October 21, 2018 by katechiconi

SAL 70: another petal

Another 3 weeks not spent stitching very much, sadly.

Bet you’re getting a bit tired of that old refrain. I’ll try to do better next time, I promise 🙂 And now, the results.

Before:

And after:

I’ve managed a little more on the petal at far left – it was a good job there was a fair bit of white and grey background to do, so I could just crack on with that instead of having to confetti stitch 5 different colours. It’s my own fault; I have too many other things on right now, all coming due at the same sort of time. If I can just get one or two of them squared away… But isn’t that always the story with hand crafts? Never mind, the usual links are below so you can go and check out all the people who do have some decent progress to show.

Do click on the links below and go and look at what everyone else is working on. If there’s no post up yet, try again later, as we’re a scattered bunch, all in different time zones. This week, we’re welcoming Clare, a new member of the SAL.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Jess, Sue,
Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,
Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny,
Hayley, Tony, Megan, Catherine, Deborah, Connie
and Clare

The next SAL will be on 11th November. See you then.

September 30, 2018 by katechiconi

SAL 69: nibbling at the edges

It’s Stitch Along time again.

I’ve done a bit more work along the left hand edge, in case you were having trouble seeing where I’ve been 🙂 Not a huge amount, but still, a bit of progress.

Before:

And after:

That bit of grey background is version 2: I had to frog a lot because I miscounted. But it had to be done… It’s nice to be moving on past the first quarter, but I’ll need to move everything next time; the chart over a bit, or entirely to the other side, or rolling everything up.

Do click on the links below and go and look at what everyone else is working on. If there’s no post up yet, try again later, as we’re a scattered bunch, all in different time zones.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Jess, Sue,
Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,
Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny,
Hayley, Tony, Megan, Catherine, Deborah, and Connie

The next SAL will be on 21st October. See you then.

August 19, 2018 by katechiconi

SAL 67: Now this is progress!

I got loads done this time 🙂

I decided to take the easy way out, and stitch in a load of background. It’s been a very busy few weeks since the last SAL, and mentally I wasn’t feeling up to careful stitch counting and colour checking, but I did want something to do with my hands. Enter two skeins of DMC 7618, and I was away, doing lots of lovely mindless filling in. Suddenly, my quarter done really looks a quarter done!

Before

And after 🙂

As this post goes out while I’m on holiday, I apologise if I miss any last minute changes to the list of participants.

Do click on the links below and go and look at what everyone else is working on. If there’s no post up yet, try again later, as we’re a scattered bunch, all in different time zones.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Jess, Sue,
Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,
Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny,
Hayley, Tony, Megan, Catherine, Deborah, and Connie

The next SAL will be on 9th September. See you then.

April 15, 2018 by katechiconi

SAL 61: another few stitches

I wasn’t sure I’d actually get any stitching done this time.

Second post of the day, I know, but both ScrapHappy and this Stitch Along fell on the same day, so I had to get both done! Here’s the usual before shot:

Last time’s blurry photo…

And now for where I’ve got to. Not spectacular but at the same time, not too bad – at least you can see where I’ve been:

Do go and have a look at what the others in the group are working on. We’re all over the world and in different time zones, so if you don’t see a SAL post yet, pop back later.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Jess, Sue,
Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,
Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Mary Margaret, Heidi,
Connie, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Tony, Megan and Timothy

The next SAL is due on 6 May, so I’ll see you then.

March 25, 2018 by katechiconi

SAL 60: and another petal

I can’t quite believe how fast time is flying right now.

It’s time for the Stitch Along again. Here’s the usual before shot:

And here’s the after. Respectable progress, if not that impressive. I go through phases of being keen to work on this, and other phases, like now, when there are three other things calling my name, one of them urgent!

Sorry about the rubbish blurry photo. I took it late at night and was rather tired so getting things properly in focus was a step too far…

Do go and have a look at what the others in the group are working on. We’re all over the world and in different time zones, so if you don’t see a SAL post yet, pop back later.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Jess, Sue,
Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,
Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Mary Margaret, Heidi,
Connie, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, and Tony

The next SAL is due on 15 April, so I’ll see you then.

PS: apologies to those on the list I missed off earlier, I think I missed an update email or two!

March 4, 2018 by katechiconi

SAL 59: more petals

It’s that time again 🙂

I didn’t think I’d have a lot to show today, having got back from a holiday not long ago, but I’ve done OK!

Here’s the before:

And here’s the after:

It’s beginning to take shape now, don’t you think? I love how the colours mingle, the greens and lilacs. I’m feeling a lot more motivated about this now!

Do go and have a look at what the others in the group are working on. We’re all over the world and in different time zones, so if you don’t see a SAL post yet, pop back later.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Jess, Sue,
Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,
Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Mary Margaret, Heidi,
Connie, Jackie, Sunny

The next SAL is due on 25 March (eek! two in one month!), so I’ll see you then.

February 11, 2018 by katechiconi

SAL 58: just before we go…

We’re off tomorrow!

I didn’t think I’d be joining in this time, because of holiday prep, but I managed to get a bit of stitching done amongst the other handwork, packing, shopping, etc, that lead up to our departure. It’s not quite as much as I’d have liked, but that’s my own fault for slipping in all sorts of extra jobs: making and installing the Lime & Soda porch curtain, mending, crocheting dish cloths, making a pouch for our Garmin SatNav, and of course, the ongoing big job: hand quilting the Bonnard quilt I’m making for my sister.

This is where I left you last time:

And this is where I’ve got to. A bit more light green, and the first bit of white. I can see that the white is really going to make this piece sparkle, and I’m going to make the grey of the background a little darker than on the original design to give contrast.

Do go and take a look at what the others in the Stitch Along are working on. It’s all lovely, and well worth looking at. Do remember that we’re all in different time zones, so if their SAL post isn’t up when you look, do go back later.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Jess, Sue,
Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,
Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Mary Margaret, Heidi,
Connie, Jackie, Sunny

See you next time, on 3rd March. Hopefully clearing up after the holiday doesn’t eat up all my stitching time 🙂

November 19, 2017 by katechiconi

SAL 54: Dahlia #1

It’s SAL time again, and this time, I’m ready 🙂

I missed last time because we’d been travelling and I had nothing at all to show. But now I’ve got the new project up and running. It’s a Kaffe Fassett design, from his recent Bold Blooms book, which I posted about earlier. I had to buy myself a new tapestry frame because nothing I had was large enough and none of the local shops stocked one which would accommodate a 22 inch canvas. Nor could I buy the yarns he specified, which are a bit specialised and mostly only available in the UK. So I’ve had to make substitutions based on the image in the book. The colour variations in the DMC tapestry wool I’m using are not as subtle and delicate, but I think it’ll be acceptable. Not exactly like his, but enough to make a very nice cushion cover!

So, without further ado, here’s where I’ve got to. Not a huge amount done, but the chart is rather tiny and keeping track is quite difficult. Hopefully I’ll have made some slightly more impressive progress next time. I’m already thinking about doing this same design in a different colourway. I’m thinking an orange/red/hot pink dahlia on a navy background… I like this new frame a lot because it stretches between the two arms of my chair and takes the strain off my own arms a bit.

Do go and see what the other talented people in the SAL group are working on. We’re an international group so not everyone will be posting at the same time, but if they haven’t got their post up yet when you visit, do make the time to go back.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Jess, Sue,
Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,
Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Catherine, Mary Margaret,
Timothy, Heidi, Connie, Jackie

See you next time, on 10th December!

June 25, 2017 by katechiconi

SAL 48: time on my hands…

I’ve made a good bit of progress this time.

I had to take a few breaks from things like quilting and joining blocks, and the embroidery was the perfect way to do that and get something useful done at the same time.

Here’s where were last time:

And here’s the latest progress.

There’s a mistake in there, but it’s minor and I’m not sufficiently worried about it to do any frogging. I’m simply going to adjust the design slightly to make it look ‘on purpose’ 🙂

As always, the others in the group are working on fabulous projects which you can see by clicking on the links below. We’re in different time zones and post at different times on the same day, but if there’s nothing new there the first time you check, it’ll be well worth your while going back for a second look.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Jess, Sue,
Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,
Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Catherine, Wendy,
Mary Margaret, Timothy

See you next time, on 16th July.

May 14, 2017 by katechiconi

SAL 46: fans finished!

I had plenty of stitching time on my holiday 🙂

The net result is that amongst other things, I’ve finished the fan border that runs under the letters on my large blue sampler. There was one slight mishap while I worked on my chair in the sun a few metres from the beach. A neighbouring camper came over with his dog to say hello and find out what I was working on. His lovely dog had been rootling in the sand dune behind us, and had a dirty nose, which she stuck in my lap in her friendly way. I now have a decorative muddy smudge on one side of the sampler, which fortunately doesn’t show within the frame of the pattern. The camper was mortified, but I’m not too worried. It’ll wash out when I’ve finished.

Here’s the pre-holiday piece: