Added sparkle!

After finally handing in my RSN certificate goldwork piece, I can now move on to the Diploma and I have opted to start with…..goldwork! Of course I have, I just love this technique. I prepared my slate frame before my first lesson and mounted up a piece of dark blue, cotton velvet as I wanted to try a new background fabric. Needless to say it picked up lots of fluff before I even had the chance to get started. My design is based on the William de Morgan ‘Heron and Fish’ tile – however the large fish has been turned around and the Heron is now standing out of the water.

The next step was to get my design pricked and pounced before painting the outline. This was then left to dry and any pounce remaining was brushed off. Here is where I am up to now…..

Homework will be to stab stitch down the silk and start get the different layers of padding prepared – and boy there are a lot of layers to sort out! Wish me luck!

Happy stitching everyone.

SAL 108: Heads up!

Hi all, no progress here on my little penguin as I have been busy knitting Christmas hats. Can’t get the embroidery out as our little puppy loves to shred everything! So here is a picture of the hats instead!

Thanks for popping by.

We are a small group of crafters using a variety of different techniques. Please check out the fabulous stitching by all the other members of the SAL. If you are interested in joining us you can contact Avis for details.

Happy stitching!

Avis, Claire, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,  

Sunny, Megan, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, 

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

SAL 107: Getting closer to the finish line!

Despite having a new puppy around the house, I have managed to get a little bit of stitching done on my penguin. Last time you saw him I had attached and filled his stomach area and started to add some chippings around his neck, and he was looking like this….

I have now outlined the stomach area in silver pearl purl and started to fill in the areas around the stomach with chippings to cover the felt background. Adding the chippings is a rather fiddly job as there are very few spaces now to bring up the needle without damaging the metal threads. So, now he looks like this….

I feel that I am quite close to a finish… but this little pest is stopping any sewing going on at the moment!

Happy stitching.

We are a small group of crafters using a variety of different techniques. Please check out the fabulous stitching by all the other members of the SAL. If you are interested in joining us you can contact Avis for details.

Thanks for popping in, happy stitching!

Avis, Claire, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,  

Sunny, Megan, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, 

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

SAL 106: Finally a little progress!

Hi all, finally making a little more progress on my penguin designed by Georgina Bellamy. The pattern and instructions can be found in ‘Passion for Needlework’ published by @inspirationsstudios . I have been having some problems completing the stomach area, but have now managed to sew all around the white velvet and stuff it. The white velvet is very thin and slippery – it also marks very easily. I am now working on the neck area – applying both smooth and bright check. Here is what it looked like 3 weeks ago….

Now he looks like this….. all I need to do now is fill in gaps with chipping and add a felt backing to the beak and feet areas.

Happy stitching.

We are a small group of crafters using a variety of different techniques. Please check out the fabulous stitching by all the other members of the SAL. If you are interested in joining us you can contact Avis for details.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Sunny, Megan, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

SAL 105: Oh Dear!

Sorry everyone, still no progress to show you this time around, but I hope to get a week to myself soon – so maybe then?

Happy stitching.

We are a small group of crafters using a variety of different techniques. Please check out the fabulous stitching by all the other members of the SAL. If you are interested in joining us you can contact Avis for details.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

Sal 104: No progress to report!

Sorry everyone, but once again life has taken over at the moment as I have a rather poorly relative to look after, so I have no progress to show you this time around and my penguin still looks like this…

Happy stitching.

We are a small group of crafters using a variety of different techniques. Please check out the fabulous stitching by all the other members of the SAL. If you are interested in joining us you can contact Avis for details.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

SAL 103: Tummy troubles….

Hi all, here I am again with the goldwork penguin designed by Georgina Bellamy, he is a really fiddly fellow. The pattern and instructions can be found in ‘Passion for Needlework’ published by @inspirationsstudios . I have now finished the chipping around the head and started working on his stomach area which is worked in white velvet – I have to confess I haven’t got very far. Here is what it looked like 3 weeks ago….

The white velvet is a nightmare to work with – not only does it mark very easily but it is also very thin and frays around the edges. It is also difficult to apply as there is little space for the needle to come up in without disrupting the purls – and for this reason, I have not got very far. Here is where I am up to now….

With a bit of luck I will be able to get the stomach stitched on in the next three weeks – but I am struggling with this part.

Thanks for popping by. Happy stitching.

We are a small group of crafters using a variety of different techniques. Please check out the fabulous stitching by all the other members of the SAL. If you are interested in joining us you can contact Avis for details.

Avis, Claire, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

SAL 102: Head Start

Hi all, well it has been a rather busy three weeks. I have spent most of my spare time learning how to knit socks at a local yarn shop. It was a combination of good fun and exasperation and I only got to complete 1 sock! I managed to get a little work done on my penguin designed by Georgina Bellamy – but not as much as I had hoped. Here is what he looked like three weeks ago….

I have been working on the top of the head by adding chippings of black bright check above the smooth pearl that was laid over the eyes. Here is what he looks like now..

I will be unable to post next time as I am on a sewing course! So I look forward to posting again in 6 weeks. Who knows I might be able to avoid distractions and get this fellow finished 🙂

Thanks for popping by. Happy stitching.

We are a small group of crafters using a variety of different techniques. Please check out the fabulous stitching by all the other members of the SAL. If you are interested in joining us you can contact Avis for details.

Avis, Claire, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

SAL 101: Face on….

Hello everyone, where did the last three weeks go? I am working my way through some of my WIPS and have started a couple of new projects and as the days warm up the garden also beckons – but I have managed to make some progress on my SAL piece. The goldwork penguin is designed by Georgina Bellamy. The pattern and instructions can be found in ‘Passion for Needlework’ published by @inspirationsstudios . This little fellow is really testing my patience, but I hope that I can continue to make progress (however small). Here is what it looked like 3 weeks ago…..

Now I have been working on the facial area – applying a deep blue smooth purl along the cheeks and above the eyes and a black bright check below the eyes. So here is what he looks like now…

I now have to cover the rest of the head in chippings before moving on to his stomach.

Thanks for popping by. Happy stitching.

We are a small group of crafters using a variety of different techniques. Please check out the fabulous stitching by all the other members of the SAL. If you are interested in joining us you can contact Avis for details.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

SAL 100: No progress!

Sorry everyone, but life has taken over at the moment so I have no progress to show you this time around and my penguin still looks like this…

Happy stitching.

We are a small group of crafters using a variety of different techniques. Please check out the fabulous stitching by all the other members of the SAL. If you are interested in joining us you can contact Avis for details.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

Sweet treats….

I always admire people who can do counted thread work as I have very little patience and inevitably my counting goes wrong. The last time I ever attempted any sort of counted work was when I made an advent calendar – something I have been using every year for the last 30 years!

However as I have been stuck indoors with a bad back for the last two weeks, I thought I would have a go at making these gorgeous little decorations/pin cushions by Betsy Morgan published by @inspirationsstudios.

I am hoping make 2 sets, the first inevitably will have mistakes (as I am hopeless at following instructions), the second set will hopefully be better. I have not ordered the kits so have raided my stash for threads, in particular @pipers_silks, sometimes mixing two colours to try to replicate a variegated thread. These come in gorgeous colours and are flat silks – the only problem that I have with them is that they snag and catch on everything very easily.

I am also planning on using the little pine cone charms instead of beads at the bottom of each pin cushion, in the hope that they will look more Christmassy. Sew here is where I am up to at present…. 

As predicted, if you look very closely, there are mistakes but I hope that when the decorations are finished off , you will not notice these too much. They can then be put away to give as gifts later for on in the year.

Thanks for popping in.

Happy Stitching!