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Monday 23 April 2018

April IHSW


This weekend was IHSW - International Hermit & Stitch Weekend and for once I wasn't working!  So two whole days to stitch, inbetween a little gardening anyway.

I started my weekend on the Friday with my weekly crafty coffee morning.  I hadn't been able to go over the school holidays so it was nice to catch up with everyone and get some stitching in.  I didn't take Alice as I usually do, but took a small Just Nan which needed some lace ribbon attaching.  I'll show that for the Smalls post at the end of the month.

But here is Alice as she was last IHSW:


And here she is now:

stitched over one on 25 count blue evenweave.

You can see where Alice's hand and arms are going to fit in next.  The top of the flamingo's neck is the edge of this column of pages and I aim to finish them by the end of June.

The main focus this weekend has been my Chatelaine - Gardens of London.  Here is where I started on Friday:

stitched on 32 count Belfast in Cotton Clouds by Crafty Kitten

Here's where I left off at the end of Sunday:


It doesn't seem much but I did spend 30 minutes writing down the colours and working out substitutions before I even picked up a needle!


And you have to count.  And count.  And count again!  When I'd completed the pairs of stitches round the edge, I did move over to Garden 2 to finish off the length of thread.

I found some wonderful photos of the top two gardens in the Chatelaine Facebook group and have saved them so I can refer to them as I stitch.  It really helps to see other people's stitching, especially when making colour decisions.

I stitched the next row in today and hope to get at least one more row in tomorrow.  Wednesday is a full work day so no Chatelaine that day and Thursday is the 26th and back to Enchanted Alphabet!


Finally, the next IHSW will be 18th - 20th May so make sure you note the date in your diary or come and join us in the Facebook Group - IHSW on Facebook.  If you don't do Facebook then you can check in on Joysze's Blog - Random Ramblings.








21 comments:

Katie said...

Beautiful work! You are moving along.

Barb said...

I would say you made excellent progress on both projects. They look wonderful.

diamondc said...

Jo: You made great progress, love the colors in Alice.

Blessings
Catherine

Stitching Noni said...

Alice is looking amazing... and I love the Gardens of London! Great weekend of stitching!
Hugs x

Brigitte said...

Both your projects have seen some nice progress over the IHSW weekend. Alice already looks amazing with the trees in the background and that impressive orange colour you added.
I'm sure there is a lot of counting involved when stitching on Gardens of London.

Christine said...

Great progress on both Jo

Mini said...

Good progress on both the projects . Is Alice a gift for someone? I forgot.

Linda said...

Wonderful progress Jo. I'm so ready to get back to Alice but so behind on Cheshire for the Fb monthly event.

Linda

Justine said...

I love the colours in Alice, so bright! I am not joining IHSW any more. Something happens every month to stop me stitching!

Preeti said...

Lovely stitching! You made lot of progress on Alice.

Tiffstitch said...

Great progress on both! I need to get posting for IHSW too.

The Knitting Cross Stitcher said...

Lovely stitching.I may join in the IHSW fun again next month,.It's been an age since I have done that.

Merlynn said...

They look very nice !

Kaisievic said...

Jo, I love the colours of the flamingo's neck very much. Great work on Gardens of London and yes, I bet there is a lot of counting going on! I plan to put my IHSW post up tomorrow - it has been a bit hectic (when is it not?) around here this week.

DJ said...

Oh my goodness, Alice is looking lovely!! You got quite a bit done over the weekend! And you already know I love your Chatelaine!! I wasn't able to stitch over the hermitting weekend, maybe next month I'll have a chance. It's always a pleasure to visit your blog!

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

This is just wonderful stitching and I love your orbs tin and clever needle minder on top.

Rhona said...

What great progress. The time was well spent writing down the thread substitutions that way you're less likely to make a mistake.

Julie said...

Alice is really coming alive now.

Carol said...

Nice to see your progress, Jo! Alice is growing especially nicely :)

Leonore Winterer said...

Great progress on Alice, I really love how the colours are coming together - and great progress on the Gardens as well!

The Crafty Princess said...

Loving the colours on Alice and your stitching is beautiful. That is my fear with Chatelaine's. I have yet to start my Polar Lights as I think I'll screw it up. But you're doing really well. It looks very intricate
xo Alicia