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.