In the dog house

I hope that you all have enjoyed the Easter break and managed to do something creative.
I spent a lot of the time while I was at my mother's stitching my wall hanging. It is an image from the Sutton Hoo helmet and I am stitching it slightly larger than A3, white on white.I traced the image onto Romeo water soluble and made up a quilt sandwich. I have spent hours machine and hand stitching it and have very sore fingers from doing all the French Knots!!! (still a lot more to do)
I did have a break on Saturday to go to Milton Keynes. We needed to get some bits for my brother from Hobbycraft.( It is a larger store than Basildon) I managed to find some bits for myself there as well. We then had a lovely time at Borders, a cup of Star Bucks coffee and a long browse at all the craft books and magazines.
A detour via Rainbow Silks on the way home yesterday, for a bit more retail therapy. Nickie and I needed some fabrics for the Ruth Issett workshop we are doing next week, I got some viscose velvet (wonderful fabric, I could sit and stroke it all day) cotton lawn and linen.



Today, in between housework, popping into school to get my classroom ready for next week and visiting my 2 elderly gents, I managed to get some more work done on the wall hanging- though-

I did stop for a coffee break in the garden.

This is the view from the bottom of my garden.
Today is my ninth wedding anniversary, and guess who forgot for the second year running?????
Alan is clearing away the evening meal to TRY and make up for it.

An early Happy Easter everybody.

After three years at Secondary School, my daughter had her first textile lesson on Thursday. They are going to make a bag and we have to drink thirty cartons of Capri Sun drink to make it. For my wall hanging, I collected together all my threads, hand and machine in white.

I have taken a photo of the work so far from the back, a long way to go still! The different textures and threads should create interest to the pattern.

I shall be taking this piece of work away with me when I go to my mothers tomorrow for the Easter break, and do some of the hand stitching on it. I shall be home on Tuesday, going via Rainbow Silks.

My beads have arrived today, so I shall take my sea scroll as well in case I get time to do the picot edge, LOL!!!!!

Free Easter Candy

While having a blogging tea break, I came upon this freebie on Phoenix Crafts. What a prize if you are lucky enough to win!
Here's a list of the goodies:
9 Copic Ciao Markers RV10, RV02, RV04, R20, R29, R32, BG01, BG09, BG23,10 sheets of various Basic Grey paper 12x12, 3 rolls of ribbon, Basic Grey Key Plate Album, X Cut corner rounder punch 5mm, Daisy D's Hinges in copper and patina, Stampers Anonymous Ornate Collages Stamps, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad in Milled Lavender and matching Distress Powder, Sizzlit Medium Die - owl w/branch, Sizzix Embossing folder - diamonds, Various Prima flowers.
Back to my stitching!

Wall hanging

I have started the wall hanging- going well so far. No photo's of work yet.

Schoolhouse Arts update.

My morning started off with a dash to Chelmsford library to help with the take down of our Embroiderer's Guild exhibition. A lot of the work had been collected on the Sunday so there was not a lot for me to do. The library were very pleased with the exhibition and the feedback that they had had.
I then had to go to a local plant nursery to look for a 60th birthday present for a very good friend. I didn't buy anything for her but found a lovely sheer in a copper colour, just what I need for the vessel I am hoping to make next.
We had a quick meeting last night to run over the final details for the up and coming workshops we are running at Schoolhouse Arts. Margaret is teaching silk paper jewellery on her workshop at the end of this month. On our dabble day we are going to make a wet felt bead necklace, a dry felt stone and a bowl on the embellisher. I will need to make some more samples before that workshop in June. The renovations to the Schoolhouse should be completed in time for the workshop that Pauline Verrinder is giving for us. We only have a few spaces left for her Boogie with books workshop. All workshops are £20, there may be a small additional charge for materials.
My car went to the garage to be mended so I am now house-bound. I hope to get some sewing done!

Beads

I have managed to track down the beads I need for my sea scroll from a company called The Bead Trail. As they are open seven days a week and I had a problem with my debit card not working last night, they rang me this morning , took my card details, and they will be in the post tomorrow. How's that for service.
So, as I couldn't do the bead edging, the sun was shining, I have spent a lot of today working in the garden. I also popped to Craft Arena AGAIN! I need to start my wall hanging a.s.a.p. As I am waiting for beads and will be without the car from tomorrow afternoon for a couple of days (it's going for a face lift), I needed to get some bits for the wall hanging. I have taken my inspiration from a motif on the Sutton Hoo helmet, I will post photo's when/if I have something worthwhile to show.
To keep Hubby happy as the rock cakes had disappeared so quickly, I have also had a baking session, I made a banana loaf and a bread pudding for him.

Free chocolate

This morning our Embroiderer's Guild ran a 'stitch a square' morning at Chelmsford library to promote our Guild. One lady who had stitched nothing but buttons before was brave enough to have a go and she did really well. She says she is going to come to our next meeting. We also have two youngsters who are keen to join our Young Embroiderer's Section. The yellow square was stitched by an eight year old and can't wait until Christmas when she will be old enough to join Y.E. Everyone who came along for the two mornings have said how much they have enjoyed themselves and show interest in joining our Group. A worthwhile exercise.
The girls were were very proud of their work and rightly so, and posed for me with their work.
The exhibition at the library finishes tomorrow, so I shall be back there on Monday to help take it down. I needed to get some beads for my map as I want to put a beaded picot edging along the top. I had some beads left over from a necklace I made sometime ago so I had to go to Franklins to try and match them up. Walking down the town , I was given a free Lindt chocolate by this lovely young man.
The map has now been cut to echo the stitched waves, and as I was unable to find the beads in Chelmsford or Basildon, I shall be searching on the Internet tonight. After trudging round the shops, it was warm enough to sit in the garden and chill with a nice cup of tea.

This is how the dolls house arrived at my house on Tuesday night, sooo many bits!
And here it after another session on Wednesday evening, ready for painting. I shall have another evening helping Leslie put on all the fancy bits to the facade of the house.I made a cake tin full of rock cakes yesterday morning for our scrap booking get together, they went down very well, Hubby didn't get much of a look in so I have been asked to make some more.This is like the page we made last night, based on a family tree, this one isn't mine, I have to sort out my photo's before I can construct my page.Th reason for not getting my photo's ready was 'THE MAP'. All the names have now been stitched in, some several times to get them right. All the ends have been sewn in, there was forty four little islands, just think of all those ends!!!!! The water soluble fabric has now been washed out of the Evalon, it's been dried, ironed, sprayed with walnut ink and bonded to the front cover. Tomorrow I shall start beading the top and bottom edges.
It was back to Basildon Court this morning to put in the next court form for the on going saga with 'Granite Man', I will now have to wait until some time in June when it goes to Court to find out when I am going to get my money(fingers crossed). I popped into Craft Arena on the way back from Basildon to get some more Evalon, and found some cotton poplin which I need for the Ruth Issett workshop I am doing in a couple of weeks time. Denise was busy setting up a Textile Art exhibition by Impetus, so I was able to have a little peek at some of the work. I shall look properly next time I am back at the shop. I recognised some of the names as they are members of our Guild. The exhibition opens tomorrow. Tomorrow is also the ERTF meeting. I am unable to go as Chelmsford Embroiderer's Guild are back at the library hosting another 'stitch a square' morning.

Map update.

I have spent some of today stitching in all the small islands and sewing in 'hundreds'( it certainly felt like it) of ends on my map. I also started stitching in some of the Anglo-Saxon place names. The end is in sight, hopefully I shall start constructing it on Friday.
I have spent another evening at playing 'Bob the Builder' with my friend and the dolls house is now ready for painting. We can't believe that we managed it, we only needed help with putting the hinges on the doors from my hubby.
Tomorrow night I have friends and oldest daughter coming round for a scrapbook evening. I shall have to make some cakes first thing tomorrow morning.