A finish...

...a start...

...last but not least - an oldie but goodie...

G I finally found her - tucked away she was - three hours of searching and lots of mutterings, some swearing - I finally unearthed her... She is my 'project in waiting' while I consider what I want to do next... And believe me I found lots to consider...

In my unearthing I found the little pre-printed 'home' so I thought until I settle on my next big project I will stitch this... It will match up with my blue cat and the welcome stitchery I did last year... I have this idea of creating a feature of all of these little stitcheries...

My red work lady had me a little intimidated as I am certainly not a lover of satin stitch nor am I very good at it and the last bits of this particular piece had quite a bit of it to do... After procrastinating for quite a few months I finally took the bull by the horns and settled down to finish it... I am reasonably happy with the way it turned out so it has joined my other red lady in the box until I decide what I am going to do with it...

I am in a strange place re my stitching - I am not sure what to think why I feel like I do but these last few months I haven't had the enthusiasm I have had previously... One reason I think is that I feel a little overwhelmed as I realise that over the last couple of years especially I have collected quite a bit - realistically I know that probably 60% of it won't be stitched or even make it out of its packets... I am a little aghast at the dollar value I have just sitting in the cupboard - but in saying that I am more than a little reluctant to sell or give any of it away... Not sure what the answer is I am sure it will come to me if I don't stress about it too much...

Until then

Sharon xx

I fell off The Wagon too *A !!!!

... well, I just couldn't resist this one... Yeah, I know what I said - no more stash buying - blah, blah, blah - now how boring is that... If I start this immediately then it becomes a WIP doesn't it... This is a Lanarta design called appropriately enough "Baboushka" There are two more in the series a larger one and a small one - this is the medium size. I will be definitely buying the other two to match so I am not even going to start making justifications to why... I am really looking forward to bringing this little lady 'to life' so to speak... If I get myself together, tonight could be the night for crossing the first cross...

* A from Feather Stitching was commenting how she had fallen off the wagon re her stitching stash - I just wanted her to know she had company :)

FPC - Fabric Post Card

At last I know that both my stitchin fingers Fabric Post Card Valentine swap have arrived safely at their destinations one in Scotland and the other in America...

It is quite strange seeing pieces of my stitching sitting in unfamiliar surroundings after seeing them here on the end of the dining room table for such a long time...

This first one was a design from Helen Stubbings - you may remember these. I loved the daisy type flower but I wasn't so in love with the round flower - however I wanted to play on a small scale with the design... I wanted the flowers to overpower a small space and in the case of the round flower not even fit... I love tone on tone so I made the pale flower be the central object on the pale tone fabric and using a combination of Studio and Watercolour Derwent pencils I coloured it in... I partly stitched around each petal leaving a space at the whitest part trying to suggest an almost impressionist look of 'absence' when light catches something... The centre of the daisy was the hardest bit and I tried a number of things until I found some sequins which were a translucent shimmering pale pinkish/mauve... These I stitched layer upon layer, overlapping as I went with a a few pink seed beads scattered amongst them to create the illusion of height...

The red flower was half the original motif - this one I gained inspiration as I went along with a combination of pencil coloring, sequins, beads and embroidery... I wanted to create 'a space' between the sequins and central beads - but something which also spoke for itself... I think I achieved this with my doodle lazy daisy stitch - I call it a doodle as that is one of my telephone doodles - something I draw when on the phone... The message pad beside the phone is covered in them...

To tie in the Valentine theme I stitched a small tile word block with the word 'forever' (hidden in the photo) on the edge of the daisy flower and threaded sheer pale pink ribbon through it with the word love embossed on it... I wanted to convey that forever seemed to be a tangible permanent thing while love was less tangible but knotted around the word - a constant 'ribbon' moving between the present and the future... Well, we all like to think so in those first flushes of love :)

And of course a flower isn't a flower without bees and so my two little gold bees were stitched humming across the top edges of the daisy motif - they were also the 'love interest' as they were a pair...

The leaf was a simple shape and used as relief from all the pinks and clarets it was coloured in using blended layers of greens and then highlighted with green back stitch...

This FPC nearly sent me to the asylum for the stitching incompetent... Here my aspirations heavily outweighed my skill base....

This piece of furnishing fabric had been in my stash for ages... It spoke to me of faraway romantic places which had doorways that led into dark unknown hidden places...This was perfect for a 'secret Valentine' card which was heading off to someone who wouldn't know where it was coming from...

In my mind I kept hearing the word 'Marrakesh' and of course there is the famous Crosby Stills and Nash song Marrakesh Express which I had a listen to... I won't bore you with details only to say that I reworked elements on this card quite a few times until I had them 'just right'... G hinted at my need to have everything perfect -she is probably right. :) I do tend to get at little 'focused' when I am creating and I 'fuss' until I get it right...

As these were my first attempts at Fabric Post Cards I was pleased with what I achieved and what I learnt from constructing them... I did say 'no more' however the March swap was announce with the theme being Green... LOL the only thing I can think of is Kermit.. But I don't have to participate do I... :)

Catching Up...

** WARNING PHOTO HEAVY**
...um where to start... First a photo of my latest bird from D - I wanted a white bird and I asked D if I could commission one from her... No sooner said than done and this turned up in my letter box a short while later... I love D's work and her use of colour and embellishments.. I discover something new every time I look at my Mirabella Peace Dove... I just love her - later on in the year I hope to commission another one to make three... You may remember I got this one last year...

Next... Last week I found this in my letter box... A sent me this beautifully stitched angel as she knows that I have a 'thing' for them... It is certainly no secret that I am very envious of A's stitching... Her work is something I aspire too...

LOL when I think of how A and I met through blog land after I discovered her blog - Feather Stitching - on an American stitcher's blog... As I read A's blog her description of where she had just shifted from and shifted to started some bells ringing - plus her profile photo looked strangely familiar... Finally I emailed her and asked - yep, she was then living in Melbourne in a suburb which I had lived quite close to before I shifted here - the suburb she HAD just shifted FROM...In fact she had lived about a 10 minute walk away from me and had shopped in the store I worked in at the time... We both thought that I had probably served her at some time or another. Talk about a small world... She and her mum J came over here for dinner and 'show and tell' quite a few times and I was happy/sad for her when she announced her move to Sydney because of work... I have promised myself a trip to Sydney to see her ever since she moved and I hope that perhaps that I might make it sooner rather than later... Thanks A heaps - this week has been an interesting one in this household so your beautiful angel kept my spirits buoyed throughout... Yes - that is Matilda's nose checking it out just as I snapped - thought you might get a giggle out of it so I left it as it was...

Thirdly I have been involved in a Valentine fabric postcard swap over on the stitchin fingers site. We had two cards to make one was a straight swap with a known recipient and the other was a secret swap...

These are what I received through the week... This one was from my direct swap from S in Scotland... It came complete with a poem from poet Robert Burns - how perfect is that...


And this one was from my secret swapper... The way this one was done was quite clever - I suspect that I know who this is from -but only time will tell...



I love both of my Valentine swaps and I shall put them into my keepsake box with a brief explanation to why they were created...

Unfortunately due to some 'life bumps' my cards went out late so I can't show you them completely but here is a little peek of each of them... I don't think the ladies come over here so I am pretty safe. Famous last words I know :) But I won't say which card is going where...



I rarely go in RR or swaps - the couple I have been in have been disasters with lost blocks (one of which was my work to someone else) and well, let me just say some unfortunate events... But the Valentine swap seemed a good one... But LOL it happened again but this time it is me who is at fault... I only hope the ladies concerned will like their cards when they finally get them... I had never made a fabric postcard before so it was a very, very steep learning curve where of course my expectation outweighed my skill base.

I have decided for the duration of this year I am going to follow G's example and concentrate on some of my own stitching - I have enough UFOs to keep me busy for quite some time... I have decided to get on with this one as it has been hanging around for ages...Or perhaps I might have another go at these... Unfortunately I have plenty to choose from...

Yes, G -I promise - *cross my heart*- I will finish 'hanging out the washing' before the end of the year... That one pre-dates me having a computer - so no picture... In fact I think it even pre-dates my other half's arrival in my life eight years ago... Speedy is not my middle name...
In saying that I am not natural stitcher - I find cross stitch extremely 'cross sharon making' I love the look of it I am just not good at it... And again I love fine embroidery and crazy quilting but again I am not a natural and it frustrates the heck out of me... I have some lovely cross stitch pieces in my stash to do but sometimes I think I would be better to sell them than start them and never complete them... But I am going to try and finish at least some which I have started :)

Well I am off to choose a UFO or two or perhaps three...

Sharon xxx

Ssshhh...

...it's a secret... I can't tell you or even show you.... I am participating in a swap over on the stitchin fingers site so while I am hard at work I haven't got anything to show for it... When my swap partners have received them I can show you... But until then ssshhhh...

Home again..

*WARNING PHOTO HEAVY* - Well, I am home after spending a delightful afternoon with sharonb and four other ladies - W from Nth.Fitzroy with her grandson A, R from Flemington, D from Cranbourne, G from Eltham, and of course myself... Sharon is a warm and engaging person with a ready smile who immediately put us all at ease. We all chatted away as though we were old friends - not a group of comparative strangers - although I have found from experience - stitching people rarely ever have nothing to say :). Jerry, Sharon's husband was on hand initially and assisted us by holding up her quilt while we took photos... Thanks Jerry!!!

The photos are literal happy snaps as I was so busy trying to absorb all the colour and stitching - major eye candy- my snapping was mostly haphazard but very happy... But you get the general idea from the following photos...

I was in awe - probably because I was seeing first hand things I had only seen previously via the Internet.... I would have been content to just look and look and look - then look some more... Sharon's diamond crazy block quilt was a visual feast -it was full of delicious eye distractions to ohhh and ahhh over. It also attracted the interest of a couple of women who were drawn to the edge of the group to admire it... A bit later on Sharon then unrolled her 'work in progress' a progressive stitch sampler - the explosion of colours, the content and the stitching were just overwhelming... I would have been content to sit and examine each panel as they were revealed these were pieces of sharon's history - her celebrations, her personal losses, and her world at large. This stitching really moved me and I thought how in years to come this piece would continue to give insights. Perhaps some 'as yet to be born' will carefully examine it and wonder at the panel pieces and wonder about its 'author'... Even the young chap who was working in the cafe where we were having coffee made an appreciative comment about her work as it rolled out across the table...

Of course the time flew by and it was soon time to leave but not before R showed us a 100 year old red work quilt that was worked in blue and told us the story behind it... As we held it in our hands and looked at the panels of stitching it again reinforced my ideas about the passage of time... Here was an example of some unknown person who created a quilt without a thought to its future only to its potential usefulness at the time of its making and here we were roughly 100 years later looking at it...

As we said our goodbyes and made ready to come home there was an suggestion that Sharon might be persuaded to come down to teach a weekend workshop if we can raise enough interest. So perhaps today suggests the potential for a new adventure and what a great way to start the new year... :)

Sharon xxx

sharonb Melbourne meeting

Today I am meeting up with sharonb - pintangle - in the city... She and J are down in Melbourne having a bit of a break... I was delighted when I received an email from her suggesting we meet up... I believe there are a few other ladies attending as well - it is great when you can put faces to a names...

G from Patra's Place being one of them - if ever there was an example of how the internet brings people together who have a shared interest G and my friendship is one... G and I met over on another internet stitching site and we realized that we were only separated by a few kilometers as opposed to a few thousand and that would have been about eight years ago now...

LOL we have had some adventures with our op-shopping, our stitching and our shared love of reading... I introduced her in a roundabout way to blogging, at first G said that blogging was not for her - now she is more active blogger than I am - maintaining quite a few blogs ... G is a good soul who will try and help you out if she can and is always at the ready with the kettle whistling, something from her cake tin and a non judgemental ear to listen... Good on you G may we see many more years of friendship and shared interests... May 2010 be your year...

I am taking my camera so hopefully will have some photos of today's meetup... LOL when I take photos hope does have a lot to do with it...

Have a good one today and some stitching too :)

Sharon xxx