Showing posts with label Working Methods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Working Methods. Show all posts

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Where Bloggers Create Link Party Post

Where Bloggers Create
Karen of My Desert Cottage has been running a blogging party where creative bloggers are invited to create a photo post featuring their own creative space, big or small.  I'm late joining in this event as I only found out about it yesterday and couldn't put together a post (my second today - wow!) until this evening.  However, you can see all the lovely links and Karen's own studio post here.

There are some amazing work spaces featured, including large rooms holding a stunning amount of stash with many non-working surfaces displaying a huge collection of decorative knick-knacks and curios.  Some of these studios are works of art in themselves!  Having said that, I'm grateful that I don't have the dusting of some of them and I wouldn't like to have to pack the contents of them for a house move!!!=)  LOL!

Anyway, even though long time readers have seen my room and desk space before, there are always new readers who may be curious.  Also, one of my reasons for joining in this is the same as my writing a Squidoo lens on budget beauty (i.e. that you don't need a huge amount of top end products in order to look good), and that is to show that, whilst big and beautiful rooms are a joy to work in and to have a good look at, they aren't strictly necessary for creating works of art.=)

We live in a medium sized flat (apartment), which is the biggest we've ever had, but still nowhere near big enough for me to have a double-bedroom sized room for myself.  Sir has one, but I'm still in the queue for a good sized area, where I can even leave the sewing machine out etc etc.  Much of my stitching actually takes place in our living room, in this corner of the sofa.  The white scatter cushion actually on the seat is there to even up the height and stop me getting sciatica, as, like pretty much all our furniture, the sofa is worn out and needs replacing!!  This workbox lives in a discreet corner just inside the dining room end of our main room.  I keep my main collection of plain/solid colours in this, such as stranded cottons, coton à broder, perle cotton etc.


Moving on to my own tiny room now.  The room is 1.9m x 2.1m, which is around 6 feet, so it really is small.  This is the view from the entrance.  I can't say 'the view from the door' as we had to take the door off as it was inward opening and you could barely turn around in there!  So, we replaced it with an old curtain from our previous home.  It gives a little privacy and helps keep the heat in when I have the fan heater on during winter days.


Virtually every space is taken up, so I wouldn't have room for any more souvenirs than the postcards and bookmarks you can see decorating the back wall.  Sorry, it isn't very tidy at the mo!!

This is a closer view of the shelf area:


And here's a shot of the plastic drawer towers, which are, of course, one small set on top of one large.  To the left of the larger drawers is a basket bag full of hoops, plastic snap frames (Q-snaps and R&R Frames) and things like that.


Anyone interested in seeing the contents of these drawers may like to visit this old room reorganization post where I give a bit of a tour of things like that.  They haven't changed a great deal.

The last shot is the lower part of my main bookshelves where I keep all my stitching books and magazines as well as some art pads and books and so on.


The 'Butterflies' books on the left hand side of the floor is to go back to the library this week and the 'Little Flowers' one is my latest acquisition when I won Mary Corbet's giveaway (I'm still stunned about that one!!)  It's on the floor as yet as I don't actually have any shelf space for it just now.  In her 'And the winner is post', Mary mentioned that I wasn't one to arbitrarily add new titles to my embroidery book collection, well this is one of the three reasons why.  (The others are lack of funds (almost all my recent buys have come mostly from cashing in Nectar points on e-bay!) and a decision only to buy what I think there's a real chance I'll use!!!)  My last buy (Jane Nicholas' 'Stumpwork Butterflies and Moths') is sitting, out of view in this shot, above the Chinese dictionaries you can see top left as I haven't room for that either!!  I need a bit of a clear out....

So, those are my creative spaces.  One is just a corner of the living room and the other, the tiny box room that most people probably just cram their junk into.  Hope it's been of interest and maybe even inspiration to some.=)

Text and images © Elizabeth Braun 2014

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'Welsh Poppy' finally complete!

A mere three weeks after the needle painting part of the Needlequest finished, I finally completed my second small piece!  I had to force myself to get on with it - I don't much like doing the leaves in so many shades, but I'm glad I did and it's now finished.=)  I'm now back to my preferred two WIPs.  I don't like to have more than that as it makes me feel stressed and leads to over slow progress and/or certain things being plain neglected whilst I do the easier one(s)!

Here are full frontal and side views.

Working these two pieces was quite a steep learning curve.  Although I'd done some of this type of work before, I still felt I was learning a lot, and quite intensively too.  I'm more or less happy with the flower on this piece, except that I keep on making my first row of stitches too wide and end up leaving little room for the denser shades of the colour later on (note to remember next time!),  but the leaves - esp. the small one - leave something to be desired.  Sir said that the large one was well done and, yes, that's not too bad, but we both agreed that the small one was, well, naff!!=)  The bud comes close to suiting that title as well, esp. in this next shot where its deficiencies are highlighted!!LOL!


I've come to the conclusion that I prefer leaves to have less shading in them.  There were meant to be five shades in the large leaf.  I narrowed it down to four.  There are only four yellows in the petals and I can't help feeling a bit that, if the leaves are so super-shaded, it may detract a little from the flower.  This is something I need to think about and plan much more carefully next time.

Another aspect that needs more thought in advance is colour choice.  It was OK sorting out the petals for both my recent pieces, but greens are another pair of pyjamas altogether!  It seems that you never can have enough greens and I'm considering doing some serious research into plugging some gaps in the Anchor colour range with DMC shades.  Working out which shades are needed is going to be a real headache as I only have the Anchor colour chart and lighting in shops isn't the most helpful.  If anyone has any suggestions (I'll also post to Stitchin' Fingers and HEN about it), I'll be happy to have them.  The main problem with this one was that two of the shades of green seem to have got reversed in the book instructions and, as I was also using conversions from DMC to Anchor, I was tired and stressed by the time I'd finally fiddled out a combo that would pass muster.  Not ideal, but it'd do.  I'd already worked two sections and had to unpick them, so I wasn't out to create yet more work!!  So, shade selection needs a lot more careful work in future, and that before I start to stitch.  With days getting longer now, that will be easier to fit in.


This is kind of an odd angle to take a photo from, but I like it!  The badly done bits are played down and the light falls just on the part where contrast with the fabric is lowest and so shows it off in, literally, its best light.=)

So, yes, I'll be coming back to needle painting in the not too distant future - there are five more pieces I want to do from this book, but with extra care in colour choice and leaf working.  I'll be visiting the bricks and mortar Sew and So shop in a few week's time, so I'm saving to get the DMC shades I need then.  Hope their in-shop prices are as good as their on-line ones!  Anyone know?

So, now I need to get back to poor Hanako who has been neglected this week.  I'd like to finish the February challenge on time as there's nothing worse than always trying to catch up all the time.  The key, I think, is the same as it was when working the weekly samples for the City & Guilds level 3 course I started a few years ago - small and/or simple!  As one of the upper year students said to me, "I soon learned to keep things small."  One to bear in mind when choosing my Needlequest pieces, methinks!  What say you?

Text and images © Elizabeth Braun 2014

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January 2013 Progress Report

So, how did I get on with working on my stitching goals last month?  Not quite as well as I'd hoped as I had wanted to finish both the rabbit and the peacock feather and neither are anything like complete yet.=(  Still, I did work on both and the sampler as well.

Embroidery

Finish any current WIPs

* 'Sunshine and Flowers' sampler  about 40% complete from 35% at the beginning of the month  That's OK as this is a big project and, whilst I would have like to have got further along with it, here are beginning and end of the month progress photos to compare:



* Stumpwork rabbit  about 45% complete Again, progressed from about 35% complete and here are the comparison pictures:



* Peacock feather  about 50% done only did one piece of thread on this, not worth photo recapping!!

The next section has been changed a little from the original.  I've added 2 more kits that didn't sell on e-bay sales (hardly surprising as the photos on the kits are AWFUL!), but that I think I'll do after all and changed the overall goal to 8 in the year instead of so many from this section and so many from that.  Less bitty and more room for choice this way.

New projects - aim to complete at least 8 of the following throughout the year

Kits in stock: 

* 'The Farewell' blackwork
* 'The Embroideress' blackwork
* Ribbon embroidery
* Coleshill stumpwork butterfly
* Anchor stumpwork face card
* DMC stumpwork butterfly
* DMC stumpwork dragonfly
* Pearsall's stumpwork poppy
* Liina tablemat
* Design Perfection Red Admiral
* Crown cross stitch (Sir's 14th anniv card??)
* Shoe cross stitch/craft card

Book/magazine projects:

* Tudor Lady cross stitch
* Medieval Lady cross stitch
* Helen M Stevens' butterflies piece (cushion for Lindleys)
* Goldwork insects from the Hazel Everett book

Own Ideas:

* Work from the C&G Level 1 Hand Embroidery syllabus
* " Goldwork syllabus (perhaps with insects as above)
* " Stumpwork syllabus
* TAST design challenges

I'm not starting any of these until at least one WIP is finished!

Sewing I also haven't done any of, but I did delete one project I thought it unlikely I'd get to.

Sewing

* Trial some fancy purses
* Find a use for old bedding - even if I don't do it yet!!
* Camera Case
* Try some dolls house textiles
* Mending and altering

Knitting

* Salmon pink baby jumper  59% complete  from only 5% complete on 1 Jan when I'd just done the back rib and a tiny bit of pattern.  I was delighted to find another ball of the yarn the other day, so I can get on with this one and have a finish that I'm proud of instead of just 'it's OK, I suppose!'
* Chunky jumper for me
* Learn cabling
I'm having some trouble with the other two as the chunky pattern I bought doesn't seem to be for chunky wool at all, but for super chunky, although the needles specified don't match for either weight of yarn.  A bit confusing and also disappointing as I had a specific chunky yarn in mind.  I don't feel experienced enough to adapt the pattern yet.  I haven't had the nerve to start in on the cabling book I borrowed from the library either!  I used to think knitting was such a simple thing...

General

* Be Creative Every Day (challenge page here)  31/365 so far so good!
* Join in 'Art Every Day Month' challenge in November - work the 8 techniques book

Goals for February

* Finish the rabbit
* Finish the feather
* Finish the peach baby knit
* Try some of the cabling pattern samples in the book
* Try some miniature bedding ideas now I've got some fabrics for them
* Get to '50% complete' level on sampler
* Make a start on one or two projects from the embroidery list - when first two on this list are done!
* Continue CED challenge
* Report back on 1 March and continue to post regularly in the meantime - 12 posts in January, which isn't half bad!

What have you done this last month??

Text and images © Elizabeth Braun 2013

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2012 Accomplishments and 2013 Goals

Well, here we are in another year already!  Time today to do the usual review of the previous year's accomplishments - in the textiles field, anyway.=)

This is the needlework part of the goals list I've had posted on my Fluffy Little Idiot blog since March 2011 (it was an almost 2 year list).  The projects I finished off in 2011 I've greyed out so it's easier to distinguish which relate to this year just finished.  I've also removed the strikethrough on 2012 completed projects for those who would find that hard to read.=)

Here goes:

Finish all needlework WIPs, including long-term ones and stuff that I'm dragging my heels on:
*1 Water violets cushion cover  Done!
*2 Goldwork viola  Done!
*3 Rose's dogrose manicure pouch  Done!
*4 Narrowboat cross stitch  Done!
*5 Giraffe needlepoint  Done!  Stitchery was finished in 2011, but the cushion was made up in 2012
*6 Birds needlepoint -  Done! 
*7 Cat in basket cross stitch UFO  Done!  
*8 Peacock feather sample from C&G days  50% done - ready to restart in WIPW

New Projects
*9 Mum's Cross'N'Patch garden sampler  maybe 35% or so done 
*10 Make keyring for Martin for 12th anniversary Done!
*11 Stitch stumpwork bunny  35% complete - shading restarted and going well=)
*12 Gifts (2 - 1 tie, 1 card) Martin for 13th anniversary  Done!
*13 25th wedding card for Milnes'  Done!
*14 Card for Howletts' Golden Wedding  Done, although a pastel painted one.
*15 Bookmark for Silvia  Done!
*16 Something for the Lindleys - cushion  Not yet started, on 2013 list
*17 DMC Dragonfly stumpwork kit  Not yet started, on 2013 list
*18 DMC Butterfly stumpwork kit  Not yet started, on 2013 list
*19 Rolled Rose Brazilian embroidery kit (17/11)  Done!
*20 Do most TAST 2012 stitch 'doodles'  Done!  (I did 30 of the 48, which is 62.5% = 'most') 
*21 Make up my camera case  Not yet started, on 2013 list
*22 Hardanger cushion cover & card for Caleb's wedding (17/8) present  Done!
*23 Card for Kirstin's wedding (31/8)  Done!
*24 Ribbon embroidery card for Tingles' new home  Done and got a tute out of it
*25 Hardanger card for Charles' 5th wedding  Done!
Also stitched were a stumpwork poppy and beetle piece out of which I got three tutorials (although I confess to having started this one the previous year), and a collection of stumpwork bugs - variations on a theme - that was also done as a tute.

 So, 6 cards in 4 different techniques - cross stitch, hardanger, drawn thread and ribbon embroidery, 5 practical items - 2 cushions, a manicure set, a tie and a bookmark, two pictures and a bunch of TAST samples.  In addition to that, I also knitted a white baby layette with red and green embroidered trims, a light green baby cardy and matching mittens and a light yellow baby cardy, both of which latter need buttons that I hope to get tomorrow, and an external hard-drive cover.  I'm content with that - up to 20 items in total.

What about this coming year?  Here's the 2013 Goals List needlework section:

Embroidery

Finish any current WIPs:

* 'Sunshine and Flowers' sampler  about 35% complete
* Stumpwork rabbit  about 35% complete
* Peacock feather  about 50% done

New projects - Work at least 6 of these 10 kits: 

* 'The Farewell' blackwork
* 'The Embroideress' blackwork
* Ribbon embroidery
* Coleshill stumpwork butterfly
* Anchor stumpwork face card
* DMC stumpwork butterfly
* DMC stumpwork dragonfly
* Liina tablemat
* Crown cross stitch (Sir's 14th anniv card)
* Shoe cross stitch/craft card

Book/magazine projects (aim to complete 2):

* Tudor Lady cross stitch
* Medieval Lady cross stitch
* Helen M Stevens' butterflies piece (cushion for Lindleys)

Sewing

* Red skirt
* Skirt with patchwork panels
* Trial some fancy purses
* Find a use for old bedding
* Camera Case
* Try some dolls house textiles

Knitting

* Salmon Pink baby jumper  5% complete
* Chunky jumper for me
* Learn cabling

There are no item numbers this time as I don't have '100 things to do' list this year - although I could easily make it up to that!  As you can see, I've also added in progress so far and am planning to get the feather and rabbit pieces done this month. I had wanted to complete them last month, but two very heavy colds in a row reduced my working ability somewhat!!  You can see the WIP status tomorrow in the first Work in Progress Wednesday of the year.  I'll also be able to show off the knitted pieces in this week's Sunday Yarn.

What about you?  Have you set out your goals for the year already?

Text and images © Elizabeth Braun 2013

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Work in Progress Wednesday 26 Sept 2012

A key part of my posting on Getting UFOs finished asks the reader to assess just why the project got put aside.  Was it through boredom?  Gone off the project?  Lack of motivation?  Project too hard?  There are a number of reasons and I thought it was time I thought about why I was struggling to get and then keep going on my WISPs (works in slow progress).

It's not boredom as I associate that with large, monotone backgrounds and things like that.  I haven't gone off either of them design-wise and there is motivation to finish them as they're both for other people and the WIP Weds posting idea also helps to have something ready to post each week.  So, I'm left with them being hard.

This is how far I've got on the Sunshine and Flowers sampler:


As some of you might remember from previous postings on the subject, I was doing quite well and then it suddenly seemed to get stalled.  Admittedly, there were other 'due soon' projects, such as wedding things, that intervened, but apart from the frame being too large and unwieldy as I mentioned last time, there is one other problem:  The chart is exceptionally hard to follow.  I find I have to read and re-read sections each time just to find out where I am and then I'm still puzzled.  There are two permutations and sometimes the chart instructions don't specify where there are differences and you can lose time working out that it's the other version that has 'four large flowers' whereas the version I'm doing has five etc.

Another thing that gets me is that it seems to assume that you know what the designer has in mind without you having to be told.  Section 5c says: 'Begin the Fly stitch center with a single Backstitch.'  Now, quite apart from the fact that stitch names do not need to be (and should be) written with initial caps, what fly stitch centre?  There's no indication on the graphic chart that any part is done in fly stitch (there's no key, apart from the usual symbols for cross stitch colours), either of this flower centre or anywhere else.  It just looks like small satin stitches there and it's only by looking through 3 different parts of the chart that you can just about work out what on Earth is required!  Frustrating, time consuming and puzzling.  That's why it's got neglected.  And these are relatively simple parts.  I dread to think what's it's going to be like when I get to the large, cutwork gate section!

The second WISP I'm moving slowly forward on is this Brazilian piece:


So, what's holding this one up?  Cynthia and 'Bunny' both asked about the thread last time.  It's rayon thread, specially made for Brazilian work (Edmar Lola, colour 007, variegated lilac), and is the world's number pain in the neck to work with.  Bullion knots are not my favourite things to work as I can't manage it without puckering the fabric to save my life (tips welcome!), but this thread is just beastly.  I can hardly describe why, but it seems to object to being wrapped and the part that hasn't gone around the needle then starts to try and twist the other way, thus making it a real challenge to get the needle and thread back through the fabric and the knot completed.  The thread looks gorgeous, but it's a real headache to work with.  The last two stitching sessions have been started with a rose and a half and then I moved on to the sampler, (frying pan to fire??).

So, I'm trying, bit by bit, to get on with these pieces and am looking forward to when I can a) follow the Cross'N'Patch chart without wanting to burn it; and b) get the bullions finished on the rose piece and can move on to the greenery!

Ooof!

Text and images © Elizabeth Braun 2012

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FanTASTic catch up!!

Well, perhaps not so wonderful, but I couldn't resist using TAST like that in a title some time!!

I've been catching up with my stitch samples from the last 3 weeks of TAST and here they are:


This is week 5 with 3 versions of herringbone stitch - only the first one having been worked properly!!  The second row, the double herringbone stitch I should have woven the second colour in, but didn't follow the instructions correctly.  As for the interlaced version.....  I got the base double herringbone row right that time, but the interlacing is a nightmare and working it in a variegated thread was a mistake too.  Well, I can't see myself using that one again!

Here are weeks 6 and 7 together on a new piece of Aida.  The top row is, of course, just a simple chevron stitch done in a great multi-coloured thread that, for the first almost half of the row changed colours just in time for each stitch to show as a new shade on the front! =)  I liked that and was sorry that the dyed sections got longer later on!


Underneath the chevron row are three samples of detached chain stitch, aka lazy daisy stitch and the first TAST samples I have managed to actually work on a Tuesday!!  The first four stitches are just simple lazy daisies, then come four long-stem ones then I couldn't resist trying a little daisy with two circles of stitches, the inner one being another of my beloved Anchor multi-colours (all pearl cotton #8), then two long-stemmed lazy daisy stitches worked in a light green pearl #12.

Speaking of pearl cotton #12, I recently discovered to my joy that Anchor has revamped its colour range for this very useful gauge of thread.  There used to be a very sparse selection of shades with only the blue-est (or most vibrant and unusable) of greens, no yellows or oranges and only one or two beige shades with no real browns.  Now there are lots and I'm trying to decide which colours I'd use most before I give in to the temptation to put an order!  I've seen them for sale at 2 UK on-line stores, but the US ones I know of either don't sell it, or still have the old selection.  The funny thing is, some of the old shades have been discontinued and so I have some 'collectible' balls of pearl 12!=)  Also, a few years ago I ordered a number of shades that couldn't be bought in the UK from an American retailer, so I was interested to see that many of those colours have not been included in the new selection either.  So, some good aspects, some not so good, but on the whole a really good thing I think.  On mature reflection though, I had really better see if and how I would use the gauge in stumpwork etc before I go and place any order as I am trying to use things up (thus the scraps of Aida for my TAST samples etc) and, ideally, plan to reduce my possessions by as much as 50% before we move another time.  So, I'm reading up books, selling things and using stuff up for all I'm worth!  I recommend it to anyone.  Most of us really have FAR too much stuff.

Here's how far on I am with the cross stitch bookmark I mentioned last posting.  It's coming on in slow sections as that cold I was complaining of that time retreated only to gather reinforcements and struck again and I've just been plain too tired to feel like stitching much.  (In case anyone's thinking 'That's a bit much for a cold!', I have a sort of burn-out/exhaustion condition, which means I have very low immunity and am rather a weakling!!! NO sympathy, please - I only mentioned it as an explanation.=) )

I was reading an interesting section of a book on stress and exhaustion the other day and it encouraged one to think what one would do if one had only 48 hours left on the planet before taking up an irresistible opportunity elsewhere in the universe.  It mentioned a lady who had the 'no-one could ever be perfect enough to marry my son' type of mother-in-law and who considered writing this MIL a letter telling her what she thought of her, then realising this would take too long, reduced it to yelling obscenities on her doorstep.  The lady concerned made real strides when she realised that her 48 hours were too precious to waste on someone so unpleasant and actually unimportant to her.

What's the point here?  Apart from that many of us have things in our lives that get TOO much airtime when they are very small and not what we really consider important, I thought of it in connection with stitching and re-vamped the 48 hours to: If someone could give me perfect health in exchange for my complete stash, but would allow me to stitch one more piece, what would it be?  I realised that it wouldn't be anything I felt compelled to do or that I didn't really love doing and that then led me to wondering why I was spending any time making myself stitch stuff I didn't love?  So, I took the Embroidery Journal Project/TAST January piece out of the frame, unpicked the one line of blanket stitches I'd done and put it all away realising that I was forcing myself to do it in order to keep up with a challenge that had seemed like a good idea at the time, but that I didn't really want to do anymore.  Not only that, but the piece sitting there telling me I 'should' do it was stopping me from doing any embroidery!  So, I won't be doing the EJP after all and will do an extended TAST sample only when I'm really taken by something.  The weekly TAST samples will continue though as they're small enough to not be a big deal.

Something I have done recently is to re-vamp one of the pages - the one formerly called 'The Embroideress'.  It's now called 'About' and the old section is still there.  However, there's now a kind of blogging policy on there too, which I'm re-posting here as I thought it may be of interest to some, esp. new subscribers:
________

Sew in Love was started back in June 2005 as a personal record of getting on with and completing a number of half finished things I had hanging around at the time.  It's now in it's 7th year and seems to be increasing in both scope and popularity, both much to my delight!=)

You will find here as regular features:

*WIP photos and reports on the projects I have on hand, sometimes including design notes (where relevant) and where things went right or wrong.
*Finished projects
*My work on any community challenges I've joined in at any given time, i.e. TAST 2012.
*Good quality posting with good spelling and grammar and without great big gaps (too much whitespace) - hopefully!=)

From time to time I post:

*Tutorials on aspects of embroidery that people are most curious about, especially raised work/stumpwork.
*Articles on subjects I know at least a bit about!!
*Links to others' work that I've found especially interesting and/or to retail sites where you can get supplies that are not so easy to track down, (such as wire for stumpwork etc.)
*Something amusing that isn't stitchcraft related, but that is harmless and that may spread a smile.

Things you won't find on blog include:

*Third party advertising of any sort, such as Google Adsense, sponsors (of which I have none!) or businesses.  I do, when relevant, mention if I'm selling things on e-bay etc and, once I get my own stumpwork and creative kits etc going, there will naturally be info on how to buy those.  I also have some group logos in my sidebar, but all are non-commercial and free to join.
*Giveaways of any type, either my own things or from third parties.  I have no objections to these in principle and have tried for several on others' blogs myself, but I don't chose to run them myself, esp. as I feel that there are a good number of folk who only sub to popular blogs for a chance at freebies.  If a reader enjoys my content, I hope they will subscribe to or bookmark my blog without any further incentive.  My aim is to have a site that is so good that no extras are needed.=)
Please note that the above does NOT constitute a criticism of those who run giveaway events, carry advertisements etc, (or an implication that their blogs aren't worth reading otherwise), it just explains that I choose not to do so myself!
*Personal information, news, details and so on.  I deliberately avoid discussing personal issues on blog as they are of limited interest to most readers and, frankly, I think there are many things that bloggers publish which are not suitable for public reading:  Details about their children, verbatim conversations - even on sensitive matters - with friends and relatives, their opinions of their families, colleagues etc, all of which have HUGE trouble potential!  Some have been victims of jealousy campaigns, nasty comments and all manner of things by getting too personal on their blog.  I long since decided to avoid these things by staying 99% on topic.
*Gimmicks - either technical or content
*Poor post editing quality (I hope!)

Posting 'habits':

I have no regular posting schedule as I have no really regular stitching habits these days - those days are long gone!!=)  I post when I have something to share and, yes, that means that sometimes there are some gaps.  This can occur for several reasons, some of those in the past have been travelling, illness (which is a common problem with me), being very busy with other things, intermittent loss of enthusiasm (which always returns - fear not!) and so on.  I would like, in the fullness of time, to return to my old Monday and Thursday update posts, but I think I'll never announce that as a reliable posting schedule as, you can be certain that, as soon as I do, it will go straight to the wall!!!=)LOL

Anyway, the major point here is: If you don't see a post for a couple of weeks, don't un-sub!  I don't promise daily posts, but things will come in time.  There are plenty of other blogs to read on my quiet days!!
________

Oh, what would I stitch if it were to be my very last piece?  I think it would be a stumpwork piece with several small elements so that I could enjoy all my favourite things in one go - padded and raised petals on small flowers with goldwork 'chip' (Bright Check Purl) centres, needlelace and beaded berries and some couched goldwork threads for some stems etc.  What would YOU choose if you could only work one more piece?  There's no time limit, the 48 hours doesn't count for this 'exercise'.  I'm sure not I want to know what some folk might do with the last 48 hours on Earth though.....LOL=)

© Elizabeth Braun 2012

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The year that was and the year that will be (hopefully)!

I'm a good few days late with this, but I didn't feel like blogging much lately and, to be honest, I couldn't persuade myself to do a lot of stitching either after my stitch-and-blog fest in November!  Boom and bust, perhaps?  Well, one thing that I decided to do in future is to spread my posts out a bit when I'm on a stitching roll so that I can keep the blog going more when I'm going through a dry phase.=)

So, what did I achieve embroidery-wise during 2011?  Well, most importantly, I did a great deal better than the previous year when I had a record low of only 3 finishes!  This year witnessed 13 or 14 completions, a vast improvement!

Carried over from 2010, I finished off:
*The fish and waterviolets design from a Helen M Stevens book and made it into a scatter cushion.
*The goldwork viola, which is still waiting to have something final done with it; and
*The narrowboat cross stitch, which I hope to get framed at some point and hang in our living room.

Carried over from childhood (so UFOs for nearing 30 years!), I finished:
*Needlepoint giraffe, now waiting to be finished up into a cushion; and
*2 needlepoint birds, one which needed half the background completing whilst the other needed some repairs.

Started new and completed in 2011 were a number of smalls:
*2 cross stitched cards - one for DH's anniversary card and the other for a wedding;
*A cross stitched bookmark, which was finished up and given to Charlie;
*Hardanger card for a Chinese couple whose wedding I was a witness at;
*Ribbon embroidered gate and flower piece, mounted in a card
*A keyring for DH for said anniversary; and
*Silver and violet heart, mounted in a card for a 25th wedding.

Started, but not quite completed as of 31 December 2011:
*A dogrose needle painting, to be finished up into a manicure set holder; and
*A small stumpwork poppy and beetle from a deleted DMC kit.

And what of the year to come?  What's planned for 2012?

Well, first of all is, of course, to finish what's already been started, so:
*Dogrose needle painting and finish up
*Stumpwork poppy and beetle
*Make up giraffe cushion

Other than that, the big project of the year is to do as much of TAST 2012 as I can.  I made a good start with the week one stitch(es) and hope I can keep up both the getting it done the same week and being able to produce something pictorial with it.  The fact that there are others doing the challenge and trying to do roughly the same means that I have a 'group' to work with and lots of others' ideas to enjoy.

Something else that I have in mind (and which may even be done by the time this post goes live, as are 2 of the above listed projects!  Patience, patience....!!), is to do some stumpwork bugs which were requested for the 'Crazy Quilt Gatherings' magazine.  More on that soon...

I also want to work a few more pieces of stumpwork and some more needle paintings.  I got the 'Fresh Ideas For Beginners' book for our copper anniversary (12½ years - yes, really!), so I want to have a go at one or two of those projects, although the smaller pieces don't sit quite right with me.  It's hard to get a good design balance with just one bloom and I often feel that Trish's singles are a bit lop-sided, but I can soon change the layout.  I do need the practice with shading though.  I've also got a copy of Hazel Everett's goldwork book on the way....

So, it should be a productive year!  Let's see now....

© Elizabeth Braun 2012

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Some needling problems

And that's not all meant as a pun.  (Which bit is, you'd best decide for yourself!)

I've had this old needlecase for a few years.  I actually made it myself when I was in primary school class 3 at the tender age of around 7, so 1978/9.  I even remember being disappointed when I went wrong on the dark green/peach line, but it was rather a complex stitch for a tiny tot to do, no?  Well, my mum used it for years and then washed it out and gave it to me when I made her a new one back in about 2005/6.


You can see how untidy it'd got inside as well.  Bits of thread hanging around, flannel insert all rusted, needles all over the place in not much order, except that most of the top right section was blunts - tapestry needles.

Whilst we were in Taiwan I worked a nice new one in a hardanger design.  I'd done an identical one in pink (which, OK, means it wasn't really identical.....) and gave it to my mother-in-law, and that after promising myself I was going to work that needlecase and NOT give it away.  I felt sorry for her as she'd had a rough time of it just previously, so I thought I'd give her the choice of colour and have the other one myself.  5 years later and it's been made up and waiting for needles for about the past 18 months.  So, last night I finally got around to populating it.

On the top left hand side we have tapestry needles in sizes 20, 22, 24, 26 and tiny 28s.  Under that come crewel/embroidery needles in sizes 10, 9, 7 (which is my preferred size - not too fiddly to work with), 5 and a couple of 3s.


Moving on to the right hand side and, from the top, three beading needles, 4 straw/milliners ones in sizes 3, 5, 7 and 9, then two other large needles that I don't really know what to call, followed by chenilles in sizes 18, 20, 22 and 24, then a few general sharps for sewing.

So, now I just have to get used to the sight of my new needlecase.  At least it's still green!

I've been thinking about the berries design and the problems associated with it.  First of all, the silk (backed with interfacing) feels very stiff and rather like paper.  Not nice to work on.  And, as I had it out of the frame for a while, there are nasty buckles in it, which just won't do.  You can see a bit of how it's got spoiled here.

Also, to be honest, I'm not that pleased with the design.  It's all over the place with no real sense of balance and I just can't find any enthusiasm to work it.  I started on the monogram a few weeks ago but, as the letters are half the dimensions of the ones I took the design from (Susan O'Connor's book), they really are too small to do properly and, when I tried, they just looked so scrappy that I would have done better when I was seven!  If not, then at least there would have been that as an excuse.  So, with all that in mind and the fact that silk on silk was really not at all practical for an everyday manicure set, (I mean, we're talking about a normal, modern woman here, not Lady Mary Crawley!!), I decided to take the piece out of the frame and take the whole thing back to the drawing board.  Perhaps a larger monogram with the berries around it??  I'll see what I can come up with.

In the meantime, I went through my kit box and fished these two out.


I could wish that, when kit makers were putting these things together, they'd spare some thought on how well the colours in the design go with the fabric they provide.  It always seems to be a cream colour that gets used (and the piece in the Brazilian kits is rather rough and rigid as well), but it seems to me that these purple roses and the light, blue-ish greens that are with them would be much better suited to white.  I laid the threads against three fabrics for comparison.  The first from the left is white (cool), then an antique white (neutral) piece, then the cream (warm) from the kit.  I know it doesn't show up as well as it could here (the original fabric is a bit yellower in reality), but the cool shades match the white so much better.  Colour is very important to me and I can't feel comfy with 'it looks OK' when it can look better!  Perfectionist?  Well, perhaps.  In some things anyway.  A pass grade won't do for me when a distinction is available.;)

I haven't started either yet, and I also want to have a go at a berry or two, so I can't say for sure what's coming next, but something will.  Soon....

© Elizabeth Braun 2011

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What makes a great needlework blog?

Thanks very much indeed to the 15 ladies who kindly took the time to leave their comments on yesterday's survey posting.  What struck me as the bottom line as to what you regular readers think is that you like what you see, you just want a good deal more of it!  Photos, commentary, design notes (where relevant), some background and cultural articles and tutorials, but especially more photos.  Well, I shall do my best to oblige and I hope you're enjoying the photos of my latest finish alongside this post.  Look!  Three instead of the usual one!=)  I think photos can be overdone, so maybe I won't post as many as some do (I realised I need to get a good balance between what readers like and my own tastes and preferences), but I like the idea of some close-up shots as well as some angle shots.  I've done both before, but I think I'll try to make more of a habit of it.

I've switched to the newer Blogger post editor as that allows more freedom with photo sizing, so that should help with the problem I mentioned yesterday.  Failing that, two of you mentioned a third party service that I could try out, but I think this is working so far.

I've also made some changes on the blog layout and appearance, mostly to simplify.  In my opinion, there are some great and skilled needleworkers out there whose work is all but lost against the high impact graphics and multi-coloured layout of their blog template and sidebar content.  Even the post text can be in so many colours that the eye doesn't naturally settle on the photos of their beautiful work!  So, to my mind, a great needlework blog is first and foremost simple and uncluttered.  It has a plain, either very light or very dark background, perhaps with a simple border if liked, and keeps the visual focus on the photos in the main posts.  It's also free of mouse pointer graphics, things drifting across the screen and little tinkling sounds, and no music starts up when you land on the homepage.  Great content needs no gimmicks.=)

I also feel strongly that the sidebar should be a reasonable length - preferably shorter than the space needed to display the number of posts you've selected per page.  To keep the whole layout easy on the eye, sidebars are best kept to one and only in single columns.  There are all sorts of multiple column layouts available, but I recommend avoiding these and going for just one.  I personally much prefer not to have a long list of blog feeds on my blog sidebar (you can see which blogs I follow by looking at my Blogger profile), as it can get to a great length and can add too many distractions.  To be honest, I also would hate to cause offence by omitting anyone's blog....LOL!

Another common problem with blog layouts can be the header design.  Some are just so big that they require you to scroll horizontally to see the full thing and others are so long that you have to scroll quite a way down to get to the start of the blog proper!  So, I also recommend keeping the header section a reasonable size.

Oh yes, and I think that proof-reading and carefully previewing and amending layouts is vital too (this post is taking ages to get 'just so'!!).  Mistakes, gaping bare spaces and other gaffs are distracting and unprofessional, so spell-check, proof-read and adjust!  (Now watch there be an awful blunder somewhere, like once on my travel blog when I missed the 'r' out of 't-shirts'!)  And text is best left- or fully justified.  No-one right justifies, but there are some where all text is centred and it can make it harder to read, so I recommend that only if needed for a photo caption/section heading or something like that.  A great needlework blog is always easy to read and easy on the eye without irritations, don't you think?

So, I now have a white background, (although my backgrounds have always been light and contrast reasonably good), and the text, apart from links, is all black and dark grey.  Links are a petrel blue and I've changed the title font and colour too.  I also thought I'd see how I liked the photo borders (thanks for the idea, Leftsox).  The sidebar has lost about 3 of its elements so far and others have been condensed: I changed the labels list to a cloud, removed the numbers and only chose to show the textiles related ones; my other blogs have been cut down to just title and photo; and the Blog Archive has been changed to a drop down list. I also moved the blog navigation elements up to the top and added a copyright line at the bottom.  Two of the pages have also gone and I've added to what remains (some of which has been shifted around and renamed) there by putting in the photos that used to be in the sidebar gallery.  Hope to improve them soon with more text.

Tutorials are an interesting idea.  I do plan to do a few more, but I daresay there won't be a huge quantity of them as I don't feel as skilled and qualified as some seem to think I am!  Still, one can but have a go.  One e-mailed comment suggested that I might want to try plugging the gap between the 'doodle stitching for beginners' tutorials that abound and the very advanced, verging on professional level of instruction that the very serious hobbyists post, but which may be above the confidence and commitment level of some.  I like that idea, and am open to suggestions!  Caroline, you read my mind in suggesting the dragonfly as a possible tute!  I had that sort of thing in mind to try more of and to show how to do it.  It was a steep learning curve producing that baby though, so I need some time...

A few ladies expressed and interest in seeing and learning more about the Taiwanese and Korean pieces that I photographed in East Asia last year.  Great, yup, I'll have a stab at that, but be warned - I am NO expert and the info I provide alongside will be of the the simplest kind.  It would be a interesting diversion from the better known Japanese and Chinese work though, so I think it's worth doing and, yes, I'll do a little research as well.


I finally finished the narrowboat yesterday afternoon after deciding that the top stitching on the water looked tacky and that the greenery didn't need any more detail.  I also elected to use the prescribed three strands for the French knots on the boat (the flower pots on its roof), but to drop to just two for the flowers on the right hand side in the hedge area.  I felt that this would, along with a half stitch background instead of the full stitches suggested in the pattern, create an impression of texture and depth.  I appear to have started this one about 17 months before it was finished, so that was a LONG time, for a medium sized cross stitch.

Don't know if anyone remembers this photo from a post just under a year ago entitled 'Too Many WIPs'?  I had these four skeletons of pieces all laid out on our ironing board!  Well, I've now managed to flesh out and complete three of those projects (as well as a number of smalls and three childhood UFOs posted over the summer), and so now it's onto the stumpwork berries piece.  Working the beaded berries will be a new one on me, so I hope to get a grip on that and then post a simple tutorial so you can have a go too.  Sounding good?  Will be back soon, have a great Sunday.=)

© Elizabeth Braun 2011

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From UFO to WIP to Happy Dance - How?

When I posted last week about getting WIPs finished and not going in for UFOs at all, I had some interesting responses. Some agreed and felt the same way and some had a veritable stack of UFOs, ever increasing and quite probably nattering them more than they realised. So, that got me thinking about how to get UFOs (UnFinished Objects that are not current Works in Progress (WIPs)) out, re-started and, very importantly, finished, leading to that Happy Dance! Illustrating this post you'll see two large projects that spent quite some months in the UFO state, showing where they got stuck, then a post-restart WIP shot and finally, the end result.

A good place to start is to think about exactly why that piece got laid aside indefinitely to start with. That is very important and may be quite different for each UFO you consider. The reason you gave up on it will give the key as to how to get back going on it too.

Some examples of reasons are:

1) It became boring or monotonous - a common problem with single colour backgrounds once the main picture/design is stitched in cross stitch or needlepoint pieces. It could be that it's the same technique over and over and is dull when you want more variety, or it could be that the colour(s) don't inspire. Whatever the detailed reason, boredom is the main thing. This was part of the problem with my dog thread painting.

2) You made a mistake with it, had to pull a large amount out and got disheartened. Some pieces you make a good and motivated start on only to have the wind completely knocked out of your sails by seeing all that input wasted. That happened with the hardanger piece you can see here. I miscounted in the centre, ended up having to frog about 75% of the work thus far and got fed up and put it on one side for about 7 months. If you look closely at the photo, you can see the holes where I removed threads!!

3) The project has outfaced you as it is either too large, too hard or both. This was the other half of the dog problem. Being overwhelmed by a task can be totally paralysing.

4) You just have no motivation to finish it. You may not even like the design anymore, or it may have been a class piece that you had the impetus to do whilst attending the class, but now don't feel any push to complete. Or it may be just a piece you liked, but that lacks purpose, so you feel no urgency to get on with it and other, more interesting or more appealing projects have pushed it into the UFO basket. This was also relevant to my hardanger piece as, originally, I'd intended it for someone's wedding gift, then I gaffed up and realised that I didn't feel I even liked them enough to go to all that trouble....

5) You simply have far too many things on the go at once and therefore you just can't work actively on them all. You have a dozen or so WIPs and you try to put a stitch or two in on those, but you know that several of those will have become UFOs over the next few months because you will have started a number of new things and they will push current WIPs off the production line.

Sounding familiar at all? Do you see yourself and any of your UFOs in the above scenarios? I'm sure you do. So, how do you get back going again? Well, here are some suggestions to get each category of UFO back to WIP status.

1) A boring UFO can be finished slowly and steadily by working one or two lengths of thread on it before you move on to more pleasant and interesting projects. You can also take a boring project in hand when you're watching TV (it's all tent/cross/basket stitch in one colour, so you don't need to concentrate greatly), or when you have someone to talk to. You're giving the other activity most of your attention, but your hands can be productive without you really missing the show or being too pre-occupied to be good (and polite) company. Another take on this one is to do 10 minutes on it at the start of each stitching session or a certain amount of time per week to it. Whichever works best for you, but make sure that it does work! That's why I suggest working on the boring project at the start of your session as it makes sure that it happens.

2) A disheartening project can be approached in much the same way. Take it out and do a little - paying very careful attention to how it went wrong in the first place. Work at it little and often and, who knows, once you get past the problem area, you may well find that you're enjoying it again and you can go full steam ahead.

3) Dealing with an overwhelming project can be more tricky. Generally, if it's too large, then the above mentioned 'little and often' approach will soon see it come down to a more manageable size, both in your mind and in your hands. Feeling that it's too difficult may be another matter. In this case, building confidence is key. You may need to try small sections of the piece and allow your success to build your confidence, or even leave it for the time being and work on smaller projects/samples of a similar type until you have the needed know-how to approach your more major piece with confidence. To be honest, the method I used with the dog was to simply force myself to do it. The most major spurts in progress were done on two holidays when I really only had that piece of stitching with me and plenty of time to do it, so I just pressed on with it and saw it working out fine section by section.

4) A piece that you have no reason to bother working on requires that you find one! I had nothing to finish my hardanger for, until I realised that another friend who I was happy to put in effort for was likely to get engaged within the next few months. That got me going again. So, look at your 'no umph for' UFOs and see what you could finish up for whom. Does someone who would like that piece have an event coming up? A big anniversary? A new home? Whatever else you could make it into a gift for. Another good thing about stitching for events is that it provides a deadline. "The wedding is on 12 June, so I have 6 weeks and so I'd best get right down to it!" A piece you don't really like can easily please someone else too, so this method can also take in those things you've gone off.

5) Last up is the uncontrolled project starter. The answer to this is to develop some control! If you know you are liable to get sidetracked by yet another new design, simply stop looking at them! Don't buy new kits, magazines, books etc until you've finished a certain number of things. Tell your family and stitching friends so that you can have someone to answer to and who can remind you, and even get tough with you, when needed. Look through your WIPs and UFOs and take out all those nearing completion. Finish those first and get some accomplishment under your belt. Next up get out those about half done and work on those, then move on to those which are only just started (which will be almost as good as a new start anyway). If you don't blog, start one and show off your finishes. Join in, or even start, a 'Finish What you Start' challenge and get tough with yourself. Use some of the suggestions above to keep you on track and to help in each specific case.  It won't happen overnight, and you have to be pretty determined, but it CAN be done.

If you follow some, or all, of the above suggestions, you can soon see your home become a UFO-free zone and have the pleasure of being able to use the space they're taking up for something else and give joy to friends and family as they receive beautiful, hand-made gifts from you! We can often downplay our work, but to others, it's really something. Let yourself have the opportunity of feeling a sense of accomplishment, not only in having finished things off, cleared the decks and had something to show for it, but also in having identified and met a personal challenge - seeing what prevented you from completing a task and overcoming that problem.

And then you can perform your happy dance!=)

© Elizabeth Braun 2011
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