Friday 9 January 2015

Joy and delight - finishes to show

Christmas lingers on at house as I stitch ornaments.   Mary Beale's Christmas Wreath is finished and I am very happy with this one.   Great Grandma's sewing box revealed an old covered button kit; my stash produced green velvet for the back and the button and voila we are finished.   I stitched this on 27 count linen so the finished size is about that of a medium dinner plate, around 9.5 inches in diameter.
I have two small ornaments underway and purchased small pewter stars for them today.   Would you believe the LNS had no gold stars?   So Christmas is really over and the stars are out until December?? Anyway these will be perfect as the lettering is in DMC 310.  The red is my favourite DMC115.   Linen is 32 count Antique something from my stash.   The 2013 JCS ornament issue (the tempting pre-Christmas issue) had these as the front and back of one ornament but split into two separate items they will increase my count:-)
The Sampler Chatelaine is finished.   I will never ever use this I know so it is now rolled up and in my Curio Cabinet.   Was it a waste of my time stitching it?  Not really.   I did enjoy all the specialty stitches and I like acorns so the silver charm in the top panel is a favourite.   But I would never wear something like this so the pleasure was in the making and not in the use.
Now with all the finished items fully constructed I can start the Sampler Casket this weekend.   I did read through all the instructions and have decided to start with the back panel first.   That has the lettering, initials and the date.   Well obviously the date will need to be left and filled in later!
Yesterday afternoon I spent sorting through all my DMC threads, returning 'orphan' spools to their rightful homes and having a good clean up.   This afternoon my pleasurable task is to sort out a Guild Project for this year.   I think it will have to be hardanger or at least one with lots of speciality stitches as I am tiring of the lovely little crosses.
This beautiful hibiscus is flowering in profusion just down the street, reminding me that Auckland is classified as a sub-tropical climate.   As if I needed reminding when the nights are almost as hot as the days!!

8 comments:

Pamela said...

Beautiful finishes, Margaret! I look forward to seeing your casket project progress.

Samplings from Spring Creek said...

Beautiful finishes enjoy the blooming flowers it is 25 degrees here Brrrrr

llknbillburg said...

Wonderful, wonderful finishes! I'm with you on the chatelaine, too beautiful to use but lovely to display!! Looking forward to seeing what's next! Laura

Wendy said...

such lovely finishes! The Chatelaine was definitely worth it, there's nothing wrong with stitching something just for the pleasure of it.

Anna van Schurman said...

Fabulous finishes! Chatelaines were all the rage in the 90s when I would go to the stitching festivals (maybe they still are, maybe it's the stitching festivals that are "out"). Many women would be wearing them. I envied them being able to wear their work.

Karen said...

Love the wreath...so pretty!

Queeniepatch said...

How nice to have finished this beautiful Christmas cushion well in time for the Christmas of 2015! The velvet button looks perfect in the middle.

Chris said...

Hello Margaret, how lovely to see that hibiscus, we have cold wintery weather here in UK but my friend who lives in Wanganui sent me a photo of her garden bathed in morning sun to cheer me up,altho' it made me feel jealous! Love this little biscornu and your stitching is perfect. Looked back on your block and some beautiful finished projects, and I too have the pleasure in the stitching rather than the finished piece!
Happy Stitching
Chris x