Finished!

Or maybe not...

This is the repetitous Contemporary Textile Workshop piece. I wasn't sure about adding machine stitch, as instructed, but it worked quite well in the end, introducing a new texture and bringing out some of the details. I also used the machine stitch to attach the canvas work to a very blingy bit of lamé fabric, which is just visible through the holes in the canvas, but also provided the means to attach the embroidery to the box canvas. However my stretching of the fabric over the box canvas left a little to be desired, so tomorrow the staples are coming out and it will be reattached.

Unfortunately the Chairman's Challenge, a.k.a. the star spangled sampler is going to need a bit more work. The edges need top stitching, the top needs adjusting, and I think it might benefit from a bit of weight at the bottom to make it hang better - I'm thinking beaded tassels.

Apart from that, they are both finished!

The Traveller's Blanket has been languishing, due to this frenzy of finishing - I'm hoping to get round to assembling the layers tomorrow and then beginning to think about how to use the African fabrics.

'Visual Marks" came around again for this month. We shared our Chairman's Challenges, finished and unfinished  - amazing the variety of things we came up with, from my banner to panels, a bag, Christmas cards and a cracker! 

Then we enjoyed some 'machine networking' - work some machining on a piece of felt, pass it to your neighbour, and repeat until your own piece comes back to you - assuming you recognise it when it does! 

We were going to try both automatic stitches and free motion, but ran out of time. 

Initially I wasn't very inspired, but the ideas are beginning to flow now - inlaid appliqué? Book covers? 

And of course I played around with some apps - Flipomatic, Mirrorgram, and, surprise surprise, iColorama.

So, plenty to keep me busy. And if I run out of things to do, there are always socks...

Slow but steady...

progress on several fronts.

1. One pair of socks finished and another started. Somehow I always have more wool left from each pair than I'm prepared to throw away, so the half ball of mid blue had to be incorporated in the new pair - yes, it is the same colour. I did manage to bin the few metres of the light blue left over after I got two pairs out of it.

2. The Chair's Challenge seems to have taken a great leap forward. (Good thing, since it's the next meeting of Visual Marks on Tuesday. Time to get lost in Southampton again.)

This is it, hanging around while I decide whether it needs anything on that lower red horizontal band. It is going to get some star sequins on the Tyvek rectangle at the bottom, and there are paper stars on the red on black lattice - they just don't photograph well.

It is not attached to the backing yet - when it is, it will be a little straighter. 

I have no idea how I am going to suspend it, and I fancy a few tassels somewhere, but these decisions will be made in due course...

3. Progress on the Contemporary Textile Workshop piece has been slower, partly because I've been concentrating on the star spangled sampler above, and partly because the CTW is cross stitch, and regular readers will know that I don't do cross stitch, especially not in uncontrollable metallic machine embroidery thread. 

4. And just in case I didn't have enough to do, I've signed up for Dijanne Cervaal's 'Traveller's Blanket' class, because it looked like a good way to use up some stash. So I started by buying some muslin (I thought I had lots, and will probably find it again now I've bought some), and some bump, which Dijanne  recommends instead of wadding. So yesterday was spent dyeing, which I haven't done for ages.

Here are the results, plus some threads I dyed at the same time, and some African fabrics from my stash for the appliqué.

Did you know that so-called 'African fabrics' were based on Indonesian batiks and originally made in Holland or Lancashire? Must be true, it said so in 'Embroidery' magazine. So some of my Lancastrian ancestors may have worked on the original fabrics, though I am pretty sure these were made a long way from the North of England.

Bite off more than I can chew? Moi?

We survived!

The trees across the road, however, didn't. Literally 'across the road', as you can see. One came down early on Christmas Eve morning, and others were left leaning at nasty angles, and were taken down.

Fortunately no-one was hurt, though neighbours lost their land lines, and the street lights are (mostly) out.

Also fortunately, it happened after we had taken the little guys home, as I think they might have found it a bit scary - although the VHC would have enjoyed watching the trucks and workmen.

We had a good time while they were with us - some duck feeding, 

some card making (we hope to get all the glitter out of the carpet by next Christmas), some 'Snowman' watching (scary to realise that when we first watched it with her daddy, he was about Babybel's age), 

and an abbreviated trip to Mottisfont because they were closing early because of the wind.

We did manage to attend the Snow Queen's Ball, which Babybel adored - dressing up in pretty things and dancing, what could be better? The VHC, on the other hand, was a bit overcome, and preferred to keep his opinions under his hat.

Speaking of his hat, does it remind anyone else of 'Rocky Horror'?

After all that excitement, it was good to have a very peaceful Christmas Day on our own, before getting together with the little guys and their parents on Boxing Day. 

It has been pretty quiet since then as well, which has meant I've been able to get on with the Chairman's Challenge. 

I found the bottom of one of the bathroom curtains in the stash, which wasperfect  for a backing, and several bits of red, black and silver for a patchwork strip down the middle. It is all just pinned together for now, and it's a dodgy photo anyway, but hopefully you get the idea. 

The plan is to add a few stars. This is the first. I knew there was a good reason for keeping those painted twigs from a bunch of dried flowers...

All should continue quiet, weather willing, until New Year's Eve when we get together with the other half of the family, plus the Spanish contingent, who are coming over for a visit. Weather willing!

I hope all my UK readers have also escaped the worst of the gales ((and anyone else who's had bad weather) and that you will continue to do so, as more is predicted here.