This is a stitching blog, honest!

Hmm, it's a while since I shared any stitching photos. This month I've been focussing on the lace garter - 12 inches long and growing. I am enjoying making it as it's not very complicated. A few people commented on the lace in this post... Angela - it's really not as complicated as it looks, there are 2 basic stitches - cloth stitch and half stitch, which both use just 4 bobbins (2 pairs). It's the sequence of which pairs to use and if it's a half or cloth stitch that's a little tricky, but in torchon lace (the type I'm making the garter in) there are a few combinations that we use again and again - cloth stitch trails, half stitch trails, spiders, rosegound and honeycomb. To answer Theresa's question - yes it is honeycomb down the centre, but there are some 6-legged spiders also, which look like slightly larger honeycomb in this pattern. I've not posted another photo of the lace, as it looks essentially the same, just longer!

I did start A New Beginning (Abbey Lane Designs):


I'm stitching this on some platinum Belfast linen, in the required Weeks. I'm really enjoying it so far, even is I did have to frog the yellow triange on the right, which I'd put in the wrong place first time round.

This week I picked up Fantasy Triptych. I think I was inspired by seeing some TWs in progress on Dani's and Michelle's blogs. I'm really pleased with my progress (last photo - taken in March - is here).


When I compared it with the last photo I was amazed how much of the road I've stitched in a week!

Happy Dance!!

I finished this at the weekend:

Mini Greek Island, (c) Michael Powell Designs

I wasn't sure if I'd be happy stitching the kit, especially as it is on aida, but as there were no partial stitches it was great - quite a quick stitch and very cheerful and fun. I may have to buy some more MPs...

One of my very good school friends is getting married in August, in the Seychelles. I've known Krista since we were 5, so of course I wanted to make her an extra special wedding gift. She's not really a cross stitch girl, so she went for the lace garter (I tend to ask people what they'd prefer). Eeeek. So I need to make about 29 inches of lace by early August. This is what I've done so far (there is a little more under the pins, and at the top - but not much more!):

I'm working this in pipers silks, which are lovely to work with. Sadly I'm running out of bobbins with 3 lace projects on the go... this one took 44 pairs.

Stitching and lace progress

Well I had another crafty weekend this weekend. On the Saturday Sonia and I went to a Sheffield Lacemakers working day, and I made a little progress with mt Torchon mat 'Margaret':



Sadly I don't have any more lace weekends planned until the Sheffield Lacemaker AGM in May, so progress will be a little slower over the next couple of months, but I am hoping to finish this in time for Ed's mum's birthday.

Sunday morning Ed and I spent an hour or so digging over our garden - the soil is more clayey than we'd first realised, si it was quite hard going. We persevered through a couple of rain showers, and got the area for our herb garden dug over. The veg patch is about 4x this area, and then we have all the borders to tackle - this is going to be a long job (especially with the wonderful English weather!).

On Sunday afternoon and evening I spent some quality time with Pooh Calendar:



This is coming along nicely now, but it will be a struggle to get it done by April 5th. Thankfully the Easter break will send me a little more stitching time. I've decided to put off starting TW's Fantasy Tryptich (my new Monday SAL piece) until I've got a few more months of Pooh finished - but my fingers are itshing to get started, so I may well cave next Monday!