Some Stitching

Hello dear stitching friends!  Well, Winter has truly set in here in Cape Town, but we are fortunate to have a bright, sunshine day today and it is wonderful outside.

Here are some updates on my stitching of the past few months:

I have made some progress on the Reticella lace course that I am doing with Lee Albrecht.  I just love all the delicate patterns and the variety in the lacy designs.

Here is a little Christmas ornament that I stitched a few months ago.  I still need to do the finishing and might go with a flat finish, using the fabric pictured for the backing.

It is stitched in Madeira silks on 28 count self dyed fabric.  It was such a treat to work with silk for a change!  I also love the slightly more antique tones - especially the 'Old Gold' colour.

And now - a little bit of stash!  I came across these lovely ribbons at an outdoor craft market a few months ago.  They were sold by weight - what a great find!

Here is a better look - I have so many ideas of how to use them for finishing :)

Here is a picture of my 'baby'.  Lexi, our Bullmastiff puppy turned one year old in April!  I must say, I can see that she has grown a bit since then :)  She is so extremely spoiled and such a loving young lady (and sometimes very naughty!)

That's it for now - I will share some more stitching progress in my next post - I have been spending a lot of time on my Heaven and Earth Designs stitching, but at the moment I'm working on a few smalls.

Until next time - Happy Stitching!

Michelle

My Internet lives again!

Hello Blogging friends!  Oh my, I have been longing to do a post, but we have had such trouble with our internet connection, but it all seems to be sorted out for now.

I have been doing a lot of stitching and will show progress pics over the next few weeks, but firstly I want to show you the wonderful prize I received.  I won Lee Albrecht's Christmas draw at the end of last year and a few months ago the package arrived.  It was so much fun to receive a brown paper package!

Here is a look at the goodies inside.  A lovely magazine containing some Reticella work, postcards, Perle cotton, a Brazilian pin and some wonderfull organic soap!

Here is a close up of the small kits, they are so sweet and I absolutely love the Matrioska thread keep!

The main prize was this wonderful Hardanger Christmas Stocking kit - it is so beautiful!  Lee also included a calender, containing beautiful pictures of her work and kits.

The students from Lee's embroidery school also wanted to get involved in sending some gifts and I was lucky enough to receive this lovely package from Larissa.  She included a card, stunning dog print fabrics, sweet treats and some other goodies.

Look at this cute fabric - I love it!

This piece of fabric is also great and I love those buttons - she must know how much I love dogs!

Thank you so much to Lee and Larissa!  I appreciate these beautiful, thoughtful gifts so very much!

I have a lot of catching up to do on blogs and will also post some of my stitching updates soon.

Happy Stitching!

Michelle

A Stitchy Update

Oh my - I cannot believe that it has been more than a month since my last update!  Fortunately I have some stitching to show :)  

I finished this block on Shores of Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings.  The whale and background took really long, but I'm glad that the block is finished!

I also started another block on SoHRH - this is the bottom left hand corner and is stitching up much faster than the previous block.  I love how it's turning out - the colours are so striking on the Harvest Beige linen and is even more beautiful in person.

Here is how the entire piece is looking at the moment:

In keeping with my stitching goals for the year I stitched (and finished) a Christmas ornament in February.  This lovely bauble is a freebie by Kissy-Cross.  She has some beautiful freebies - I even have another one of her charts printed out to stitch some time soon :)  I finished this piece as a hanging ornament, trimmed with a little golden bow and backed with green polka dot fabric.

This beautiful piece was stitched by my mom and is called 'Outside my Window' and was featured in the 2005 Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue.  I absolutely love this piece - the snowy crystals and the Gingham bow finishes it off beautifully and it is backed with the pictured blue 'Crackle' fabric by Moda.  (I love the Moda Crackle fabrics - they are great for finishing!)

Michele over at Heaven and Earth Designs had a HUGE leap year sale which led to me acquiring a new chart!  This is Alice in Clockwork and is a Quick Stitch piece by Jasmine Becket-Griffith.  Naturally, I had to start it immediately and it is such fun to stitch!  I love this piece and can't wait to make some serious progress on it :)

As I have mentioned before, I am part of a very lucky group of ladies currently learning the Reticella lace technique through Lee Albrecht's embroidery school.  To thank Lee for her generosity I sent her a package of goodies to use in creating some more beautiful embroidery pieces.

I sent the gift in this lovely biscuit tin:

This is what it looks like when you take the lid off :)

I included some DMC Perle threads in numbers 8 and 12, as well as some linen fabrics, suited to Reticella and Hardanger techniques.  I also included three pieces of patchwork fabric.

I LOVE this card - it is such a beautiful and idyllic scene - I wish I had all those beautiful flowers growing in my garden :)

That is it for now - I have some serious catching up to do on all your beautiful blogs.

Have a great weekend and Happy Stitching!

Michelle

A Finish and a Start

Hello stitching friends!  I had such fun stitching and finishing this little pillow.  This sweet design is by Atelier Soed Idee and was featured in Das Stickcafe Magazin, which is currently a free download :)  I love Atelier Soed Idee's designs and this was just in time for some Valentine's Day stitching. 

It is stitched on 28 ct white evenweave in Nina's threads in a shade called 'Old Berry'.  It is finished with some beautiful patchwork fabric and trimmed with lace and buttons.

I also started a course in Reticella lace with Lee Albrecht recently.  I have been wanting to learn this technique for a long time and it is such a privilege to be part of the group learning this beautiful art form. Here is my first block all done:

That's my stitching update for now!  I am planning to finish the block of Shores of Hawk Run Hollow that I am working on soon, but my fingers are also itching to stitch another ornament!  (Not to mention how keen I am to work on Train of Dreams!)

Enjoy what is left of the week and have a great weekend!

Happy Stitching

Michelle

A Beautiful Gift from Brazil!

I have been so lucky lately - I have received another wonderful stitching gift! Lee Albrecht from Flores no Jardim sent me a package containing two of her beautiful kits. Lee has an embroidery school in Brazil and specializes in Hardanger embroidery and also combines cross stitching with some of her Hardanger designs.

I regularly visit her blog to admire the lovely work of her and her students (wishing I had more time to do some Hardanger embroidery again!) - this year she decided to send a kit to a different country every month and I was chosen for February!
This is the kit I selected, it combines cross stitch and Hardanger to create a stunning rose accented pillow. The kit contains chart, fabric and all the threads.

She also included this Hardanger kit - it is her basic course in Hardanger and contains a full set of instructions, fabric and threads.

You can have a look on her blog for more of her beautiful designs. Thanks again Lee - I will definitely enjoy stitching these lovely pieces!

Furthermore, it is still sweltering here - temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius predicted for the next two weeks and they are already saying it will probably persist for the next month! To top it all off, I woke up with a sore throat today!

Enjoy the rest of the week - I have a small finish that I will share soon :)

Happy Stitching!