Holiday Stitching

The long awaited holiday has finally arrived and I set off tomorrow so this will be the last post for a while. I have finally decided on what stitching to take with me after much dithering. I didn't want to take something complex and then find that I didn't have what I needed to work it and as I have been accused of packing my whole wardrobe I didn't think I could add my workroom as well! So to keep it to a minimum I have packed a Montmellick design (which I finished drawing out last night) as that only needs 3 weights of white thread and a blackwork chart by Calico Crossroads - 'Purrfect Pitch' - which as you can probably guess features cats, as again it doesn't need much in the way of supplies and I think will be relaxing to stitch. The pic shows what it should look like when it is done. I have already stitched two of these designs and thought it would be nice to do some more and then frame them all alike and display them together. There are lots and lots to choose from so I might have a problem making my mind up. If you are interested you can see them all at www.calicocrossroads.com.

Thistles

Today the weather has been atrocious but I have been lucky enough to spend the day stitching at an EG Branch workshop and, even better, have actually finished a small (5" x 5") panel of machine embroidery. Even more amazing I actually like it (amazing because I always feel I could do better than I do) although there are lots of things I would do differently if I did it again.
It is stitched on calico and the background is painted with silk paints and then has small snippets of net, organza and 'glitz' bonded on with bonding powder before the hedge and grasses were stitched using machine rayons. The thistle heads were then painted on in acrylic paint (using a cocktail stitck) before being stitched over. I'm so glad it won't be another UFO - will have to look for a frame for it when I return from holiday.