Flower Sampler Book – page five #2

This is the scheduled post for the Stitch-a-long that I’m doing with several other crafty blogs. I’ve struggled a bit to get this piece finished in time as it’s quite hard to sew with a lively kitten on your lap. She was fascinated by the thread going in and out and I had to watch her closely so I could move the fabric before she pounced. I didn’t have the heart to move her as I seem to be her favourite place to snuggle up.

I did get it finished eventually though. I’m not completely happy with it as it proved to be quite a bit trickier to do Hardanger on 28ct linen than it is on Hardanger fabric which is usually 22ct. The cutting went fine though. Phew.

There aren’t many stitches but some of them weren’t as easy when I’ve done them before. The trickiest bit was tucking the points in after doing the cutting. I can usually get it quite tidy with Hardanger fabric but as fast as I stroked them behind the Kloster blocks, they popped back out again so it is a bit untidy in places.

You can just see them in the close up. I’m quite happy with the dove’s eyes and corner needleweaves, but the corner spokes weren’t easy and don’t look very neat.

The dove’s eyes in this side are a bit messier as I was struggling with them where they needed to go round Kloster blocks. The ones surrounded by needleweave were much easier.

I think it looks ok, given the problems that I had so I’m reasonably pleased. I think it’s pattern darning next, so that should be fun, especially if Sammie wants to help.

For the stitch-a-long I’m linking up to these lovely blogs:
Avis at Sewing beside the sea
Claire at Claire93
Gun at Rutigt
Kate at Tall tales from Chiconia
Eleanor at Sun and cake
Alison at Minerva’s meanderings
Jule at From the boudoir
Elizabeth at Garden 4 therapy
Wendy at The crafter’s apprentice

Do pop over and have a look at their beautiful creations.

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Song of the Weather – March update

Yes, I do know that it’s April now and the post title says March. There’s a reason for that. I’m a little bit behind on this SAL. March’s has been sitting on one side ever since I got to the bit with the cutting. Chicken? Me? Surely not. With April’s not yet printed though, and May’s due in a few days, I thought I’d better get a move on so I gritted my teeth and got the scissors out.

I managed to cut only where I should have, did the wrapped bars and then the Square Filets. I liked doing the filets. They were so much nicer to do than the Dove’s eyes. I’m not entirely satisfied with the wrapped bars though. They could have been pulled a bit tighter, I feel, and they’re not even. I guess that’ll come with practise.

The pale purple stitches in the centre are Queen stitch. I’ve done that a few times before and I like doing it. There are some French knots, which are fairly even so I’m happy with those and the stitches right in the corners are Basque knots. The were great fun and similar to a stitch that I did on The Great Escape.

Must get April and the latest Papillon printed next and then I can get cracking on those.

Song of the Weather – February

I couldn’t resist doing February’s SAL early in the month, instead of paying attention to my rotation. I thought it would only take an afternoon like January’s did, but I spent three days on it altogether. I loved doing the pretty purple stitch which is called Beaded edging. I think it came out quite nicely. This month uses beads too and I’m using beads that I already had in my stash. Until I got them out, I wasn’t sure how well they’d go but they’ve turned out to be a perfect match, being just a shade darker than the threads.

The next step was the cutting so I did the only sensible thing and put it away for the night. When it came back out instead of taking the scissors to the piece that I’d already spent hours on, I did a practise piece, as recommended on the SAL blog, using a contrasting thread to make it easier to see. Then I took the scissors to that.

I’ve just noticed that I’ve managed to take a photo of the back of it by mistake, but we’ll pretend it was deliberate shall we?

Having managed to cut the practise piece without cutting anything that I shouldn’t have, I decided to attempt the main piece.

It. Was. Terrifying.

I didn’t cut any fabric threads that I shouldn’t have but I did nick a couple of the Perle threads. Not enough to be a problem but I obviously need to be a bit more careful. I found it awkward to hold the scissors at that angle, especially  as mine are bent forward so I have to tilt them right back to poke them down the holes.
Stroking the cut ends in wasn’t as tricky as I thought it might be and it looks fairly neat, although some of the Perles do look slightly ummm, scuffed. It’s not bad for a first effort though.

Once the cutting and end tucking-in was complete, that just left the Woven Bars and the Dove’s Eyes, neither of which I’ve done before. The Woven Bars started off very uneven but I can see how they gradually improved until they look quite reasonable by the end. The Dove’s Eyes on the other hand are dreadful. I kept redoing them but couldn’t get them to sit right. I may have to live with them for now.

On the whole, I’m pleased with how it went, and I do love the design. I was very nervous about the cutting and I think that some better scissors may help so I’ve sent for some.

I’ve lost a whole week of rotation stitching to a long and vile migraine, plus working on this so instead of trying to squeeze week one in I’m going straight to week two now and the Owls. If the Papillon SAL is small enough I’ll try to fit some time in on Around the World, but if not, I’ll make sure it gets some attention next month.