Finished Pumpkin

Well, Halloween is almost upon us and during my weekly trips to my knit and stitch group, I'd made good progress on this piece from JCS Halloween magazine from 2011.  It's stitched on 28 count Sparklies fabric called 'Fire', 1 over 1, which as you know if you read this blog I found a bit tricky to work with after 14 count!

But I did get it finished this week and ordered the memory thread for the worm, and some mountboard so that I could stick to the finishing instructions in the magazine.  It's the first time I've done something other than get a piece framed professionally or stuff it in my completed projects folder, so I'm quite pleased that it didn't turn out too shabby.  I decided I wasn't keen on ribbon etc round the edge, but I'm happy with it just like this :)

The house is looking pretty orange and black and we have our spooky tablecloth on and a tub of sweets for the trick or treaters and if we don't get any, they will all go in my tummy.

Happy Halloween!

Thanks Minnie!!

To Minnie,

I'm so pleased to have won the Christmas Ornaments 2012 Just Cross Stitch magazine from you, and it has now arrived safely here with me in the UK.

Yay!

So many thanks, I can't wait to choose my first one to work on!

What a lovely stitching community we have, I'm so pleased to be a part of it!

Have a great week everyone!

Knitting and Stitching Show 2013

Well, Sunday couldn't have been any more miserable weatherwise, but I dragged myself out of bed, made bacon sarnies, got ready and went to stand at the bus stop to go to the Knitting and Stitching show at Ally Pally.

I went with a list in mind and actually managed not to stray too far from that, which I'm pleased with.

As for the show, I arrived just before 10 and got to look at the Nicola Jarvis and May Morris exhibition pieces that I'd missed at the William Morris Gallery.  Some stunning work, really beautiful.  Since the queues started moving into the main hall at 10 though, I thought I'd better get on with the browsing before it got too busy.  I was right to do so, because by about 11, it was starting to get a bit pushy and by 12, I was in danger of viciously digging my elbows into people who were starting to be rude and impatient and you could barely get close enough to look at some of the stands.  I'm normally quite patient but for the few times I've visited this show, I've been pretty disgusted with the behaviour of some of the people there once it starts getting busy.

Thankfully, I had bought everything I wanted to by 12, so I made a swift exit and looked at the other exhibition pieces in the entry hall on the way out, including a large number of interesting works by Margaret G Nicholson - it seemed like it must have been a good chunk of her life's work, and I found her long career with embroidery fascinating.

So then, onto the new stash!  Here are the things that I bought at the show!  I'm particularly excited by the crewel work kit, it's something I've wanted to try for a while as I love the effect.  So I'm starting gently but I have my eye on a firescreen piece from the same company which is quite expensive.

Magnetic board for my needle needs stand
Introductory Goldwork kit
Introductory Crewel work kit
Boo Club Lizzie Kate charts
Autumn Alphabet Chart
Small Pumpkin sampler chart

And fabrics:
Backing fabrics in autumn colours
Neutral fabrics for cross stitching on!

There we go - not too much, so I'm not too poor, but enough to keep me going for another year!

Thank you :)

Thanks to everyone that replied to my stitchy question.  It seems that you each have your own way of working on these fabrics and that I must find my way too.

I'm actually finding that if I stitch in daylight by the window, I find it much easier to see where the holes are than by daylight lamp and magnifier, so I think I'm going to stick to this for now - typical isn't it that I figure this out when it's starting to go dark too early for my liking!  Oh well, there's always whole days of weekends :)

I'm hoping to post a stitchy update after the knitting and stitching show to show you all what lovely stash I get hold of, or before then if I manage to get the piece I'm working on finished.  Not too much to go now, just a birdy.

Hope everyone is having a lovely week :)

A stitchy question

A bit of a question today for those of you who stitch on Linen or high count evenweave.  How on earth do you see what you are doing?

I've started a piece on 28 count which is the highest I've used so far.  Sadly the fabric was just too small to stitch over 2, so I'm doing it over 1, and I'm doing ok, but it's very slow going.  The magnifier helps a little bit but it also irritates me.

Those of you who stitch on the high count fabric, do you use a frame with a magnifier or do you have magnifying glasses or do you just have exceptionally good eyesight?  Do you stitch only in daylight or in the evenings with a lamp?

Thanks!
Jo

That time of year

Hello everyone,

It is indeed that time of year again... the air has gone a bit chilly, I'm stitching a pumpkin and it's the Knitting and Stitching show at Ally Pally next week.  I wasn't going to go this year because last time I went I got a bit overexcited and bought waaaaaaay too much stuff.

However, I've decided that although I have a complete set of DMC to be going on with, and I have more than enough charts, what I need is more fabric to stitch on.  Specifically, some black, some neutral (I want to start a sampler next year), a piece of pale blue to do Rocky Mountain Christmas (which doesn't even seem slightly daunting anymore now that I'm doing a HAED) on and whatever else strikes me on the day.

Of course, I'm also looking forward to seeing all the exhibition pieces - they were absolutely incredible last year.

I'm sure my husband won't mind a day of peace and quiet and the house to himself, but I'm sure he'll be bracing himself for my return and the stash I bring back with me!

Is anyone else popping along?  If so, I hope you have as much fun as I do!