SHARING and a S.A.L

This year the our two Daphne birkwoodii bushes  have been a mass of blooms, this later flowering Daphne has a softer perfume and I have enjoyed sharing these lovely sprays with others. Caitlin and  I managed to make 44 little posies over several days,  before the rain came ( yet again!)

 One of our church members is a hospital chaplain at one of the local rest homes, she took away the first basket of posies with her on her weekly visit. The others took them to folk we knew in the other two rest homes and the final basket full went with me to church last Sunday and there were shared with those present.  I feel very blessed that I was given such an abundance of blooms and through others have been able to share them.

Now I have something I would like to share with you all.

My stitching friends group have had a Mystery SAL  We were given the instructions for making the shape and from there the choice of design was our own.  This is my finished one.... a  Christmas Quadrielle  and I am delighted with how easy it was to make and how it turned out, so I have decided to share how to make one like this as a SAL. on this blog. I am now on my second one and have ideas for others, these are fun to make.      The stitching is very simple it includes back stitch, chain stitch some couching and lots of beads!  so if you are interested in making one drop by tomorrow for the first of the instructions

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HALLOWEEN EXCHANGE

I have just learnt that the halloween ornament exchange piece I sent has arrived, I am always nerves till I know the postman has made the delivery, although only once has a piece gone astray, sometimes they take simply ages to get to their destination. The design I stitched is a Sue Hillis design called Best Witches and was a freebie from hancockfabrics.com.  I have since found another version of the design of this witch design at http://www.suehillisdesigns.net/ look under freebies.

Along with the witch ornament , I sent a tiny " trick or treat bag" with a tiny felt owl inside.
I have been making some of these small owls, they are about 6cm tall and a handy project to have, to stitch in the car. I started making them,  to go on the bags for our junior stitchers, then I came up with the idea of a Halloween Owl, the first Halloween Owl has arrived in its new home in Canada, the next one is ready to fly to its new home and if you visit my other blog there is a third one waiting to find a new home.

It must be today's weather, the light is not good for photography and this photo does not show
 the true colours of the biscornu I  received from Sandrine in France,  in the Halloween exchange. the fabric is soft apple green and I just love the smiling faces of the little witches. I have it hanging by my computor so I can enjoy it.

WESSEX STITCHERY NEWS

Wessex Stitchery news and a good book!

 I often get enquiries as to where one can find out more about Wessex Stitchery, so its good that I can share with you, about a new publication that has a really good write up on Mrs Margaret Foster and her work, Wessex Stitchery. My friend Lyn in Christchurch alerted me first, Lyn had been in the very first Wessex workshop I had taught way back in the early 1990's and  continues today to stitch and share her love of Wessex Stitchery. Having borrowed a new embroidery book from the library she was delighted to find quite a large section inside on her favourite work and promptly email the news to me. Just when I had decided I would have to request it on inter loan, Ann from Whitianga arrived to visit and had brought THE BOOK down for me to read.
 The book is.......

Early 20th Century Embroidery Techniques by Gail Marsh and it was published in UK in 2011. Ann also brought with her the other books in the series 18th Century Embroidery Techniques and 19th Century Embroidery Techniques. I had a wonderful time just looking at the books there was so much to take in, and although the work many of the embroiderers written up in the 20th Century book  was known to me through previous research I was constantly finding new things. Another one who is mention is Louisa Pesel I have a copy of a very old book of her designs and have used it so many times when designing samplers.    Yes I have now bought myself a copy (and delighted to get it for almost half price) I have since bought the other two and are now waiting their arrival.

 Anyone interested in Wessex Embroidery, I do recommend you see if your library has a copy, just to be able to see more of Mrs Foster's work and to read about the embroiderer herself.

OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN

I have just launched a new blog   "Other side of the mountain" I invite you to drop by sometime,
 you will find it at-http://othersideofthemountain-lee.blogspot.com/

 I will still be here writing NOTES FROM UNDER THE MOUNTAIN as usual... meanwhile its back to the stitching I am putting together a wall hanging from blocks that the children at Jan's school have made.
 I'm over the hard part, using the sewing machine... I am a hand stitcher and I am sure the machine knows it!!!!  and so I have problems with tension etc etc. Now I am handstitching the binding down and its heaven, reminds me I must finish my quilt sometime ( I wont say how many years ago it was started)

MY PIECE

My latest little bag, is what I sent to the Regional Exhibition, the theme for the exhibition was Celebration and I called my piece "Birthday Gift for a Tudor Princess." The work is not really what would have been stitched in Tudor England, although small bags were popular gifts, I wanted to create something that suggested a very special gift with lovely beads, pearls and stones tucked in between the stitching. The shape is also different from what I have done in the past and I think could be improved on, however I love the way the edging at the top came out and what you cannot see is the petite bead that are stitch on the whipped bars. The M on the back with the gold crown is for Mary Tudor all part of the fun of designing, is planning it with someone in mind.

CAITLINS BIRD FINISHED

Here is Paul, the proud Grandad photographing Caitlin's piece,
he had just finished framing it.  Caitlin has called her piece "Bird Song"

 The Exhibition opened yesterday, so I feel I can now show off her completed piece.
 I will sort the photos and post the piece I sent later.

Caitlin has another piece of blackwork in the planning stage,  she has really enjoyed this work, as has all the children in the Junior Embroiderers'group here.

SPRING

Spring has finally arrived with first a lovely showing of crocuses in the garden followed by the miniature daffodils, if only...... the weather was kinder and I could get outside more to enjoy them.

Not much stitching that I can show at present, all the pieces have gone off to the Regional exhibition , I am very proud of what the children's group have achieved. The exhibition opens on the 23rd of this month and after that I will share with you, Caitlin's finished piece and my bag.

I have finally mounted the little bunny, another floss thread tag,  see my posting for May 6th, if you would like the chart. I have been unable to work out how to link back to previous postings, if anyone is able to share how to do this I would be most grateful. I can work out how to link to other web sites.

Stitching at the moment is items for exchanges and I have started stitching my P.I.Fs. These too, I can share with you later.I think part of the fun of exchanges is searching for a design to stitch, I always end up with not one but several things saying....stitch me.
If only there was more free time....................

here is the link http://notesfromunderthemountain.blogspot.com/2011/05/stash-or-stacks.html
 thank you Annie for your help

HUSSIF FOR JAN

A new month and a new begining.

Some time ago when I made Rachel's hussif,( which I have shown here)
my daughter Jan, commented that someone else would like a hussif - meaning herself.  Jan had some years ago had made herself a hussif at one
of the workshops I had taught at Coromandel Guild, so I asked her what she wanted in a new hussif and her reply was one with all the tiny flowers I stitch on it.

The first piece I stitched with the tiny cross stitch flowers was in 1986, when I made a writing case for my mother when she moved into a rest home. After her death that piece came back to me and in 1991, I stitched for myself a hussif as a companion piece, this was followed in 1992 with my workbox that I have shown previously on my blog.

The hussif I use now was stitched much later again with the little flowers that I love.
The first flowers I stitched came mainly from the Danish designs, slowly I added to my collection from other sources and then added a few designs of my own, now I stitch often by memory making the flowers grow where I want them on the fabric.

The challenge will be to make this hussif my best one ever, I have the linen ready Permin 35 count Lambswool and today I started the planning, and I will share with you the making of this project- I have given myself 6 months to complete it.

MORE BLACKWORK

I have often quoted.......My day is not complete till needle and fabric meet.

Having not stitched for nearly two weeks, can you imagine the withdrawal symptoms I have been having. I am please  to report health is nearly restored and yesterday I was sitting happily stitching once more and although I am not stitching black work at the moment I wanted to share some more about it with you.

Another group I work with, are also enjoying stitching blackwork at present. A small group of ladies come through from New Plymouth once a month and study count thread embroidery with me, some of the group are stitching a Blackwork Mystery Sampler Bellpull I designed some time ago and at the time was stitched by several Guild groups When designing it, I stitched a small portion to see if the design would work and my good friend Ann finished the piece and the sampler is hers, she lent it to me recently and I took some photos of the different sections its quite long, so difficult to fit it all in and get a good photo.

It is designed so that the embroiderer can make her own choice of which designs to stitch and if she prefers to just stitch one or all of them.

 I have decided I would like to share this sampler with anyone interested in blackwork embroidery. The notes are about 18 pages, with instructions, drawings and patterns.  I will include copies of some of  the photos. I am not selling this but would like to make it an exchange  If anyone interested would like to exchange a cross stitch pattern they have finished with for the notes, then contact me with your postal address  and I will have a set of notes on the way to you.

IT'S SNOWING AGAIN

The weather forcast predicted wide spread snow again and that included Stratford again! two snow falls in town in one winter almost unheard of, so yesterday Caitlin between stitching made me a heading photo using one of the photos taken a couple of weeks back.  here is what greeted us when we got up this morning ........

                         truly winter wonderland right at the front door.

and looking out the backdoor.

 

Little hedgehog is burried deep in snow I cant see him this morning.

A very big thank you to all who posted comments when Caitlin put the first photo of her blackwork bird on my blog. stitching the tail feathers were a real struggle and there was a bit of reverse stitching  (unpicking) too. After reading all the comments yesterday morning she was determine to finish so she could blog the results before she had to go home.. Thank you all for the encouragement.



CAITLIN'S BIRD UPDATE

Here is the end of the weekends work. The feet were easy to stich and they came out nicely. The tail of my bird was a competely different story. I found the tail a hard thing to do. I kept on forgetting to go on a angle and so it took a bit longer than I thought it would. The out come of it I think looks lovely. All thats left is to put lichen on his branch and a leaf or two droping down from it. Grandma will post the finshed bird at the end of the month.

Caitlin

BLACKWORK EMBROIDERY 1.

A lot happening with Blackwork here at present although this time I have not done one stitch! The group of Junior stitchers at our guild ages ranging from 8-13 years have now all finished their blackwork owl.  Our main project for the year is a bag with four pockets on the outside we have taken the theme of Owls and each pocket will show the owl using different stitches. Some will finish all four pocket however I can see the slower stitchers will have 2 embroidered pockets and 2 plain. This term  everyone is working on their piece for the coming Regional Embroiderers Exhibition. Four of the children have elected to stitch blackwork for their piece, we had a very busy afternoon with them this week and have till the end of the month for the pieces to be completed.

Grand-daughter Caitlin is spending the weekend with us, so as to have some catch up time with her piece, she is doing one of our native small birds, a South Island Tomtit. It is progressing well, but now up to the tricky part of stitching the tail feathers. I have found it works well  to make a copy of different stages using a photocopier, then let them draw on the picture so they have an idea what they want to stitch.

Comment from Caitlin who has been playing with different settings on the computer and the photo shw took of her of her work.

I have enjoyed stiching this bird. I love the way he is turning out so far. In junors I have two friends who are also working on Blackwork as well . My friend Paige is doing a blackwork Rooster. He is looking lovely. My other friend Nikita is working on a Black work cow. It's little but I think it will turn out looking out lovely in the end. We also have anther little girl in the class called Sarah-Lee, who has only been stching for a couple of years and is at the moment tackling a big blackwork puppy. He is coming along nicely but I don't think it will be made in time to go to the regional exhibition but luckly she made a back up pup done in cross stitch and her big piece will go to next years national exhibition. It is a border collie  called Jackson. It came out amzing and I love it.

Caitlin started  stitching at the age of 5 years and continues to enjoy her embroidery. other piece have been shown on past postings.  Here is a close up of the stitching on her bird.

Till next time when I have more to share on blackwork.