Back Online!!!

I'm back in touch with the world again! Yippee!!! I had the phone technicians at my home this morning and they were able to fix everything and get my phone line connected again. How relieved and excited I was. I went to work with the knowledge that I'd be able to get on the Internet tonight and get back to my blogging.

As I mentioned in my last post I was able to finish French Heart. I loved stitching this as there was plenty of different needlework techniques to keep the interest going. There was nothing too difficult as Shepherd's Bush instructions are easy to follow. The only problem I had was running out of the Old Lace thread. I seemed to have plenty of French Stucco left over so maybe the quantities were mixed up. I managed to find some more Old Lace in another kit I'd already finished and used that, so no major catastrophe.

Here's some photos of it finished.

DESIGNER ~ Shepherd's Bush

PATTERN ~ French Heart

STARTED ~ 6 January 2009

FINISHED ~ 24 January 2009

FABRIC ~ 32ct Italian Linen - Sienna

THREADS ~ Threadgatherer and Soie D'Alger Silk

EMBELLISHMENTS ~ Handmade clay shoe button and Goldenrod beads (included with kit)

I haven't been stitching my current WIP the last few days as we're going through the hottest heat wave in 100 years at the moment. Temperatures have reached over 40 degrees (104 Fahrenheit) the last few days and tomorrow's going to be no different. Even next week it's still going to be in the 30s (86 and above) all week. It's just so hot and my poor cats have no energy and they're just lying about on the floor. The air conditioner is going but gives little relief in these temperatures. We'll survive though.

In my upcoming posts I'll be able to show you my progress on Chocolat, a new exclusive kit to add to my stash, plus I've had Little Ballerinas framed for my niece. I'll be giving it to her this Saturday. The frame's nothing fancy but I'm pleased with how it's turned out.

I haven't had the time tonight, but I'll try to catch up with some blogs tomorrow night. Can't wait to see what you've all been up too!

An angel appears

Here's my latest progress after I got some stitching in yesterday.

French Heart - 18 January 2009

I'm gradually getting there bit by bit. The angel has made an appearance, along with some roses, flowers, and a few smaller borders. There's so many interesting sections for the eye to feast upon with this design.

I've changed the template of my blog AGAIN! Don't know how long I'll keep this one. I guess until something better comes along. :)

Thanks for dropping by, and I hope you've enjoyed the stay. You're welcome anytime!

A rose by name

I'm still going strong with French Heart and loving it. Last night I did a little more including over one with the word 'rose'. Other stitches done were Padded Scotch Stitch underneath, and to the left another border in a Hen's Foot stitch. I'm really enjoying all the different stitches in this design. Some I have done before and others are new to me.

French Heart - 15 January 2009

I think Shepherd's Bush kits are fantastic as they include everything needed to complete the design. No hunting around shops or the Internet to find the right thread or fabric required, it's all ready to go. They also include the cutest thread card to hold all the threads for the pattern your working on. It's only made of thin cardboard but it has printed on top a motif with their popular designs - moon, stars, flower, sheep, and heart. Underneath this is their name and to finish it off it's cut into the shape of a heart. There's usually ample holes for all your thread colours, and somehow makes your kit feel complete. Even their smaller kits include this thread card. The only thing that changes with each kit is the colour of the motif on the card.

Shepherd's Bush Thread Card - included with every kit

Just thought I'd entice your appetite a little and let you know that I have received some new stash in the mail. I'll let you hang on for my next post to find out what I got!

I promised to show you...

...my latest pictures of where I got up to with French Heart last night.

French Heart - 13 January 2009

I worked on what they call the 'house' area. Simple stitching with only cross and back stitching required. The only other feature was a Satin Stitch below the house. There's some more beading to be placed. One in the centre of the flower in the house, and others on the flower vine at the bottom. Below this, where the space is, the shoe button will eventually be placed.

This design has certainly been a bit more challenging but not what I would call difficult. I'm far from there yet but I'm looking forward to seeing it finished. Not that I've had enough of it though, as I'm enjoying working on it. I'm just eager to see the end result. Myself, along with you all, will just have to be patient. :)

A warm glow

No new progress to show as I didn't work on French Heart last night. What I did do was take some photos of my current progress in the late afternoon glow before the sun went down. I think it's a nice look with the warm light.


I got some more stitching in tonight though, hence the late post, but will take some photos tomorrow and show you then. Stay tuned!

Latest progress

Just a quick post tonight to show you where I got to on French Heart last night. No one over one to do which was good!

French Heart - 11 January 2009

The border on the right is called Hungarian, and the one at the top is Triplet. Both very easy to do. There's yellow beads to go on the purple bud vine but I will wait til last to put those on as I stitch with a hoop.

Hungarian and Triplet stitching

I may have a break from stitching tonight. We'll see...

A little more stitching

The next installment in my progress probably doesn't appear to be much, but there was more intricate work with one over one (wording and small heart) as well as a bit of frogging with the sheep. This all took more time than usual.

French Heart - 10 January 2009

What I enjoyed was the criss cross border beside the sheep. This is done in Old Lace thread and it's called a Woven Cross. Quite an easy stitch but you do have to concentrate.

The one over one stitching is always a challenge, especially when you do it at night! The wording was OK but the little heart above the word 'heart' wasn't my favourite to do. It was mostly done in the palest rose colour and was hard to see once you'd stitched it. The other colours, which created a flower, had to be placed inside it and was tough on the old eyes to find where they went. :) All of it was done in a Half Cross. Anyway, I managed to get it completed and then thought that was enough for the night. So that's where I left it.

Mum and Dad are dropping by today so I'll be able to show Mum what I've been stitching lately. I know she'll be interested in seeing French Heart. It's one she'd like to do one day too!

Florentine Border

Florentine Border on French Heart

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I'm quite enjoying French Heart and have been stitching most nights this week on it. I'm yet to get into the cross stitching side of it as so far I've been doing different forms of needlework. It's a nice change. I love how the range of techniques can look quite hard to do, and yet they're not.

So last night I finished the inside border which is a combination of Smyrna Crosses in the corners and a Tall Cross Variation in between. The tall crosses are stitched using the gorgeous Old Lace silk from Thread Gatherer. The other thread used in both borders is called French Stucco also by Thread Gatherer.

French Heart - 9 January 2009

I was also able to get started on the inside design with a Florentine Border in a combination of blues. This is done with a Satin Stitch in pale blue, and Backstitching with the darker blue.

The night before I managed to start on the inner border and got about half of it done.

8 January 2009

Doing these types of designs makes me realise why I like Shepherd's Bush so much.

Outer border done

Got some stitching done last night, and I'm in the mood to get some more in tonight! A lot of progress was made as I was able to get the entire outer border completed on French Heart. Next I'll start on the inner border.

French Heart - 7 January 2009

It's my youngest cat's birthday today also. She's turned two! Here's a picture of her in my bathroom sitting on a bath towel. She's got into the habit lately of pulling it down off the towel rail and getting cosy on it. :)

Charlotte - two today

Now I'm off, as I want to have some tea then get onto French Heart. Until the next update... happy stitching!

A start on French Heart

I was at work today and since we're not so busy at the moment, my mind kept wandering off to thoughts about beginning French Heart. It's becoming a habit lately, thinking about my needlework while at work. :) So of course I couldn't wait to get home to make a start on it. I thought I'd begin with the border and didn't think it would take too long to get into it. Wrong! It looks a simple border, and it is, but it's not a very quick one to do. I ended up finishing the bottom row only. I wanted to make sure I did the right number of stitches, so I counted over a few times just to be sure. It's such a beautiful design though and those colours are very soft.

SB French Heart - started 6 January 2009

It's going to be a lovely design to do during our Summer here.

2008 Finishes

My 2008 finishes

LHN ~ Colonial Dry Goods

SB ~ Dashing

LHN ~ My Needle's Work (top right)

SB ~ Adore

CCN ~ The Tea Room

SB ~ Santa's Fill

SB ~ Wishing Sheep

SB ~ Green Snowman

SB ~ Snowy Morn

CCN ~ Little Ballerinas (bottom right)

These are all the finishes I had last year. I started out the year wanting to do more stitching and pay more attention to my blogging, and I think I've achieved both. This is the most finishes I have ever had over a year's period. The year before (2007) I only managed to do one! That's when I thought I'd better get my act together and put a bit more effort into my needlework.

I also wanted to concentrate on my blog more which had started off pretty slowly. I didn't even know whether many people were looking at it. So I started prowling around other people's blogs and discovered some wonderful, and creative stitchers out there. This made me want to comment about their achievements, and in doing so, made them aware I was in blog land too. Now I'm getting some lovely comments which encourages me even more.

I started my blog back in March 2005, and only posting a small number of times each year. Last year though my total posts came to 160! A pretty good effort, but it only reflects the enjoyment I'm getting through my blogging - both mine and others. Thank you so much for your kind words on my blog. Thank you also for those who have inspired me through their blogs.

Now onto my next project. I've pretty well decided it's going to be French Heart. It's one I've had for a number of years, but it's funny how all of a sudden you'll want to do it. That's where I like to do what 'calls' for me because I know I'll enjoy it.

I took some photos after I got home from work tonight in the warm glow of the late sun. I couldn't wait to show them to you. Don't those threads look yummy? The fabric is an Italian Linen called Sienna, in a cream tone. It's slightly thicker than your normal Belfast Linen. I think it will be nice to work with for a change.

Thread colours of French Heart

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Well, I'm off to have a look at some blogs now. Til next time ~ happy stitching!