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Tuesday 19 July 2016

After a wonderful weekend.....

Home from my embroidery weekend, I had such a good time, although it was such a fraught week I wasn't sure I was going to make it.

It was my turn to drive, now I'm not a confident driver, although I have been driving for over 30 years, I just don't like driving in areas where I don't know the roads, know what I mean?  It was ok though, I had my sat nav, and the lovely Jan helped direct me so we didn't miss the turnoff we used to miss everytime we went through Carlisle, does anyone else do that?  Even though the sat nav directs you still miss it?

On arrival we went straight to our rooms,  I had one I'd had before, small but cozy, and I only entered it three times in the weekend.  Once on arrival to unpack, later that night when I went to bed, and at the end of the day on Saturday.  When I left it on Sunday I took my bag down to the car before breakfast and my last sessions before finishing with a lovely lunch and home.

As we were slightly early we popped down to the local distillery, no, not for a tipple, and after all I was driving and I never drink any alcohol when I'm driving, we had tea and, no, not cake, it was SCONES!  Plain ones with jam and cream, delicious, but in all honesty not a patch on the one I had at Jan's last week with homemade jam and cream, now that was stupendous.

Back for the first session, do you want to see where I started from?


Yes, exactly where I ended after my last weekend, no progress made at all.  I always have such a great time and really enjoy my embroidery Higham Hall, but then life and quilting take over and I never seem to get around to my homework.  Just a reminder the design is Jacobean Embroidery by Hazel Blomkamp who I believe is from South Africa.

Want to see how I got on this weekend?


Oh yes, I worked hard.  I'm not the fastest in the world, though you have probably already sussed that anyway.  Look closer and I will explain what I did do.


Here I did a whipped chain stitch around the centre of laid work with a trellis which was already done.  I did three layers of chain stitch around the leaves on the right, and a raised chain band around the leaves on the left, filling it with seeding.

Moving on to the next section.


One of these was already part done, it is padded satin stitch so, after stitching around the edge in split stitch I did the underneath layer using two strands of DMC stranded cotton, then the Satin stitch over the top stitching in the opposite direction using one strand, each time going over the split stitch edge.  I then added picot leaves, which I had done once before but it was a while so I needed a refresher and a little practice first.  I then finished it off with french knots using two threads.

My homework, and I do hope to get at least some of it done (but don't hold your breath because that's how I always think at the end of a weekend), is to do more of the little berries with picot leaves.  There is also some padded satin stitch in greens, and some gold stems with french knot berries I can do.  I also have a double row of back to back buttonhole stitch to do at the bottom of the area I was working on at the weekend.   The area at the top left on the first pic I will be taking out, it was the first bit I did, it's rubbish, even by my standards, and the colours no longer match as it develops and I increase my thread selection.


This is the same design by another student.  As you can see she has a different interpretation to me, she has also been doing embroidery longer, it's lovely isn't it.


This is by the lovely Jan, a different pattern but by the same designer.   Although we started at the same time she does her homework :)  

Now for some different work by our classmates.








This work is Calico Gardens, it's like stumpwork, only in whites and neutrals. The designs can be anything really, from a garden shed to the seashore, animals and birds.  I love this owl, it's on my bucket list.



There are all different kinds of work.


This was done by the oldest member of the group who is in her 80's.  She started it on Friday evening from scratch, first tracing out the pattern and putting it in a frame before she made a single stitch.  This version is slightly different from the pattern, she wasn't happy with the squirrel, so, she went along to another class which was fantastic drawings with coloured pencils, there was a cabbage which looked so real I thought I should be able to pick it up.  The teacher is a professional and has exhibitions every other year.  I digress.  Anyway, she asked the teacher if she would draw her a squirrel, so the teacher obliged.  You can get away with anything at 87.  She used to do patchwork and quilting but doesn't anymore, she finds embroidery is easier on her hands.  I hope I can stitch like her at 87, I wish I could stitch like her now!

So, no quilting to show you this week.  I have done a little but I'm saving it, for next Tuesday is my turn to so a guest spot for Jen at Quilter in the Closet, and I am lunching the start of my next quilt, so please come back to see it and help me make my first ever guest spot a success. Before you ask I haven't forgotten about my circles quilt, it will be making an appearance in a couple of weeks.

This is the last week of the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop,  the girls have been waiting all this time, so please pop over and say hello to some of them.  In my hive it is




I am so looking forward to next week but until then,
Smiles from
Kate x
Linking up with
Needle and Thread Thursday
Can I get a Whoop Whoop ?
TGIFF
Cooking up Quilts
Super Mom-No Cape



27 comments:

  1. Wow, Kate! Yours is my favorite out of all the ones you showed. It is gorgeous!! What are you talking about that is rubbish? I see no rubbish!

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  2. Really beautiful work Kate ! Interesting to see all these different embroidery stitches. PS : You made me hungry for a scone. Maybe I can have one when I go to Birmingham next month ! ;-)

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  3. I love your Jacobean embroidery!! It is just exquisite and you have done a lovely job! Did you choose the palette? It is soft and subtle with limited range but you have made it just sing!

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  4. This is such a pretty project, Kate! And no worries about your homework, sometimes meandering journeys are the best :)

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  5. This is such a pretty project, Kate! And no worries about your homework, sometimes meandering journeys are the best :)

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  6. Kate, I'm so amazed! I embroider, too, like I knit. I can do the outline stitch and make French knots! I can knit scarves. When I first started looking at the pictures, I thought they were so beautiful, certainly you were doing them on the machine! I'm looking forward to your guest post!
    XO

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  7. It looks great, Kate! I'm impressed! And I love the story about the woman who wanted a different squirrel!

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  8. This is lovely work, Kate and it should be totally beautiful when it's done. It sounds like a wonderful weekend with a great crowd!

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  9. What a great way to spend a weekend! Your embroidery is lovely, as are the other work you have shared - so what if it takes you a long time to get it done!

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  10. All I can say is WOW! All of this is amazing. I love what you are doing. And, then to get all sorts of additional pieces to drool over. Amazing.

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  11. Your embroidery work is AMAZING! You do beautiful work. Thank you for sharing it with us.

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  12. Hi Kate, I love your embroidery. I've been wanting to get back to it and you've inspired me. I've looked up the Crewel Intentions book - it's now on my wish list. Best of luck

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  13. The soft and subtle colors of your Jacobean piece are stunning Kate! You are really talented with embroidery. Crewel Intentions is a funny name. I have an embroidery board on Pinterest that I call "Don't be Crewel" :)

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  14. Thanks for sharing all this great embroidery. You are a woman of many skills.

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  15. Stunning...everything! I never knew you could get such amazing texture from embroidery. Shows what I know! You are so talented!

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  16. These pictures are all so beautiful! Amazing embroidery you make. And your friends too. I wish I could still see well enough to still stitch when I'm 87 year old lol. Thank you so much for sharing all these fantastic projects. I really have enjoyed it. ;^)

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  17. Kate, beautiful workmanship by everyone! I am not familiar with many of the stitches, but the whipped chain stitch outlining that flower is lovely. I haven't done any embroidery in a long time. So glad you all had a wonderful time!

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  18. Oh my goodness, Kate! The work that you all are doing is amazing. I love embroidery but, it seems that time forces us to choose, and I choose quilting, but looking at this beautiful work sort of has me wishing I'd stayed with it. So glad you enjoyed the weekend and had the opportunity to be inspired by all of your friends and their fabulous work.

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  19. What beautiful embroidery, looking forward to see your finish.

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  20. What beautiful embroidery, looking forward to see your finish.

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  21. Beautiful embroidery! My grandmother used to do pieces like this, it makes me smile to see more of it! Whoop whoop!!

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  22. Amazing embroidery! I am an absolute novice and barely know how to backstitch!

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  23. Your embroidery is wonderful. At a church rummage sale last week I spent $1 on a never-begun kit for luggage straps. The linen alone is worth more than $1. I'm almost exclusively a quiltmaker, but I can't help "rescuing" embroidery.

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  24. Kate, your embroidery is so lovely! How wonderful to have a group that meets so often to embroider. I'd find that so encouraging. Embroidery isn't something I've done a lot of, but I did do a tiny bit on my recent Bee Hive block. Such a luscious, inspiring post! Eye candy indeed.

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  25. Thanks for all of the lovely embroidery pictures. I too hope I can still stitch at 87. My mom is 89 and can only really knit a little bit because she can no longer pick up a needle. My aunt used to do beautiful embroidery. I have done a little but I am still a novice at it. I prefer cross-stitch, crochet and quilting. Enjoy your stitching and do your homework! LOL

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  26. What a fantastic post~! So much goodness here - your embroidery is beautiful. Just gorgeous.

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  27. What gorgeous stitching!!! This post has made me want to start doing some embroidery seriously ..... hmmm where's the time for that? My daughter recently did a hand stitch present for her aunt and it was wonderful - she seemed to know more stitches than me!

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With smiles from,
Kate