Showing posts with label blackwork. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blackwork. Show all posts

Monday, 12 December 2016

Finishing things off

Hello my lovely readers.  I am back.  I think I'm back, I suppose that remains to be seen. Thank you for your wonderful messages of support on my previous post, it's so lovely to know that people care.  My situation remains unchanged, some days are OK, some are horrible.  I'm struggling to differentiate what is grief over the end of my marriage, what is me missing Mr Ex-CA and what is depression/BPD.  Anyway, enough of that!

I've made plenty of things recently. I've been to a lot of classes (including 4 at the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show), however I've completely failed to take photos.  I'm going to remedy that soon, but in the meantime...


I made the clear and black version of this necklace in a class, a LONG time ago.  I then bought the components to make the aqua and black one.  A couple of years ago, as I was putting on the aqua one, the thread snapped and the beads on one side fell off.  Another day, the clear pendent fell off the necklace.  There they sat for years... I think it took me 20 minutes to fix them both!

I also finally took the time to hang some of the wall hangings I've made.  I bought some dowel which I cut to size and sanded with my Dremel.


 This quilt got pride of place over the fireplace.  I love seeing it up.  I wish I'd put it up months ago as maybe Mr Ex-CA needed reminding of what I was going through...  (see the quilt here)

My large blackwork sampler went on the wall in the living room.  I felt I needed a narrowish space to hang it due to the shape.   I apologise for the photos, however there's no natural light in my house (I have film on the windows to stop people seeing in) and this was the best I could do.  (Much better photo of this piece found here)

Harry ended up on this wall in the dining room with a picture I bought for Mr Ex-CA and (just out of shot) one I letterpressed for him.  I'll be removing them at some point so Harry might move.  (See a post about this quilt here)

This hanging was placed next to my ceramic hearts in the first floor landing.  I can't get a front-on picture as that would involve me falling down the stairs...  Again, it's pretty murky and the hall (along with 70% of my house) really needs doing up!  Any keen DIYers who fancy coming round? (Better picture of the quilt here)

 This post was quite painful to write (though I don't really know why), but I'm glad I'm blogging again.  I'll be back soon.
handmade by Wendy at 13:16 18 crafty devils said ... Categories: , , ,

Tuesday, 5 May 2015

Uttoxeter Quilt and Stitch Village 2015

The weekend of the 24th was the Quilt and Stitch Village event in Uttoxeter, not to far from me, so me and the lovely mum went along, meeting some guild friends there.  I, of course, was excited to see the embroidery exhibition as I'd entered Save the Stitches.  

 Want to see it?

There are two photos to show it as it's so long!

I also took a photo of the whole thing, but Photobucket is playing up and I can't rotate photos.  

I did not win.

 I did  not come 2nd.

 I did not come 3rd.

 I'm pretty sure I came 4th, but there are no rosettes for that, so we'll just have to assume I did!  Here are the entries that did win, this was the Traditional Embroidery category.

I didn't fork out the pound it cost to buy the programme, so I've no idea who made these!  The goldwork tudor rose above came third. 

I loved this goldwork dragon, it came 2nd.

And this came first.  In the Traditional category?  Sorry about the reflection, but it was glazed and there was a window behind.  

 In my judges comments both said that it should have been framed.  Funny that, I thought I'd entered an embroidery competition, not a framing competition (or rather a who-can-fork-out-the-most-money-for-their-massive-and-unusually-shaped-embroidery competition).  The rest of the comments were good, so I probably shouldn't moan.

handmade by Wendy at 09:00 22 crafty devils said ... Categories: , , ,

Sunday, 19 April 2015

It's finished!

Hello ladies, I'm checking in for the SAL run by Avis and Claire and ... my piece is finished!

 For those that haven't seen this project before, this is my Save The Stitches blackwork sampler designed by Elizabeth Almond of Blackwork Journey.

All the blackwork is stitched, all the beads are added.  Since then it has also been backed and sent off to the Quilt and Stitch Village to take part in the embroidery show!  Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos other than this one, taken on my tablet.  My camera had died by this point (this was last week) and so I just sent it off with the intention of taking pictures when I get to the show.  Cue lots of worrying about whether it'll get lost/damaged/stolen/run over by a fork-lift truck/eaten by a herd of cows...  

 As you can see, it's very long, about 40" I seem to remember?  I will take some more pictures when I get to the show and I'll measure it when I get it home and post about it again.  I can't help strutting a bit about this one, it's almost a year's work!
You can go and see what the other participants have been up to here:



Claire at Claire93's blog

Gun at Rutigt



Alison at Minerva Handmade


handmade by Wendy at 08:00 32 crafty devils said ... Categories: , ,

Sunday, 15 February 2015

Save the Stitches update

It's time for another update on my Save The Stitches blackwork sampler designed by Elizabeth Almond of Blackwork Journey.  I've entered this into the Quilt and Stitch Village show in April.  I need to get it framed before then so I've given myself the deadline of the end of February to get it stitched.  I finished the section below, then I started crocheting squares?!?  How exactly is that helping get it finished Wendy?

I have finished blocks 18, 19 and 20, including the metal thread work.  This means I have one full row to do (made of 4 blocks), then I just have to add the beading before getting it framed.  

 Someone kick me in the arse please, I need to get working on this!
You can go and see what the other participants have been up to here:

Claire at Claire93's blog

Gun at Rutigt



Alison at Minerva Handmade


handmade by Wendy at 08:00 15 crafty devils said ... Categories: , ,

Sunday, 25 January 2015

SAL update

Looking for my Grow Your Blog Post?

It's here, or just scroll down to the next post.

 I can't believe it, but another 3 weeks has passed since I last updated you on my Save The Stitches blackwork sampler designed by Elizabeth Almond of Blackwork Journey.

 I haven't made as much progress as last time, but I'm still chugging away.

I finished block 18 (the two squares on the left), and have made a start on block 19 (the four squares plus the little one on the right).  Block 20 (the bottom row) is nearly done.  When I've finished this section, I've only got one more set of 4 blocks to go!  It's a good job too as I did enter this into the Uttoxeter Quilt and Stitch Village show, so it needs to be finished and framed by April!
You can go and see what the other participants have been up to here:



Claire at Claire93's blog

Gun at Rutigt



Alison at Minerva Handmade


handmade by Wendy at 14:00 13 crafty devils said ... Categories: , ,

Sunday, 4 January 2015

SAL update

It's time for a check in on the 3-weekly SAL.  I'm stitching Elizabeth Almond of Blackwork Journey's Save The Stitches blackwork sampler and have been for most of the year.  I made a LOT of progress this time.



The photo above shows blocks 13-18 which is half done.  I had already stitched block 13 and half of 14 and 15 so you can see that I've basically stitched an entire row (made up of 4 blocks), but in two halves.


This is blocks 14 and 15 with half of 16 below.


and this is block 17 and half of blocks 18 and 20.  I said in the last check in that I was half-way through, I was so wrong, I'm nearly done, which is what I think is responsible for the sudden burst of activity on this projects.  There are 24 blocks in total which means I have to finish the row I'm on and there's one below, then it's just going back to stitch on the beads!


Here's the entire piece so far.  Yes, it's huge!



You can go and see what the other participants have been up to here:



Claire at Claire93's blog

Gun at Rutigt


Eleanor at Sun and Cake 

Alison at Minerva Handmade


handmade by Wendy at 08:00 13 crafty devils said ... Categories: , , ,

Sunday, 21 December 2014

Does this count as vintage blackwork?

I embroidered them a year ago, so surely that counts?  I did the blackwork portion of these sachets/ornaments back in November last year! You can read my posts about them here and here,  For those that don't know, blackwork is an embroidery technique done on even count fabric, such as Aida (as I've done here), or evenweave that you'd use for cross stitch.  It's made up of a series of backstitches which form patterns.  Traditionally it should be double sided.  Mine isn't and is a right mess on the back!

At some point over the past year, I sewed them up on the machine and all that remained to be done was the stuffing and closing the gap.  It took me about an hour to do all 10!  Why do I put these things off?

They are stuffed with lavender and backed in bits of old clothes, though the purple one above is quilting cotton as I couldn't find any old clothes suitable.  As you can see, they're pretty badly sewn up, very strange shapes, so I was obviously in a rush that day!

I hadn't shown you the one above in the original posts.  I finished embroidering it just after I wrote those posts and this picture has been sitting in a draft post ever since!  I did this one for my mum as it is Mackintosh-esque.  You can find the free pattern at Imaginesque

See what a strange shape this one is!  3 rounded corners, one pointy corner!

The Christmas ornaments are stuffed with a bit of fibrefill and shakily sewn up as before.  I'll put some on my tree and see if my mum wants to pretend she likes them so I can give a couple to her!

Backing these ones we have flannel pjs, quilting cotton, old top, old shirt of Mr CA, flannel pjs.  I have so many old clothes to be used up and this is the only thing I've done with them in about 3 years!
handmade by Wendy at 08:00 5 crafty devils said ... Categories: , , ,

Saturday, 13 December 2014

Save the Stitches SAL

It's check in time for the Stitch ALong.  I'm stitching along with 9 other ladies, though we're all stitching on different projects, the SAL is to keep us motivated and moving along.  So am I and have I?

 Here is where I was last week, this was block 13 on Elizabeth Almond of Blackwork Journey's Save The Stitches blackwork sampler.

And here is where I am now:

I have done half of block 14 and half of block 16 which is the row across the bottom.  When I've finished the pattern you can see I'm working on, I'll complete the metal thread stitching for these areas, then I need to move my QSnap to the right and carry on with blocks 14 and 16 and get block 15 done too.  I'll take a picture of where I'm at then too.  I seem to be averaging a block every 3 weeks so this is going to take me forever as I'm only half way through!

 You can go and see what the other participants have been up to here:

Claire at Claire93's blog

Gun at Rutigt



Eleanor at Sun and Cake 

Alison at Minerva Handmade


handmade by Wendy at 08:30 11 crafty devils said ... Categories: , , ,

Saturday, 22 November 2014

Save the Stitches SAL update

Has it really been three weeks since the last update?  It must been as it's check in time for the SAL hosted by Avis and Claire. 

This is block 13.  I haven't yet done the metallic stitching on it.  I don't seem to have got much done this time, but I have been spending a lot of my stitching time working on my Orange Peels.

 I bet the other participants have done more than me, so go and visit them:

Claire at Claire93's blog

Gun at Rutigt



Eleanor at Sun and Cake 

Alison at Minerva Handmade


handmade by Wendy at 08:00 10 crafty devils said ... Categories: , , ,

Sunday, 2 November 2014

Save the Stitches SAL

It's check in time for the SAL hosted by Avis and Claire. 

 I said that I would finish the section I'd started and, much to my own amazement, I did!

There wasn't much metallic stitching in this area at all.

And here's the full sampler so far.

Every time I post this sampler, people ask me the size of the finished item, so I had a look at the instructions.  The answer is, I don't know!  The size of the fabric we were told to cut is 20" x 37", so I'm guessing it will be a bit smaller than that!


If you're interested, you can visit the other participants here:








Elizabeth at http://stitch4therapy.wordpress.com/
handmade by Wendy at 08:30 22 crafty devils said ... Categories: , , ,

Sunday, 12 October 2014

Joining the SAL

Avis and Claire have been doing a SAL for many months now.  They completed a large cross stitch project, then decided to do another and invite other people to join in.  We're not all stitching the same thing, we're stitching our own projects, but using the SAL as a kick in the butt. 

 The other participants are:








Elizabeth at http://garden4therapy.wordpress.com/

 We'll be posting updates every 3 weeks and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to stop me stalling on my blackwork project.

Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to work on this since I joined the SAL a couple of weeks ago for several reasons.  Firstly, I've been on holiday and only just got back.  I didn't take it with me to work on as it's pretty big and also because I've run out of black stranded cotton!  I tried to buy some more in Hobbycraft and they've completely run out of both DMC and Anchor black.  I popped in again yesterday and they still have none....

 I'm working on the crosses for the next section and hopefully I can get my hands on some black stranded cotton by the time I'm done.  As it stands, I've got to finish rows 8 and 12, block 10 and do block 11 completely.  This is my goal for the next check in in three week's time.  Fingers crossed that black stranded cotton hasn't been discontinued!
Related Posts

 blocks 8, 9, 10, 12blocks 4, 5 and 6
Block 3
Block 2
block 1 finished
Block 1
The tiny version
handmade by Wendy at 09:31 15 crafty devils said ... Categories: , ,

Saturday, 20 September 2014

Save the Stitches update

It's time for another update of my pgrogress on Elizabeth Almond of Blackwork Journey's Save The Stitches blackwork sampler.  If you're new to my blog, you can see links to my previous posts at the bottom.

 Instead of moving my Qsnap around after each block, I decided to hoop up an area and stitch as much as would fit in that area, then add the metallics before moving on.  Below you see half of row 8, all of block 9, half of block 10 and half of row 12.

I like this method.  I haven't added the beads.  As I've had problems with them being caught in the frame, I'm going to wait until I've finished the whole thing before adding the beads - another couple of years then!

Here's how it's looking so far:



Related Posts

 blocks 4, 5 and 6Block 3
Block 2
block 1 finished
Block 1
The tiny version

handmade by Wendy at 07:30 23 crafty devils said ... Categories: , ,

Thursday, 7 August 2014

Save the Stitches update - blocks 4, 5 and 6

I've been working steadily on this project over the past few weeks, I am really enjoying stitching it and it's pretty much all that I feel like working on at the minute.  In case you're new to my blog, or have forgotten, this is Elizabeth Almond of Blackwork Journey's Save The Stitches blackwork sampler.

This is block 5, I really like the lower left pattern.


And here we have block 6.  There were some confusing patterns there!  Because the patterns change gradually throughout the sub-block, it's hard to memorise them so I have to stitch with the pattern in front of me.  This is not a criticism,  I have NO criticisms of this pattern, I totally love it and find it hard to put down.


As you can see, I also started the outline for block 7.  At this point, I changed from Q snap to stretcher bars, thinking it would be easier than constantly moving the Qsnap.  I couldn't keep the tension though so I've swapped back.  I found that I have to put beaded areas under the bars sometimes and the beads have pulled out, so I won't be doing any more beading until the end when I'll have to go back and fix it.


 As I had it off the frame, I took a snap of the whole thing so far.  I think Elizabeth released 14 and 15 this week... I'm catching up though!


handmade by Wendy at 07:30 16 crafty devils said ... Categories: , ,
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