Release and Caution

 

Last Friday, I had my plaster taken off... The doctor suggested a hand bandage or lightweight brace to not only give me a little support but also remind me not to fling my hand around quite as yet as there was every possible chance that I could re break it... The bones it seems take around about three months to heal and become stronger so in fact I am only half through the healing process... 

It was good though to have my arm free of that extra weight and to be able to shower without having to protect my cast from the water - but best of all was to be able to lather my arm with soap and feel the deliciousness of the warm water running over it. My arm also needed plenty of moisturizer because after six weeks in plaster it was dry and peeling...

So, now I have a little more freedom of movement I am going to attempt a little bit of cross stitch and perhaps some drawing or colouring - all of which I have missed in these last six weeks...

I figure that once my six weeks are through, we here in Victoria might hopefully see the Stage 4 lock down and 8pm to 5am curfew lifted which has also been given a six week period... Life and times in a world wide pandemic...

2020 has certainly proved interesting on many levels...

Erin had prettied up my cast with one of her drawings... I was a wee bit cross that at having a cast a my age and then to add insult to injury not able to have anyone sign it was a bit rich...

"Breaking" news...

After taking a tumble down our very steep outside concrete stairs after I miscalculated my step while taking photos I have ended up with this...
After two weeks in a half cast and a CT scan to determine what was to be done next the good news is - I have a brand new white shiny plaster cast...
The bad news is I have three breaks - the better news is that after consultation with an orthopedic surgeon, the chap I am seeing and he agreed that a substantial plaster cast for four weeks might be the shot...
As the saying goes "them's the breaks' "

June 2020

Well who would have thought when I posted that last entry on the first of January that the world was about to enter the challenge of its life... And all our lives...

I am not going to go on about it as we all know what life as become, however I did want to mention it here as to mark its place in history...

Now on to the better stuff in no particular order...

The Jetty

Potting Shed

Johanna Basford colouring pages and a leaf rubbing

Every Winter I have the urge to do something with yarn and needles - this year it is a Granny Square Knee Rug - with my rudimentary crochet skills

Little House Needleworks - Giving Thanks

Browyn Hayes - Jardin Quilt blocks
These two blocks are part of a series that I have been working on for the last few years - every so often they see the light of day until I become disgruntled then they go away again - but 2020 just maybe their year to be completed - at least to the block stage...

Bird in Hand - Blackbird Designs.

Peppermint Purple's Blackwork 2020 SAL  (weekly blocks)

Elizabeth Almond's Black and Gold Floral Cross

Welcome to 2020

Well, here we are in not only a new year but also a new decade... 2020, who would have thought...

Hopefully, I will be a little better at blogging this decade than I was in the last... But you know how it is, life happens...
I have a few ideas and tentative plans and for someone who normally flies by the seat of her proverbial - that is saying something...
While this blob will mainly concentrate on my stitching and  stitchy creating I am also going to include a few of my other loves peppered with some life updates as they happen...

Of course my other passion is reading so I will post my current read here as I go... I am not going to give an in depth review or rating as I believe reading and books are very subjective - horses for courses so to speak... 

So with out further ado let's begin

My first new start for 2020 and indeed a new decade...

There is quite a story behind this pattern...

The first time I saw this design stitched was at an exhibition in late 1992 probably not long after the pattern was released... I was spellbound and thought it was the most beautiful design I had ever seen...
At that stage I was working full time and while I dabbled with small pieces of cross stitch I had never contemplated a piece like this.
The next time I saw Earth Angel my life had had many changes including a new address in a different part of the city...
She shone out from the window of a needlework shop called the French Knot.
It was a beautiful and magical shop with a collection of stunning fabrics, jewelled threads, a myriad of patterns and fabulous stitched models. It was my little part of paradise.
I knew straightaway that I wanted this design and so I bought her, the fabric and the called for DMC threads. I took home my treasure and put it away in a drawer...
Earth Angel has moved with me a number of times and I have stitched other pieces and enhanced my stash considerably yet I have never stitched her...
I think that I believed deep down that I could never do her justice and that there would be a 'right' or 'perfect time'.
Life has spiralled away as life does and the years flowed past and circumstances changed...
Of late I have thought a lot about my stitching and I have come to some realizations... As with any realization there comes the good, the bad and the ugly...
Without boring you all with details, I have come to realize that that moment of perfection will always hover out there on a far horizon always out of reach. That the moment is now and if I don't take the risk of stitching this design I never will be satisfied with anything else I stitch or buy for that matter.
So, since the moment is now - I have started...
I have changed the fabric which came via my stash at a much later date and offers a softer background and will 'hero' the design.
The colour is somewhere between DMC #157 and #932 - depending on the light...
I have wound bobbins for the colours I will using first...
I would like to think she will be completed by the end of the year and ready for framing...
While Earth Angel will be my focus piece she won't be my only new start for 2020 - I have a couple of other stash acquisitions I would like to bring out to the light...

The photo on the left more true...

Design - Earth Angel - Lavender and Lace Designs
Thread - DMC - as charted
Fabric - 25 count evenweave blue/grey

The top photo is more true to colour...

Returning to Blogging and my Knitting

A few years ago I subscribed to the Art of Knitting which was a weekly issue magazine through the newsagents. It basically took you from beginners to I would imagine, quite complex knitting at the completion. 
Each issue offered different sections which you could divide into a binder under the appropriate headings. It also supplied two balls of yarn - these were to knit the squares that came under section called - The Thow - which required you to knit a small square which ultimately would make up a rather large throw. Knitting these squares would of course build your knitting confidence as each square was a different stitch. These squares took roughly an night to knit.
I bought the first eighteen issues and while I liked them I knew in my heart of hearts I couldn't see myself knitting 120 squares. I had managed to knit nine of the required squares and I was quite pleased with my results because knitting or crochet for that matter, doesn't come as an easy skill for me however, I cancelled my subscription and put it away. A change of address saw me pack it all up and forget about it.

Fast forward to now - I am currently de stashing my craft room and came across across the squares once again. I found this square started with four rows knitted it just waiting for to be picked up and completed.
The colder weather and early dark nights always has my hands turning to yarn and needles as I sit in front of the heater - so I thought it could be the right time to pick this up and finish it. Of course with that small victory under my belt I have turned to the challenge of next square... 

My plan is to finish the 18 squares in the issues that I have, then repeat some of them in different colours until either the yarn, my patience or the colder weather runs out... 

Whichever one happens first, Matilda may be in line for a new blanket if there are enough squares to join into something worthwhile...🐈🐈🐈

A Year On...

It has been a year to the day since last I blogged... I am uncertain to why I stopped blogging - I just did and the time moved on swiftly...

Just to show that I haven't been completely idle - here are some of the projects I have been working on...

Free style crochet - Granny Square - (including the cat model!)

Canvas Work - Laura J Perin - Simple Gifts

Elizabeth Almond - Black work

The Needle's Notion - Coverlet Collage

Lizzie Kate - Cherish 

Cross Stitcher Magazine - Strawberry Thief

Nora Corbett - Azure Mermaid

Derwentwater Designs - Seasons - Summer

Winter...

Dare I say... A finish!!

Winter Flower Sampler - Elizabeth Designs. Stitched on 28 Count Antique white evenweave - with DMC threads and ThreadWorx - Sea Treasure for leaves.

Started 22nd June 2015 - completed 5th May 2016. It was a l-o-n-g Winter...

 wink emoti