Sunday Stitchings, Technical version 2

 The Zoom meeting was more successful this time, the speakers easier to hear (there was a slight echo) , the music and singing was still not audible.

But it was appreciated progress, and nice to see a few familiar faces.

There was not a lot of stitching time due to technical adjustments and checks to see if I could get rid of the echo. And an attempt at the closed captions which had such difficulty with the local accents it was no assistance whatsoever.

So a bit of sewing to the Songs of Praise on the BBC, to give my mother the singing missed.

BFF RAL not Sal

 An act of total BFF'ness in helping me out of a sleep depriving situation shared said sleep deprivation around which resulted in no off camera SAL stitching and the prospect of dotting about being a bit daunting. So SAL became RAL.

For me that was adding the back stitching to a project planned for posting next month and which made so much difference to the weird look of just the cross stitch.

although you could probably make a good guess.

Then back to needle felting and that hand, no picture of that for now.

I was intending t post this on Thursday, having been too tired Wednesday. However, before that could happen another episode of sleep deprivation occurred, the situation started and ended earlier but felt in its way even more draining as this trip to A&E ended with me leaving my loved one at the hospital.

Happily just an overnight stay for monitoring. Another friend helped me get home in the wee hours of the morning. Today I am waiting for him to come home, the hospital are arranging transport, I don't / can't drive. But they could not give a time. They said he could go 5 hours ago and still waiting for him to be home. So update blog to pass the time as I sit and wait.

CLICK HERE to see my BFFs post.

Gifted Gorgeousness doubled

 my Pen Pal sent me a cross stitch of a Dragon (yes she knows me well) a large magnificent dragon sewn on black and with blending filament which is not the easiest of things to work with.

I have had it for more years than is reasonable waiting on the right frame. I thought I found one but it was too small.

Then, well it became a thing to look for, the dimensions saved onto my phone just in case I came across the right frame.

Then this November my BFF and I were talking about frames and the unframed pieces we have both accumulated (although mostly our own work and not that of others) and as I recalled my waiting dragon she said that she might have just the frame.

She kindly popped over with it, I popped the dragon into the frame and then the frame onto the wall and I am delighted with my gift in a gift now on my wall.

wow, it has been ever so long, it was long last time I mentioned it in this blog click here for that back in , wince, 2017.

Blue Dragon

  and he is off the first page of the pattern. So I would allow myself a bit of knot work and the soothing use of one colour.  I had contemplated doing the ones at the cardinal points a different colour. Then nah! a tiny bit of keeping it simple occurred and I will do them all the same.

So this is the point reached.

After deciding that. 

well, the life issues have for the moment gone beyond a level this distraction  helps with so there will be a pause with this I think.

BFF SAL 21 Not Blue

 I was looking forward to not blue, to some green. Much as I am enjoying the result of all that blue on my dragon project a little change would I thought be fun. Not sure why as it wasn't last time either!

After one over one confetti you would think that a little two over one on 14 count would be jolly.

Hm nope not the headspace I was in this evening. I was finding the dotting about green I still had to do annoying. I think perhaps my recollection had been that there was less left to be cross-stitched than was the case.  My expectation was therefore frustrated.

I did get all the cross stitches done, just not as early in the session as I had anticipated.

As you can see I did manage to get started on the backstitch and even just the facial features and bow make so much difference.

My BFF has special dispensation to stitch up to this point off camera, then we might get the backstitching finished next time.

We had a thought for  next, but we are rethinking it just because we think we might stop with  the seasonal stitches and do something else. Then again until we start it who knows what we might do next.

Sunday stitching technical version

 well not for the stitching itself, but for the Sundaying part of it.

We are still challenged to get there in person, as are some others due to health issues. So an attempt was made to have the service also available via zoom.

Logging in worked fine, and the picture was good but there was something not quite right with the sound.

Perhaps it was too directional, none of the music was picked up and practically none of the singing. Just the occasional part word or sound.

It was sadly very frustrating, nothing I could do from the viewing side to fix it.

We even had difficulty hearing people who were using the microphone,

So we had to give up, it will be tried again hoping some changes can make it work out.

So shorter time equalled less stitching.

A bit of ear and a shade of pink.

A question of size.

 I know that most people have one hand slightly larger then the other.  Sometimes it is the dominant hand, which is the case for me,

But this needle felting is taking it to extremes, I don't know why the right hand is just not compressing down. This is my second try,

I will work on it some more and hope there is some reduction. Its going to be the one used either way, I have added the sleeve colour now so  whatever stage it gets to , it is getting used!

BFF SAL 21 feeling dotty

 if you have visited my blog recently you know I have been doing a complicated design with confetti, lots of blue dotting about.

So it was nice to be stitching something other than blue.

However, the greens also dotted about and felt more irritating here than in the blue.

The first green went in as a single strand by mistake, or perhaps habit. Once I realised the mistake I left it for the green I made the mistake with.

Still some cross stitches to go and the backstitching that will make all of the difference.

Pop over to my BFF's blog, there is a link in the blog list to the right and see how her stitching is going.

There is going to be

 a lot of hunting Ninja stitches on this I can tell.

I have indulged myself with another bit of the knot work, which is very soothingly in the one shade, as I have made steady progress on the dragon.

 

It is very satisfying when a ninja is found and eliminated.

Even better if like pulling up buttercup plants, one leads to another.

And a link to a piece of music interpreted by the Leader of FORESTELLA . 

It felt appropriate. 

Sunday Stitching

 well it was done on a Sunday, just not one at church. That is still a bit hit and miss between health and transport.

We watched the Remembrance Sunday Service and parade at the Cenotaph on the TV and I only stitched in poppy colours of red and black.

 

which had a rather interesting result.

Hands

 are never easy.

Felt hands certainly are not. I had the two hands done with the core wool, then I started adding the skin tone on the right hand (which is the one on the left in the picture of course) and it went wrong.

the reasonable hand shape went all mitten on me and then it just kept getting bigger. Which is odd. I had not added more wool to it but instead of getting tighter and smaller it just felt looser. I am going to have to start that hand /arm again and be more careful with the left hand when I get that far!

No BFF anything

this evening as the lurgy has found its way to my BFF's home.

So out with the mini harpoons once more (there has been a bit of work since last I shared this. However there is still quite a long way to go.

 

Much more shading and stabby stabby with little harpoons.

I know one thing this is not a mobile hobby.

Blue

 many stitches in many shades of blue.

With the occasional touch of gold knot

Both feel reflective and appropriate just now.

Congratulations

 to my BFF on her new job. Gave me something else to try my metallic paints on.

A little card for the occasion.

As for the fist time in over 35 years we won't be working for the same employer, yet we sort of still will be?

The Frogs and Toads are a running joke since her OU days.