Love it or hate it...backstitch

I guess I feel both emotions about it depending on how much there is of it, how complicated and whether I am just about to start it, in the middle and wondering if I should have started it or out the other side with the item finished.

I have been thinking about this conundrum again recently due to a birth sampler I have been working on.

You may recall my mentioning I had offered to do one and the only parameters the mother set were, pink and yellow. 

My BFF brought over her collection of patterns from magazines and I found one I was drawn to.  Another Forever Friends design (I have used one twice before) but to meet the parameters it needed some colour swapping.

The recommended material 16 count, I chose to do it on 14 as I had 14 to hand (I had contemplated 18 and I am so glad I did not, I will come back to that) and anchor threads.

I figured as I was changing blue to pink (and a pink bit to purple) anyway, and did not have a full range of the anchor threads I would colour match as best I could. 

With just the cross stitching finished it does not look particularly  prepossessing. 

Particularly the flowers, insipid is more the word that springs to mind.  However the design gave me hope that once the backstitch goes on then things will improve.

You can see the original with blue flowers here.

I had a bout of selective amnesia when looking at this design and recalling the previous successful Forever Friends (twice),  I forgot that the designs have that most beloved of backstitch styles (not), they don't follow the x-stitches.  They go between stitches, half way, in the middle, small stitches a third of a square!  They require a needle with a point. Not too bad on the bear, but on the flowers, oh my so glad I was not trying this on 18 count.

I did the bouquet first and encouraged by the marked improvement moved on to the bear.  Then the flowers in the border. It felt like there were more than twelve.  Now initially I was not sure how much thread this was going to take and to ensure all the flowers were the same I decided to do them first, then the ribbon if there was enough dark pink left, if not I would change colour. I was already thinking the purple might be OK as was.

However, the more I looked at it like this, the more I liked all the ribbons without any backstitching.  I even left it over night just to be sure it was a choice of taste rather than an avoidance of more maniacal backstitch.  I even did one section along the bottom, contemplated it and unpicked it. 

I like it like this, honest I do. I still have the name (more backstitch) and details to add and the frame to go.  I will update with that later, at the moment I have run out of steam (but I do like it like this, it is not the lack of very hot water that is putting a halt ot the ribbon backstitching..hmm am I protesting too much perhaps? Nah this is good ) 

Before and during, not liking the backstitching at all, done it works and most of it was indeed needed.

Perversely, considering my comments about backstitch I like blackwork!

Cutting it fine

(as in close, not as in well!)

You may recall I decided to set the beige and blue squares on point. To do that I needed another twenty triangles the same size as the half square and four double sized triangles.

There was some of each shade of blue material left. Less of the dark blue, which was my preference to use than the light blue.  There was not enough fabric to do the twenty small and four big triangles.  Hmm what to do, there was enough for the twenty small and two larger triangles, use that? Change the plan?  Then it occurred to me was there enough for twenty eight small triangles.  Sew two small together and get a big one, sorted!

So here they are cut out and next to the trimmings which are all that was left over from blue material when I was done...so as you can see I was cutting it rather fine.

Small triangles

The plan

   

Whilst I was cutting triangles I decided to cut the strips for the next block in the sampler quilt.

It is back to the sewing machine for this block.

Sampler Quilt..Card trick

Card trick block

Well that is the next block in my sampler quilt finished and added to the others. Now I was expecting to have to add a sash to this to bring it up to size.  However, it is the same size as the tumbling blocks square so it will need to wait till all the others are done and I see what overall sashing is required. 

All together now

I have been sharing a project that started out with one intention, altered destination mid-course and ended up something entirely different.

(Previous posts.)

the-engagement,the-wedding.,graduation-lion.the-graduation-portrait,graduation-portrait-two.

I pondered several ways to set out the appliqued panels and contemplated what to put in the separating blocks.

I ended up with three Celtic Knots ,the one at the top contains a poem about the nature of love that in itself is similar to a knot as it takes some thought to decide where the beginning and the end actually are.  I have used this knot before, now that I think about it, twice, once on a cushion for the female half of this couple (a dog ate that) and once on a wedding anniversary card.  The anniversary card was for a Missionary Couple, here on their mission at the time of their 50th wedding anniversary.  They were doing their mission in the archives of Durham University and at the Cathedral. Both were fascinated with history, illuminated manuscripts ( also a passion of mine see tracing-inspirations ) and the symbolism of flowers.  Hence the embellishments in the spaces on their painted card. 

 I put a key to the meanings of the flowers inside the card. They were delighted with it (and the cake my mother made for them).

Right, I got distracted there from the sewing didn't I, so back to the sewn project.

The tree at the bottom, well that is my design based on an ornament I have, a tree made of wire and semi-precious stones for the leaves.  I added it as I find it soothing and as four Celtic Knots did not for some reason work. I like my tree and it may find its way into another project someday.  Also there is,I guess the idea that a tree is often used to symbolise the family and perhaps is a little nod to the three of their four children that did not make it into the wall hanging (which is what it ended up being) 

So all together now.

It finally made its way to my friends, who although they appreciated the work, did not exactly know what to do with it!

Ah well, sometimes that is just the way it goes.

It was an interesting journey.

Had I not still one quilt left for a child to go at that point, I may well have stopped with the applique. However, after that quilt I promised myself no more of these, well except for the Monument Dragon for me.

I have not started another one so perhaps that is the end of them.

Big sister's name

not my big sister, Heather's. I did warn right at the beginning of my blog journey that posts would not always be chronological.

So this came first.

As you can see it is a similar theme of a decorative name. 

Lisa

However, a different alphabet.

If I recall correctly it is on 18 count, navy blue aida.

And the alphabet came from this book. 

Lisa took (a very good don't you think) photograph and sent it to me.

To be honest I had forgotten what fabric I had used.

nice to have the reminder.

A Flutterby of Roses

Finished...I would have pushed to finish for the show, but there was no show. 

Still happy to be finished and ready to move on to another project.

I am quite pleased with  the way the butterflies turned out, especially as they are my own design.  As I guess is the quilt as it grew from bits left over from another project Roses for Helen and from other bits.  I even like the way the shades of pink work, the pale pink for four of the butterflies and the binding  and the darker for the other three. The butterflies and flowers and in the furrow around the burgundy frames were hand stitched. the lines on the wide boarders machined.

And for the first time ever the thread in the bottom bobbin had six inches to go after I finished the last row.  

All in the name

Some of the first personalised gift cross stitches I made were not birth samplers or  baptism commemorations.

They were for the young women in the branch as they reached 16 (if memory serves me correctly) 

This is the second one I completed, based simply on the recipients name it followed the trend set for her older sister and would be followed by one for their younger sister.

There was one other but in that instance I just did the first letter of the young womans name as she had not quite decided if she prefered her full name or one of two diminutive  versions using with the same starting letter of K.

Books of alphabets are a great resource, love alphabets. 

  

Birth sampler

A colleague at work  has had a beautiful baby girl (aren't they all beautiful) so as I had offered some time before the birth to do a sampler it is time to look at my patterns and design something.  The only suggestions of likes from the mother are pink and lemon!

So whilst I puzzle over that I have a picture of a previous sampler to share, picture recently received via the connectability of Facebook.

This is a compilation design, the bear from one book, the baloons from another.  The little animals from a third.

The lettering around the edge and the balloon strings are my own. 

The layout worked out on graph paper.

I have used this basis design twice, this was the first and original.  The second was again for a work colleague with changes to the colours of the balloons, lettering and of course a different name and birth details (written on the balloons)

I still like this and still have the graph paper pattern so I do not rule out the possibility of using it again. However, it is not quite right for Kyra and Colin's daughter 's sampler.

2017 show with no craft competition

This time for many a year I would be standing at the local show ready to clap the winners of the various classes in the craft competition.  With some luck, some years, I would also be waiting for my own presentation having won a class or two myself.

Then it would be time to post how I did with what ever entries I had made, sometimes up to the last moment in order to get them to the show. Indeed the "show" was often the spur, the reason for making things, provided a deadline to keep projects progressing when I might otherwise stalled.

This year it feels a little flat as there was no craft competition at all.  I do not know why, nothing has been said on the shows official web site.  It was the absence of the leaflet with the classes for the year and the rules that usual arrives in the post a month of so before the show that was the first hint.  I had thought it was just late but then one of my fellow competitors remarked that when collecting the key for her allotment she had been asked what would she do with no competitions to enter (she was an enthusiastic entrant to most of the cooking classes as well as the crafting)g.

That lead to a check of the web page for the show and there was nothing about the craft competition......oh dear.

Now it is not total sans crafts as the "for sale" stalls are still there with various crafts represented.

Following my attempts at jewelry making last year I have a greater appreciation of the skill required and was most impressed with the handcrafted items on offer from NorthStone beautiful jewelry (that I am sure will appeal to those that watch Game of Thrones or the Lord of the Rings.) copper portraits with tartan to order and other wire art I was most impressed.  They have just started an online presence click on the name to have a look. Or try the  Facebook page. I did not indulge myself (I may not have been able to resist if there has been hematite amongst the various stones used).  Although they do do commissions so you can chose the setting and the stone you want, sadly or for my purse luckily, there was not any of my obsession stone. 

I have been working on the pink quilt, but with less urgency as no show deadline. 

Roses unquilted and quilted

Quilting a butterfly

The hand quilting of the centre is done and the machine quilting for the wide edges also done.  I had been planning to self bind, back over front. However, there was enough of the pale pink backing to do a separate binding.  That is still to go on when next I pick up this project. 

I have also got the "bits" for the next block in the sampler quilt cut and having  set them out am happy with the way the colours look.  This is another hand sewn block and has been waiting for the hand quilting to be finished before it moved up in the to do standings.  It may wait a bit longer as the Pink quilts binding will be half sewn by hand.  

Card Trick  lay out.

Hair raising?

This is a project from the past, at a time when I was not taking pictures of my creations.  The recipient has kindly taken a photograph so I have an image to go with my reminiscences. 

My friend chose to be a hairdresser and went to college to train.  How to cut and style and dye and many another trade secret to beautify the world.

She delighted in all she was learning and as her graduation approached I wanted to make something special for her in recognition.

I used a design from a book I had with some tweaks to make it more personal. My Friends initials were H,A.S  so I added the ribbon, silver hair grip and snatch of hair at the top left  to form an H, the crossed hair pins to the right for the A and at the bottom changed the direction of the hair dryers flex to form the S.

The mount board I cut myself, one of my early goes with the hand cutter.  Not too bad and the blue went well with the "comb" in the middle.

This was this first time I had made something to celebrate a profession.  Some years later  H.A.S sister graduated as a nurse and became my second profession design, of the two this felt more individually designed and I am happy to have a picture of it now to refresh my memory.

It is also nice to have this friend and her family living back within walking distance after some years over the border in Scotland.