SAL 13 – All things fishy…

Hello again everyone, another 3 weeks have shot past. But with the Easter holidays I have finally managed to get a little work done on my stumpwork fish kit by The Bluebird Embroidery Company ! Up until now I have been working on the 3d fish body and needle lace background but now I have turned my attention to the fins.

The fins were worked on a very fine organza, which was very slippery and frayed everywhere! The fabric was painted first and then wire was couched around the outside of each shape using embroidery thread. This was a very time consuming process, but one that I quite enjoyed in the sunshine!

Finally a little backstitching was added in between the wires and this is now where I am up to……They do look a little messy at the moment, but hopefully when they are cut out and the ends are shredded they will look more like fins and a tail!

Meanwhile in the garden spring has finally sprung! This is my favourite time of the year as I love all the spring flowering bulbs and rhizomes. Currently in flower are the erythroniums, trilliums, anemone, spring pea and Solomon seal – with smilacima and aconites waiting in the wings. Even the chickens have come back out to play! Hope you all had a wonderful Easter.

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Thank you for popping in. Happy stitching and I hope to see you all in another 3 weeks.
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, Carole, Jess, Sue, Constanze, DebbieRose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Helen, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Catherine, Connie, Clare, MaryMargaret, Renee, Jenny, Carmela, Jocelyn, Sharon

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Tell me a story quilt swap…. received!

Just thought that you might like to see some of the lovely blocks that I have received from people whilst taking part in the ‘Tell me a story quilt block swap’ run by Amy Friend.

Each block sent was accompanied by a little story – which I hope to keep and sew into the finished quilt. I now have about 20 blocks – so only another 50 or so to go!

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I have already signed up for the next swap – check out the site During Quiet Time if you are interested. I have really enjoyed the swap so far.

Ooh, some more arrived after adding the first pictures….

Happy stitching everyone!

Tell me a story quilt swap.

I have been busy recently taking part in a quilt block swap called the ‘Tell me a story quilt swap’ run by Amy Friend. Each block made should have a story to go with it that is reflected in the fabric choice.

Block 1: Spring was in the air and Harold found himself falling in love again.

Block 2: As the aroma of carrot stew filled the air, Harold hare raced over fields of wild flowers to get home in time for tea.

Block 3: Whilst Milo slept, Mimi and Christabelle made their way home after a successful day at the pick your own strawberry field.

Block 4: Timmy was relieved to find a ripe tomato, for his tea, amongst the rows of wild strawberries.

Block 5: Mimi, Jessica and Fifi had been best friends ever since they met in the ball park as children. Now they were inseparable.

Block 6: Jessica loved nothing more than to spend a quiet afternoon reading stories about the adventures of the mischievous collie, Pip.

Block 7: Rosie spent the whole day at school daydreaming about the little puppy she was going to collect that weekend.

Block 8: As the autumn leaves tumbled down around him, Harold sat amongst the mushrooms and reminisced about his life.

Block 9: Tommy dreamt of carrots as he walked home with his friends.

Block 10: Love is…… sharing your last carrot.

The blocks were then sent out all over the globe – although mainly to the USA  – to feature in the quilts of other sewers. I look forward to receiving new blocks from new friends!

Happy stitching everyone.

SAL 12 – Ocean blue…

Hi everyone, I hope that you have all had a productive three weeks. I have been busy sewing quilting blocks for a swap. Most (actually all) my blocks have winged there way across the water to the USA. I hope to make my first quilt, something I have wanted to do for many years. Not too sure how I am going to quilt all the blocks once I have sewn them together as I do not have a long arm quilter (whatever that it!) – so it will have to be done by hand!

As to my SAL piece, well that has been put on the backburner a little. I have however managed to get a little stitching done but not on the fins. I decided to tackle the needle lace background. My first attempt was, quite frankly, pretty awful! My second attempt was a little better. Luckily most of it will be covered up by the little fish!

So here it is…… the needle lace background.

As it is now the Easter holidays I am hopeful that I will be able to show some work on the fins and tail next time. Meanwhile in the garden the signs of spring are all about and yellow is the predominant colour.

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Thank you for popping in. Happy stitching and I hope to see you all in another 3 weeks.
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, Carole, Jess, Sue, Constanze, DebbieRose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Helen, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Catherine, Connie, Clare, Mary Margaret, Renee, Jenny, Carmela, Jocelyn,Sharon

Canvas coverup…

Another beautiful weekend and another Saturday spent catching up on my canvas piece at Hampton Court. Here is what it looked like last time you saw it…..

Progress before today

Today I made a real effort to finish the horses head, although could not sew too close to the eye as I am about to pull this out and make it much darker (adding another day to the finishing time!). I also managed to make a start on the woman’s face, although I am not too sure if this will stay in either. I chose to use a small cross stitch with a single diagonal stitch over the top.

Here is a look at my canvas now…

 

Side by side

The face going in

And a quick surreptitious look at the sewing room….

Happy sewing everyone.

Sew…what happened to the scraps?

Several weeks ago I posted about the mini Dresden wheels that I had been making to use up all my little scraps – but what became of them all?  Well I decided to put them to good use and started to make little bags up ready to use as gift wrappings. On the front of each bag I added a little mini Dresden which I did a little hand stitching around.

Here is a finished bag – one down, another 12 to go! But I do think they will make a lovely wrapping for gifts and they can be used again and again and again!

Happy stitching everyone, and thanks for popping in!

SAL 11: Something fishy….

Hello everyone, and what a blustery last few days we have had. I have been fairly productive over the last three weeks – but not so much on my little fish! This is what he looked like last time….

After spending quite a while on the long and short stitch to cover the body (not my favourite stitch) – I then had to cover it all up with a lazy daisy stitch. I am not sure that you will notice much difference.

Once the fish had both been entirely covered – I then applied glue to the backs and cut them out. The white patches in the stitched fish are not gaps but the lighter stitching beneath the lazy daisy stitch.

Finally I covered one of the padded fish with the embroidery and now my fish looks like this………

 

Thank you for popping in. Happy stitching and I hope to see you all in another 3 weeks.
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, Carole, LucyAnn, Jess, Sue, Constanze, DebbieRose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Catherine, Connie, Clare, Mary Margaret, Renee, Jenny, Carmela, Jocelyn.Sharon