Hello Stitching Friends!
Finally we had some sunny and warm weather for a couple of days, and me and the furbabies enjoyed a wonderful long walk in the countryside.
Sadly the rainy and cold spring weather is back now but at least it's perfect weather for stitching😉.
But first it's time for some more of my WIPs.
This first one I started last summer for The Spring into Summer New Start Binge 2020. I'd had this chart by Ursula Michael in my stash for a good while, since I fell in love with her various backstitch motifs.
I wanted to have some fun with this design, so I'm stitching it on a lime green aida fabric which meant I hade to change some of the thread colours too. Even though I'm a bit tired of backstitch at the moment, I stitch a little bit on this one every now and then when I feel like it.
* * *
This next one is from the period in my life - quite a while back - when I thought I could stitch ANYTHING... As soon as I saw this gorgeous design by Sheila Hudson in Cross Stitch Collection magazine I fell in love! I've always wanted to stitch a fairytale castle...but maybe I shouldn't have gone for one of the larger charts around😂🙈😂.
I don't think I even have to show you my 'progress'...since it's basically non-existant😂. Just stitching the guidelines took forever and I haven't even finished that😳...oh boy.
However, now that I actually pulled this project out of my neglected WIP box and had a fresh look at it, the 'only' problem is the size. Most of the stitches in the background are actually half cross stitches and should be fairly easy to do, and there isn't much backstitching going on either. Handling the project might be a problem though since I always stitch in hand and there's A LOT of fabric to handle😂😱. Like I said...what was I thinking?!!
* * *
This stunning Santa project by CeWeC has a sweet little story attached to it. I was looking for an old fashioned Santa to stitch, and when I saw this project I fell in love, again. But it was a table runner where you stitched the Santa twice, and that would never happen in my nook, no sir😉😂. However, I knew that my mum liked to stitch these kind of Christmas motifs too, so I thought: why not buy it for Christmas and divide all the material into two and give my mum half of it as a Christmas gift?? Then we could stitch a Santa each, and the motif would definitely work as a picture instead of a table runner. So I did, and my sister helped me to photocopy the chart and the front picture so I could turn it into a proper kit for my mum. And I think she was very happy with her Christmas gift.
I made a little start on it after Christmas, but instead of using the 11-count aida fabric that was included in the kit, I decided to stitch it on 14-count aida so I could use the loop start. I'm sure I'll get back to this gorgeous project when Christmas draws nearer.
* * *
When I got back from England 15 years ago and picked up cross stitching again, I wanted to stitch cross stitched gifts for everyone that I cared about. It took me a few years to realize that not everyone appreciated the time and love I put into every cross stitched item I gave away😌. In fact, these days I know that there are only a few people in my family and circle of acquaintances who truly treasures my cross stitched items.
And this motorbike is one of those items I planned to give away...but then realized that it probably wasn't a good idea.
Maybe there will be a time where I can give away a stitched motorcycle to someone special and know that it'll be appreciated🙏. And whilst I wait for that person this project will remain a UFO...
* * *
Those of you who read my blog last year might remember me working on these lighthouses designed by Cheryl McKinnon. I stitched one of them and gave to my dad (who grow up with boats and the sea in his life just like I did) for his birthday, and my plan was to stitch another one for him for last Christmas.
Sadly I had to change my plans. My wonderful dad has alzheimer's disease 😢 and is slowly getting worse, and when I gave the lighthouse picture to him on his birthday last autumn he couldn't immediately tell which way was up on the lighthouse😨😢. Obviously I realized that there was no longer any point in stitching another picture for him...
My plan has been to stitch these gorgeous lighthouses for myself too, but at the moment it's all just a bit too sad...
At present my total count of WIPs on my WIP page are up to 35...and there are quite a few left. Bet you cannot wait for the next installment😉😁! All I'm going to say about it for now is that the situation is actually not as bad as I thought😂🙈😂. And if you need more details on any of my WIPs, you can find it on my WIP page.
Hope you have a lovely stitching weekend!
Annie
Looks like a wonderful time in the country. :)
ReplyDelete35 projects going on!! Oh my!
More beautiful projects! Sorry to hear about your dad. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteSome more great WIPs here. I never grid because of the time factor, I prefer to dive right in. I do stitch everything in hand, even my Chatelaine and my Mirabilia probjects. I roll the fabric with the stitching inside so my hands don't touch it too much.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your Dad. It can sometimes help to have personal things around to give the Carers something to talk about. My sister used to send my Nana postcards so the Carers would sit and read them to Nana as my sister lived too far away to visit. Nana would then share her memories which were more real than her current life.
I'm sorry to hear about your Dad. That is so hard. I went through that with my Grandma who passed several years ago and that was difficult as she didn't remember me for at least 5 years before she died. I hope you can sit with him and chat for a long while yet, even if he doesn't know it's you, he'll know it's someone who cares.
ReplyDeleteI love all these projects! You can work on the castle occasionally too, a thread a week or something and see how you get after a few months of that.