World Embroidery Day

It's already in it's 5th year and I didn't even know until today. I'm a day late here in NZ as it's made it to the 31st. Thank goodness for facebook alerts from later timezones, where it's still the 30th, for drawing my attention to this auspicious day. The 30th of July  is also World Embroidery Day. An initiative started by the Swedish Embroidery Guild the celebration is growing in momentum through the Global Embroidery Network. Here's a copy of the manifesto ~ 

What a fantastic idea and I thought to add my little bit to the celebration I would blog about my embroidered achievements over the past few weeks ~ Creativity for the sake of Peace, Freedom and Equality ~

Since I am ahead on the 2015 BOM for Sue Spargo I thought I would get on and applique the butterflies onto the background for another piece I am working on. I just don't feel right these days unless I have a wool project on the go. It's such a satisfying medium to work with. Can't wait to get to the embellishing/embroidery bit ~ so vibrant, colourful and fun ~ less than a month's sleeps now until the Patchwork Passion Sue Spargo retreat ~ can't wait ~ LOVE meeting the designers in person ~

~ A riot of colour ~

~ Texturising the background adds dimension ~

 I promised last time I blogged that I would have the third instalment of Colmar finished and I have. The latest Quiltmania has arrived with instalment four so I need to get prepp'd to start that soon ~ 

~ A gorgeous bouquet ~

~ LOVE those pretty little hearts ~

~ Amazing how the embroidery makes a piece sing ~

I managed to slip in a little sustenance during the week, Check out these cheeky little Nutter Butter's from Craftsy ~

~ Aren't they cute 'n' tasty too ~

AND, I also had a finish, finish ~ my May Your Hands set is complete. So nice to have an item removed from the 'awaiting finishing pile' and all set up in the display cabinet for admiration. It feels like an absolute age since I did the embroidery on this project ~

~ Such a sweet set ~

To round off the week I tried my hand at something very non embroidery but creative nontheless and a newby technique for me ~ I have had the supplies to make some needle felted pumpkins from Sarafina Fiber Art for yonks and finally decided to give it a go ~ it was such fun ~ now I need to progress to doing armatures and some real animals ~ 

~ It's super quick and super fun ~

~ Gotta love this trio ~

~ And witchy poo pumpkin too of course ~

~ This one's going to a friends home if she'll have him ~

~ Had to put this one under glass ~

~ Oh, I managed some needle punch too this week ~

Hope you managed to do some embroidery this week too ~ Happy World Embroidery Day ~

~ May Your Days Be Filled With Salubrious Stitching ~

Piddling Along

Well that's what it feels like ~ things ain't moving particularly fast ~ 

Managing car selling and car shopping and school holidays are sucking up my mojo ~ it's been a wet and cold holiday for the first part but even hanging around at home things ain't getting done ~ these peeps are ALWAYS wanting to eat ~ OR ~ wanting this, that or the next thing ~

This project (May Your Hands) has been hanging around in my studio completely stitched for months maybe a year waiting to be dealt to by the 'finisher' ~ uh hmm ~ that would be me ~ decided to get it out and darn well finish finish so I can file all away into the prettiest Betsy Krieg Salm personalised box I received ages ago ~ even though I pulled it out for completion asap it's all been sitting on the desk for days now ~ one day!!!

~ Even Craig's sick of waiting for me to finish ~

Next project has seen a bit more of my attention, mainly because I can tend to it whilst watching TV. In typical 'me' style I didn't choose an easy project to start learning this particular skill (rug hooking) on but then I just cannot bring myself to work on boring starter kits that don't excite me so over challenge myself I will ~ actually it's not hard apart from learning to pull the wool evenly and how to execute nice start/stops and corners ~

~ If I pull finger I might get it done before winter's over or halloween for that matter ~

Been also doing a little of Colmar ~ next piccie I WILL have this done cos the next blocks out soon ~

~ Fixing's done ~ onto the more fun embellishing ~

My Ort pile is growing and showing my many and varied projects~

 ~ The ends of the wool worms are outgrowing the threads ~

Right ~ back to May Your Hands ~ ~ May Your Days Be Filled With Salubrious Stitching ~

To Go Or Not To Go...

....that is the question. I am allowed to go as per the husbands permission but will I decide to go! Today the link came through from Thistle Threads East Coast Embroidered Casket Tour to those of us outside of the USA/Canada to enable us to book for this tour.

 

The tour involves four days of activities:

 

Day 1 - A visit to the Met Museum & shopping in NYC

Day 2 - A visit to the Cooper Hewitt Museum & travel to Boston

Day 3 - A visit to the MFA in Boston & shopping in downtown Boston

Day 4 - A visit to the Lexington Historical Society and a casket finishing course with Tricia from Thistle Threads followed by a reception at Tricia's house

 

All activities sound VERY appealing and the chance to get to view all that 17th century embroidery with expert knowledge supplied by the museum staff and Tricia would be awesome not to mention meeting the extremely talented Tricia and all the other lovely class members.....but

 

....for me living here in little old New Zealand in reality it means....

 

...40 hours plus of flying time with return flights, that's an entire working week spent in the air not to mention the time waiting at airports and all on my own

 

...I would be exhausted when I got there and so would need to arrive early just to sleep and all the travel time far outweighs the time allotted for the tour.

 

...and the big deciding factor for me is that for the cost of the tour/airfares & extra hotel stays not to mention spending while over there and adding to stash I would be able to purchase a double casket form along with the associated customs costs as well as get the new iMac I want and have enough left over to purchase a flattop double casket so....as much as I would like to join the tour it just doesn't stack up!

 

....so any USA ladies reading this blog who want to join the tour and are afraid of missing out due to numbers...there is a slot not taken...by me at least

 

Took me while to let it go though...that feeling of missing out but I will just have to celebrate my 50th with my goodies instead!

 

So ... enough mulling over that and onto the here and now

 

 

Time for a bit of chit chat about what's gone on this week

 

 

The Grow Your Blog party continues and I have spent a bit of time looking at some lovely blogs with many still to go on the list and thank you to all those lovely ladies who have posted your encouraging comments on my blog and become followers of my musings.

 

I still have my kids home on school holidays until 5th February and so have not achieved milestones but here are the results of my plugging away...

 

I have stitched the wings of the butterfly onto the background of the Essamplaire Casket

 

I have couched the old gold lace onto the outine of the Thistle Threads Floral Glove. Need to get a hurry on as The last lesson #6 comes out 1st February and I want to be up to date.

 

My main focus this week has been plugging away in the evenings on the Needleworker's Pocketbook and the pastoral scene is taking shape.

 

I have succeeded in catching up with the latest lesson #5 for the Thistle Threads May Your Hands and am waiting for #6 on 1st February. I can't believe I have done this as I was so late starting this and the saw tooth borders took me what seemed forever.

 

In the piccie from left to right and excluding the painted thread holders (painted by Betsy Krieg Salm) are the finished Thimble Nest, Scissor Keep, Pin Pad and Wax Holder.

 

The final lesson will contain the instructions to complete the other more involved pieces so a bit of work ahead of me. Oh, I also made up the strawberry emery but it is just out of the picture on the left. I will photo it again when the set is complete so you can see then.

 

Have a fun week fellow bloggers and look forward to meeting more GYB participants.

 

WIP It Good!

I started to WIP the May Your Hands project into a finished article this week. I started in order of instruction with the pin pad. I am happy thus far and the gathering around the sides looks nice by man does that satin fray something shocking. That's what all those threads are!!!

 

I picked up a rather forgotten WIP this week and it was WIPPING GOOD. The Needleworker's Pocket book is progressing again. Back to counted work for a while in the evenings I have decided. I want to finish this one and have confidently stitched 2014 into the completion date.

I also managed to WIP up the wings for the butterfly on the Essamplaire casket. They've been pinned on for a few days now...need to get to stitching them on but they do look oh so pretty with their little venetian picot wing tips. I did get much better at that stitch by the time I finished the 6th one...yes

 

 

Tricia from Thistle Threads in conjunction with Susan Albury has announced an East Coast Embroidered Casket Tour in October this year. How super exciting. It is a 21 to 30 hour journey time (one way) depending on flights and connections from here in NZ so a big excursion but I have talked to my hubby and hubby says yes I can go and he will look after the kids. What a wonderful 50th birthday present. Just need to control myself waiting for the 28th booking slot now. Woo Hoo.

Farewell and Moving On

A gentle kind soul was farewelled by those who loved him this week after illness took him. He is no longer suffering and for that we are grateful. He lived life with a generosity of spirit.

 

Leslie David Howan was my Father In Law, he was 85 years old and leaves behind a family who cared greatly for him.

 

Husband, Father, Father In Law, Grandfather and Great Grandfather.....we will remember

 

 

The flower my daughter is named after 'Tiger Lily', a granddaughter

 

 

But the living must go on and to that end the memories will endure.

 

 

I have made some progress on the Essamplaire casket. I am currently working on the butterfly wings. They are detached buttonhole with venetian picot on the wing tips. Edging closer to finishing this bit.

 

 

 

 

I have  completed the surface embroidery for the May Your Hands set and we are ready for construction. My goal is to construct all the smaller pieces and complete Lesson #5 before 1st February when the last lesson is posted for the final finishing. Can't believe I have caught up to this point as I was way late starting and finishing all of that sawtooth border...Yipee!!!

 

Apologies for the not so clear last  photo. I am trying to figure out how to resize in blogger and it's real random hit and miss for sizing the same within a post. aaarrrggghhh

Two Little Dickie Birds Sitting On A Casket Frieze AND In A Tree

Most of my stitching time this past week has been spent on two projects with a wee little progress on starting another.

 

My daytime stitching pleasure has been taken up with the two little birdies on the Essamplaire Burrell Casket Reproduction. I hadn't spent any time on this for a while and have been enjoying catching up with it. The lessons have also been posted for some time for the side of this casket and so I want to move on with this frieze portion of the lid. I also completed the branches for the fruit and have done the cordonnet for the leaves of both. Need to now start the detached buttonhole stitch then it is on to the detached butterfly wings and the flower petals before doing the grass and putting some little beads on the birdies for eyes once all the possibility of snagging threads is gone. I am beginning to understand just how much time these 17th century ladies spent on loads of closely packed stumpwork in a relatively small area but then this is a several years long project and one step at a time without looking ahead is working for me.

Getting Closer!

 

 

 

One Little Dickie Bird....just a bead to slip into where the slit is in the needle lace for an eye and he's all done. I love the feathers along his back.

 

 

 

Two Little Dickie Birds....just lovin those tail feathers... awgh I just love the way he turned out.

 

 

My night time stitching pleasure has been spending time with my May Your Hands. So so pretty and slowly very slowly progressing. Lots of reverse stitching with this free hand embroidery if the shapes don't turn out quite right.

 

 

Two Little Dickie Birds Sitting in a Tree.....maybe they are Peter and Paul.....I hope they don't fly away!

 

 

Two sets of leaves awaiting detached buttonhole.

 

I made the tiniest of starts on the Winter Casket Keepsakes. I need to do the running stitch around the edges.

 

Oops I got my feet in the piccie. Sorry abut that....jandals though....you can tell I am not living in the Northern Hemisphere...no polar vortex or storm flooding down here in the warm southern climes.

 

 

Last Post

It's that time of year again, nearly the last day of 2013 and the dawn of 2014! Just think of how much stitching I can accomplish in 365 days, how many projects I can complete....sigh

 

There will be another big milestone this year, 2014 is the year I turn 50. How different the world is now to when I was born back in 1964.

 

My next project arrived in the mail on Saturday. As usual a gorgeously presented kit with all kinds of exciting bits. There is even a teeny tiny embroidery hoop that  measures only 8cm. The pieces are all unexpectedly printed onto the silk....simply brilliant, simply Amy Mitten all over.

 

 

Winter Casket Keepsakes - Amy Mitten

 

May Your Hands has progressed. You can't see it all as some of the smaller pieces are wound around the Millenium but they are all done and now I am working on the Needle Keep, Scissor Keep and Pocketbook. I am up to Lesson #3 out of 4 posted but 1st January is not far away when  Lesson #5 will be posted. I am enjoying the change from counted to surface work on this project although my techniques are in their infancy!

 

 

I love the look of the vine and blueberries and there is quite a bit of this spread over the pieces. Of course being a 'maximalist' kinda girl I have chocked the vine with more leaves and blueberries than Trisha had....lol

  

 

The Pin Keep flower and vine is so pretty. I didn't put the piece back on the roller frame before doing this. I should have as it has ever so slightly pulled but only I would notice. Was just enjoying 'inhand' for a moment!

 

I forgot to post about my finish on the Thistle Threads Mini Casket. I finished sometime ago. I coloured this in with pencils and am using it for 'ORTS' the leftover threads one has whilst stitching.

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

 

A Fabulous Finish Is Near.....

Only eight sleeps to go until Chrissy is here and only four sleeps to go until Amy Mitten releases the first instalment of the Casket Keepsakes AND I am going to finish the mirror for the Mermaid Needlework Treasures before that kicks off.....YES! I am getting prouder and prouder of myself the closer I get to finishing the last raised backstitch. Such a cool project and a cool result. I cannot wait to photograph the set together and to know that .... I DID THAT! 

 

 

The twisted personality thread used to lace the sides sure is correctly named by Amy as it does have  a mind all of it's own but it is endearing and I like it's result.

 

 

 

The antiqued mirror looks amazing and I am loving all sides of this scissor keep.

 

Several rows of raised backstitch to go yet but looking good!

 

 

The May Your Hands has taken a bit of a back seat this week so I can finish the Mermaid.  I so want to be able to show my Mum the completed Mermaid set when she comes for Xmas day.

 

May Your Hands - Thistle Threads

 

I received the two latest kits for the courses that Tricia at Thistle Threads is running. The Tudor Rose started on 1st December and I need to look at 'will I start this'  and the Abby Couzzins starts 1st January. The WIP pile is growing.....no surprises there!!!!

 

 

Now another fabulously simple but highly effective item arrived in the post last week from Country Bumpkin. I received my Supporting Frame with Hand Rest and Trestle which was designed to accompany Margaret Lee's new Chinese Embroidery Book release. It's quite frankly excellent value even with the $80ish  AUD freight to NZ . Easy to put together and to adjust for frame size and angle. It also holds the Millenium Frame and would appear to have a superior slope adjustment.

 

 

 

Fantastique, but I see all these frames are now on preorder for Feb 2014. So glad I ordered mine early on.

 

The slope adjustment is so simple. The little peg with the yellow top just pops into one of the other holes. All other adjustments are screw and wingnut.

A smidge of work got done on the Floral Glove. I hated getting the three strands of Soie de Paris wrapped into the Gilt #1 Lizardine and it is not easy to stretch the gold wires without a slightly wider gap appearing where your thumb nail holds on. They are slightly messy and wider coiled down the bottom but I am hoping it will not be so noticeable when the other gold is applied and the webgimpe. The inner and outer coils of Gilt Pearl Purl Super once applied made the silk threaded Gilt #1 Lizardine pop out due to it's be thicker. I like that result.

 

Still a ways to go to finish the fourth lesson! All the gold needs to be applied in these roundels and the beads in the centre of the rose. Mermaids Treasures took over......