A Quick Update

Just a quick photo of Chatelaine's Online-95 as far as I have done by today. The lighting is not good, so it's not easy to see the sparkle of the threads.

Spring has Sprung?

We're having some typical British Spring weather: lots of showers, hail falling, wind blowing, and, just occasionally, sun shining! So we have some new turf laid in the garden, though we need to get a little more to finish off. The robin thinks that is a very good idea, and watches eagerly every time I go to do a little weeding. David is over from Canada for ten days, so we are making the most of our time with him as it could be another year before we see him again, and maybe two before he returns for another visit. The net result is: not much stitching. On the other hand, David is a very good enabler, and has brought over some Swarovski cubes for the Chatelaine Fairytale Castle which I had difficulty getting here. Now all I have to do is track down the substitute I need for Gloriana Cottage Woods. If necessary, I'll leave that till I go to Alexandra Palace for the stitching show there in October. I'll probably end up getting more fabric for my next Chatelaine when I visit, as my favourite fabric supplier will be there, and she wants to see how far I've got on my current one!!




No stitching photos again, but here is one that might be called "The Long and the Short" - Abigail and her Uncle who stands around 6ft 5ins

Fairytale Castle and Alas, poor Frederick!

The fabric has arrived for the Chatelaine Fairytale Castle, and imho, it is gorgeous. It's called "cloud lilac", and I hope it will give the project an ethereal look. I may get a few stitches in tonight, but have to sort out hymns and readings for Sunday's service.
I think I may have wasted some money trying out other ideas, but maybe I can use the lavender 32 count for another project. I would have called that colour dirty beige, but maybe I'm biased! Some of the Swarovski beads have also arrived - but I managed to order AB beads instead of the uncoated crystal ones. They might work - we shall see. I will now try to get a bit more organised before I order anything else - apart from the DMC threads.



At least this week I managed to get bit more done on the cushion. I have done slightly more since this one was taken.















I also took one of Frederick, more to get me motivated than anything else! Perhaps if I actually have his ghostly face looking at me from my computer, I will be spurred into action!

Busy - busy - busy

No pics and not much stitching this week. Just been kitting out a Chatelaine online class. It has taken me a long time to work out what colour fabric to use, and what substitutions for the silk floss. There's one I can't track down a reasonable substitute for, so may end up phoning de Haviland to see if she can help. Since it is a fairytale castle, I've opted for a lavender fabric - think Rapunzel/Tangled. I chose cotton in the end as it's lighter to handle. I just hope it has the strength to hold the beads. I've had to send to Canada for some of the Swarovski cubes - 4mm indicolite. They look very pretty, so hope they're worth it in reality. DS has had to order them, and if they arrive in time will bring them over next week. Just need to order the Delicas now!

Now Good Friday and Easter are over, I can concentrate on some stitching. Currently very tired and not thinking straight

Pics

These are the three pieces of evenweave I bought in Birmingham. I loved the cloud effect, and thought they would add to the stitching. Unfortunately, they are all just too small for the Chatelaine design. The Fairytale Castle will probably end up on antique white - safe, but should be effective.

New Starts

April 1st - not only our 40th Wedding Anniversary, but a day of starting new projects. After a slight hiccup, I have downloaded the first part of my first Chatelaine online design. "Overwhelming" is the best word to describe it, but also awesome. I thought I had a suitable piece of fabric, but unfortunately it looks like being a bit small. So, I need to revisit my stash chest to find another piece or to look online for something suitable. This is not a project to cut corners in, even if I am not going to use the silk. Poor little silkworms.

I have put 14(!!) stitches in HAED's storykeep "Enchanted Manor", and about the same in Labor of Love's "Don't Wanna". I may end up restarting the latter as I don't like the effect over one. I think I may have picked up a piece of 32 ct rather than 25 ct. I must re-measure.

That's it for now. At this point in my writing I realised I couldn't see as I had a migraine, I am now "out of commission" for almost a day because of the meds I am on for it. Hardly surprising I picked up the wrong fabric for "Don't Wanna", or that I couldn't calculate the amount I needed for Chatelaine's "Fairytale Castle". I had hoped to post some pics of the fabric I had bought for that, too!

PS. My thanks to everyone who has visited this site, and posted comments.