‘Bee Contained’ Etui by Betsy Morgan

At last my extra skeins of thread have arrived from across the pond , so I knuckled down and finished all the stitching related to my ‘Bee Contained’ Etui.

These are the components that will make up the box.

The pretty hexagon shaped box is edged top and bottom (although it looks like the sides on the stitched piece) with a honeycomb

pattern and the panels that make up the sides are decorated with 1

over one bees, bee hives and crowns, as well as over 2 bees, some blackwork lace, the year and my initials.

Then we go on to the goodies that go inside the box.

 First up is the needle case

Scissor Fob

Ruler

Thread Winder

And finally, the tiny pin cushion

and of all the pieces, this was the piece that gave me the most problems.

I’ve never stitched long arm cross stitch before,  and although we did look at it while taking part in the Academy of Needlework  last year, with Nicola Parkman, I had so much trouble stitching it and just couldn’t  get it right.

If I frogged it once, I frogged it at least half a dozen times, so in the end I found a tutorial that Jean Ferrish had done on her floss tube. . 

If I didn’t already have completely grey hair, I’m sure I would have had a few more by the time I mastered the stitch, Lol! 

But in the end it was so worth the effort, because I love the texture it gives,

Next comes the finishing, which I hope to make a start on next week.  I have the feeling it's going to take some time  but I already have everything gathered that I need, except for the beehive charm that goes inside the lid which I’ve been unable to find so far, but I can always add that at a later date. 

Happy Crafting!

Sue

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Chart – Bee Contained – from Willing Hands 2

Designer – Betsy Morgan

Fabric – 32ct Linen – Lemon Squash – Nicholas Flamel Designs (Etsy)

Threads – Gloriana Florimell Silks

 

All Year Round Stitch-a-Long – September & March

This week I continued to stitch on my ' All Year Round' sal and stitched the September  segment, which is where the sal originally started (I didn't start mine until January, hence me playing catch-up) and the March segment, which sort of brings me up to date. I say sort of because the next issue of ‘Cross Stitcher’ magazine is already out, with the April chart.

So first is the September segment, which is beautiful Poppies 

and nestled between them is a cute little field mouse.

It's these extra special little details that add to my enjoyment  stitching this design, and the March segment is no different.

This part has lovely sunny Golden Daffodils to welcome the spring. 

The Peacock Butterfly is a great addition because they usually hibernate over the winter and emerge from their chrysalis  from early March.

Project Details

All Year Round Sal – from Cross Stitcher Magazine

Designer – Amanda Butler

Fabric – 18ct Aida – White Zweigart

Threads – Anchor and DMC’s

Happy Stitching!

Sue

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I Can Hear Humming………………

And it’s not coming from the bees!

It’s my Hummingbird Lace Chatelaine and I’ve been working on it over the weekend while joining in with the Chatelaine Weekender Sal, which runs every weekend, Friday to Sunday. 

I find a great way to put some stitches into it, without feeling overwhelmed by the size and intricacy of the project and it was what helped me get to the finish of Butterfly Lace last year.

I only picked this one up on one evening during February and this is where I had got to.

And after three evenings of stitching, I finished the four sides to the centre square and started to work on the first of the flowers.

I’m still not sure if I’m going to bead as I go with this one.  I left it until the end on Butterfly Lace but it was daunting being faced with more the 4000 beads and crystals to attach, all on one go.

I believe this one has even more but I’m worried that my silks will catch on them if I do them as I go. 

The members from Chatelaine group on Facebook were very helpful, giving their experience when asked, but having read all the comments, I still can’t make up my mind, Lol!

I guess what I will have to do is may be bead the centre square and see how it goes.

 

Happy Stitching!

Sue

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Hummingbird Lace Mandala - Chatelaine

Designer - Martina Rosenberg
Fabric – 28ct Jobelan Evenweave – Antique White
Threads – Called for Silks, DMC and Petite Treasure Braid
Beads – Swarovski Crystals and Delica Beads

‘Bee Contained’ Stitching Box by Betsy Morgan

 Are you the same as me?       

You work on a bigger project and the more you stitch on it, the more you want to finish it.

That’s exactly how I’ve been feeling while working on my stitching box ‘Bee Contained’ by Betsy Morgan.

When you last saw it, I was stitching on the last panel of the hexagonal box.

This week I added my initials, date and the final border, as well as the last 1 over 1 black bee in the panel above.

With that done, I was eager to carry on and continued to stitch the front and back of the needle case,

the front and back of the scissor fob,

and made a start on the two pieces of the ruler, which also have 1 over 1 stitching, but then I run out of the silks.

At that point I continued to stitch the outlines for the thread winder and pin cushion, because they were stitched with cotton pearl thread.

I tried to source Gloriana Florimell silk here in the UK but everywhere seems to be sold out or they only stock the standard Gloriana and not the Florimell that I need, so I’ve had to order from 123 Stitch and wait a week or so, until it arrives before I continue working on it………….so frustrating.

Oh well, it’s not as though I have nothing else I can stitch on, is it?

 

Happy Crafting!

Sue

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Chart – Bee Contained – from Willing Hands 2

Designer – Betsy Morgan

Fabric – 32ct Linen – Lemon Squash – Nicholas Flamel Designs (Etsy)

Threads – Gloriana Florimell Silks

My Quaker Sampler Book - Pages 7 & 8 (Askworth Collection)– The Cross Stitch Guild

 I’m two more little pages closer to my finish this week.

There are just  four more of these cute little motifs to stitch and then I get to the bit I’ve been dreading, because the finishing involves hem stitching all seven of the double pages before constructing the book.

Also this past week I’ve put some more stitches into Mary Allcorn 1764, the exclusive reproduction sampler from Hobby House Press.

This was my New Years Day start and this is where I was the last time I shared it.

I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a lover of stitching alphabets, I just find them boring, especially when there are more than one in a sampler.  But I have to be honest, so far this one has been fun, so may be I’m becoming a convert, Lol!

Here’s where I am now.

There’s just something about the ghost letters that I find particularly intriguing.

I think it's also helped that the upper and lower case letters are stitched side by side, instead of stitching one full uppercase alphabet before going on to the lowercase one.  I know I'm still stitching the same number of letters but it seems quicker somehow..........well that's what I'm telling myself.

That border is no joke either.  There are so many colour changes and the frog has already been to visit on a few occasions, but at least it keeps me on my toes.  

Happy Stitching!

Sue

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 My Quaker Sampler Book -  Kit

Designer – The Cross Stitch Guild / Ackworth Collection

Fabric – 32ct Belfast Linen – Raw

Threads – 6 stranded cotton

Silk Lining fabric

 

Mary Allcorn 1764

Designer – Hobby House Press

Fabric – 36ct ‘Thornfield’ – Needle & Flax

Threads – Gloriana Silks & Classic Color Works Belle Soie Silks

All Year Round Stitch-a-Long – October & November

I have two more panels of the sal from ‘Cross Stitcher’ magazine completed.

November was the pretty Pink Cyclamens

And October is full of gorgeous autumn colours,

as well as this really cute squirrel.

At this point, I was thinking I was very nearly caught up, just needing stitch the September segment to be up-to-date.

My plan was to stitch the March panel at the start of next month but then this week they published the April edition of the magazine.  So now I need to stitch three panels next month to get me back on track, but luckily they only take a few days each to stitch, so it shouldn't stop me from finishing at the same time as everyone else.

 

Project Details

All Year Round Sal – from Cross Stitcher Magazine

Designer – Amanda Butler

Fabric – 18ct Aida – White Zweigart

Threads – Anchor and DMC’s

 Happy Stitching!

Sue

This week I became a monogamous stitcher again!

 After working on every one of my Wips last month, I made the decision to become a monogamous stitcher for the past week, working on 'Sing For Joy' from Cottage Garden Samplings.

This was one of New Year's Eve starts in 2023, but after having a tiny start that evening, I didn't pick it up again until last month and this is where I left it.

I don't about you, but the more stitches I get into my fabric, I get excited for a finish and I learnt while stitching ???previous designs in this series, that they are quicker to finish than you might first think.

So, when I picked this up again at the start of last week, I made so great progress.

I did hit a bit of a problem though.

As I was stitching the leaf and the little house, down in the bottom left corner, I encountered a nasty slub in the fabric and it was in a place that was going to show when the piece is finished. 

Now, I know it's a bit of a risky thing to do, but I decided to pick out as much of fluff from the slub as I could, taking care not to break the threads underneath which was fine but the fabric was a hand dyed piece and the dye hadn't gone completely through, leaving a white thread.

It all turned out ok in the end, because with a tweak of the chart, I made the leaf slightly larger, covering most of white thread.

Happy Stitching!

Sue

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Chart – Sing For Joy

Designer – Cottage Garden Samplings

Fabric -  36ct Linen – Nicolas Flamel Designs ( Putty)

Threads – Weeks Dye Works