Wednesday 20 August 2014

I'm still here, promise!

Hi all,

This is going to be a fairly short post. Just to say I'm still here and all is well, I'm just so so busy right now. I started my work placement at the homeless shelter and although it's only 6 hours a day, I'm coming home absolutely shattered so have had no time for stitching or catching up with blogs!

I promise I'm still trying to keep up but I have to admit, I've been in bed by 7:30pm every night, asleep by 9 at the latest! Not used to all this regular work haha. I've started to settle in now I've been there a few weeks and got a bit of stitching done last night. Will post a pic a bit later on.

Hope you are all well and will catch up soon, promise! Until then...happy stitching!

Saturday 2 August 2014

Friday Night with Friends

Hi everyone,

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while. It's just been one of those weeks where I feel I have been run ragged yet not achieved all that much! My parents are in the middle of remodelling their living room so I've been helping shift furniture and source stuff for them, spent a delightful (not!) afternoon in a DIY store with Dad looking at lots of different flooring. I'm not particularly handy so I wandered off and eyed up some pretty kitchens for when we get our own home hahaha!

Well since I last spoke to you all, I have finished Boofle! Yes it's done, framed and given to my friend who absolutely loved it. I was so thrilled with how it turned out in the end. Although I really hate backstitching, and frankly am not that good at it, it really made the design pop and showed off the little details. We went from this, lovely little design.....

               



To this when it was finished. It's so different! I also had some great advice from Hobbycraft again about framing, and I decided to use a self-adhesive mount board and stretch the piece over that before putting in the frame and it was perfect! Took me ten minutes! That is my biggest fear now conquered, like I say I'm not very handy and I was so worried that I would be rubbish at the final stage after months of work.

So now what...well last night for Friday Night with Friends I spent the evening whip stitching and marking out the fabric for my next project which is a baby sampler by Dimensions called Zoo Alphabet Birth Record. This is for my friend who has a little girl due in November. I had a good nosy at the pattern and it looks like it is going to be a fun and fairly easy stitch. When preparing the fabric on this one, I've tried a new method to help me with the overall stitching of the design which is to use some tacking thread to mark the edges with each 10 squares and the middle of the fabric. I think doing this will mean I'm less likely to lose my place when counting, although doubtless I will end up making mistakes I think this will just lessen them!

I'm sorry I haven't replied to each of your comments. Please be assured I do read and appreciate each
and every one of them, I just struggle with time to get back to everyone! I'm also making my way slowly but surely through the last week of blogs so bear with me.
Hope you are all well and until next time....Happy Stitching!