Thursday, February 6, 2014

SAL Start and HAL Progress!

Hello stitching friends!  Oh my, it has been so hot over the past few weeks, I can't wait for the first signs of Autumn, even though I know how hot February and March can be!  Last week there were a few evenings that were too hot to do anything, even stitch, followed by nights that were too hot to sleep, leaving everyone feeling absolutely drained.  On to more pleasant things - stitching!

Tuesday night was the start of the private SAL Michelle and I are having.  Every Tuesday night we will be stitching on the Isabella Donald sampler featured in the Spring 2012 issue of the SANQ magazine.  Here is my start: 


The design is actually charted in grey and soft purples, but that does not suit my decor, so I changed it completely!  It is not a reproduction sampler, but compiled from different samplers from the same era. Some of the inspirational samplers are shown in the magazine and I really liked the colours of the 1825 Kildare School Sampler.  I was fortunate enough to have some Madeira silks in the deep red, gold and blue and soft green shades.  I am stitching it on a natural 28 count evenweave and I'm very satisfied with the way the silks look on the fabric.


I also managed to do quite a bit on the Bambu HAL (hardanger-a-long) by Mamen and I'm actually a bit ahead of the steps set out for the group!  Here is my progress:


Here is a slightly closer view - I love the combination of soft pinks and ecru!


 At least the hot weather is good for one thing - my roses just keep on flourishing!  Here is a picture of a beautiful soft pink rose - it also has a lovely delicate fragrance!


That's it for now!  It's almost Friday - have a good weekend and Happy Stitching!

Michelle

14 comments:

Vickie said...

Lovely, lovely stitching! I adore the soft pinks and ecru too.

Mii Stitch said...

Wow!! I truly admire your work on the Bambu design. It is beautiful & the colours are really sweet!

butterfly said...

Lovely SAL , and beautiful rose such a beautiful soft pink . Can you send some warm sunshine please.

Bianca said...

those soft pinks are very pretty :)

Mylene said...

Love your Hardanger, beautiful colour you're using. Great sampler too and the rose..Lovely!!

Annie said...

Looks like a fun sampler. That is such beautiful stitching on your HAL.

Hot weather and a beautiful rose... breaking my heart since it is so cold here!

Manuela said...

Beautiful new project and a wonderful progress.

Greetings, Manuela

Michelle said...

Oh Michelle its looking wonderful. I am working top left and coming down the chart. It will be so interesting to see how it all develops. Love all your photos and the rose is so pretty xx

Irmeli said...

Your Bambu HAL looks so pretty. I like those colours too. And your rose, ah it so beautiful.

Lumiruusu said...

I love SANQ Magazine and it is very interesting to see your lovely version of the sampler.
The colours You have choosed are just awesome.
OH my -You are so talented,I mean the Hardanger piece You are stitching is so beautiful and femine.
Lovely stitching!!

Carol said...

I'll gladly trade you some of our sub-zero temperatures for some heat, Michelle!! South Africa must be THE place to grow roses--the photos of the ones you grow are always just perfect...

Nice progress on your SAL and good for you for changing the colors to something that suits your decor :)

Brigitte said...

Both your SAL pieces are so lovely. And you made some nice progress on them. I love the colours of your Hardanger piece, they look gorgeous.

That's some weird weather everywhere - too hot where you are, too cold in some parts of North America, and so very stormy in Western Europe. I hope you will soon have some cooler temperatures.

Lonneke said...

Beautiful stitching. And your rose is gorgeous!
I think the colors you have chosen for your sampler are very beautiful.
And the hardanger looks wonderful as well.

Vickie said...

Michelle, I have wanted to reply back to your very nice comments on my blog for a long time now. I cannot you are a no-reply commenter. If you need help to change this status on your dashboard, just email me.