A Peacocks Garden

 After Easter we decided we were missing being in our motor home so on Tuesday we threw some clothes and food in the van and headed north for a few days away, which, despite the rather wet drizzle was still wonderful!  When we got back on Friday I knew with May just round the corner I needed to make a decision on what colours to choose for Aprils part of the Mystery sew a long 'A Peacocks Garden' And as you can see I went for soft mauve's (after all who says it has to look like a swan!)  So for some slow Sunday stitching today I will aim to finish them off, which means I should be ready for May!

Pop over to Kathys blog so you can see what other people have been working on this week.

 On our travels we visited a National Trust property, Montacute House in Wiltshire.  They had a beautiful display of 17th and 18th Century samplers.  Here are a some (only in part some of them).

Hester Sissons - 1659

Algerian-eye stitch, buttonhole bars, long-armed and Spanish cross, dove's eyes and four-sided border stitching.  The open work comprises cloth stitch with picots and needle-weaving, whipped buttonholed and needle-woven bars.

 Coloured silk on linen 102cm x 21cm

 Ealse Swinson - 1662.

 It has stump work and is coloured silk worked on linen and measures 52cm x 21cm

Alice Jennings - 1692.

24 bands of embroidery including chain cross, long-armed cross, Spanish cross, needle-weaving, eyelet, raised plaited band, rococo satin, spiders' web, whipped and buttonhole bars

Coloured silk and white linen on linen 81cm x 21cm

 Anna Peryn - 1681

An inscription divides this ampler which has cut and drawn work, incorporating 'S' motifs and Fleur de lys.  By the late 1600s it was popular to work needle-weaving and satin stitch in opposite directions for a cheeseboard effect.

Coloured silk and white linen on linen, 56cm x 20cm

It was a beautiful collection of embroidery and hopefully will give inspiration!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

I don't have much to show sewing wise this week apart from these cute little felt bunnies I've made for my three year old niece who visited with her mum today.  The pattern came via a lovely blog (you can visit her blog HERE who got the pattern from Molly and Mama).  She posted a couple of weeks ago on slow Sunday stitching (gosh that's a lot of links to follow - sorry)

They were lovely to make and didn't take too long to make either.  They have now been dispatched with my niece clutching them in her hot sticky hands, but if I'm really honest I wish I had made my self a few to decorate my fireplace!  But as I have used up two of the colours from my stash I can see I will need to buy some more! What a hardship!

I am linking up with Kathy for some slow Sunday stitching and have plans to spend the evening working on my latest cross stitch project.

60 degree diamond travel quilt

Not a very exciting photo but its a representation of the last two months in Portugal (not strictly true three of the stars are from the end of last year) but the rest are all dated with the name of the place we stopped in while on our travels!  Yesterday I had to finish some of them off because I ran out of light coloured diamonds while we were away so sewed one on with the place name and yesterday I just had to sew the second one on and add the date!  Today I will start adding them to the rest (I need to free up some templates).  I think it will take me a while but I shall settle down to watch the highlights of the Chinese grand prix (hard to believe it was a year ago we were there watching it live!) and plug away at them.  I have linked up to Kathy's slow Sunday stitching where you can see what projects other people are working on at the moment.  Have a great Sunday!

PS I've just realised how awful the colour in the photo is!

Slow Sunday stitching and January completed!

Only two months behind time but I managed to complete January in the Mystery sew a long and despite some reservations over the my colour choices I am pleased with how he turned out!

It's also been two months since I have been able to link up with Kathy's blog for some slow Sunday stitching (actually I think I did manage to link up once while I was in Portugal).  But once I have cooked Sunday lunch (we've missed a roast on Sunday and I know some people do cook roast in their motor homes and caravan ovens - I am not one of them!) I plan on doing some blog hopping and then I will settle down to watch an episode of Downton (we are re-watching the series in anticipation of the film being released in the UK in September) and I might get to start on Aprils section of the mystery!

A Peacocks Garden

It seems like ages since I've been able to post anything on line (I could write a blog post but not post any pictures) so here is a progress report on the mystery stitch a long.  I have managed to correct the mistake I made with the light green thread around the peacocks feathers and have nearly finished with that colour.  I have a 26 hour ferry crossing tomorrow so my aim is to have him finished by the time I reach English waters! After all there isn't a lot to do on a ferry boat (apart from look after DH and the dog - DH is not good on water).  April has been published and it's two swans facing each other above the peacock but I will at least finish January before starting April (and Februarys borders are rather boring so they will be done when I am at a loose end and want some mindless sewing).

P.S.  Below is a photo of my oops!