Legs in Paddocks, Delft House designs, Sheepies, SAL and more for February

Hello stitchy friends.

I am writing this from a steamy Frankston.  The weather the past few days have been hot and sunny and today a gentle change has swept across the state.  There has been a few gentle showers, but the house is now holding the heat from the past few days and has become so sultry inside.  What is there to do, but to settle down into a comfy chair and stitch.

I seen to have been flirting between so many charts this past fortnight – in no particular order, I made a start on Kingfisher, an Owlforest design part of WIPGO 21 February and #robynsowlforestsal

I did make a couple of starts on this one chart.

The first was on some lovely eucalyptus coloured linen, but the thread count is higher than 36, and I was having a LOT of trouble seeing the fabric properly and I also felt the overdyed floss was being washed out.  So diving into my stash bucket, I found some white 32count Belfast linen and this will make the design and the floss the feature, not the fabric.

 Pictured here is the start I made after a test patch using first one strand, then 2 strands of the floss to see what I liked better.   Pity that when I started this section, I had forgotten that my practice section was NOT in the right place.   I realised after taking the hoop off after the picture was taken.   I have subsequently stitched this again in the right place.   I also have replaced the dark green floss 3 times, finally settling on DMC 4505.  I might put this aside for a day or two, as I want to concentrate on Meteo de Moutons.

 

Here is where I am at the moment. – Legs in Paddocks.  

I really wanted to have all the legs stitched for the year in place before I start stitching the sheep.  The days of the week are represented by individual colours as you can see across the top of the paddocks.  Birthdays are represented by legs that correspond to the colour of the day.  I have selected the colours for each temperature but want to get January completed before I stitch the temperature index.

I have taken further steps into the design world.  I spent valentine’s day at the computer getting a small design completed, having been inspired by a picture of a collection of KLM Miniature Delft houses.  What I can show you now, is a thumbnail of the design, there is also a larger sampler in the works.  

I hope to be releasing designs onto the market from 1^st July 2021 as BronnyB Designs Most of my designs in the past have been samplers, band samplers, motif samplers, motto samplers.    What sort of things appeal to you?

I do have a FFO to share. 

I surreptitiously stitched this freebie from Pinker n Pumpkin on the Saturday.  Allan knew I was stitching sheep and it was fun to work with Whisper floss again – blending it with one strand of ecru.  I also used random skeins from the amazing tub of overdyes – floss acquired over the course of the past 15+ years.  I showed it to him after midnight as his birthday gift and was able to fashion it into a card to present it on Valentine’s Day.  I’ve attached a magnet to the back of the stitched piece and a magnet to the front of the card, so I should be able to use this to finish off a few smalls and display them.   This process of finishing an item will be investigated further.

I had a bit of a haul in the past couple of weeks.  My order of needles arrived from 123 stitch.  I really am having difficulty locating John James Petites size 26-28 in gold.   The Piecemakers Tapestry needles size 28 are reasonable substitutes, but I do like the really shorter length of the John James.  I have worn a really painful sharp edge to the needle on all my John James, so have purged all the damaged needles and will replace my collection bit by bit.    I have 2-3 pincushions, all with spare needles, at least 4 needlebooks, and a couple of small boxes holding cross stitch needles (keeping them separate from sharps)   What are your favourite needles?

I had placed an order with 123 for the kreinik thread needed for the Mirabilia mermaids, and of course, they would be lonely on the trip so as companions, I bought the needles and added a chart from my wish list.  A sheep chart to work on just as soon as I get a start on Histories de Moutons.  I am waiting until I feel I have a good start on my other WIP’s before I get going.  I can’t remember what chart it is, or where I put it and didn’t think to take a pic of my order before putting it all away safely. 

I took the day off work on my birthday with vague plans to get some work done in my sewing room.  Instead I fell into my local Spotlight and emerged an hour later with a bag full of goodies. 

The intention was to pick up a skein or two of the green needed for Kingfisher, but then thought I might as well pick up floss to stitch the model of Delft Houses,

then I thought to pick up some further DMC in a lilac colourway to stitch an alternate model.  I found a cute thermal lunch box/bag along with some extra lunch boxes to match,

some cardboard bobbins, to wrap my new DMC on (and to replace the plastic ones which inexplicably are all turning brittle and snapping). I found some A4 foam core boards and some polystyrene sheets for a couple of finishing ideas that are floating around in my head, then I found some fat ¼s and picked up a random selection of 10.  Mostly paid for by my Christmas Gift Vouchers, it was fun to shop randomly again.

What are my current WIP’s (in no particular order)

• ·         Meteo de Moutons 2021
• ·         Kingfisher
• ·         Shores of Hawk Run Hollow
• ·         English Floral Sampler
• ·         Robert Burns Halloween (model stitch of my design)
• ·         Mirabilia Mermaids of the Deep Blue’
• ·         Jeremiah Junction Stitching Panel

 My current wish list to start in 2021

• ·         12 days of Christmas – kitted but not started
• ·         Histories de Moutons – kitted but not started
• ·         Delft House Row – model stitch of my design
• ·         Raise your Glasses – model stitch of my design (which has not made it onto paper yet)

Have I missed any?   I’m not adding in any of the quilt projects that are waiting their turn in my churning creativity brain of goodness.  I have a baby quilt that is waiting for the fabrics chosen to inspire me.

Time for me to put needle to thread.

SMILE & POINT YOUR TOES

Until next time

Happy Stitching.

Bronny

 

 

February - Meteo, WIPGO and a few more

Hello Stitchy friends,

It seems to be too long since I last posted. I have some things to share with you.  My last post was to be released with my first floss-tube and that video is still being edited, so I’ll move on.

I have recently spent a week on holiday – although the original plan was a 3 week drive to Queensland and back to see my Grandchildren, Covid-19 restrictions meant plans had to be changed.  We eventually spent a week in East Gippsland – at a wonderful dog-friendly campground, Best Friends Holiday Retreat.  Although we do not have a dog, the owners are friends of our Scouting Family and it was a perfect, relaxing break.  There was limited internet and no mobile coverage at the campground, so a break from social media was welcome.  I have returned, feeling quite rested.

  There was time for bushwalks and a chance to have a close look at a Temperate Rain Forest

This also meant a good time to stitch.  I finished the 2020 Meteo SAL, and made good progress on my WIPGO February block 4 – Shores of Hawk Run Hollow. 

My goal was to finish one block, and as I am currently working on blocks 6-7 am setting my goal to finish the ship and start on the sea during February.   I think I have made reasonable progress over the past few days

METEO de MOUTONS 2021

I have a finish – The 2020 Meteo project. 

I have finished the December temperature and added all the required motifs.  As Melbourne was under lockdown for more than 7 months of the year, padlocks do feature.  I added bushfire to the start of the year to symbolise the fires that were so devastating to most of Australia on New Year’s Eve.  In this household, there are 3 birthdays in 6 days in February, There are a few more either side, so a birthday cake will suffice.  In October, I took delivery of a brand-new  Yellow car – my HoneyB CH-R.  The remaining motifs are just random trees and flowers to fill the spaces.

I have also progressed on Melbourne Meteo de Moutons 2021. 

All the paddocks are completed, I have determined the floss colours to use for each degree and stitched the daily symbols across the top to show the days of the week.  I hope to make a start on the legs of the sheep soon with one colour for all sheep.  The exceptions will be to show birthdays during the year with bright legs.

WIPGO JANUARY – As part of WIPGO, the numbers called  for January related to Something Seasonal, Something Seasonal and No Guilt Start.  My last post shows how much was achieved on the Mirabilia Mermaids of the Deep – I have subsequently invested in some equivalent beads and will return to this stitch shortly  I have no further stitching progress to share on this chart since my last post.

However, I do have two finishes for something seasonal.   The quick small chart chosen was Lizzie Kate’s Hocus Pocus (Halloween IS a season!)  This has been FFO’d into a small pincushion already and will sit on my shelf until after Halloween this year.

I found Modern Folk Embroidery through floss-tube and was particularly struck by one design – How Doth the Busy Bee.   

I really enjoyed the stitching of this one.  I used 28 count Lugana from Picture this Plus – one of the fabrics in my stash from years ago, the floss was Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Golden Leaves and a dash of DMC 797 for the cornflower blue.  This I was inspired to add to the chart by a flower growing in my small garden by my front door.  I really enjoyed stitching this, whether it was the design, floss, fabric – I don’t know, but the whole project just flew under my fingers and I hope to frame this shortly.

WIPGO FEBRUARY - As part of WIPGO 2021, I have changed out block 20 as I have yet to fully design the original choice – ‘Raise your Glasses’  I now have it set for an OwlForest design –

Kingfisher – and will be participating with LadyRobynS as part of her birthday SAL.  Due to there being a bit of an embargo of postage from Russia to Australia, I had to source alternate floss for this project.  I didn’t want to stitch this with just DMC, but went looking for suitable overdyes. 

I found just what I wanted while on holiday – Country Cottage floss as shown (the lime green on the very right is an extra – purchased because it ‘looked’ at me)   I’ll be searching my stash for the right fabric to stitch this on and I should be ready to start this on the 15^th February.  Yarram Drapery had a lovely supply of overdyes. and fabrics

HAUL

A couple of weeks ago, I was watching a floss tube, and something was said, that set me off on a tangent (all to do with ships on samplers) and somehow I found myself looking at a book – BRENDA KEYS – ‘ULTIMATE SAMPLER MOTIFS SOURCE BOOK’

– well I snatched that up without a moment’s thought and it arrived this week.   It is EXCELLENT – if you like working and designing your own samplers, this is a great reference book.  There is no history for any of the designs, look elsewhere for that information, this is just grid after grid of motifs, numbers, letters.  I have used this already to plot the lettering for 2021 Meteo de Moutons.

 

I also found a chance to pick up one or two fat quarters from both Quilt shops I visited whilst at Yarram.  (Small country town with it’s priorities quite firm – a good bakery – 3 op shops and 2 quilt shops!) 

Of course the sheepie fabric leapt out at me, but I also have another couple of fabrics to add to an Australiana Baby quilt I have been asked to make.  This is the fabric collected at Trintarabee Quilting

 

FROG VISIT - I have made a decision to rip out all that I have stitched so far on Mermaids of the Deep.  The fabric I chose, was not speaking to me and there was a strong probability, that there would not be a lot of margin on the sides of the fabric for the full design.  Late last night, I selected another fabric, and will be making another start on this later in the month.

 

That should be enough of my ramblings for now.  I do hope to release a floss-tube shortly – there is some editing to be done on my first try, or I may record a fresh one and leave the first try as a blooper reel.