Winter Bird - finished!

Hello everyone!

A few of you correctly guessed that it would not be long before I finished this little project. He was the second of my seven new starts over the summer and is now the third one to be completed.

Here's a reminder how I left him after a weekend and 4 hours of stitching:

And now all finished:

Bird by Hobikolik (etsy)

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

Stitched in Threadworx 1140 Moonlit Skies

Stitch count 80 wide by 80 high
Started - 27th July 2019
Finished - 17th September 2019

Total stitching time - 6 hours 55 minutes

He was. as always, an absolute joy to stitch; those colours are so soothing and Threadworx threads a delight to stitch with. He will be FFOd to match the other three in the set, after which I will photograph and show all four together. I wonder if I (or you) will have a favourite?

Take care,
Rachel x

Autumn Bird - finished!

Good morning all!

With so little left to stitch I think it was quite obvious it wasn't going to be too long before this little birdie was completed. I had a 'spare' evening before starting my weekend new start (and didn't want to get Hogwarts out for just one day) so decided to work on this piece until finished.

He was the third of my Summer Of New Starts binge and I left him like this:

Now he's been given the rest of his wings:

Bird by Hobikolik (etsy)

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

Stitched in Threadworx 1076 Honky Tonk

Stitch count 80 wide by 80 high
Started - 3rd August 2019
Finished - 23rd August 2019

Total stitching time - 7 hours 45 minutes

I'm really pleased with the way he's turned out. I have the fabric and the cord so now all I have to do is FFO him. I've got a few pieces piling up in my Box Of Shame but hopefully he won't be in there too long.

Take care,
Rachel x

Summer Of New Starts #3 - Autumn Bird

Hello all!

For start number 3 I chose the final seasonal bird, autumn, working on the tail first so you weren't just seeing a duplication of last week's Winter Bird. Time was on my side so I was able to stitch a bit more than usual and consequently made a really good start.

     

Bird by Hobikolik (etsy)

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

Stitched in Threadworx 1076 Honky Tonk

Stitch count 80 wide by 80 high

Stitching time to date - 5 hours 35 minutes

This will only take a couple of hours to finish off, whenever that may be (although hopefully sooner rather than later!)

Take care,
Rachel x

Summer Of New Starts #2 - Winter Bird

Hi again!

For new start number 2 I decided to stay with the winter theme. This is my winter version of a bird I plan to stitch in four colourways to represent the four seasons. Spring and Summer were completed in 2017/2016 so I thought it was about time I stitched the other two!

I was only able to stitch on this piece on Saturday as most of Sunday (11am-11pm) was spent travelling. As much as I love trains, they are not a place I can stitch anything other than a hand-held small, so I made the most of Saturday stitching this and used Sunday to start the August birthstone a few days early.

Here's my Saturday progress then:

Bird by Hobikolik (etsy)

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

using Threadworx 1140 Moonlit Skies

Stitching time to date - 4 hours

This only requires another 3 hours or so of work so will be a quick finish when picked it up again. But for the last three days of July I have to return to Hogwarts; it's been a bit neglected this month. Ooops!

Take care,
Rachel x

Spring Bird - started and finished

Hello all,

In between all of my WIP and Smalls SAL stitching in February I managed to fit in my second new start and finish of 2017.

Back in the spring of last year I purchased some Threadworx hand-dyed threads in seasonal colours not really knowing what I was going to do with them. Then I found a simple bird pattern which I decided I would stitch four times using these threads. Last year I stitched Summer and now I have stitched Spring:

Bird by Hobikolik (etsy)

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

Stitched in Threadworx 1006 Berry Nice

Stitch count 80 wide by 80 high

Started - 23rd February 2017

Finished - 26th February 2017

Total stitching time - 6 hours

Here's a reminder of Summer, stitched using Threadworx 11511 Jam Rock on Lime:

Looking back at my records I noticed that Summer took 7 1/4 hours to stitch compared to 6 hours for Spring. Why the difference? Because for Spring I was listening to music, for Summer I was watching TV. It just goes to show how distracting a screen can be!

Like Summer, Spring has gone into my Box of Shame... but... I already have the backing fabric to make them both into little cushions. Watch this space!

I say this about most of my projects, but I really did enjoy stitching this and am looking forward to stitching Autumn and Winter. However, they are not on this year's stitching plans so I'll have to pencil them in for 2018!

Back in a couple of days with a progress report on my Challenge WIPs.

See you then,
Rachel x

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