Equilibrium

I am feeling this week like my optimal balance is out of whack. The weight of life and family commitments is drawing on my resources. You know, all that stuff you don't really want to do but have to do! Despite having a fairly sizeable and weighty stash on one side of my balancing act the other side keeps weighing me down to that hum drum side. I keep adding stash to try and compensate so I can make it to the woo hoo side ....but it's not working!!!!!!!!!!

All those Mum's out there will know just what I mean when I say that there's four of us in this family, so that's three people wanting my attention all to themselves, those three people see only one person....as for me.... it's all three at once and no fourth....you'all know who that fourth is right?

Consequently the vast majority of what I have achieved this week seems to be prep with a little peek of a newbie I have been working on for a couple of weeks. 

First up, the ongoing saga of Mountmellick. Whilst seeming fairly easy peasy and stress free this part 4 border involves a reasonable bit of time just cutting, pinning, stitching and pressing. I have never done hour glasses before and thought the cutting was quite clever. Four squares of fabric, a light and a dark each with right sides together and on top of each other. Cut corner to corner diagonally and voila four triangle groups with each colour to make four hour glass squares. Nifty.

The four hexie flowers for the four corner border squares. Aren't they sweet!

And here they are placed on the fabric ready to be stitched and cut into squares. This is the only hand stitching for this border.

Two piles of hour glasses....two to go....

Here's the next lot awaiting stitching...they've been waiting there a few days now!

I am so hoping to finish this up in the next week, the rest of this week is not looking flash for time spent in my studio though.....darn it!

Now I also did a teeny tiny but of prep for a future project. The tracing is done. Guess what I am going to try my hand at....never done this before! Loving those cute as little balls of Valdani 3ply! This is Manor at Strawberry Hill by the amazingly talented Brenda Gervais.

The other project that has been going a couple of weeks is also something never before attempted by me in either traditional of modern style. It isn't going too badly and I am loving the result. 

I am adoring the french vanilla look of this design. The threads and beads are cool to work with. Dancing Threads is a great name for this project.

Can you tell I am winging it....I have learnt the basics of needle weaving and can see now that I need many more warp threads but I am still loving the outcome.

Winging it with a little bit of help....ok...a lot of help....

.... from Hazel's new book! Hazel, your designs rock and crewel is cool.

Off to do some more balancing....have  a great week 

Rae