Miniature house build underway

Hi everyone,
Having read a few of my favourite blogs I realise the weather here is not too bad after all. USA is freezing their socks off and other parts of Australia are having bushfires and flooding. Yikes......To everyone out there battling with the elements I send my heartfelt best wishes at it will improve very soon.

On the homefront, there has been a girl's stitching day and an outing to the movies to see "Quartet" since we last chatted. The stitching day was great as always and we all made a little progress on our canvas projects. Anne is working on Michael Boren's 'Frankie', Lis is working on Jim Wurth's 'Czarina' and I pulled out Kurdy Biggs's 'Looking Glass'. It has been a while since this project got an outing and I had forgotten how much fun it is.

Quartet the movie was a little sad but has some great one-liners to keep you smiling. Wouldnt it be wonderful to have a house like this one in the movie for age challenged stitchers in their twilight years? There were some gorgeous sunny windows that would make a happy stitching nook with views that went on forever. Sigh, dream on............a lottery win would make the dream come true, methinks. But... and there is always a but....Ian and I have been buying lotto tickets for over 30 years and we are not rich yet. 

Here is what has made it on to the pile of finished objects

Textile Heritage, UK
Stained Glass Window
DMC threads,35 count Natural linen

I think the sheep has a very cheeky look on his face and it is probably because he needs shearing. The colours are very bright and the blue is almost iridescent. One more done, many more to go.

The next piece is something I could not resist buying a the the summer school market day.

It is another UK project by The Nutmeg Company (click the name to follow the link)

The Nutmeg Company
'The Castle Inn'
3 dimensional  Cross Stitch, finished size 8cms

Cute isn't it. They sell these as whole kits and because they use aida the walls of the house are very square so I am hoping the making up won't be a too much of a stretch.

Happy stitching, bye for now, Carol

 

Country Cottage Needleworks, Santa's Village part 1 of 12 finish

Hi everyone,

I had so much fun stitching the 1st piece of Santas' Village I went looking for more and I found Little House Needleworks ornament series. So drumroll please.................ta da..

CCN - Santa's House
LHN - Tree Farm & Sleigh Bells Ring
Stitched on 35 count Natural, 1 over one
with DMC and GAST threads

Aren't they sweet and the fun part is there are lots more to choose from. Oh so many projects and not enough hours in the day. I am hopelessly and easily distracted by all the wonderful things I find out in the cybersphere. My fingers stitch and stitch and the to-do pile just gets bigger. I am sure all dedicated stitchers have the same problem  addiction. At least with these small projects the time to finishing is closer and it does the heart good when they proudly sit in the finished basket.

My birdcage class piece is coming along nicely but not enough progress to show, yet.

A friend has agreed to help me set up a website so I will be able to sell my needlework charts online. It will take a while to to get right but it is very exciting to finally be able to move along to the next chapter in my needlework journey. 2013 should be very interesting.

Bye for now, Carol

My fantastic weekend at EGSA summer school

Hi everyone,
 I have just had the most wonderful weekend stitching with 19 other friends at the Embroiderers' Guild of South Australia Summer School. There were lots of classes to choose from but my favourite choice was the French Birdcage workbox and accessories by Christine P. Bishop. We spent 2 days working on the accessories that fit into the workbox and discussing the stitching and construction of the box. Everything was explained in detail and we were able to stitch enough to be able the complete other pieces with the information we gained in class. We did request a catch-up class toward the end of the year and Christine very kindly agreed to arrange a time and date.

Here is what I achieved in class.

French Birdcage Workbox & Accessories
Copyright Christine P Bishop 2012

There is a lot more to stitch but it is just beautiful. Friends and I had a chance to tour around the other classes during lunchtime to see what the others were stitching and to say hello to friends we haven't seen for a while. Lots of homework all round. There was a sewing related quiz night on Saturday night with teams competing to win threads and chocolate, two of the most favourite things a stitcher can never have enough of lol..................Won't tell you where my team was in the final scores but it was a good laugh.

On Friday was the Summer School Market Day and I was able to display and sell some of my charts and accessories. Although it was another hot day I managed to sell a few charts and chat to lots of lovely people from all over Australia. Thank you to everyone who bought, hope you enjoy your purchases.

There has not been a lot of counted canvaswork going on at the moment, but I will promise to get back to some soon.

Happy stitching, bye for now, Carol

Finally my fried brain is working

Hi everyone,
Christmas and New Year came and went like greased lightening. Added to the fact the temperatures here are unbelievable. Bring on winter, please.............

Most of the stitching at this time is small things that I can hold in my hand and stitch while being pumelled by the gusts of cold air from the air conditioner. I found and fell in love with Country Cottage Needleworks, Santa's Village. The first installment of the 12 month series is "Santa's House". Now when I say small things I really mean small (2" x 2.5"). I decided I wanted them to be christmas tree ornaments when finished and this means to get the size I wanted they will have to be stitched over one thread on 35 count natural linen. Sheer madness as usual.

Here is Sants's House, nearly finished.

Country Cottage Needleworks, Santa's House

The next installment has been released called "Poinsetta House". So it is on my shopping wishlist.

The other 2 small pieces that were finished came from my bits and pieces stashbox.

Left: Jane Grenoff, Mini Band Sampler
Right: Textile Heritage Collection, Lilac Time

The Lilac Time piece is stitched on 18 Count Aida. I am not a great fan of Aida but this piece is stitched on a very pretty pale green so instead on changing it to linen it stayed on the Aida cloth supplied with the little kit. The gold flutterby is my addition. In the chart it is stitched but kind of looks like "a deer caught in headlights" so my option was the gold charm. Lilac's are special to me, my Dad has a Lilac bush in his backyard. It is not supposed to grow in a South Australian climate but each year it flowers and smells wonderful.

Over the years I have met some wonderful people. Now I would like to introduce you to a very special person who has encouraged many stitchers to branch out and explore their potential.

Christine has been my "mentor" and a great role model over many years. Her linen  designs are stunning and are oft times works of arts. January 2013 at the EGSA's Summer school I will be attending a class with Christine to stitch her "French Birdcage Workbox and Accessories". What can I say, Stunning............Take a peek at this and some of her other designs. Christine has 4 designs for sale at the moment with more on the way.

Christine P Bishop  Just click on underlined name and enjoy.

Happy stitching, bye for now, Carol