REPORTING BACK

Where have I been and what have I been stitching ? first up I did achieve some planned  stitching for IHSW, as shown here-

I like the way it is coming along although I do not enjoy stitching on such coarse linen however  I will hopefully not have to wait to long till I can enjoy stitching with no sight problems. I have a date all going well for Cataract surgery later in September. The blackwork pattern here will form the background with more stitching on top. will share the progress of this as I get on.

 Following Hermits weekend I worked on a hussif for Caitlin's birthday, her choice of colour would always be purple and I found the lovely rich cotton I used for the outside on my trip to Napier earlier in the year, The lining is a soft mauve silk, almost a grey mauve Annette had sent this to me and there was just enough, some help from Maree who did the quilting and then a very enjoyable time stitching lots of bullion stitch roses. Pink Roses and gold butterflies was the theme. look closely and you will see lots of tiny gold butterfly charms, Ann found these for me at the Trader's mall at conference.

The bottom pocket has an extra small pocket on the front to hold a small ruler and inside that pocket I out the pin keep and the covered tape measure.  the middle pocket has the scissor case and needle book on the outside of it. and the top one is a flap  that open with the thread holders there.

It was here birthday on Friday, how the years have gone by she is now 17 and the hussif was delivered to her in person so I could see her reaction when she opened her parcel  

A new month starts tomorrow and first up will be finished some more Gold butterflies to send away, the blackwork Heart and Stitcher's challenge this time is a needleroll ( the type that looks like a cracker) I have found a chart I like now to sort out fabric and threads so I can get started.

 Thank you for visiting I will try and not leave it so long before I post again. 

PS for new followers of my blog below is the hussif made about 3 years ago for Rachel the oldest of my granddaughters. The theme for this one was  Roses for Rachel

HUSSIF FOR JAN

A new month and a new begining.

Some time ago when I made Rachel's hussif,( which I have shown here)
my daughter Jan, commented that someone else would like a hussif - meaning herself.  Jan had some years ago had made herself a hussif at one
of the workshops I had taught at Coromandel Guild, so I asked her what she wanted in a new hussif and her reply was one with all the tiny flowers I stitch on it.

The first piece I stitched with the tiny cross stitch flowers was in 1986, when I made a writing case for my mother when she moved into a rest home. After her death that piece came back to me and in 1991, I stitched for myself a hussif as a companion piece, this was followed in 1992 with my workbox that I have shown previously on my blog.

The hussif I use now was stitched much later again with the little flowers that I love.
The first flowers I stitched came mainly from the Danish designs, slowly I added to my collection from other sources and then added a few designs of my own, now I stitch often by memory making the flowers grow where I want them on the fabric.

The challenge will be to make this hussif my best one ever, I have the linen ready Permin 35 count Lambswool and today I started the planning, and I will share with you the making of this project- I have given myself 6 months to complete it.

MORE WESSEX STITCHERY

Every now and then as an embroidery tutor one has that special student that is not only a pleasure to teach but whose work stands out head and shoulders above the rest.

Today's such student was an 8 year old, The project was using star stitch to create a Christmas tree and  in a group of 5 children her work stood out above the rest for her neat stitching and the amount she completed in the hours class.

I mention this because I want to share with you some work by another embroiderer. Jocelyn was in my first Wessex Stitchery class in the mid 1990's, she has gone on to create many, many pieces in Wessex stitchery but also to share this embroidery with many others throught her classes. This week when I received an email from England for more information on Wessex Stitchery I contact Jocelyn and she was happy to share some of her work with you.

Her Hussif shows many of the different stitch patterns that form Wessex Stitchery I will try and add "How to" for some of the patterns in the next few days.

ROSES FOR RACHEL

The Hussif is finished.
I have named it for the Exhibition as "ROSES FOR RACHEL"
Red is her favourite colour and the outer material matches a piece I have done for her previously. The inside is decorated with Bullion Stitch Roses,
I think the bullion stitch roses were some of the earliest things I learnt to stitch, taught by my mother.

Here is a close up showing some of the pieces that go in the pockets...Floss Ring tab, Pin keep and Tape measure. All the material on the inside is silk.

And a close up of the top of the hussif, it all rolls up for easy carrying.
In my hurry to pack it up for delivery the last photo of the hussif rolled up did not come out well it looks a bit screwed up!!!!

DEADLINES

Deadlines are looming for both pieces of work I am currently stitching, however I told myself a break in the garden would do me good this morning. Today was forcasted as a fine sunny day and we have not had many of these, so an opportunity not to be wasted as the garden is much in need of attention. Came inside several hours later I am sure the fresh air did me good and the time spent certainly did the garden a lot of good. Now it is back to the stitching.
I have nealy completed the piece for the Regional Exhibition, it is also to be Rachel's birthday present.She is turning 15, for friends who remember her over the years she is now tall and slim like her Uncle Barryn. It is a Hussif, which I know is something she really wanted.Rachel came in to see the nearly completed work and gave it her blessing with that lovely teenage word "COOl"