Totally Useless SAL

As it's the 22nd August and I joined the Totally Useless SAL, here is my first picture of my orts and ends.

The bottom layers relate to some secret stitching that I have been doing and really must get around to making up.

The red threads come from the Little House Needlework design that I have been working on for my Mum's birthday.

The final layer, of mainly orange threads, are a result of my work on Celtic Autumn. I have been stitching on her whilst I have been watching the cricket and World Athletics. Once they have finished I'll post progress pictures for her.

So Frustrating

My plan for the weekend was to work on and hopefully finish Gentle & Kind so as that I could take it to be framed today. I had a weekend of watching the 20/Twenty Finals and the World Athletics Championship along with a bit of ironing and a lot of stitching planned. I managed to achieve all 4 but hadn't counted on not being able to finish the piece because I ran out of thread.

I have completely run out of the light brown and the green threads and suspect that I will also run out of the red thread before I finish all the lettering. In each case I'm a maximum of two strands of thread short. I am so frustrated.

I wouldn't mind if I'd wasted the thread but most of the time when I'd finished with each strand there was barely enough thread to secure the stitching with and no frogs that resulted in wasted thread. All I can say is that someone was incredibly tight with the amount of thread they allocated to this Thread Pack.

As it turns out I love Crescent Colours, so I don't mind buying the threads, as I'm sure I'll use them again, but from now on I'll be buying the charts, not the thread packs, whenever that is an option.

Now to place my threads order, which no doubt will mean some extra additions to my stash as I'm not paying for postage for just 3 threads.

Ouch - just ordered the threads they were the Belle Soie Silks at nearly £5.00 each. If I had a safe I'd be keeping them in it when they arrived!!

Quilting

I have just heard that my RAK has arrived at it's new home. Bilbo has assured me that she likes it. As the theme of the design suggests Bilbo likes to make quilts, when she's not in her garden.

Little House Needleworks: Quilting
Fabric: Hand-dyed 30-count Summer Sunset evenweave from Chameleon
Threads: Crescent Colours

It was my first attempt at a mattress style pincushion and also my first time using hand-dyed floss.

I decided to repeat the border for the back and used some of the detail from the border on the sides.

I had ummed and arrghed for a while about what colour to use for the edging and eventually settled on yellow. Shortly after which Bilbo started her latest quilt Yellow Peril, which was very weird, or fate, depending upon how you view these things.

A New Start

Late last week my order from Down Sunshine Lane arrived.

I have no plans for any of the Summer Showcase charts, although I'm sure I'll find a use for them soon. The LHN Gentle and Kind chart is planned as a birthday present for my Mum.

As her birthday is in September and I'd like to get it framed, I thought I'd better get a move on, so I started it last night. Fortunately I'm fast becoming a LHN fan and know that they stitch up very quickly, so, hopefully, it will be finished and at the framers by next week.

I also have a parcel in the post, so there will be a reveal coming up soon of some of my secret stitching.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pattern - Is on the Move

Sharon has finished stitching the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pattern and so she is ready to head off to a new home. If you'd like her to visit you next follow the link below the picture.

It's Daffycat: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pattern

Stash

Last week the chart for my Blogversary Giveaway arrived which meant I needed to order the fabric and threads for it. Whilst I was at it I also ordered some fabric I had spotted which I though would make the ideal backing fabric for one of my RAK's.



After exchanging a few emails and one telephone conversation with Kate at Thread Bear I was able to get a fabric that was a good match for the 30 count R & R Sheep's Straw that the chart called for, but my budget didn't stretch to. Kate had two pieces of linen in mind but once I explained that the thread I was ordering was for the same project she decided upon the 32 count Permin/Wichelt linen. I have emailed Kate to find out the name of the fabric as it didn't say what it was called on the receipt.

Having seen the fabric and thread together I think she made an excellent choice. Now I just need to get started on them or it will be my 2nd Blogversary before Conny gets them.

Before I do start on them I'm going to have a finishing off session. I have a few more stitches to add to one of my RAK's and then I shall start making them up. One of the recipients of the RAK's now knows who she is as I had to ask her for her address but the other hopefully doesn't. If I get a wriggle on I might be able to post pictures by next week.

I have also have some more charts on order from Down Sunshine Lane and yesterday I couldn't resist snapping up two Lizzie Kate snippets in Elisa's sale. So that's me spent up for August.

Graduation

The last few days have been rather busy as on Friday it was not only Daughter's Graduation Day but also Husband's birthday.

The day after her graduation was also Daughter's 21st birthday. She had a big family do for her 18th birthday so this time she celebrated with her friends. She had stopped in London following her graduation ceremony and went out for lunch with all her friends from university and then travelled home to spend the evening celebrating with her friends at home. We saw her for about 30 minutes.