Slow Sunday Stitching

I've spent the last month or so working on this little piece of Hardanger embroidery.  It's the first time I've tried this traditional counted and drawn thread work.  Traditionally it should of course be white on white, but I quite like the subtle colours in this variegated thread.  The hardest bit is actually cutting the threads away (I was convinced it would all fall apart) and now I'm supposed to wash it before taking it back to class next month, so we can turn it into the lid of a box!

One of the ladies in our textile group comes from Norway (the home of Hardanger) and she bought in some beautiful work that her Grandmother had made - table runners, bed linen and drying clothes.  I really should have photographed it to show here.

And keeping to the embroidery theme for a slow stitching Sunday, this little cross stitch pattern was sent to me by Kate, a fellow blogger who decided once she had finished with her cross stitch patterns she would give them away and I was lucky enough to receive this little summer bird.  Just need some time to make it!!  You can see some of Kate's work on her blog HERE.

I'm also linking up to Kathy's quilts, so you can see what other people are sewing today!  But what ever it is you are doing, I hope you have a wonderful day!

New beginnings!

Its been a frustrating few weeks!  I've been unable to get on line to update my blog, photos that I put onto the computer have been lost (FOREVER) and to top it all I've not been well!

But today I have started my years sabbatical. I've worked for the same hospital for 25 years and decided three months ago that I wanted to take a gap year (a bit of a mid life crisis oops gap year - OK truthfully I'm way past mid life but I'm still taking a gap year!)  I've left behind some very dear friends and colleagues and wanted to give them my home address, so thought I would make fabric postcards - unlikely to get lost so easily I hope.

Wool glorious wool!

Last week it was my birthday and DH bought me a bag of wool!  I've been desperate to get my hands on this since Faye made me a crochet blanket for Christmas and I've been admiring Sheila's crochet on her blog for ages now.  Sheila who lives in the States introduced Faye and I to Attic24, and Lucy from Attic24 does amazing crochet (she lives in the UK).  Faye and I can't get enough of it!  But it just shows you that by participating in this huge blog world you can learn so much and how small the world becomes!  Can you tell I love it?

Isn't this wool divine?  Lucy winds some of her wool onto clothes pegs so she can get the colour arrangement right.  It really is a good idea.  Much easier to play with.  So here is mine laid out - Lucy style.

Having only ever made a granny square before I've decided to jump right in and make a blanket!  So thank you Faye for getting me started on this journey.  The pattern comes from Attic24 and it is well worth a visit to get some crochet inspiration!!

Four rows in!!!



Corfe Castle

Yesterday it was my Birthday and DH and I had an amazing day, with the sun shining, great company, lovely presents and fantastic food!!  What more can a girl ask for?  We drove to Sandbanks in Dorset and took the ferry across Poole harbour entrance.  I love this short 5-10 minute crossing on the boat.  There isn't really any time to even get out of the car, but I love it and when you drive off the ferry on the other side its like another world, beautiful sandy beaches and wonderful countryside.

As you can see the beach at Studland goes on forever, its wide and the sand is perfect for walking the dog on.  We bumped into lots of other dog walkers and people out exercising their horses.  Lola jsut loves the beach and enjoys a paddle in the sea, in fact she is getting more and more brave where the sea is concerned.  There is an area quite a long way along the beach that is for naturists.  It was far too chilly for them to be out this March morning though!

Old Harry rocks in the distance.

 

It was at this point my camera battery faded and I had foolishly forgotten to bring the spare.  So no photos of the wonderful Corfe Castle.  After a walk around the castle ruins it was into the pub for a late lunch of fish and chips - yummy.  It was a really special day and I know I am very lucky to have places like this virtually on my doorstep!

 

 

 

Mottisfont Abbey

It has been an absolutely glorious day, very cold but oh how the sun has shone!  We decided to walk the dog in one of our favourite National Trust gardens, Mottisfont Abbey, take a picnic and visit the Gallery that had an exhibition of photographs with the theme of light.  Lola had a great time.  There are lots of wonderful smells for her here, she had to run around lots because she fell in the river before making it onto the farm land around the park (she was trying to get to a duck on the river - I guess she can't help herself where birds are concerned!)

The grounds are lovely at any time of the year, but you can really appreciate the different colours in these shrubs when there are no leaves on any of them.  I just love the reds and golds.

I've taken this mosaic picture many times, but can never resist taking another each time I visit the gardens!  I just like the colours I guess and the expression on her face.

While we sat on a picnic bench eating our sandwiches we were visited by an inquisitive Robin!

 And carpets of wonderful snowdrops!

After we put Lola back in the car we went into the House.  They have exhibitions in the house regularly and its always worth visiting.  A lot of the photographs weren't taken with cameras but by pin hole exposure.  Although my favourite set of photographs were of reflections on water, taken around Basingstoke canal.  Lovely colours and textures.  You can buy the photos, but they ranged from £25,000 to £250 so mostly out of my price range!!  But a really enjoyable day!

Slow Sunday Stitching

Its been nearly two months since our computer bit the dust.  And although im not a huge blogger, you know once or twice a week is just right, not too arduous but just enough to make me knuckle down and do some quilting/sewing/card making, what ever takes my fancy!  So when I couldn't post any pictures or write anything about what's been going on in my life, I realised I do want to carry on and be a part of the big wide blogging world that goes on out there!

For New Year I set myself a task of completing two or three things every month and in January I was all fired up and did achieve my target (I added really easy things to finish so I wouldn't fail immediately - is that cheating?).  February however things slowed down.  I'm not a great fan of the first two months of the year, I always wish them away and long for the warmer days and longer evenings.  So I think the fact I haven't done what I wanted to do in February is probably par for the course.  That said I have finished something!

Here is the front cover of my Art Journal.  After stamping some sunflowers onto the calico, I realised it needed some green, so quickly made a leaf shape stencil from acetate and added leaves.  One of the flower centres has French knots the other bullion knots.  I also wanted to make it more 3D so cut out a felt flower and added beads to give it more texture.  I have in fact assembled the journal but need to take more photos which I will do next week.

At one of my textile classes I made some paper using silk fibres.  They looked like a cottage garden and shouted out delphiniums!  Lots of French and bullion knots later, I'm rather pleased with the effect.  I've mounted them onto card and will use them as birthday cards for some special people in my life! That's two finishes!!

 

I also signed up for a Craftsy classs (there goes my new years resolution of not starting anything else until I've completed several of my UFOs - does two finished count as several?)  I'm getting more and more into hand sewing, but needed some guidance on different stitches.  Sue Spargo's Butterfly sampler just fitted the bill.  She uses lovely wool for her butterflies but I wasn't able to find any in the UK so settled on using 100% wool felt, which is actually very nice to work with.

And I'm having fun experimenting with different embroidery stitches and thread!  Its a nice project to relax with in front of the fire, watching a film after a lovely walk along the beach with the dog and DH and that's just what i'm off to do!  I am going to link up with Kathy's slow Sunday stitching and you can see HERE what everyone else is doing by way of relaxation today!