Five New Starts and Four Finishes

Hello all.

Long time, no see! I really enjoyed my blogging break after the madness of April but thought it was about time I returned - with an apology and a long post to make up for my absence.

The apology is for being way behind on reading and commenting on your posts (again). Due to family circumstances I am having to cut down on the amount of time I spend on the blogosphere. I shall continue to read each post I follow but it is likely I will be leaving and replying to fewer comments for a while. Sorry. but I know you all understand that family has to come first.

Anyway, as the title of this posts suggests, I have lots to show you from the last three weeks.

First up are two new starts and finishes stitched as gifts for Ingrid and Justine. Unfortunately I forgot to take photos of the actual finishes but can at least show you how they looked before being made into little hanging cushions. Although they are the same design they do have subtle differences so I'm going to show both:

 

I Solemnly Swear and Mischief Managed by stitchedupbyleona (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Tumbleweed over-dyed aida by sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitched with Threadworx 1033 Ice Tea

Stitch count 133 wide by 107 high

Started - 20th March 2016

Finished - 3rd May 2016

Total stitching time - 20 hours 45 minutes

Plus 7 hours 30 minutes to finish off

Harry Potter fans among you will of course recognise these phrases as those that open and close the Marauder's Map. The words on the original chart were not backstitched. However, the Threadworx thread I chose as a substitute for the original colour did not show up as much as I had hoped so I had no choice but to backstitch each letter. The extra time and effort was definitely worth it and, let's face it, this kind of backstitching is quite easy!

Information as above except:

Started - 30th April 2016

Finished - 11th May 2016

Total stitching time - 19 hours 35 minutes

Plus 4 hours 15 minutes to finish up

The fronts and backs of each one were stitched together into a cushion using whip stitch. The cushion was stuffed, brown braided cord attached as a hanging loop and around the edges (as per my Christmas Ornaments) and a Harry Potter charm added as a finishing touch. The first one took much longer to finish and was not to as high a standard as the second (learning curve) but each recipient was happy.


Next up is another new start and finish which I have called Summer Bird:

Bird by Hobikolik (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Lime over-dyed aida by sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitched in Threadworx 11511 Jam Rock

Stitch count 80 wide by 80 high

Started - 14th May 2016

Finished - 17th May 2016

Total stitching time - 7 hours 15 minutes

I had the inspiration to stitch this design four times in seasonal colours as a good excuse to experiment with some hand-dyed threads. Hence I have matching fabrics and threads ready and waiting to stitch Spring (lilacs/pinks) Autumn (browns/yellows) and Winter (blues/purples), although goodness knows when that will be. The colours have turned out quite "blocky" but then there are very distinct colour variations running through the thread. Spring and Winter should be more subtle and Autumn somewhere in between.


Then we have a little Lizzie Kate start and finish:

Boo Club - Ghost

Stitched on 16ct Tangerine over-dyed aida by sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitch count 78 wide by 38 high 

Started - 13th May 2016

Finished - 22nd May 2016

Total stitching time - 9 hours 10 minutes

The ghost was stitched in glow-in-the-dark E940 instead of the recommended pale cream to give it more of a spooky feel. I also had to swap out the black buttons as the ones provided had minute holes for which I did not have a small enough needle. I'll swap them back one day.


Finally, may I present my last new start:

Ocean Critters - Seahorse by Janet Morningstar

Stitched on 16ct Ocean over-dyed aida by sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitch count 98 wide by 122 high

Started - 15th May 2016
Stitching time to date - 6 hours 50 minutes

I have had my eye on this rather cute design, and the matching Dolphin, for quite some time so was not surprised when I finally bought them (there are also a crab, turtle and octopus in the collection but I'm not so keen on those). I doubt you will have to wait long before you see this one finished and/or the Dolphin appear as another new start (stitching plans for the year be damned - if I want to start something new I jolly well will!!) This colour fabric has to be one of my all time favourites.


And that's all for now. Thank you for making it to the end of this post!

Take care everyone,
Rachel x