While I was busy stitching.............

 While I was busy stitching, a new dry stone wall was built in our garden by Stuart a local dry stone waller. It is a work of art. Patchwork? The top stones are called cock and hen.

We are going to have a new seating area further up the garden, my husbands new project in his semi-retirement.

The back of Spring Swallow- interesting to see the stitches on white.

DIS/rupt at SIT festival - The Textile Study Group

Fantastic exhibitions in Stroud at the Museum in the Park and Lansdown Road Gallery by the Textile Study Group. They have taken the theme of disrupt and each person has made it their own personal theme. This piece by Julie Erica Saunders, is an interactive piece- you can add your own stitches -  on the theme of domestic violence - hidden and unspoken. Exhibition is on until 21st May ( closed Mondays) Lots to provoke, inspire and admire. Select Trail also on this weekend.

Spring swallow finished!

 Almost exactly a month later the Spring swallow is finished. People always ask how long a piece takes and it is hard to answer because I don't always work continually on the same piece, but I have with this one apart from a few days to make a button and some cards. Anyway you can't hurry a piece of work you have to think about how it is developing.

 I really love the soft textures of this linen on soft cotton, it has crumpled and quilted with the stitching. I had to stitch it all over otherwise the fabric ballooned up but some areas have very light stitching in the sky area.

 This is the first blossom of Spring,

This is the early daisy in the grass. Now the swallows and swifts are all back - the swifts were investigating our roof yesterday for nesting sites. I need to pin it up on my wall now, leave it and then come back with fresh eyes to see if there is anything to change or add.

Stitched buttons.

 Flower button.

 Sampler with handmade buttons.

 Buttons with words.

Previous buttons over the years- these last ( poor picture quality because it is a photo of a photo ) the earliest,  insect buttons from Curious Drawers exhibition with the Brunel Broderers in 2010.

Stitchwort button.

I stitched the stitchwort and made a button.

The new bird bath and more stitching.

A machine embroidered doodle of the new bird bath and some more progress on the swallow. Yesterday when I walked by the barn on our nearby farm the swallows had returned and were skimming the fields for insects.

Stitchwort and a walk in the woods.

A wild flower for embroiderers- this is called Stitchwort. It follows on so well from my last blog- tiny stars on the woodland floor.

 My sister took us to Garston Woods near Salisbury.It is a RSPB managed woodland and we went on a guided tour and so learnt lots of new wild flower names. Bluebells as far as the eye could see.

This is a Twayblade- a green orchid, new to me. I wrote down 36 different varieties of wild flowers. Much to look up and try to remember.