Loretta Spears Mystery 13 'Superstition'

I stitched this some time ago but did not get around to finishing it so decided to make it into a little sachet. I backed it with a pretty pink satin the same colour as the little heart shaped beads that I have added to the corners along with a little loop effect from some pretty pink based coloured seed beads

This weeks Watercolour playtime

I found a delightful photo on a blog from Tuscany in Italy and wrote to the lady to ask if I could use her photo to try and paint it and she very kindly not only gave me permission to use her photo but sent me a larger image which included an area that she had cropped from the original that she had posted on her blog - Have dogs will travel - this is a delightful blog from a very talented lady and I am sure that you will all enjoy a little wander around it

Playtime with Watercolours - Malvern Hills

This watercolour is of the Malvern Hills which is a short drive away from me and also a short train journey. It is very popular for walkers and my son often takes Marz for long walks there.

Watercolour

This is a little small painting of what is a real little but derelict cottage in the Malvern Hill which is a short drive away from where I live. The actual photo shows this little cottage with broken windows, tiles missing off the roof and surrounded but weeds and looked just so sad I tried to make it as if it is lived in and loved with some flowers around it and a climbing rose meandering up and across the roof.

This little watercolour was for my SWAP partner who lives in the Phillippines and I have just heard that it has arrived with her so I can show it to you all. The little very friendly group that I belong to swap our little paintings which are all painted so that they fit into a 10 x 8 frame and we have our swaps four times a year and we never know where our return swap is coming from as we have a different partner than the one that we send ours to.

This was fun to paint and I hope that you all like it

Watercolour done in a loose style

Well its been a while since I posted but have been busy stitching and done a little watercolour painting, I did this whilst at class where we were doing something that we felt was outside our comfort zone which was the same for most of us to just throw and splash the paint around to see how it would fall and this is an interpretation of working in a Lowry style.

I am not really happy about it but in the end it was fun to do and I am always up for a challenge, my next challenge is to paint a little something for my SWAP partner of a group I belong to, I know where it is going but cannot say as it would spoil the surprise so as soon as its done and arrived at its destination which could be 20 miles down the road or across the other side of the world I will share it with you all

My birthday gift framed

I have just framed my birthday gift from Pierrette and spent some time looking for just the right frame and I found this, its is brushed silver metal with a swirly circle design on it which echos the swirls on the canvas.

The mount is a black velvet/suede mount and I did toy with having a second inner mount but decided that this would show of the little Kitty best of all.

I had problems taking a decent photo as whichever way I tried I kept getting reflections, outside I got trees and clouds show up and inside a flash bounced back and I got a spodge right in the middle so I hope that you like not only the frame and mount that I chose but also the photo

Hardanger Sample

I have just finished a little hardanger sample which is a Judy Dixon Design, this was a nice quick and easy little project which did not take long to do.

I have also finished the stitching part of my Peacock Stitching Chair but have not assembled it yet so you will have to wait before I can post a picture of it completed

Hibiscus and the Butterfly now Framed

I stitched the Hibiscus and the Butterfly as a birthday gift for Pierrette and she has today sent me a photo of the piece framed.

I think that the choice of this frame and to go without a mat or as we call them here in the UK a mount was a touch of inspiration that has really worked, I hope that you all agree with me this has really made this project really sing to the world.

Loretta Spears Designs

I have been sorting out my stash and have found some Loretta Spears designs that I purchased years ago and am debating about starting a new one soon. These are a couple I have found and need to dig deep into the treasure chest to find the others. My very dear friend Pierrette has just started one of Loretta Spears Mystery projects and you can see how she is progressing here

on her blog.

Pierrette taught me how to needlepoint via the internet and my very first project in needlepoint was Loretta Spears Bargello Symphony which we both stitched together and I then went onto complete all on my own Loretta Spears Bargello Fantasy, her designs are a delight to stitch and the world of needlepoint lost a great designer when she became ill and her family would not let any of her designs be reprinted and no new designs were ever available.

My Birthday gift to my Best Friend

I can now share with you all the Pearsalls silk stumpwork kit that I have just stitched for my best friend Pierrette whose birthday is a few days after mine, this design is not only stitched onto silk dupion but the threads used for the project were also real silk which I find joy to stitch with.

We made a pact that we would not open our gifts until we had both received them from each other as we live across the pond from each other.

Today was the day, my gift from Pierrette had arrived a couple of weeks ago but I had not opened it until my gift to her had arrived which is what it did today. We both had other gifts from each other but these are the special gifts that we had both made for each other.

A wonderful birthday gift has just arrived

I have received the most darling and cute early gift for my birthday next week from my very dear best friend Pierrette of an adorable needlepoint design of a little cat which is just so like a couple of my cats I used to have called Boris and Doris now both over the Rainbow Bridge.

I will be making a trip into town tomorrow and will see what beautiful frame that I can find for it and will then post another picture when its framed

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day to you all, this is a Valentines Fabric Postcard that I made some years ago for my best friend

Another little project

This is a little art silk kit that I have just finished, thought it was time I got out all the kits and UFO's that I have had for a long time and this is one of them.

Embroidery whilst it snows

This is a little miniataure design from Rowandean that I have been playing around with whilst its been snowing here in the UK. As normally seems to happen a few flakes of snow the country grinds to a halt so I have staying in the warm and worked on this little project.


Hope that you like it, this is only about 4" x 3" and was quick to do with lots of lovely French Knots

Playtime with watercolours

At class last week we all had to choose a little teddy to paint and this is the one I chose, I am not that happy with it but we had one heck of an afternoon full of laughter and fun as we painted which is what counts as life is too short and it is nice to have a laugh together

Happy New Year to you all and a little reflection on the past year

This is the watercolour that the wonderful watercolour artist Gina Hall painted for me for my son Matthew's Christmas present. He lost his best friend of 17 years in the autumn of 2008 and I would like to share with you all how beautiful she was