Morecambe

He Looked Like A Peddler by Ruth Sanderson

2011-12-22T16:16:12+00:00

I'm stitching this one over one on 28 count apricot Jobelan. While I stitch I have been learning the poem, Twas the Night Before Christmas, from which this scene is derived. There are 14 verses and I have three lines left - hope I learn them by Christmas Eve!

This is the back. The first time I saw the back was when I took the photo, as I never flip my work to start or finish a thread.

And this is what it will eventually look like.

Train of Dreams

2011-09-01T02:31:20+01:00

It's ages since I stitched on A Train Of Dreams. I think this picture was taken in June.

A Long Winter's Nap as at end of May 2011

2011-06-04T22:31:27+01:00

I finally got the feeling that it was time to swap from A Long Winter's Nap back to Train of Dreams. I've heard it called a screaming rotation and, although Train of Dreams wasn't screaming, it was certainly choo chooing for attention. So, I've put Santa away for a while. The top right corner was densely confetti stitches and when you are stitching on it, it's just a mass of colours that make no sense but when you step back, tada, some ornaments have appeared.

Heaven and Earth Designs A Long Winter's Nap, progress

2011-05-07T22:05:17+01:00

I've been stitching on A Long Winter's Nap for what seems like ages now. I'm resisting the temptation to swap to something else for a change of stitch count, and I dart around the pattern for variety instead.

Mirabilia Christmas Flourishes finished at last

2011-01-16T00:37:55+00:00

I started this many years ago, pre 2004 at least, and abandoned it at this stage for a number of years.

Then I added it to my rotation, and with a final push over the Christmas holidays and a wait while some beads arrived that I ran out of, I am pleased with the finished result. The fabric is actually a lot bluer, like the first shot and not as grey as the different camera has made the later pictures. I must find a framer and not just leave it for years and years like I usually do.

Images will enlarge when clicked.

HAED Train of Dreams

2010-10-24T13:08:24+01:00

I've stitched four columns now on Train of Dreams and am ready to change to A Long Winter's Nap. I left the two pakos for A Long Winter's nap loaded and so it took just minutes to swap projects and start stitching.

A Long Winter's Nap - Santas face

2010-09-17T03:18:44+01:00

I do tend to jump about the chart, for variety - and of course I couldn't resist doing a bit of his face.

The eyes close up

Time to rotate

2010-08-15T00:35:37+01:00

This is my progress on A Pensive Moment before I put her away for a while and work on A Long Winter's Nap. Looking at the pattern again for ALWN it looks easy compared to APM.

My Set up

Come winter and I won't be able to use the radiator to hold my pakos.

A Pensive Face on a Pensive Moment

2010-07-31T23:28:27+01:00

The many colour changes on A Pensive Moment were making for such slow progress that I was feeling like giving up. I had been thinking of starting to stitch the face for two reasons. One to check it was charted well and that I wasn’t going to stitch half the picture then be disappointed with the face and two, to see something emerge and thus motivate me to continue. With encouragement from the stitchers on the Golden Kite forum I carefully counted and stitched my way over to the face and began at the top of her head. When you are stitching it, because you are so close, you cannot see anything forming, it’s just a mass of stitches but step back and an eyebrow has emerged.

A few days later

Then an ear appeared

A Pensive Moment

2010-07-25T22:22:46+01:00

As well as my other WIPS I am working on A Pensive Moment by Daniel Ridgway Knight, charted by Golden Kite. It has 200 colours and 116 blends. At first I thought it was "do-able" but I was only on the first column of sky, now that I have hit the confetti heavy foilage I have had to give up parking and stitch cross country. There were just so many colours in a 10 x 10 block that I was having to part the threads like a hair dresser just to try and see where to park my next thread. I made the fatal mistake of actually laying the pattern out and now I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. Can I live long enough to actually finish it, and my other wips? Should I just pack in all the advanced cross stitch and go back to Mirabilia's which seemed very advanced once upon a time but now seem easy.