has anyone seen...

...my stitching mojo?  I think it may have left the building because it has got tired of me 'not playing'. My creative life is a lot little on the lean side of late  My CQJournal 2012 has fallen by the wayside - as I knew it would once the year started to rev up - and the TAST well, we won't even go there... Try as I might to be productive in the evenings  it just doesn't happen. These days with work so full on all the time I'm too tired to even think about anything more than my bed. But I have done a little cross stitch and some knitting - I think the almost meditative motion of my knitting is what pleases me at the moment - I don't have to think I just knit away... With my continual sinusitis I feel even less than creative - still it could be worse and I continually count my blessings...

As you can see I have changed my blog face... I thought the 'change of scenery' might inspire me... I love daisies so this was just the perfect background... It made me think of that old rhyme 'he loves me, he loves me not' - I could change it to 'I may stitch, or I may not'...  

The days are already quite cold - that Indian summer we had just a few weeks back has gathered up her golden robes and fled..  I believe once we cross Winter's threshold the days will be very cold and frosty...

Well,  that's enough from me...

Until later, as always take care

Sharon x x

no, no stitching, but eye candy of a different kind...

Today was P's birthday and we both had the day off work to celebrate it. His choice was to go to Miss Marple's Tearooms in Sassafras. After a lovely quiet drive in the autumn sunshine we arrived - as usual the place was busy as ever... The food is great and the desserts are well worth leaving room for... I had the trifle and P's was called Vicar's Folly - as you can see they are very generous... Just down from the Tearooms there is a wool shop which I just had to have a look at... Very tempting - all that brightly coloured wool just waiting to be knitted... Tonight my eldest daughter and her husband are joining P, E and I for pizzas and cupcakes which Mel made and she and E iced... All in all a satisfying birthday for P....

updating...

... having a wee bit of a s-l-o-w time.. My inspiration has all but left me.. Rather than let it stress me out re the CQ Journal project I have picked up one of my numerous cross stitch UFOs and I am just having a relaxing time with that...

Until later, take care as always

Sharon  x x x

CQ Journal 2012 February block...

fractured flower

...is finally finished... Despite coughing myself silly I was determined to draw the 'have completed' line on this one... I think that being ill for most of it's creation hasn't helped the creative juices flow...

What do I think of it...

There are some aspects I really like - there are a couple that look 'bitsy' but in the scheme of things it is another one marked off the list... Even looking at it now I see some things I would like to re- do. However for the moment I will leave well enough alone... I must however credit the drawn flower design to Helen Stubbings - who is an absolute whiz at using coloured pencils and fabric together... When you have a minute go over to her blog and see her wonderful work... I have loved this flower design since I first saw it in one of the craft magazines a couple of years back...It was part of a table runner design Helen had created - mine never made it to that stage :) But the design lent itself to the idea I had about 'breaking apart' or 'fracturing' a picture and then re forming it as part of a crazy block...

Now onto March's creation...

Until later take care

Sharon x x

spider web..

March CQ 2012 block

March block

... yep, another one... Slightly different colour array than I suggested yesterday in the photo... I 'borrowed' the design base from sharonb's stable of templates - however mine couldn't look any more different if it tried... I have deliberately left large sections of plain fabric as I wanted to try out some largish motifs... the March block is a very different colour palette to the Feb or even Jan block - nothing like a challenge I always say.. I  won't get back to this block before next weekend which is good as it gives it a chance to 'rest' and be 'considered' before I take a needle to it...

Until later, take care

Sharon x x

another update...

...thanks to still feeling lousy I have had extended sick leave coupled with a trip to the doc's and an x-ray... He suspects I could have patches of pneumonia I will find out tomorrow but for the moment I am feeling a little average... Anyway, enough of my sad story... The upside is that today I felt up to doing a little stitching... 

this would be my favorite seam so far - I felt I had achieved exactly what I had set out to do even though the pink novelty thread was a late inclusion

Cretan stitch, lazy daisy with bead, couched novelty thread

 ...these little jewellery findings worked a treat and finish that section for me...

butterfly trimming, hot pink bead silver jewellery findings

 ...this is my 'problem child' - while I love the beads - they just look like a blob. Even E when looking asked me what they were...But I shall leave then until I can think of something better...

variety of glass flower and leaf shaped beads -

Outline stitch around painted leaf shape, pink flower shapes with hot  pink bead sewn over chevron stitch

 So as you can see I am on the home run... I want to reapply the colour to the fractured flower so bringing it into the foreground a little  bit more... Perhaps even some french knots to the centre - I'll see on that one as  french knots are still one of my 'difficult' stitches...

Overall block

Below are my selections for March - I have some ideas - some generated from this book. Brian Haggard creates some exciting  examples of what can be done. Every time I browse through the pages I find some thing new. His style really appeals to me and I would like to try some of his larger motifs - but I guess only time will tell if it happens...

March CQ choices.

Until later, take care

Sharon x x