Blog #44 - It's Been A While .....

Tuesday, 11 October 2016
 
It has been a while since I last added any news to my blog.

I am sorry, but life has been 'more than a little busy' this past year or so.

At the end of August last year I ventured overseas for almost six weeks on a needlework tour of Italy, visiting as many museums and galleries as possible throughout that country to view all their magnificent needlework created over several hundreds of years, visited needlework shops in many areas (e.g. Assisi) to purchase pieces of needlework and attended a needlework show in Formigine

 

 

to admire and purchase beautiful designs, threads and needlework accessories

being designed and created by todays talented needlework artists. 

 

Here I am pictured (bottom left) with an Italian designer friend, Niky of Niky's Creations -

 

 

I also stayed for several days with a very talented and gifted Italian

needlework designer and awesome friend - Giulia of GPA Designs -

 

 

before travelling to Brussels in Belgium to participate in a needlework show -

exhibiting and selling my own designs there. 

 

 

 My exhibition -
 

 

This show was organised by another lovely friend, Monique. 

It was wonderful spending some days with her and meeting up

with another lovely Belgium friend - Gigi of GR Designs.

 

Here are two lovely pics - Monique  (taken when she took me to Bruges) -

 

 

and this one of Gigi - participating at the same show in Brussels as myself  -

Before I left for my trip I drafted several blogs but never got them posted
and so the following is the first of those blogs :

Wednesday,  29 July 2015  -  The Orford Sampler

Quite some time ago, a lovely lady, Gwyneth, whom I met because of our mutual love
for needlework, was needing to “down-size” her home contents in preparation
for her and her husband to move into a smaller home and offered her trio
of family samplers to me as her family of sons and their wives
did not wish to have or keep them.

Oh - you can imagine my delight!  What a wonderful gift.

I will always treasure them - and I know that my daughter, Melissa, w

will also treasure them when it is time for me to no longer be on this earth. 

This is one of the samplers and the first one to be charted so that sampler lovers

can stitch this simple but elegant piece.

 

 

 

You may recall me showing a picture of the beginnings of my stitched piece

in Blog #13 - the 2nd of October last year.

 

If not, this is how it looked at that time  ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and how it looked on the 16th of December  2014 ...

 

 

 

 

During this month of July 2015

I finally finished writing

all the instructions for this design,

typing them up

and creating the computer

generated chart

and had the complete design

printed -

just in time for Sampler Gathering. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thus, this design in now available for purchase.

 

 

Design Title :  The Orford Sampler

 

Design Code :  BARB 2000

 

Design Price :  $21.50

 

Materials :  As per stitched model -

Fabric : 

Permin Linen - 35 count - Lambswool

 

Threads : 

 Soie d'Alger  -  3424  &  3425

 

Stitch Count :  106w  x  156h

 

Design Size :  6"  x  9.25"

 

Techniques : 

Cross Stitch,  Four-Sided Stitch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vivien Caughley of Auckland has kindly researched the history

of the sampler makers of my three sampler pieces.

Three generations - grandmother, daughter, granddaughter. 

This information is included with the design.

 

 

I sincerely hope you treasure pieces of needlework that have been created

by members of your family and that you have kept a record of their history. 

 

So too, kept a record of your needlework journey and achievements,

as these may well be the subject of someone's research one day.

 

That's all for the moment.   Until next time, bye  ....

 

 

 

Blog #43 - July : A Busy Month

Tuesday,  28  July 2015

July.  Another busy month and the days disappeared very quickly.

Three family birthdays - two in Australia (daughter-in-law, Kym and son, Rodney)

and our grandson, Jacob, who lives just down the road.  

He turned 20 years of age

and has just bought himself

a brand-new, Toyota Hi-lux

double-cab ute. 

The model that is 

‘top-of-the-range’ 

with all the extras on it -

chrome nudge bar, 

chrome running boards, etc.

He is very proud of it

and we are very proud of him

as he has worked 

and saved very hard.

He began working whilst still at high school, after which he did a carpentry/building course

with a dream to obtaining a building apprenticeship.  

Despite continual requests to many builders, “Sorry - nothing available” 

was the reply for a long, long time, but he did not give up trying

as he worked full-time for a roading contractor 

until he secured a building apprenticeship almost a year ago.

And now he is loving what he is doing.  

The photo of him above was taken eighteen months ago.   

He is now quite the “dashing young man”.

Two other friends celebrated their birthdays this month.   

One was 50 years of age and the other 93 - each marking these occasions

with a lunch date.  So lovely to be with friends and having a break from work.

One day this month it was also my turn to be the host for our ladies

patchwork/quilting group which meant I had to bake a couple of items for morning tea.

One of those items was yummy Cinnamon Oysters.  

I have to confess to loving these - 

cinnamon tasting, light, sponge textured cakes - 

each  filled with freshly whipped cream and dusted with icing sugar!

The cake mixer and kitchen scales also had to come out of the cupboard

for Jacob’s birthday, as one of his birthday requests is always,

“those little coconut cakes with the pink icing sprinkled with coconut”.

Thus, a batch made exclusively for him.

17th of July - a year since my mum passed away.  A couple of “last” pics.

Firstly, our last Christmas together  (2013)

  

and secondly, her last birthday - her 84th - in January 2014.

This same date, the 17th, was the date that an uncle in Upper Hutt 

passed away necessitating a trip to Upper Hutt a few days later 

to attend the funeral and be with family.  

A huge funeral.  Over 750 attendees.

The Sunday just gone, the 26th, was the last Sunday of the month

and so our lovely NATTER / STITCH DAY together. 

Always lots of love and laughter on this day as we stitch 

and natter together and admire and comment on one another’s work.

And now in a couple of days time I leave home for Taupo

to attend the Sampler Gathering that is to be held 

from Friday night until Sunday afternoon. 

I’ve begun to dismantle my Needlework Gallery and pack up stock

and stitched models to take to it.   

During the month I have had framed or hand-finished the pieces

of needlework that I have been stitching over the past few months.

You have already seen most of these pieces in previous blogs,

but to follow is how they now look  -

Ashleigh’s Birth Sampler - September

Madison’s Birth Sampler  -  March

 Sampler Frisien 1750  

(unfortunately

this piece

hasn't photographed

very well.  

In reality,

the frame

is not a 

dark black/brown 

but a rich

burgundy colour

and

looks awesome!). 

 

And here is a reminder of the ‘Olde Quaker Flowers’ design -

However, I stitched my pieces in blue, and the pieces look quite different

being stitched in blues compared to the original pieces

which were stitched in burgundy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, the smaller of the two designs I stitched over one thread

and made into an ornamental. 

 

Next is the JBW Design entitled, Monogrammed Tulips. 

This is how it looked on the 30th of June -

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and how it looks today.

 

To create this sachet,

I hemstitched 

another piece

of linen 

exactly the same

as the front piece,

and then stitched

the back and front

pieces together 

on three sides.

 I then cut

four even lengths

of silk

4mm ribbon by

The Thread

Gatherer

and threaded

a length

of ribbon

through the

hemstitches of the

front and back

on these three joined sides.

I then completely stuffed the created sachet with wool stuffing, closing the sachet with the final length

of ribbon threaded through the hemstitches of the fourth side and finally finished it by stitching

the final front and back seam together.

More about another piece of needlework in my next blog.