56 Days and it's finally finished!
This is Siberian Gold and it's from Anchor and it's a commission piece I've had in my possession for about 6 months.
I've actually only spent 56 days stitching it in that time and each day has been a minimum of 3 hours and a maximum of 14.
I hated the first page but loved every stitch after that.
Now it's done, I will be sorry to see it go, but I'll be pleased to be able to concentrate on my own stitching.
In addition to finishing this design over the weekend, I also did some more on my Tilton Crafts design So Lonely. It still doesn't look like much, but at least progress is being made! That's also almost 200 stitches!
So, what else did we do since my last blog entry?
Well, on Thursday we had a trip to York.
We discovered we could get a train from Grantham (about an hour from our house) and be in York in an hour too! Which gives Nigel a nice break from driving too!
So, off we trotted to Grantham train station. Admittedly getting up at 5.45am to be able to get the train was not my idea of fun!
An hour later and we were in York!
York's a lovely train station. Very clean and modern with a touch of the London feel.
Don't worry...I'm not going to bore you with 'holiday snaps'. We spent the day wandering around the city; which if you've never been, is a beautiful place to visit!
We found a stitching shop of some importance too!
People who read my blog know I'm a firm fan of the Able Stretcher frame, well the UK owner of the design is based in York...The Viking Loom.
And here I am outside (I HATE this picture! LOL!)
After a fair amount of time in there - during which Nigel bought some patchwork squares... - we continued our wanderings.
We found the Abbey which is lovely:
I even managed to get Nigel to pose for a picture and he managed to sneak another of me:
As the day wore on we both started to feel like old me. Aching feet, aching backs, too hot, too thirsty! LOL! Still it was a lovely day and we really enjoyed ourselves. Nigel was especially pleased at only having to drive a little bit all day!
The following day, while I was busy trying to finish the tigers, Nigel was hard at work creating this little masterpiece!
A companion piece to the other Downtown Abbey Cushion, this is the sequel!
Fully patchworked with flower/fabric buttons and framed with a delicate blue edging.
And, now we're up to date.
Hope you enjoyed this entry.
HAPPY STITCHING!
So pretty, What a wonderful trip. thank you for sharing for us in the United States so interesting!
ReplyDeleteYour post combines two of my favorite things - stitching and travel! I'm in the US and have been to England three times and hoping to go back! I love all of the history and castles and abbeys and cathedrals and ... well, you get the idea :). I'm think about ordering the Able frame. Have you tried it with a very large piece where the completed stitching extends beyond where you're putting the frame (hope that makes sense)? I'm curious how well it works in that scenario - do the clips stay tight and does it distort the stitches?
ReplyDeleteLove your blog and your work!
Thanks for sharing the trip pictures! Two handsome gentlemen to be sure. I got to England a couple of years ago with Jeff. It was a whirlwind tour through London with him dragging his old mom through the historic sites. I've wanted to get back to see the English countryside. But it won't be this fall because he called to tell me yesterday we are going to Ireland in September for 4-6 days. Why September you might ask? Because no one else wants to go then either so the planes are empty. We fly free in empty seats.
ReplyDeleteThe tigers look awesome -terrific job. Nigel's second pillow is spectacular! I've seen the Downton fabric for sale on websites. Now I'll consider buying some to do a few projects of my own. You two are well matched in the creative talent department! My husband's hobby is woodworking so he can make my frames. That's a money saver!
Well, you know you'll have company if you ever visit Lincolnshire!
DeleteHaving whiskers really completes the tigers' faces. Great finish! And another lovely pillow - beautiful fabric.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the pictures of York. I was there the last time I was in England and it's definitely on my "go back to" list.
I agree Bea! As much as I hate doing backstitch, I always think it improves a design - and a tiger without whiskers is really not a tiger!
DeleteHi Daphne! Glad you like my blog. :-) Ok, the Able Stretcher...so far I haven't had to put stitching under the clips as all my designs have been smaller than the frame size. What I have found is that, for large designs, I can't start with the frame at it's maximum size as I'm unable to reach behind/under it to get to the stitches at the top (bearing in mind I'm a two-handed, frame/floorstand stitcher). So, I normally make the frame a lot smaller and then use clothes pegs to gather the excess material into a bundle. So, in this case, whatever you do with your Qsnaps would probably work in the same way. Tension is excellent all the time, so far I haven't had any slippage or loosening. Hope that helps.
ReplyDeletejust discovered your blog - love it, great to see a man who enjoys stitching as much as me.
ReplyDeleteYour house must be fun - no one else in my house crafts like me - I love quilting, sewing, knitting, crochet and cross stitch.
I'm sure you understand there are never enough hours in the day!
Michelle
Hi Michelle, and welcome to my blog! Glad you enjoyed it! And, yes, I totally agree that there are not enough hours in the day. Also, I need a body that doesn't crave food or need to pee!
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