Stitching Bee

The sun has stayed with us, and I have been spending many happy hours in the greenhouse with my stitching, a glass of something refreshing at my side, the scent of new-growth all around me, my dogs snoozing at my feet . . is there anything more wonderful in the world, I wonder?

I finally got round to finishing the designing for the speciality-stitch version of the centre panel on the ASAW sal for Friendly Stitchers.  The original has an alphabet charted in cross-stitch, but several people said they didn't want an alphabet, and for me, I just HAD to have something with speciality stitches in, of course!  So here it is, all stitched up - with Week 16's Tulip design, so it's now completely up to date!

Hm, should that bit in the middle have read, "In my Greenhouse, I find Joy" ?? 

And finally, because I keep promising (and keep forgetting ) here is a pic of Celestial Wings, my UFOs.  Non-stitchers please note - UFO stands for Un Finished Object, please do not keep writing to me about aliens and space ships!)

This one is being worked on a 28ct Silkweaver solo that has a gold thread running through it, so it looks just like millions of tiny stars shimmering away in the heavens - very appropriate!  The scan doesn't pick this up, nor the fact that the tail fluke and the ridge-scales are in Krienik braid - the whole thing glistens!

We have a UFO day on Friendly Stitchers (no, not for little green men) where we are encouraged to work a little on our UFOs once a week.  I must admit I have been a bit naughty and not strictly adhered to this, partly because my dear friend Alison Joy, who wields the wet noodle (we thought a whip might be a bit cruel ) has been too ill to keep lashing us into action.  I hope if she manages to read this, she will see I haven't entirely neglected it and might spare me a few pasta-swipes!

Right, I'm off to sit in the sun again!  Hey - it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it, right?)

Buzzing off . . . .
Bee

April has arrived, and with it has come glorious sunshine hot enough to make the garden errupt with blossom, tulips, hyacinth, dandelions, daisies, wood anemones, bluebells (just starting!) and of course, new leaves.   As if to remind us all that it's not summer yet, the days of blue skies are interspersed with days of thick blanketing fog, chilly, strong winds and thunder-storms, brrrr!

The wildlife in the forest has begun its annual spring-fest of baby-production - foxes, rabbits, squirrels birds, frogs, mice, even slow-worms, have all been spotted or heard in the garden, busy about the business of either finding a mate, or bringing up babies.

I have been buzy, both with the needle in my hand and the one in my sewing machine!  I decided I wanted to make a quilted tote to carry my stitching bits and bobs about; one that had plenty of pockets, that wasn't too big or too small, and had an open-top to allow bigger Q-snaps to stick out the top if need be.   I finally found the pattern I was looking for; a reversible 'shopper'; one side has long pockets, the other has smaller square ones, and you can turn the bag inside-out or outside-in, depending on what you want to be kept hidden inside, or be quick to hand outside!

Here it is:-

With cross-stitch, I have been working some more on Celestial Wings (hm, really must take a photo of that one, it's really starting to take shape, now!), Papillon Creation's How Does Your Garden Grow (I'm on to the last part, yippee!), the A Stitch A Week sal from my Friendly Stitchers group, and Bee Garden accessories.  I finished the scissor sheath for this today; I decided to make it into a 'scissor slider' by adding a twisted cord and attaching it to the pin-keep, so that you can't loose your scissors or your needles, or the case!  Here it is . . 

I made this one up differently to how I did the Friendly Stitchers Slider, in that no card was inserted, so it is 'soft' to the touch and squishy!   It also has a backstitch border round it which made the making-up much faster and easier.   Having ironed interfacing to the back of the stitching to stabilize it, I then put each stitched piece right-sides-together with the lining, and machined round three edges (one thread OUTSIDE of the backstitch border), leaving the top open.  I turned this right-side out,  and 'fed' in a piece of quilt-wadding already cut to shape, before closing the top with ladder-stitch (aka 'invisible stitching').  When both sides were done,  I whip-stitched them together through the backstitches (like how you would for a biscornu), remembering to insert the needle-keep after the first side, with the cord hanging out through the gap at the bottom.   I'm quite pleased with the result - a lot less bother and it's just as neat a finish!

We are up to week 16 on the ASAW sal, now.  I haven't got started on the latest design, yet, so this one is only up to last week's.   Anyway, here it is . .

You can see it's really starting to grow, now - and Winter is turning into spring!  I had the little bird button in my stash, but I did actually chart a bird sitting on the bird-house for those who didn't have one!  I am so enjoying seeing what everyone is doing with this project - one lady has changed the Westie to a Dacshund, for example, and another lady changed the primrose-patch that the bunny sits in to dandelions and daisies!  Another lady did bright pink wellington boots, jazzy!

A word about the free-charts on Friendly Stitchers  . . please remember that the charts are now passworded.   Passwords are given out solely at the discretion of the Moderators, and are not available to lurkers.

Happy stitching everyone - stay buzzzzzzzy!

Bee
x

It has been a while since I last wrote, so I am sorry if you have all been waiting patiently!  It's mainly because I have had problems with painful hands and I haven't been doing much in the way of stitching.

Instead,  I have made good use of my new Sony PRS 'Reader', and Audible audiobooks on my iPod Nano, watching the birds on the feeder, and seeing Winter slowly changing into spring!

I have done a bit of stitching, though - I have made a couple of prezzies (which I can't say too much about, as they haven't got to their new owners yet!), done a little bit of work on Celestial Wings (hm, must scan that in and show you all where I am with it!), and have completed the cross-stitch on Buzzy Days.

I also decided to have a go making a Q-snap cover.  These are a bit like steering-wheel covers; elasticated loops of fabric that fit around the outside of your Q-snap frame, helping to keep the frame and fabric clean, and enabling you to tuck excess fabric out of the way into the cover.  There are fairly simple to make but you do need a sewing machine really.  I used instructions I found on the internet.  Here is the finished result (with 'Buzzy Days' so far!)

I think I will probably have a go at making covers for the other sizes of Q-snaps that I own, although as this is a 14-inch square one, it should also fit a 17" by 11" frame, too.  I have also seen what are called Q-snap 'Boots', deeper pockets that fit over one side of your frame if you have a large amount of excess fabric to deal with.  This might well be useful for a planned project I have in my stash-draw!

I had a birthday earlier this month, although it was a bit of a quiet day due to a pain-flare .   My DH and my kids got me a DVD player for the little TV in my bedroom, so now I can watch my favourites in bed, nice and cosy!  I also had a gorgeous artist teddy bear called "Eddie" (teddy Eddie!), he has a very sad expression cos he's been through the wars , and has been patched up by someone who doesn't possess a lot of skill with a needle, LOL!  I also had a stunning dragonfly biscornu from Val, some Polstitches perle threads and fabric from Karen, and a Judy Dixon chart from Mouse.  I am also starting to get thread parcels as I am this months 'Calender Girl' on Friendly Stitchers - but I will save them all up and put a photo up once I have them all, promise!

Just a couple of quick messages before I go - Happy Birthdays  to Karen (last Monday) and Val (today)!  And Get Well Soon Wishes  to Alison Joy (who is in bed with pneumonia, poor lass) and Mouse (recovering from abdominal surgery).   Hope all of you find reasons to smile today!  Love ya all!  (((((((hugs))))))))

Buzzzzzzzing off  . . . . . .
Bee
x

Here are the promised photos from DH's 'walk' with the dogs.  I say 'walk' . . for my Westie, Angus, it was more of a 'wade'!   DH said he had to keep under the trees where the snow was less deep, otherwise poor wee Angus disappeared!

And yes, it's STILL snowing! 

It's almsot getting to the point of being scary, rather than fun.  Our food supplies are getting low and more snow is forecast for Sunday.  If we can't get out tomorrow then things could start to become "interesting", as they say!

Stay warm, everyone - and stay safe.
Bee
x

It has snowed heavily through the night - another 4-5 inches!  As I forgot to take photos of yesterday's snowfall before my kids 'messed up' the garden, I've taken a few this morning; the 'blobs' are the snow still pelting down!
The first one is an alium -head, taken in my greenhouse by one of the panes that was broken by the weight of snow last year! 

DH has promised photos of the dogs in the snow later, so if any good ones come out, I promise to upload them later!

Stay warm, stay safe - have fun!
Bee
x

A weather system blown in from Russia has been turning the UK into a Winter Wonderland this week.  It's also caused chaos with schools closed, buses and trains cancelled, roads impassable, and emergency services stretched to their limits.

Being high up and fairly isolated, my home in Gloucestershire has been effectively cut off for most of this week; the Postman did manage to make it to the door on Wednesday, but further snow that night cut us off again by this morning.  Mind you - it is pretty!

I have been sitting in the warm, enjoying the snow from the windows, and doing some stitching to keep me occupied.  The next square in the ASAW sal on Friendly Stitchers was, appropriately, a snowflake!  Here is mine:

I also started a new project: Wishful Thinking, a kit from the Buzzy Days series by Bothy Threads.  I changed the fabric to a Silkweavers Solo 28ct, with colours that reminded me of dusk.  I also substituted the orange thread in the centre of the daisy for some 'Fuzzy' thread by Rainbow Gallery, although it doesn't show up well in the scan - it just adds a little dimension and a very subtle bit of a sparkle!

Had a few problems with my blog this week; my previous entry seems to have vanished altogether!  For that reason I will upload the last update on the Papillon Creations SAL, How Does Your Garden Grow?  This was parts 9 and 10.

I still have to add the beads to Part 10 as you can see; Part 11 fits in the centre so I didn't want to risk snagging my precious silk on the beads.  It's fine to have beads above the area I'm working, I find, but not to the sides!

The forecast is for more snow, and no thaw until after the weekend, so I shall be cuddled up in my nice warm 'hive', with my stitching, for the next few days I expect!

Stay safe on the roads, everyone - and keep warm!
Buzzing off . . . .
Bee. 

Hi all,

January has been cold and wet, windy and damp - yeuch!! 

As a suffer of chronic pain, this sort of weather never suits me so I have been taking things quietly, reading, watching TV on our new plasma-screen, and doing a little bit of stitching when my hands have allowed.

Today is my wonderful husband's birthday - happy birthday, darling!  Here is a card I stitched for him of our Polish Lowland Sheepdog, Esau.

Meanwhile, on my group Friendly Stitchers, we have just started work on the 'A Stitch A Week' sal, English Country Garden - one of my own designs!  Each week another tiny chart is uploaded, and stitchers choose their own threads to use.   The first four weeks are now complete (only another 48 to go!!) and already we can see clear differences in everyone's thread choices.  Here is mine:-

If you'd like to join us with this SAL, you'll need to join Friendly Stitchers - click on the link to the left of this page.  We are a lovely, friendly, chatty group . . but please remember we are a CHAT group, not a 'website offering free charts'!   If you join you will be expected to take part in the chat on the group! Designs are exclusively for Friendly Stitchers members and not to be shared outside of the group.

Right, I'm off for a nice cup of tea! :-)
Happy stitching all.
Buzzing off . .  . . .

Happy New Year to you all!

I lost my phone line and internet connection just after my last entry, so I haven't been able to show you all the lovely stitchy things I had for Christmas!  Never mind, I can show you now . .

This parcel arrived from Jane Greenoff of the CSG - I thought she had made a mistake and sent me someone else's order!  Then a couple of days later, Jane rang me to tell me it was a gift from my Friendly Stitchers Secret Santa, Gillie in America!  I was chuffed to bits - the clever girl had contacted Jane and got her to pick me out a few bits, knowing that I am a member of the Guild!  I love the little pinkeep and very nearly bought the kit at the class I was at last summer - good thing I didn't!  I'm not sure what to spend my voucher on yet (it would have gone on the pinkeep otherwise!) so that's a pleasure still to come.  Thank you so much, Gillie!  (((hugs)))

I am also a member of a UK group called StitchCrazy, and joined in with the Secret Santa Exchange there, too.  The brief was slightly different - to send a stitched card, and Christmas-themed stash with a vaule of £3, but more if you liked . . . well, this is what I got!

What can I say but . . WOW!! 
I was completely overwhelmed - all the threads, fabric, chart and embellishments for Just Nan's 'Memories'; a box of Thread Heaven, a whole load of Christmas-themed embellishments and beads, and THREE American mags!  In addition was a stitched card which was actually a cute little ornament to hang on the tree!   I can only say a huge THANK YOU to Mary in the US who sent this treasure-trove to me, and tell her again how thrilled and delighted I was with everything!  ((((hugs, Mary!)))

Then there were these . .

The Drawn Thread chart was from my best-mate Mouse, together with those mouth-watering Pearsalls silk perles (by far and away the most gorgeous perle threads I've ever come across - expensive but exquisite!).
The biscornu chart was from another dear friend, Jo, who also sent the Dinky Dyes silks to work it.  Hi, Jo!    My penpal Nicola sent me the silk-painting book, and my kids gave me the jewellery making book. 
I have plenty to keep me busy in the coming weeks, now! 
Thanks to all of you, you spoiled me and I love it - you made Christmas very special for me!

Well it has been bitterly cold in Gloucestershire; temps have dipped to -10 degrees C at night, rising only to freezing point during the day.  It snowed last night and roads have been treacherous with ice - just in time for everyone to be going back to work/school!  I am supposed to be getting a new TV delivered tomorrow but I can't see how it can be managed, as the access road is steep and covered in ice at the moment - even a 4WD vehicle had problems!

Ah well, I shall curl up in front of my log-burner instead - with some stitching, of course!

Happy New Year to you - I hope 2009 brings you all you could wish for.

Buzzing off . . . .
Bee
x

Merry Christmas to You All!!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas, and you are having a brief rest before the New Year festivities.  Unfortunately I succumbed to the flu-virus that is plaguing the UK at the moment, and although I escaped any serious symptoms I have been feeling rather wrung-out, not really interested in food or drink, etc.   

I managed to complete four ornaments for my tree just in time for Christmas; they are the Shepherd's Bush "2000 years ago" set.   I stitched them on Silkweavers 'Midas Touch' lugana fabric which has a lovely sparkle, and made a twisted cord to finish them off.

I also made this ornament from a design by Homespun Elegance, for an exchange on Friendly Stitchers:-

I used Wisper Threads for Santa's beard and added 'jingle bells' to beaded tassels to finish it off!  My partner, Michelle, loved it - and in return she sent me this!

Doesn't it look lovely?  My tree has lots of wine-colours on it so it fitted in perfectly.

Lots more news to tell you all about, but it will have to be done later as flu is washing over me again - my own private merry-go-round!  In the meantime, have a very happy holidays!

Happy Stitching,
Bee

Here are the next two letters in The Drawn Thread Sampler of Stitches, R and S.