a row I’m well and truly late … c’est la vie, such is life I guess!
Anyway first up is the piece that I started stitching a week ago, that I managed to finish today. I started kitting this one up a few weeks ago but couldn’t make a decision on the threads and fabric. Last weekend I started it and still wasn’t 100% happy with my choices – I put the last stitches in today then opted to pull one colour out and re-do it, and I’m so glad that I did, because I absolutely ADORE this one now! As you can see, it really doesn’t look anything like the original version … I much prefer my choice of threads for this one!! I’ve listed below the threads that I ended up using:
“Dance in the Rain” by Lizzie*Kate
stitched on 32ct Shell Wichelt linen
with my choice of silk threads (see below)
The threads that I chose to use were: Belle Soie Beanstalk, Belle Soie Ocean Tide, Silk n Colors Aged Plum, NPI Silks 471, 336 and 991BB, and Rainbow Gallery Splendor S870.
The other stitching I managed to do over the last couple of months was to finish my charity quilt block for Love Quilts Australia:
“Butterfly Quartet” – a Stitch Simple kit by DMC
While I was trying to work out how the hell to pay the rent until I found a new flatmate I start making up stitching rolls to sell … I’ve managed to finish 6 since then, although still haven’t worked out how to price them yet – once I do that, though, they will go up for sale, and I’ll also start taking orders for people who want other colours etc (and different sizes). I’ve been a bit tired the last couple of weekends, though, so haven’t taken photos and worked out the final costings yet (I also had to go back to Spotlight to price up the fabrics etc that I use). Here’s the first one I made, though, as a sneak peak:
For the last two Saturdays I’ve also managed to get a few more stitches into my L&L Angel of Love – she is probably what finally kicked my butt into gear and brought my stitching mojo back again to be able to stitch my Lizzie*Kate finish. I was primarily beading the top part of the skirt this time round, and oh boy is she stunning!! Photos will never do this baby justice, that’s for sure!!!
Even though I was on a total stash diet (and still am effectively) for the last couple of months, I did receive a small amount of stash that I’d already ordered previously. One was a kit that I’d posted about previously that I’d been trying to track down for a few years, and managed to find on one Ebay – don’t even know what made me go put the search words in, but one came up straightaway so I just had to buy it … I’m glad Ian hadn’t moved out at that point or it would have killed me not being able to buy it and knowing one was available!! The other items were a drawn thread book from the Book Depository and a delightful French design, with the cutest little wooden hoop button. I bought two copies because one copy is for a dear friend.
And I think that’s probably all my stitching news for the last couple of months … really not too much to show compared to how I normally stitch, but I guess life became more of a priority for a while. Hopefully now I’ve managed to put needle fabric semi-regularly over the last two weeks (even if it was just at the weekends), my mojo will continue and I’ll get back into it once again. It had better do that, as I have another quilt block I need to stitch by next month now!!!
I’ll finish off with the last 2 WIPocalypse theme questions:
13 June – Have you ever been to a stitch gathering such as a retreat or a festival? If so, tell us about it!
Yes I have – way back in 2000 I flew to Sacramento, California for a CATs stitching festival. It was the most amazing experience where I got to meet some online stitching pals and had about 6 classes with well-known American designers/needle artists. It was my first introduction to pulled thread (I thought I was learning drawn thread so I soon found out I didn’t know what I was talking about, and learnt a new skill I hadn’t expected to). I went a bit crazy at the shopping mall, meeting some more designers face-to-face, and went to a local stitching shop where I was beside myself with all the thread choices etc. I think I came home with pretty much an entire suitcase full of class projects and stash, along with my first floorstand and mat cutter! It was an amazing experience that I’m ever so grateful I got to experience!!
12 July – It’s halfway to Christmas. Do you start your holiday stitching this early? If so, what do you hope to accomplish this year?
Truthfully I stitch my holiday stitching whenever I feel like it. I always used to try to stitch a Christmas ornie a month, but now I just do it when I get the urge, or when I have a rotation slot dedicated to ornie stitching. It doesn’t bother me stitching Christmas items throughout the year, although I have to admit the closer it gets to Christmas the stronger the urge to stitch something for the festive season! This year I have no lofty goals, I just want to continue enjoying to stitch – and hopefully have a few finishes by the end of the year 🙂
The title says it all … a few days ago I put the final stitches into Blue Bayou, and oh my goodness I am so in love with it, it’s just not funny!! I ended up substituting DMC 991 pearl cotton for the charted Anchor pearl cotton, as I just couldn’t find it quickly locally, and I was impatient to get it finished!
“Blue Bayou” by Northern Pine Designs
with recommended canvas and threads
Exception: Substituted Anchor pearl cotton with DMC 991 pearl cotton
I still had 1 1/2 hours left of my canvaswork rotation slot, so I immediately put another Northern Pine Designs project on the stretcher bars and made a start on Surf and Sand … much more subtle colours on this one, and a little too much pink for my liking so far, but I’m hoping once the light turquoise blue gets added it’ll balance the colours out a bit more … it’s very pretty so far, though, even with the pink! 😛 I’ve actually stitched half of the next bargello band as well since this photo was taken, but will show more photos later! 
As for the rest of the week, I’m finally starting to feel a bit more ‘normal’ after recuperating at home and being a hermit for a few days. Today has been spent in the kitchen all day, which means I have a brown rice slice/pie (technically called “Ham Cheese and Leek Pie”) for the freezer for lunches, and a Red Wine, Beef and Mushroom Stew bubbling away in the crockpot for dinners this week … I still have a Pasta, Beef and Mushrooms dish to whip up for the freezer but my feet are killing me thanks to my stupid plantar fasciitis, so I think I’ll call it a day cooking-wise and finish the rest up tomorrow 🙂
And that means for the rest of the day I’m going to settle in and catch up on some more recorded TV in the lounge (thanks to the flatmate being at work), while starting on my next rotation slot … “Finishing”. Hopefully by the end of the next 5 or 10 hour rotation (whenever I get fed up with it), I’ll have a few more finished items under my belt and out of the finishing pile, even if they’re just ornaments 😀 I also have some comments to respond too as well, which I’ll do shortly 🙂
The title says it all really … in the last 2-3 days since being home I’ve locked myself away from the world and just stitched my little heart out. It has really done me the world of good and today I feel a lot more relaxed and back to ‘normal’ again (what ‘normal’ actually is!).
I’ve tried to get back into my rotation slot once again, and it’s done me the world of good to have some sort of discipline again with my stitching – it really helps me to ‘focus’ and I get so much more one than I would normally. The first rotation slot consisted of Christmas ornaments/freebies, and in my 10 hours I managed to finish 2 ornaments, and almost finish another one (I just had to put it to one side because I can’t find one DMC thread I need to finish it … yep, story of my life!!). The two that I finished are as follows (I won’t show the other one until I’ve actually finished it!):
“The Merry Skater” by Little House Needleworks
stitched on 32ct hand-dyed Belfast linen by Countrystitch ~ colour Haystack
with recommended threads, except substituting DMC 712 with 3865
Started 21 Apr 2014 ~ Finished 24 Apr 2014
“Joyful Night” by Shepherd’s Bush
from the 1998 JCS Christmas Ornament issue
stitched on 32ct Lambswool Wichelt linen
with recommended threads, except substituting DMC Ecru with 3865
Note: the chart called for pink DMC for the sheep swirl, which seemed to be an error,
so I replaced with DMC 3865
Started 24 Apr 2014 ~ Finished 25 Apr 2014
Then I moved on to my Canvaswork rotation slot … the last time I started this one (Blue Bayou by Northern Pine Designs) I found the WDW pearl cotton that was supposed to be PC#8 was actually PC#5 (it was mislabelled), and it really showed up with my stitching … so my first job yesterday was to unpick the original pearl cotton stitching … which ended up being a challenge in itself! Because the waffle stitch has so few threads on the back to weave into, I’d managed to thread through a few stitches adjoining it, and it ended up being such a tangled mess trying to unpick I just ended up frogging those as well … which left me with 3 very small bands of metallic threads left. Once I started stitching, though, I set the stopwatch going and really got into the rhythm of this one. It’s one of those projects when you wake up in the morning and turn over to see your stitching on your stitching stand and it makes your spirits soar straightaway!
Unfortunately, though, I hadn’t realised I didn’t have one of the pearl cottons for this design, so I’m a bit stalled now … I originally hadn’t worried too much knowing that I should be able to get pearl cottons locally, until I realised last night that it’s actually an Anchor pearl cotton that I need. I’ve decided, though, to just try and get a DMC equivalent as I really don’t think it’ll make that much of a difference. Today I’m going to head out to my local Spotlight to see if they have what I need (although truthfully don’t hold out much hope!!). If not, I’ll just start up a different canvaswork piece to start work on for the remaining 3 hours of my rotation instead. Here is how Blue Bayou looks right now, along with some close-ups of those amazing stitches in it so far:
I haven’t been doing much of anything at all while staying with my parents, as I just don’t have the mental energy to “get up and go” … so the last few days I’ve been glued to the TV re-watching The Tudors DVDs while doing a tiny spot of stitching. The weather has been abysmal over here, so it hasn’t been the weather to get outdoors (even the waterfront was flooded last week thanks to the tail end of a cyclone), and we’ve all been stuck in front of the TV in various rooms. My Dad watches his TV at number 63 on the volume, whereas I usually have it between 10-15, so I often run away to the bedroom to avoid a migraine and frayed nerves … which also means not spending time with my folks as there isn’t enough comfy room for both Mum and I in the bedroom … not the best use of an airfare really, but I suppose if nothing else I’ve had a very lazy relaxed time I guess …
In saying that, though, I did spend a couple of days being a ‘techno geek’ for Dad and writing up a 28-page user guide for his mobile phone. It’s a real ‘mobile for dummies’ with lots of screenshots and captions and step-by-step instructions for how to use his phone. I guess if nothing else at least I’ve managed to do that for him this trip, so it wasn’t all wasted time 🙂
I also made a batch of my favourite Red Velvet Cupcakes for a treat, but I was really disappointed with them – not sure if it was the batch of flour Mum had, or the fact they don’t have digital scales making it hard to measure the 10g of cocoa properly, or the fact that the Organic Buttermilk here is quite ‘clumpy’ and a totally different texture to the buttermilk we have in Aussie … but whatever it was that was different, they were quite heavy compared to how I make them at home, so not a great treat really
The GREAT part of the trip so far, though, has been having a ‘stitching day’ with some Kiwi stitching pals … while not much stitching actually happened, it was lovely to have show and tell of people’s stitching finishes, and just having a general fun chat. If I move back to Auckland again, I know this is one group of ladies I’ll definitely be spending more time with, they’re great fun! Thanks again to Zeb, Jennie and Paula for a really fun day … and to Zeb for some really scrummy Trifle 😀
While I’ve had minimal stitching time I have managed to “almost” finish Fern Pixie by Nora Corbett. I’ve managed to finished all the actual stitching, but I hadn’t realised there was one whole green bead on one of her shoes, and I didn’t bring those with me to NZ, so she won’t be 100% finished until I get back home again …
But one piece I DID manage to finish was the stitching of Nora Corbett’s Valentine Fairy – I finally frogged the different dyelot in her legs and restitched, then did the remaining metallics and beading … and now she’s 100% finito!! I still don’t particularly love her, as she’s WAY too pink for my tastes, but I haven’t decided yet whether to throw her on Ebay or not. Mum’s actually said that she likes her, so it’s quite possible that she’ll end up staying here in NZ and living the rest of her days in Mum’s bedroom … maybe 😉
“Miss Valentine Fairy” by Nora Corbett (Mirabilia)
Started 6 Nov 2013 – Finished 20 Apr 2014
Stitched on 28ct Lavender Bliss Cashel linen
with Crescent Colours kit threads
(exception: replaced the Crescent Colours thread for the skin with DMC)
Feather Stitching 