A Lot to Share!

For a change I have a lot to share! Firstly, here is one of my new starts: It is Feather Fairy by Nora Corbett. I know - it looks really weird with the leg sticking out like that, but I always start at the bottom and the foot was the best starting point for me. (Had I known she would look so dismembered and unbalanced I would have started with the skirt!)
I just love Mirabilia designs - actually I have a little, OK a big problem! I have started a few Mirabilia's before, but I have never finished one! Here is an example:

It is The Kiss and is absolutely gorgeous! I started this about 10 years ago, but never managed to make good progress on it - I hope I will do better with Feather Fairy!

Here is a close up of some of the metallic on The Kiss:

My other start is a Hardanger SAL by Mamen. The end product will be a beautiful bag.

Here is my start on it - I am making two, the Ecru one is for myself and the blue/grey one is for my mom. The pieces for the SAL only come out every second week, so there is enough time to work on other projects.

Since I have two new starts, I decided to make up for my wicked ways by also working on one of my WIPs. This is Book of Ink Circles by Tracey Horner from Ink Circles.

The plan is to finish one block/section each month. My goal is to finish the piece by the end of the year. For this month I have already completed the top, middle block - I still need to fill in the green knot design.

Last, but certainly not least - I received this lovely postcard from Edit. It is detail from the Lion Courtyard at the Alhambra - she sent it to me because I stitched Girl from Alhambra by The Solaria Gallery recently.

Thank you Edit - it is a beautiful postcard and interesting!

Well, that is enough from me for one post. Enjoy the rest of the week and Happy Stitching!

A New Start!

The start of a new week and a new month! Firstly, thank you to everyone for the kind birthday wishes - I had a lovely day!

Now, it's confession time - I stopped working on the Linda Gillum Christmas Stocking. I was very eager to finish it for Christmas, but as soon as I started stitching, I remembered why I stopped working on it the previous time! Beautiful as it may be, it is extremely tedious stitching with many fractional stitches, so the picture takes a long time to 'develop'.

So, there was only one way to get my stitching mojo back - a new start! It is 'Winter Wind' by The Prairie Schooler. It is not really a Christmas sampler, but with the theme and colours it is close enough! It should be a quick stitch - I hope :)
Here you can see how little progress I made on the Christmas Stocking - I didn't even feel like finishing the bear and he's such a cute fellow. I still love the design, so I'll probably work on it again - maybe during the year when it's not so close to Christmas.

That's it for now - hope to have more to show you next time :)

Enjoy the week and Happy Stitching!

A New Start!

Hello from a cold and wet Cape Town - it is back to Winter here! Low temperatures and rain predicted for the rest of the week - like I always say - great stitching weather!

I couldn't resist any longer and started Scheherazade from Heaven and Earth Designs a few days ago. It certainly doesn't look like much now and probably won't for a long time :) I started at the bottom in the middle, so I'm making my way up to her gorgeous dress.
I am stitching it 2 over 2 on a 28ct evenweave, which it much easier for me to see and should make it a more enjoyable stitch. My boyfriend was so fascinated with the size of the fabric that he took a picture of me holding it! To my defence - I left very large borders and I'm not very tall, so it's really not THAT bad :) (I'm thinking of it like stitching a portrait, so it is allowed to be big.)

I am enjoying working on it very much, even though it is just random stitching at this stage. I will definitely alternate this project with WIPs and ornaments so that I can see progress on something!

Until next time, happy stitching!