This week's blogger is someone I have followed for a long time, I was intrigued by her biscornu collection and loved seeing each one as she showed them. But as you'll see from the interview Kerry has many more talents up her sleeve! Please welcome Kerry from
1. Please introduce yourself – name,
where you are from, family, pets etc.
Hi,
I’m Kerry, I live in Worcestershire in the UK. I’ve been married
for almost 14 years, we have 2 children who have just both had
birthdays – April is a really busy month for us as they are just a
day apart. DS is now 12 and DD is 7. We have a rather large hamster
called Luna and I work as an administrator for a small company and
I’m currently doing a diploma in Business Administration.
2. How long have you been stitching and
how did you start?
I’ve
been cross stitching for about 13 years and started when I was I was
pregnant with DS. My first cross stitch was of Eeyore. I saw the kit
and thought, bet I could do that – turns out after a bit of trial
and error I could. I’ve always crafted and I remember doing 2 long
stitch kits when I was 8 or 9 one of a cottage and the first was a
fawn in a green frame and my Mum got it from Avon! I did the standard
sampler at school when I was about 7 on binca too. My Nan taught me
to embroider as a teenager too.
3. How long have you been blogging and
what inspired you to start? Is there a story behind your blog title?
My
first blog post was on 10th
August 2011 and I had a couple of friends I’d met through
craftbubble who blogged and I jumped on the bandwagon! I was making a
lot of biscornu around that time and I’d built up quite a
collection by then too. As you can see from this, I can ramble too!
4. How would you describe your stitching
style? Are you a serial starter, a rotator, a OAAT (one at a time),
highly organised, random and eclectic, etc.?
I’m
a bit of an OAAT-er at heart and I like to work on the same design
for a few days, until I get bored. I do tend to underestimate how
long it will take me to do a project though. I’m not a serial
starter and I find having 10 WIP’s stressful. I think I prefer
smaller designs as I need finishes to keep me motivated I have 2 big
designs in the to-start pile but they both are made up of small
sections, so I can claim lots of mini finishes I’m quite organised.
I’ve recently made a stitching Bullet Journal as I have lists
everywhere I’m hoping this will help me keep track of all my
stitching notes in one place rather than my current method of
calendar, notebook and several lists.
5. Do you have a favourite designer or
style of design you are drawn to?
I’m
currently quite drawn to primitive and Quaker designs and I have
several on my wish list from Heartstring Samplery as well as
Elizabeth Shephard from The Scarlett Letter to start. I also like
bold designs from designers like Lizzie Kate, Wee Little Stitches and
Satsuma Street along bright florals designs. I adore blackwork too.
6. Which piece are you most proud of in
your collection?
I
have lots of pieces for I’m proud of for different reasons. I love
Irises and Hydranga by Sheila Hudson, that I’ve never gotten around
to framing despite finishing them probably years ago!
I
love my blackwork pieces too – this one is Art Nouveau window by
Holbein Embroidery.
7. What has been your worst stitching
disaster?
The
hole that mysteriously appeared in Blackwork birdsong last week?
Other than that- my failed attempt at a HAED as I decided to do it 2
over 1 full crosses on 25 ct. That was too much like hard work and
after about 1500 stitches I gave up. I’d do another HAED – still
on 25ct but 1 over 1 tent stitch this time.
8. Which new technique would you like to
try, either stitching, finishing or another craft?
Hardanger
but the cutting of the threads terrifies me! I’m going to give flat
fold finishes a go too. As for other crafts, I would love to spend
more time on my hexagon quilt. It’s been over a year since I last
put any hexi’s in and crochet – I definitely have an awful lot to
learn with that.
9. Do you have a box of
finished-but-not-fully-finished pieces? Or is everything FFO'd?
What's your favourite way to fully finish a project and what do you
do with them?
A
small box of around 8 pieces, I’ve been trying to get them done
this year. I usually frame bigger pieces and small cushions or bell
pulls out of the smaller ones.
10. Which of your projects most represents
"you"?
I
asked my family this one as I really had no idea and they said… the
Blackwork sampler. I think they are probably right, lots of detail –
I love the small details, speciality stitches –I love learning new
stuff, my love of stitched florals, and it’s a quiet piece. Hubby
says it’s not fussy either – I’m not sure how to take that!
11. Tell us a secret about yourself. Or a
joke. About anything!
I’m not sure
there are many secrets to share but DD had to take a joke to school
recently for Comic Relief – we spent a while chatting over dinner
about our favourite jokes so here goes.
Q: Why did the
elephant paint his toenails red...
A: To hide upside
down in a cherry tree.
I had an elephant
joke book as a kid and loved it. You could tell – it got so tatty.
12. Anything you would like to add?
Floss tube is my
new adiction as well as following so many awesome blogs. Stitchers
are such an inspriring (and enabling) bunch (a big thank you to Jo for
putting this together). Thank you to all who follow my blog and leave
me me such lovely comments. It really means a lot to me.