TAST

This week I decided to focus so joined Sharon B's group Take a Stitch Tuesday.
As it started four weeks ago I have to catch up - though there is no pressure to stitch every week.
The first two are Diamond Stitch and Knotted Loop.
They are less than perfect but I enjoyed the stitching.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/56846286@N00/












Also this week I was told that after a year of investigations and treatments for various health problems I can now have my right hip replaced.
I'll be on a waiting list for 3/4 months but hopefully things will start to improve then.
Ooooh! I need to lose weight and I do love food - just another challenge.
Ironic that I joined "TAST"!

We had a lovely holiday in Spain with some hot and sunny days and cool evenings sitting by the log burner.
I couldn't walk well so relied on a wheelchair (I hate that!!!)
Lots of time was spent relaxing, with a glass of wine, & stitching - I was inspired by the 'face flowers' I saw in a 'point de croix' magazine, tried to do Bullion Knots which I've not done a lot of before, and made this Garden in Stitch & Buttons postcard.


There are various threads, buttons, ribbons and a textured wool border here ...

When we were house bound on several cold and snowy days I explored machine auto stitching with hand embroidery over laid - another picture for my collection ...


.... but Spring is around the corner!




..last day of February
..what a cold and dreary month it has been.

We are looking for the sun, visiting family in Spain, for the next two weeks.
The small picture is a "quick stitch" for a birthday card, from a design by Elizabeth Foster.

Winter Posy

There's not a lot to see in the garden today but I picked this small posy -


I made a jigsaw from the photo and I'm doing it this afternoon.
Most days I spend some time "jigsawing" on line as a change from crafting and word games.
www.jigidi.com/puzzle.php?id=2HI6EFA6

Not a lot of blogging recently!
Days have ticked over, indoors because of the snow, knit, stitch, watch tennis when it's on TV, eat & drink coffee (mostly, but a few glasses of wine as well!), take a few photos from windows or doorstep, and generally pass the time quite happily.
This is a textile postcard I stitched - "Snowy Garden"
It represents Winter Flowering Jasmine amongst swirls of snow - a quilted background with embellishment.

Wishing all my friends a happy and healthy New Year .....






I am resigned to lots more sitting and enjoying crafting each day, as before.
The spine injections I had in December, after so many months of other treatments, still haven't improved my mobility a lot - but at least I don't have a hospital appointment for three whole months.
I haven't knitted for about 25 years - saw a book about knitting squares for blankets, and started to explore different textures in knitting.
I doubt I'll make enough squares for a blanket though!
These are all in the same wool - a nice light cream - sorry the colours and shadows here are so poor.
It's quite homely sitting by the fire knitting.

Happy Christmas



No blogging for weeks and now a quickie to say Merry Christmas and to wish all my friends a healthy and happy New Year.

November ....


Wet, windy and dull this morning ......








but later sunny and dry enough to collect a few lovely leaves from the garden.

NO sun--no moon!
No morn--no noon!
No dawn--no dusk--no proper time of day--
No sky--no earthly view--
No distance looking blue--
No road--no street--no "t'other side this way"--
No end to any Row--
No indications where the Crescents go--
No top to any steeple--
No recognitions of familiar people--
No courtesies for showing 'em--
No knowing 'em!
No travelling at all--no locomotion--
No inkling of the way--no notion--
"No go" by land or ocean--
No mail--no post--
No news from any foreign coast--
No Park, no Ring, no afternoon gentility--
No company--no nobility--
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member--
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds--
November!

Thomas Hood 1789 - 1845

I don't think Thomas Hood got it entirely right - though we do have a postal strike just now!

.. more Autumn colours ..

I haven't been blogging often recently as I'm in an unsettled mood, not doing anything very interesting or original ...
I had a lovely collection of red fibres from Carolyn, love-stitching-red.blogspot.com recently though and really enjoyed sorting out a few bits and pieces to send to her.
Some of the fibres I found were lovely Autumn colours so I made yet another mosaic, adding a couple of pics of an Assisi piece I did some years ago - it's now in Priscilla's dining room in New Mexico, www.flickr.com/people/farmgirlinnewmex.
The red fibres are lovely for Christmas work - hopefully I'll get inspiration to use them soon.

Wessex Stitchery

Mini Sampler


Yesterday I completed this - only 6x9cm but it took several days,
stitching with Caron Wildflowers variegated thread.



The centre flowers are a design called Pembroke, in Gay Eaton's book, 'Wessex Stitchery'.
The outer patterns are my own, done randomly and copied at the opposite edge.
This technique is new to me.
The history of the stitching is interesting - the patterns are challenging - working on finer weave than usual I need a magnifier - I think I'll try another piece!