Eyelet Stitch.

 I am enjoying scattering daisy stars on my cloth. It is an eyelet stitch you work from the outside into the centre.

Imagine, draw or print a small circle on the fabric, take a straight stitch into the centre and keep using that same hole to go down into. Work your way around the circle. You can enlarge the hole with a thick needle and pull back the fabric to deliberately make a hole. You can work around the circle leaving a space in the centre for a bead or french knot. The above picture is from a sampler of flower stitches. Simple and fun, it doesn't matter how many spokes or petals you put in. As usual different weights of thread will produce different effects. These are one strand of embroidery cotton but you could try large, bold, thick threads.

Spring swallow 5

 A little more progress

and the beech trees are greening up. Sharp frost last night just to remind us that Winter isn't quite done and that Spring progress isn't all smooth.

Peace pin arrives!

Absolutely delighted that the peace pin from Liz Ackert arrived safely yesterday. Tiny and exquisite, it carries a powerful message. A big thank you to Liz. Beautiful moon stamp. Beautiful card ( Hall mark no artists name attributed) all the colours working so well. I shall wear it with great pride.

Spring swallow- work in progress- hand stitching.

At the end of Friday. This week has been unusual in that I have had more time to stitch. This concentrated time has paid off, I think the background is working. I introduced some light green for that fresh colour of Spring foliage. Still a long way to go but I can enjoy the quiet rhythm of stitching now I have worked out the problem solving. The Guild at 51 is having a mini exhibition on the theme of birds in Cheltenham  late July/September so it will be perfect for then.

Spring swallow- work in progress- free machine embroidery.

 At the end of Thursday- afternoon spent stitching. I thought it might be interesting to show some of the thought process. I have tried running stitch on the background all over but it was way too much.

 The blossom was drawn onto a handmade paper ( shop bought and containing cloth fibre) then some

 free machine embroidery over some areas to add a little texture and secure the linen.

 Trying some hand stitches to integrate with the machine embroidery. I want to suggest bluebells and flowers amongst foliage without getting too busy and detracting from the main focus of the bird, blossom and daisy- a strong triangular design structure. I used a grey linen that was a pair of my trousers so I like the idea of darning into the cloth, but it all may be too much. Just got to keep on, decisions at every turn.

Bluebells gone wild at the top of our garden. Little pools of colour.

Spring swallow with colour.

With some colour added and trying out some stitching. Funny how what you think is going to be easy isn't. It is all just problem solving, trying things out until it works.

First swallow of Spring.

 Back to stitching after the holidays. on a walk, I thought I saw my first swallow. So a bit of a change round. These pieces develop slowly as the story unfolds.

My mother-in-law, who lives 20 miles west of London, had apple blossom like confetti all over her lawn. (Her garden is always about 2 weeks ahead of ours.) Ours as you can see is still in bud. It won't be long. I started to put the petals in detached chain or lazy daisy stitch in the gap between.
P.S. If you didn't catch the BBC4 documentary Into the Wind with Tim Dee 12.4.17.  on a quest to capture the sound of the wind, I heartily recommend it. Inspirational, calming, slow t.v.

Daisy and blossom.

 Starting to work from the daisy drawings. It began with Spring but has taken its own turn- more to consider the small, common things we take for granted. There is blossom everywhere.

 plum blossom last week in the garden,

blossom in the hedgerows ( wild plum). The sunny weather has brought everything out to rejoice in the Spring. Blossom stands for hope of things to come. When we first moved into this house (1978) we were rather puzzled by the amount of kilner jars in the attic left by the old lady who lived here. Then when the plum tree fruited we understood. Now we all have freezers and I de-stone and freeze them and give them away to everyone in the lane. It is an old tree now but still producing beautiful Victoria plums. I think it might be a good year.

Hurray for the daisy!

 Hurray for the humble, common daisy! Trodden underfoot, eaten by cows and mowed over in our lawns. Still it thrives and stars our grassy swards. Symbol in the language of flowers for innocence, I think for me it must mean resilience. For all of us who need to continually pick ourselves up and bounce back ( Is that everyone?) Here's to the daisy then.

Daisy box- made a few years ago - beads for daisies.

Spring sunshine and flowers.

 A day out on Friday at Newark Park, Ozleworth filled with flowers, friends and sunshine.

Everything growing and

 the peacock in full display. There were butterflies, birds and so many flowers. We were there to prepare for an exhibition there, this time, next year.

The two samplers back from the framers with their plastic still on the wood for protection. The right one is the tailors sampler and the left one is the circles sampler. They will be on display from Tuesday at the Guild at 51, Cheltenham.

Two boxes with sketchbooks.

 I have been working to finish the 2 boxes and sketchbooks to go to the Guild at 51 for their Stitch exhibition. ( Deadline Sunday!) So this is the Autumn box,

 with the concertina sketchbook open each side.

 This is the Spring box, which has sprouted a little since you last saw it, in the window with the plum tree in blossom outside.

And a little blossom for the sketchbook. Framers today to collect samplers, delivery Sunday morning. Exhibition open on Tuesday- I shall be there on Thursday stewarding. ( whew, nothing like a deadline to get things finished but aah then there is the tricky decision too of pricing!)

Chinese lanterns in the Autumn sketchbook.

 With a deadline approaching I have to finish the Autumn sketchbook at the wrong time of year.

 I still have these wonderful fragile Chinese lanterns

 so draw them and make some experiments

 on soluble fabric.

 They are as dainty as gold filigree in this skeletal form

more solid when they first appear as orange lanterns.