Better late than never

My Christmas Lilies have finally flowered.   Just one month late but still they give both pleasure and perfume while I continue to stitch on the Hardanger Bag.   The end is in site.\for the stitching and with another public holiday next week I may well get that all completed.

We are presently sweltering in 90% humidity and temperatures hover around 30 degrees Celsius by day dropping to 20 degrees at night.   This is sapping the DBEM's energy and appetite.   Mine too but I am still persisting with the long walk each evening and the scales are currently friendly.  So all good down here.

Hardanger Anonymous

My name is Margaret and I am a hardanger addict.
There I have said it!  What was to be a short therapy break from free style embroidery on Arabian Nights has turned out to be a "let's get this project completed" full on episode. 

I see that I have photographed the wrong side of the second piece (top of photo).   Apologies.  It is hot and sticky and I am tired and cranky so am not going to take another photo. 

The first side is complete and while debating whether or not to do both sides of the bag or leave one plain linen fabric,  I stitched the handles.  Then having got that far -  I told myself 'well I may as well complete this one'.   And another inner debate. What colour should I put behind the lace 'windows' to best show the stitching.   I wear only blue in all shades from cobalt to navy during the summer and this is definitely a summer bag.   Could either of those work?  I have fabric suitable for either in my stash so may toss a coin when the time comes:-)   I'm in full hardanger mode at present and unfortunately am already dreaming of the next hardanger project.   Oh dear.   The DBEM says I need to get Arabian Nights finished while I still have good eyesight!

The DBEM isn't very well at present and we are gaining frequent flyer points at the medical centres around town.   But each night I go out for a long walk to clear my head, aid my fitness and shed some of the Christmas calories.   The mileage is going up - 73 kilometres so far this month - and the scales are going down so I'm happy. 

An unexpected interlude

During my two week break from work over Christmas New Year I took the time to go and do my six weekly shop.  All good and lots of bargains, so the freezer got stocked with meat, bread etc
Today, barely two weeks later, I go to said freezer and.....oh woe is me!  The freezer has broken.  It is kaput.  Every item inside is no longer frozen and all is a soggy mess.   So tonight instead of a brisk 5km walk in the cool twilight, I am in the heat clearing out the mess.

And today the DBEM was far from well and went spent four and a half hours at the emergency department with a side trip to the radiology unit.  Home again now but not with a totally satisfactory diagnosis.  

So no photos tonight - this is merely to record the minutiae of life chez moi.

Not a lot of progress

By the time I get home, prepare dinner for the DBEM and me and go for my daily walk there is little evening left to put needle to fabric or even read my pile of library books.

So rather than tussle with Arabian Nights I pulled out the half started Hardanger Bag and have made a little progress on that.   The border along the top is the last for this piece of the bag.

While I laughingly said I would need Hardanger Therapy now I had embarked on a free style embroidery project I didn't imagine it would be so soon:-)

The DBEM hasn't been well but is a little better tonight so I promised her that if she keeps well for Saturday I will take her out.  She is doing her best but our current heat and humidity are not easy to tolerate when you reach the decade beginning with an 8.

Arabian Nights Progress Report 1

This new year I have decided that while I love hardanger and I like cross stitch surface embroidery and I will never have such an intimate relationship.
Nevertheless, Arabian Nights is progressing.   I started off using the floss ply as per the "recipe" but it was too thick for my liking and difficult to keep an even tension on four separate strands.   So I reversed myself out of the corner, made my own decision and am much happier now.
While the transfer survived 45 years on paper, I doubted that it would wear so well when transferred to the fabric so have folded up the bottom and am working from the top down. 
Although I say that I don't enjoy surface embroidery as much it is fun learning the different stitches even if I do have to hunt out my old stitch dictionary for assistance.   So far pricked finger tips, strained eyesight and less than 100% enthusiasm have produced this. (Excuse the poor photography)