Fussy ferns

I have finished the middle part of Mushroom and Fern. It was a real pain to stitch the meadow with all the swirling ferns and vines, I think I frogged at least half of them. But the result really worth all the effort! The photo does not do justice, in real life it is gorgeous!

Chatelaine: Mushroom and Fern Mandala

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart Cobblestone 32 ct Belfast

Pomarium ready, sparkling begins

 I have finished Pomarium last week, now the beading starts. Glimmer on! It is huge, I put a pen next to have a feeling of the dimensions.

Pomarium last run

Last corner of Pomarium is in the making! I mixed up the floss and used the one for the leaves for the trunk and branch of the little tree ( I was even wordering the green-gray...)  but realised my mistake only when both trees were ready, so I simply chosed a different greenish (caron waterlilies 065 - jade) for the leaves.

 

Chatelaine: Pomarium

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart antique white 32 ct Belfast

Cherry

The last arch is ready!!! Cherry on the cake, no more confetti tree background, all the arches are done!

Chatelaine: Pomarium

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart antique white 32 ct Belfast

Pomarium - Apple

Last week I have finished the apple tree in the last but one arch, there is only the cherry remained. The confetti flowers took quite a while to stitch, but putting it on the blog was even more time consuming :)

Chatelaine: Pomarium

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart antique white 32 ct Belfast

Matching up!

 I was curious to see how my Pomarium goes, is there any hidden hickup along th lines - so I quickly did the matching up of the border and also the last arch for the fruits. All is well, both are perfect, not a misalignement anywhere! I am hoping for a next finish, but it will take some time...

Chatelaine: Pomarium

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart antique white 32 ct Belfast

I am planning to move forward with my wip killing, and buy a box for the Stitches around the world piece, and mount it up. If it is done, then I can start another Chatelaine to accompany Autumn Watergarden and the 2 other ones: the kingfisher and Long Dog sampler, Sans soucis. I thonk it was a good idea to start with a smaller Long Dog, because I realised it is not as exciting as it seemed last summer. I am not saying I do not like it, but it is for sure that I do not mind leaving it in its cover at all.

The decision is which Chatelaine should be the next one? I have Mushroom and Fern, Herbularius, an Deep Blue Sea kitted, all are different. Deep Blue Sea has darkflue fabric, so it should be a piece when my eyes are not tired. Herbularius is similar to Pomarium, but full green. Maybe Mushroom and Fern are the easiest, grey fabric, medium sized, nice colours. I have also realised, that I have ordered Tinctorium as well. This is the 3rd of the Cloister Gardens (Pomarium for fruits, Herbularius for herbs, Tinctorium for dyes, Rosarium for roses) but it has quite cold colours, what I am not sure I want to spend years with...However, it is not urgent, there are several months of stitching in Pomarium, too.

A long waited FINISH!

This week during my homecation I went through many things to be cleaned and fixed, and I decided I will tackle my list of wip/ufos as well. 

I offered the Autumn cottage for adoption, because I do not like the floss included. It is a wool acrylic blend and maybe I am turning to a silk snob, but I realised I really do not like to touch the acrylic. It was quickly taken, and one is off the list.

The second one was a long time piece:it took me quite a while, but finally I have finished my Nativity Sampler from Victoria Sampler. The hardanger part was sitting in my wip (ufo?) basket almost 4 years. It was my holiday tracel piece, and it has a loooong history. First I started in 2011 but on a wrong fabric, so I stopped at the top angels and framed it separately. I restarted in 2014 July, and worked on during the holiday until 2017, when the kloster blocks were ready. And then I was afraid to move further, because my hardanger ventures were long-long time ago. Then the pandemic hit, and no travels were done. Then ... no real excuses, but stalling. After braving myself it was a quick finish, only took 2 afternoons. My hardarnger far from perfect, but not that bad, and I only cut 3 wrong lines :)

Pomarium moving on

Pomarium is moving forward slowly but steadily. I am partially finding my mojo - I was working a lot on the computer lately and I realised this was the main reason for my lack of stitching.  The laptop has its strain on my eyes, and after 8-10 hours in front of the screen the tiny holes were not welcoming at all. 

Also nature knocks ony my 47th door and taking my eagle sight away. I do not need glasses yet, but I see (or in practice starting not to see) the difference of this year of homeoffice did to my sight.

Chatelaine: Pomarium

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart antique white 32 ct Belfast

Pomarium back on track

 

Chatelaine: Pomarium

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart antique white 32 ct Belfast

Autumn Watergarden - one branch of chestnuts ready

 I have finished the chestnuts, and there is the other half branch of a different type of cheshnut, a hairy one. When I am done with them, half of the piece is ready. I do not like it as much as the other ones, but I am committed to finish it. It is not so bad, but the colors are a little too cold for me, I prefer a warmer palette.

Chatelaine: Autumn Watergarden

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart antique white 32 ct Belfast

A closeup of the finished branch:

Autumn Watergarden garden gate finally done

Chatelaine: Autumn Watergarden

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart antique white 32 ct Belfast

I have finished the second garden gate. I can see that the 1 year homeoffice with 8-10 hours screen time took its toll on my eyesight - it is getting tougher to see the holes on my 36 ct linen. Maybe it is also the natural flow of time (my doctor said in the last couple of years, that it is a great blessing  I still do not need  glasses - next year they will come for sure!) that closing on 50 (sounds quite a lot, huh) brings the inevitable. So I was doing one stitch a time, skipped evening stitching even with my ottlite, and used only weekend daylight hours to finish the perle and the flowery silver lining on the gate. I am also thinking on getting stitching  glasses...but at lest it is ready, and I can move on the last part, the side branches.

Farewell 2020, welcome 2021!

2020 flew away, the real proof that when I started to write the post I wrote farewell 2019 first! It was a long year, but also a very short one. I mostly loved the staying-at-home part, with some minor breaks. I really enjoyed cooking for the family, having lots of time for table games, spending our weekends in the woods with long trekkings. During autumn I worked a lot, somehow homeoffice took over, and I could not close the computer in time. Then came the last 3 weeks what I spent with family, trying not to think on work - mostly I was successful despite all the effort of the government who came out many new ideas which affects my work. I planned many things I wanted to do in these 3 weeks - and I hardly did anything, but I decided I have a whole year of 2021 to do what I want, so no worries, my plans are waiting.

So let's see what did I do in 2020:

Cross stitch:

No finishes, but 2 new starts:

Kingfisher by Anchor

Anchor: Kingfisher

Fonal/Floss: Anchor from the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart white 16 ct Aida from the kit

Sans Soucis by Long Dog Samplers

Long Dog Samplers: Sans Soucis

Fonal / Floss: Caron (#63,#153) Gloriana (#67) Edmar Rayon (#206)

Anyag/Fabric: Tea dyed Zweigart white 32 ct line

I was working on some WIPs:

Pomarium by Chatelaine, 3/4 done, started in 2016 December

Chatelaine: Pomarium

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart antique white 32 ct Belfast

Autumn Watergarden by Chatelaine, 1st quarter - started in 2019 August

Chatelaine: Autumn Watergarden

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart antique white 32 ct Belfast

I was neglecting poor others:

Heirloom Nativity Sampler by The Victoria Sampler  - almost finished, only a little hardanger missing, started in 2014 November. This was my holiday travel piece in the last couple of years. Since this year there was no travel, I skipped this. There is only a little part missing, I should finish it in 2021!

Heirloom Nativity Sampler - The Victoria Sampler

Anyag / Fabric : 32 ct Smokey Pearl Zweigart

Fonal / Floss : selyem, a mintaív szerint / silk as in the kit

Riolis 1079 Autumn forest - small part done, started in 2018 summer

Around the World in Stitches by Papillon Creations- finished stitching, mounting to a box missing, started in 2012.

I was planning to gift it as a parting present for my son's teacher, but finally I opted for a quilt and the stitching remained untouched.

Around the World in 80 Stitches - Papillon Creations

Anyag / Fabric : 32 ct white dmc

Fonal / Floss : Anchor

QUILTS:

6 Finishes:

Strolling Along Paths of Green by Yoko Saito. Started in 2018, finished the top in 2018 November.

Balance (Tree of Life)  - own design. Started at the end of 2019, finished in a week

Blue Explosion - own design, inspired by pinterest. It was a birthday present for my Niece

Scrappy happy own design inspired by pinterest: Farewell present for my son's teacher

 Rose Quilts  own design, inspired by pinterest - a double present for my mother

2 new starts:

Winter Maize by Ngaire Brooks: piecing done, applique in line

String - a few pieces done, I started it as a leader/ender project

I was working on a WIP:

Round the Year by betukbandi- 8 out of  16 done

SEWING & other:

Huge amount of masks

T-Shirt

Flourishing -own design inspired by pinterest: a project bag to keep large blocks together:

2 guineapig beds, a little statue posing as a sleeping guineapig:

Pomarium 3/4 done!

Chatelaine: Pomarium

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart antique white 32 ct Belfast

 I have reached my goal, 3/4 and the middle of Pomarium is done. It is huge! 

I have started this 4 years ago, in 2016, around Christmas, and now only the last quarter is missing. Plus 2 little things: I used up the petite princess perle for the branches and waiting for them to arrive, and left out the little seed on the strawberries in the corners, and I realised only in the 3rd that there are seeds at all. I should go back and stitch them to the previous corners - they do not make a big difference, but think I will them this afternoon.

The show must go on - Pomarium

 I have continued the corner of Pomarium - the next one is a pale tree. I miscounted one stitch in one side and I have realised it only in the middle of the second tree, so I frogged the first and restitched, but finally it is done.

Chatelaine: Pomarium

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart antique white 32 ct Belfast

Pomarium Autumn corner

 I have moved on my Pomarium and finished 3 motives: a branch, I see as an Autumn one with yellow leaves and apples, a filigree garden and some flowerstems with perle. I lost /used my perle for this part (gloriana petite princess perle #187) and it is extremely rare to find it in the shops. I have ordered from Casacenina in the summer, but they could not find it either, so I cancelled the order. Then I had my luck with crafty kitten, because she has it on stock, so I ordered it, and it was posted yesterday. I wonder having Christmas deliveries in the pandemia how long will it take to get it... Sometimes it is unbelievably quick, I have ordered Ottlite lamp in November from US and it took only 10days from hitting the buy button to be delivered to my doorsteps, but I think it was one of a kind. However, I have many other parts to continue with!

Chatelaine: Pomarium

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart antique white 32 ct Belfast

Sans Soucis

My Long Dog sampler, Sans Soucis (without problems) is going along nicely. I have chosen Silk trheads, Caron Waterlilies Black Forest (#63) for the dark borders, Mulberry (#153) for the animals and flowers, and Gloriana Rainforest (#67) for the filled scenes. For backstiching I use black Edmar Rayon, Iris (#206). I really like the outcome. 

Long Dog Samplers: Sans Soucis

Fonal / Floss: Caron (#63,#153) Gloriana (#67) Edmar Rayon (#206)

Anyag/Fabric: Tea dyed Zweigart white 32 ct line

Medlar

Chatelaine: Pomarium

Fonal/Floss: DMC + many silks as suggested in the kit

Anyag/Fabric: Zweigart antique white 32 ct Belfast

I have finished (Mespilus germanica). I do not like it a lot, despite the fact it is very healthy and full of vitamine C think it has no taste. 

However I remember a song from my childhood: 

3 little medlar well trodden flat, one of them says: why I have had not been an apple? If I would had been an apple I would not be a medlar trodden flat on the side of the ditch!

(Sound better in Hungarian, a real tongue twister: Három kicsi naspolyácska jó laposra taposva, és az egyik így szólal meg: mért nem lettem inkább alma? Hogyha alma lettem volna, nem lennék most naspolya, s nem lennék az árok partján jó laposra taposva!)

Long Dog Sans Soucis

I have decided to start a Long Dog sampler. My favourite is Pilgrim, but before jumping into a major one I wanted to try something smaller - Sans Soucis came into the picture. San soucis means carefree - it is a nice world to think on, having no restraints, no virus, simply enjoying life... I was thinking a lot what fabric and thread should I use: my favourite silk is Caron Waterlilies and Gloriana, both are quite expensive, especially for such huge pieces as a Long Dog. I usually stitch on 32 ct 2 thread, for Sans Soucis I need 10 skeins, for Pilgrim it takes 20-22! If I stitch 40ct 1 thread it is only 4 and 9 respectively. 

  

I have ordered 40ct zweigart Newcastle to try - and it was awful. I tea dyed, and I liked the color, but stitching full coverage 40 ct 2over2 with 1 floss is really hard - I just hated it. I was thinking maybe I van get used to this, but there was no joy at all. Then I tried the 32ct 2 floss - and I just loved it, and having a hobby is about having fun, I opted for this version.

Next thing was the color. I knew for the dark borders I will use Caron Black Forest (#63), and my all time favourite is Mulberry(#152), so it will be also added. But since it is carefree, I wanted something fun as well. I have seen a green-blue version of the piece, so I was trying to add this to the mix. First I used Gloriana Wood Pond (#49), but it was kind of disapperaring in the fabric, so I frogged and changed to Rainforest(#67) - much better!

        

Long Dog Samplers: Sans Soucis

Fonal / Floss: Caron (#63,#153) Gloriana (#67) Edmar Rayon (#206)

Anyag/Fabric: Tea dyed Zweigart white 32 ct line