Two little eggs

I got these couple of cuties done last night. Very simple little eggs... six more to do. :)

Easter Parade - 30 March 2009

I went back to work today. Didn't feel as tired as I thought I might. I'm sure it won't take me long to get back into the swing of things. Just a quick post tonight. Enjoy your stitching!

Not a lot of difference

You were probably expecting to see a little more progress than what I've done, but I hardly stitched all weekend. Last night was the only time I worked on Easter Parade. I've finished the bottom rows and now I'm ready to start on the eggs.

Easter Parade - 29 Mar 09

I go back to work tomorrow, after having a month off leave, which I'm not looking forward to. I'll try to do some stitching at nights so my progress doesn't slow down too much. I need to earn some more money anyway, to pay off all the stash buying I've done lately! :)

An Easter Parade!

Your comments and help on Autumn Blessings were so appreciated. I felt your encouragement and support very much - thank you!

What will I start on next? I'm going to keep with the theme for the time of year it is and go with an Easter design, since that's just around the corner. It's another Shepherd's Bush kit (can't stop working on these for the moment), called Easter Parade. I love how their kits have everything needed to go, so I do tend to gravitate towards them when picking out a new project.

SB Easter Parade kit

The kit includes 32ct Light Sand Linen, silk threads (including overdyeds), yellow beads, and a cute pink heart button.

I started on it yesterday and this is my progress so far...

Started 27 March 2009

I hope it won't take too long to complete, although I have a feeling the eggs will slow it down a little. It's not a very big design with the height only being 2.5" and the length 6.5". I thought it would be a fun one with Easter coming up.

My finish of Autumn Blessings

It's been two years since I started this one. Who would have thought it would only take me less than a week to finish the rest of it off! I shouldn't have put it aside for so long. The colour of the wording put me off because it looked different to the original chart, but I needn't have worried. I'm really happy with the way it's turned out, and it looks terrific with the mat!

DESIGNER ~ Shepherd's Bush

PATTERN ~ Autumn Blessings

FABRIC ~ 32ct Natural Linen 10" x 15"

THREADS ~ Au Ver a Soie, Mori Silk, and Overdyed Silks

BUTTONS ~ Just Another Button Company

STARTED ~ 18 March 2007

RESTARTED ~ 22 March 2009

FINISHED ~ 26 March 2009

I picked it up yesterday afternoon and started on the last line of wording. Then I did a little more and decided to continue on with it during the evening. As time went on, I could see myself actually finishing it off that night! By the time I put the buttons on it was around 11pm.

I was so grateful for your input on the line below 'Autumn's Blessings'. I did decide to leave it. It was nice to get people's ideas about it though. Thanks!

I have the mats ready for it to be framed. I'm in the process of trying to find a decent framer. My regular one has closed down, and a lot of them don't have much variety or style with their frames. I'm sure I'll find a good one soon.

What do you think?

I'm moving along with my progress on Autumn Blessings. Did a bit of Swedish Weaving yesterday which was alright apart from the fact that the instructions had another colour mentioned to use. I couldn't work out where it would go so I had a look on the net for a close up view of it. Finally I thought, there isn't this extra colour (brown) and decided not to use it. I've never done this style of stitching before, so I'm not even sure whether I've done it correctly. This is where you can bring the uniqueness of your own hand into your stitching. :)

Another thing different I've discovered later on is the line called Diagonal Waves under the words Autumn's Blessings. The instructions have mentioned to start three threads in from the left side. This I have done. You end up having a space either side of that row. It looks quite alright and I think I'd be happy just to leave it. The thing is though, in looking at the SB site of their version, the line runs the whole length of that row. I could pull it out and start at the edge instead of coming in, then I would have room for another diagonal set of lines at the end and it would take up all the row. I'd like to know what you all think. I'm really quite happy to leave it as is but it's annoying when you see the original design and it looks slightly different. Sometimes I wonder whether the instructions have been altered from the original design somewhere along the line. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

So, after all that I'm still happy with how it's turning out. I did some on it a couple of nights ago but didn't get very far (only two rows), so I decided not to show a progress picture. Although I have put one in my WIP album. I always update it whenever there's new stitching I've done, even if I don't post in my blog.

Enough chatting. I'm a good 3/4 the way through with it now. Another couple of sittings will do it I think. Here's some photos of where I'm up to...

Autumn Blessings - 25 March 2009

New Stacy Nash

Today I received some new charts in the mail from Stacy Nash. She's just released them and they were made available via her eBay site. The primitive look is something I adore and these designs help create the feel that these needlework items were made in days gone by.

New charts from Stacy Nash - 1809 Schoolgirl Pincushion, Garden Gate Sewing Book & Pinkeep, True Love Sampler Bag & Pinkeep

Here also, are a couple of photos of my current project and where I'm up to.

Autumn's Blessings - 23 March 2009

I'm quite happy with the way it's turning out, and I'd like to have it finished before I go back to work next Tuesday. A target I'm sure I'll reach!

I'm going to finish this!

Later last year I showed you where I was up to with Shepherd's Bush Autumn's Blessings. I was trying to decide whether to continue with the same colour thread for the wording, since it looked different to what the picture showed that came with the kit. So enough umming and aarhing over it. Since it's Autumn here I thought what better time of the year to try to complete it. I'm sticking with the Dried Pink Roses and not worrying about what looks different to what.

This is where I left it...

SHEPHERD'S BUSH Autumn's Blessings - 1 April 2007

And this is what I added last night...

Autumn's Blessings - 22 March 2009

As you can see a couple of years has elapsed since I started this one. How shameful because it's such a lovely design. I also have the gorgeous Jill Rensel mats for it, so will eventually have it framed.

I haven't posted in the last few days because I've been busy. I have a wooden deck out the back of my house (average in size) and it was in need of re-staining. So I washed it down one day, then took a day and a bit to re-stain it all. I was so exhausted after each day. Too tired to do any stitching which was a pity. Hence the quietness on my blog. I've still been checking what you all have been stitching and have altered my header to freshen it up. Can I also say a big thanks for all of your responses on my last finish, The Potting Shed. I'm overwhelmed by the numbers. I'm so pleased you enjoyed my journey with it. :)

The Potting Shed finished

As promised, here are some photos of my Potting Shed.

DESIGNER ~ Shepherd's Bush

PATTERN ~ The Potting Shed kit

FABRIC ~ 32ct Summer Khaki

THREADS ~ Au Ver A Soie Silk, Wildflowers, and Waterlilies

STARTED ~ 3 March 2009

FINISHED ~ 18 March 2009

Dance, dance, dance! Another happy dance I'm having!! Please enjoy...

.

A teaser

I managed to get all the stitching done on Potting Shed last night. I finished the roof and hanging plants, then all that was left was to add were the beads and charms. I ended up doing that this afternoon and into the evening. So I'm doing a little happy dance tonight! Come dance with me tomorrow when I show you my finished photos.

The Potting Shed - 17 March 2009

This is all you'll see of it tonight! :)

Sheepish Designs

Let me just say that I LOVE looking at other stitching blogs. The bad thing about them though is that you see so many designs that appeal, and maybe have never even seen before, and you end up wanting to get these patterns that you've just 'discovered'!

This happened to me when I visited Loreta's blog one day and saw her working on a chart I wasn't familiar with. It was called Time Has Wings by Sheepish Designs. I knew of this designer since I had a couple of their patterns already. Loreta's pictures are always so divine and enticing also. This beautiful design captured my eye and when she showed her finished work of it, I was hooked!

I looked at some needlework shops online but wasn't having much luck in finding the pattern. Then I came across somewhere that mentioned the designer had retired. So that made me think they're not going to be readily available. Just what you can get while stocks last. So onto eBay I went. I did a search and came up with somewhere that was selling this chart and more. I browsed through and picked the ones I liked, then went ahead and bought them.

This is what arrived yesterday...

SHEEPISH DESIGNS - Come Fly Away, Time Has Wings, R is for Rabbit, and Sheep Dreams

It's no use telling myself I'm not going to buy any more stash for a while because I know I won't stick to it. I'm addicted, I know, and there's no cure for it! :) Just enjoy the ride with me.

I already have the fabric picked out to do Time Has Wings on. It's a Silkweaver called Porcelain which is the most delicate and soft pink shade. It's a 36ct Edinburgh and is soft to touch. I bought this fabric because I liked the shade, not knowing what I would stitch on it. I love it when you find just the right design for these bits and pieces you've picked up along the way. You really get such pleasure in discovering the perfect match. Now I'll just have to get what threads I don't have for it. The design calls for GAS which are always nice.

TIME HAS WINGS with Silkweaver 36ct Porcelain fabric

And last of all, a small update on Potting Shed. I achieved a little more last night but there's still some to go. Not much more though.

Potting Shed - 16 March 2009

So that's it for today's stash and stitching update. Til next time...

Nearing the end

I worked a number of rows on Potting Shed last night and am now nearing the end with it.

The Potting Shed - 15 March 2009

All that's left is the roof to the shed with its hanging plants and garden tools to go. Then it's a matter of adding all the beads and charms which is fun. That always brings completion to my piece once I've stitched those on.

It's now getting harder and harder to take photos of it since it is growing so long! I hope they're still looking interesting enough. Thanks for commenting and following me with my journey!