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Showing posts from January, 2012

You know that feeling?

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I wanted to start some crochet ! Well bummers ... this didn't turn out how I wanted!!! I thought I had all the materials ready and when opening my goodies bag, I somehow missed the most important colour to start with = dark brown!        Anna Burda - February 2012 issue  - Look at all those gorgeous cottons begging "take me" :-) So goodbye cottons and hello stitching! I began with the biscofleur but didn't get far on the stitching since I started hesitating on the colour choice. I only use variegated threads in my larger pieces where they blend well with all the other stitching. This is different because of the use of only one floss, hence my douby! What do you think?  And the sampler also got a little bit attention. Unfortunatelly I cannot work very long on it due to the weight of the fabric. My fingers get cramped after one hour of embroidery (because it's sooooo big, I do hand stitching). I'...

Experimental stitching

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This weekend I'm going to start stitching on a "biscofleur" (top right). I've seen in the Italian magazine called "Rakam" (December 2011 issue). It's really beautifull and filled with gorgeous models to stitch. I have never stitched a biscornu nor any other form of those particular "cushions". Another new thing will be the blackwork part :-) So I'm really curious to see how everything will be evolving. I'll keep you posted about my progress ;-)! If everything goes well, this will be another model I'll start: Just Nan - Merry Fifteen Silver Needle (shop) exclusive And yes ... I have those lovely pins as well! Wish me luck!!!

My stitching after the IHSW weekend

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I must admit that I stitched on the HAED Revelation yesterday (and I only took a picture today). But here it is in all it's glory! Heaven and Earth Designs Revelation by Sheila Wolk (retired) The lighting was lousy, so I hope you excuse the poor quality! First one is true colours and second one is to show more detailes. I filled in the yellowish parts in the bottom half. The third page is now nearing it's completion! Normally I should've finished 5 pages by now but ... I stitched two pages with a thread that's called "Venus" (Thai brand) which is half of the price of DMC over here (it is really expensive in Europe)! After seeing colour tests of four different brands (including Venus) in my favourite needlework store, I decided "If I'm going to commit myself to stitching this piece for a couple of years, the quality of the materials need to be beyond doubt!". So - call me nuts - I ripped two entire pages of stitching and restarted...

IHSW weekend

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Every month stitchers from everywhere gather virtually to do an IHSW (International Hermit and Stitch Weekend). This event always takes place on the third full weekend of the month. Go to Joysze's blog  if you're interested! I subscribed for the first time, but I must admit that I didn't "produce" much stitching wise! Two lovely (but also very lively) daughters and house chores kept me from my beloved stitching :-) On the cooking front, I made a banana cake. Fun, easy to do and ideal for using a couple of overripe bananas (I had three almost black ones in my fridge :-). I have the recipe from over here . First time I made this cake it was a little bit "hard baked" at the edges (I had to put the cake too long in the oven because it didn't dry enough inside), so this time I used a normal form and not the traditional cake form! This is after the tasting session by other family members ;-) And yes, the darker colour on top is only the cinnamon spri...

Repurposing

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Sometimes I visit blogs where I'm impressed with the talent and creativity of stitchers and what they make from things that are old and sometimes in a bad shape. Sooo ... I've decided to search and try to make such things all for me, myself and I:-). Here are the projects I'm planning to "beautify" ;-) Two "letterboxes" I've bought this week Wednesday. They still need sanding and a new layer of paint. After that I plan stitching letters and small designs and insert them in the boxes ... although I still haven't any clue which designs :-). I think it should be fun having one normal that's kept the same all through the year and another one that can be changed according to the seasons (Valentine, Easter, Halloween, Christmas and NewYear, ...). Inspiration came from:      Celani                        ...

Amazing crochet

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I'm not only an avid cross stitcher! :-) Occasionally I also like to take a crocheting hook and make something more elaborate ... but ... I've just seen a blog entry by Annemarie  and this knitted construction completly blew me away! Talking about possibilities here! Woods of Net Knitted Wonder Space by Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam Hakone Open Air Museum - Japan Thanks for sharing Annemarie! Just have a look at her blog!

Favourite designers - American ones

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Well, if I'd have to put all the pictures of all the designers in one blog entry, you would have to read several pages - LOL!!! I'm just going to give an alphabetical list of all my favourite designers (I know that there are lots more) and a couple of photos with my desired pieces (already bought or not :-) Blackbird Designs I already have two charts but would also loooove to do their stockings series (each month three stockings) and the newly designed Christmas Garden sampler. Blue Ribbon Designs Fun designs that you can use in different ways = stitch the entire samplers they propose or use parts of them as ornaments, box lids, etc. Carriage House Samplings I'm truly fond of their Hawk Run Hollow designs. I have two of those charts, but shall be adding others in the future ... I quickly ordered these two when I thought they were going out of business last year - luckily business has been continued by a family member! Country Cottage ...