Drawn Thread Sampler of Stitches - FINISHED!

Yippee!!!

My Sampler of Stitches is finally finished! 

Here it is, all ready for framing ..

The space for initials in the lower right hand corner only had enough space for 3 - I have four of them!  So I decided just to use my first and last initials, and pop a Bee charm between them as my signature! 

"Y" was for Y stitch (like fly stitch, but with a longer stem), and 'Diagonal Y stitch' (exactly as it sounds - the same stitch worked on the diagonal).  Z was ZigZag stitch (the pulled panel), and Zig-Zag Chain (just the same as chain stitch, except you make the chain 'zig-zag' as you work it).

I'm so delighted with this one - it's taken me a couple-or-three years to complete but I've worked it 'on and off' and have really enjoyed every moment of it.  I know the charts are expensive but they build into a really comprehensive stitch-library.  I could have sold them on about five times over, but I'm not willing to part with them!

I have had a couple of stitching friends to stay for a few days - Ally and Mouse, from Friendly Stitchers.  We had a great time - lots of chatting, tea-drinking, eating of chocolate cake, giggling, and - oh, yes! - stitching went on.  Unfortunately the sun didn't come out enough for us to sit in the garden, but we managed to get ourselves comfy inside and got quite a lot done.

That's Mouse on the left, me on the middle, and Ally on the right - we are in the greenhouse just outside my front door, enjoying a quick break away from our needles! :-)  My grapes are coming on nicely, you can just see . .

In honour of finishing the DT sampler, and of Ally and Mouse's visit, I decided to start a new project - Bee's Garden (which hasn't got bees in it .. yet! LOL!).  I had previously bought a piece of Polstitches fabric to do this on, as I didn't fancy the idea of doing such a big project on black . . however, it soon became apparent that black thread had been used as subtle highlights on the chart, along with dark greens and browns, and on the Polstitches these 'subtle' colours were leaping out!  So I frogged the lot, ordered in some black jobelan, took a deep breath - and this is the result!

It might not look much at the moment,  but I was astonished at how many colours were used in this section - the shading is very subtle and intricate, and I was often stitching just one stitch before having to thread my needle up with the next colour!  Can you see what I mean about black being used as a 'highlight'?  I actually decided to try using a variegated black from Threadworx, and it's just given things a very subtle 'lift' without overwhelming things, so it has worked out well.

To give you an idea of how huge this piece is, take a look at the photo from the front of the chart . .

Hm, methinks I have taken on another long-term WiP!

Working on the black jobelan wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be in the end.  I had heard advice about putting an uplighter or a torch, or even just a white pillowcase, on your lap to show up the holes in the fabric.  However, when I tried this with my light-box, all that happened was that when my hand came under the fabric to make the stitch, the holes promptly vanished in the exact spot you needed to see them!  In the end, I discovered that good light shining DOWN on to the fabric was much more effective, and once my 'eye' was tuned in to this, I was away!  It does help that there aren't huge areas to count between stitched areas - I think the way to tackle that will be to make 'tacking' stitches across, and then remove them afterwards.  Anway, I shall of course let you know how I get on with it!

Having re-started Bees Magic on the black, it left me with a huge, wonderful piece of Nature's Grace by Polstitches.   Well of course, I couldn't just leave it in my stash drawer unused!  I remembered seeing a Mirabillia design some time ago at a show and thinking it was stunning, and I suddenly thought it would be perfect on the Nature's Grace.  So I have ordered "Lilly of the Woods" from Leisurecraft of Tewkesbury.  Fingers are all crossed that the colours will work together!

I've also been busy designing and stitching a project for the Friendly Stitchers get-together in Harrogate this coming November.  I'm going to keep very quiet about that, tho - no hints!

The summer in the UK has been abysmal, yet again - we haven't had a single dry day in weeks!  Today it is thundery, foggy, cold, and windy, with sharp, torrential showers interrupting things.  The woodsmen are working nearby felling trees, and the tremendous crack as they go down is difficult to differentiate from the thunder we've had recently!  Both my dogs are looking fed-up; they had their 'summer clip' last week in anticipation of days in the garden, splashing in their own paddling pool . . and instead they are huddled up together in their bed, chilly and bored, poor things!

Wherever you are in the world, I wish you lots of happy stitching!

Buzzing off . . . .

Bee
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