A Family Concern

Two of our grandchildren were with us this week. Gramps used his CAD program to draw hearts of various sizes, stars and even Christmas trees. The children cut out the patterns - I cut and stitched the fabric pieces which they stuffed. The real fun followed - they raided my sequin stash and these are a couple of examples. (Only a 10 year old boy would want a smiley on his ornament)!

Embroiderywise, I am trying to make up my mind what might constitute a series. What sort of linkage is necessary to form a unified collection of a number of pieces on the same theme?

The same, or toning, colours and possibly stitches. Do I need aspects of both? Can I do something else? Do I need to make sure that the same style of embroidery is used in each piece? Any ideas on this subject?I would be most grateful for any input.

I have started. I only have a fairly basic idea of what I want to do and it is very fluid at this stage. I am not sure how many pieces there will be. The only given is the subject matter - gum trees (eucalypts), their bark patterns, leaves etc.. My inspiration is no further than the back door and any number of different leaf shapes turn up on the lawn each day. The box lid embroidery in the last entry will not be part of this exercise as it is intended for a gift but I would like to make another piece quite similar. So please don your thinking caps and share your thoughts.

My voided Ziggy

I am committed to three biscornu and have begun the first - this occupies my weekday stitching time. However I need a change from crossstitch so have given myself permission to spend the weekends with other embroidery projects.

I decided to do the Stitch Explorer challenge for this month. Voided work appeals to me very much.

A birthday gift from my daughter was a copy of Lump, the dog who ate a Picasso by David Duncan -a marvellous book of photographs of Picasso with Lump.

The book enthralled me since the photographs could have been of Ziggy, a dachshund that my children gave me as a birthday gift in 1982. Ziggy was the light of our life for twelve wonderful years. We never managed to train him but, naturally, he had us very well trained. It is amazing how much we still miss him after fifteen years.

The next part of the narrative comes with Mabel McAlister's book and her wonderful series of cat embroideries. A dachshund has such a wonderful shape - totallly recognisable, and even I can manage a likeness. So I have been having a wonderful time designing the series - no doubt it will change many times but that is half the fun!

While I intend to use his full shape for some of my embroideries I decided to start with his head.


I outlined the head in stem stitch and then started the pulled thread background.
This certainly can't be finished in another week, but I have made a start.

The fabric is 32 count linen and a lens and lamp is needed for the Chinese stitch and eyelets in #12 perle. As you can see, I have done about a square inch! A good day's work!



The pulled thread work in closeup.


I could not imagine why anyone might call a dachshund, Lump. After some hunting I discovered this piece from the NYTimes. Yes, definitely, a rascal! That fitted nicely!


Today's effort was not worth photographing. Hopefully by next Sunday night I will have enough to share. This is some crewel embroidery. I have read a number of books but could not decide where to begin. I love the traditional tulips, pomegranates etc but really wanted to practise stitches and design on other shapes and eventually came up with fish.


All I managed this afternoon was the outline of a tail with split stitch, plus some long and short stitch . Can you believe that this is the first time I have ever tried split stitch?

It is one of those stitches that I look at and feel assured will be easy. While it is not as easy as it looks on paper I eventually managed to finish that first small shape and feel that by the time I have done seven more I will be happy with my split stitches. This will not be the only new stitch as I have not done any couching or laid work previously.

Some Needleweaving

Not exactly finished but the basic needleweaving in the drawn thread section is done.My progress is, as ever, very slow but, nonetheless, enjoyable.

I am happy with this work - I had so many bundles of loose threads along each side of the square - why would one do something sensible like calculating in advance? So the problem was - what could be done with 15 bundles? - and this is where I finished. Is this called designing? I hope so.

Some of the marking threads are visible - I have become completely paranoid about miscounting early in the piece (and, even worse, later in the piece) and, in this case, not ending up a with real square so I thread mark every 10 threads in both directions. I started to do this with my second piece of Hardanger and found it wonderful not to need to unpick frequently. One can wing some things but definitely not Hardanger!

Another photo of the parking station from yesterday - I feel there is at least one embroidery in this. The pattern on the concrete is so very interesting and I love the rhythm of those stairs.

"Half Way Mark" is now "Finishing Line"!

I am feeling very proud of myself - the sort of pride you get when you have finished something that should have been complete months ago!

In July the TIF theme was 'half way mark' - I completed the embroidery for the top of a biscornu. At the time I was in the middle of a Studio Journal course and this design was derived from a kaleidoscope - the entry is here. I used a variegated thread for stem and back stitch that I wnated to continue on the other side. This was the main reason for my hesitation. Calculation of which colour to start with on the other side was difficult. It is not perfect but fairly close in value. at least.

Biscornu are fun pincushions to stitch and so satisfying to stuff and join up. Stitch through buttons make a better job but these are the best my stash had to offer!

November TIF

Since all I produced for November was some ancient weaving I decided that I would try to play with my initial. The theme for this month as I saw it was to look at the shape of text .

M is quite an interesting letter to dissect - it appealed to me because it is totally repetitious!

Again the fabric is my favourite, 28 count linen, and the thread is cotton perle #8 and #12. The stitching is fairly unambitious - even the pulled thread stitches I had used previously. This was my "pick up and don't have to think" piece.

My original heading for this entry was "Drawing a line under the TIF challenge" - however, since I have finished this piece which makes my twelfth embroidery for 2008, I have realised that the end of the 2008 challenge was really only the beginning for me. I have quite a few ideas that did not reach fruition last year - some of them are destined to remain hidden forever but there are some that I want to pursue. So I am certainly not done with TIF - hopefully there will be something to show in the future.

I am delighted that I managed to hang in for the whole of the year. This year my intention is to pick and choose what I would like to try from Sharon's new challenge - chicken scratch is not one of the styles I want to pursue at this stage. Nonetheless I am grateful to Sharon for again offering the opportunity to try new things.



At the moment I am finishing as many WIPs and WISPs as possible before beginning anything too exciting- even the start of the second hardanger sampler must wait for the moment - not sure how long I will be able to withstand temptation!

My December TIF

Well this will be a record - I can write up my TIF effort by the 3rd of the month. Sharon has given the concept of generosity for the month's theme. Now December is a very busy time in this household - we have visitors as well as the big celebration of the year so I have decided that since the gods are smiling on me I will be grateful that I can finish the year on such a positive note!

What is even more wonderful is to complete the year with this concept and feel it has really come a full circle. You may remember that in January the theme was based on the idea of considering someone you look up to. My chosen person is the most generous person I know so this was the attribute I considered for that theme. At that time an outstretched hand seemed to me to be the most appropriate way to portray this attribute and I still like this symbol.



Also because it was January and my enthusiasm for the challenge was at its peak I even managed to produce a piece using the chosen colours for the month so, if I withdraw my generosity piece, I still have produced 12+ pieces for the year , despite my using a slightly mature piece for November.

I have enjoyed the year's challenge very much and want to participate in next year's exercise that Sharon is offering on relatively unknown embroidery styles and stitches. To what extent I will do so I am not sure at this stage. I have found the years exercises really made me think and certainly extended what I had learned from the Sumptuous Surfaces class both in how I approach a concept and my stitch vocabulary. However I now have a number of directions I want to explore in embroidery and, as well, I am really getting anxious to try the loom again and find out if I have forgotten how to weave or not.

Treat for Friday!!!

Yesterday I had the most wonderful experience - Paula and Moo joined us for morning coffee. We had our mandatory 'show and tell' and I was the winner! I know that sounds as though I had something exceptional to show but no! I had the opportunity to see and feel Paula's wonderful book of fruit. She has blogged about this on The Beauty of Life - do go and visit.

I had studied the book on her blog and thought it looked very lovely - definitely the understatement of the year! It is a treasure, a piece of art, and, hopefully, a family heirloom. While the photos do show each page well, to really appreciate this beautifully integrated piece of beautiful needlework one needs to view it in its entirety. I think she should be very proud of what she has achieved. It goes without saying - I had a lovely morning.

Afterwards I finished the second section of my pulled thread sampler for the Stitchin Fingers . I am working through Sharon's list (well the pulled thread component) alphabetically. I know that Algerian Filling stitch wasn't there in the alphabetical list but I wanted to do that and I regard it as a version of pulled satin stitch. Also I have done Algerian Eye and Ringed Back Stitch in a number of different TIF pieces so I did not repeat those at this stage. Hence the Festoon Stitch. I did a couple of rows of this as illustrated in Mary Thomas, then reversed a row and joined it to the previous one. I tried joining the curved section to the flat section of the one aboved (both rows in the same direction for this one) and the bottom two rows consist of moving every second movement across and leaving a gap between. Hopefully the scan will explain better than my words! I realise that doing this sampler in monochrome is not assisting reproduction - however I made a conscious choice to do so as I want to have a sampler of stitching without the distraction of colour.

I have also promised myself to try to complete a section of this sampler each fortnight - we shall see!

August TIF challenge - balance in my life???

"What is balance to you? Do you maintain a balanced life? How do you balance aspects of your life? That is the challenge this month - balance." This was the challenge that Sharon offered to us for August.

Well, since I had done very little on July's TIF when August arrived I had plenty of time to think about the question. And think I did!

Balance! That was something I managed very well in the past - many years ago when I had 4 children living at home, I worked fulltime and still found time to do the chores around the house and time to spend in the garden and, even time to work on whatever craft appealed to me at the moment. Sadly now I am retired with only two of us to cook for - verylittle demand for my attention - I find that balance is something that no longer exists in my life!

How could I show this? I talked about it at length whenever we stopped for a cup of tea (why do I need more of these breaks than I ever did? Perhaps that is one reason I have less time than previously!) One morning it occurred to me that I have the balance of a yo-y0. I am totally rapt in whatever it is I am doing at the moment and everything else tends to suffer until I can't stand the mess any longer! Then there is no stitching done until I catch up.

have used algerian eye (the diagonal one came from Fangel's Danish Pulled Thread Embroidery (thankyou Paula of Beauty of Life for the loan). pulled satin and Algerian filling stitch as well as ringed back stitch. The threads are all Finca or Anchor perle of various sizes. The one exception is the yoyo filling which is metallic machine embroidery yarn (thankyou Grace for that hint).

As ever I am not quite sure I am satisfied with the end result. May it not have been better to have done the ringed back stitch in the variegated yarn with the other pulled thread in the natural? Also perhaps the outline of the hand and yoyo should have been a stronger colour. Ah well, there is always next time when I will give more thought to these aspects. Nonetheless I do spend hours agonising over colours for these challenges before I take a stitch.

I have recently picked up the A-Z of Bullion Knots so I have also been practising some of these on calico scraps. The results are very mixed up to date but it seemed a good idea to practise whenever I am at a loss.

A postscript - In this post I have also reached a milestone - for the very first time I have managed to add a hyperlink! Hallelujah!!!

July TIF Challenge

Hello everyone. I am so sorry that I haven't managed even one post in such a long time. I spent six weeks totally absorbed by Sharon Boggon's Studio Journals course. The course was, like all of Sharon's, a tremendous course but I was left with no spare time.

Over the six weeks I did very little embroidery but did start this piece. It is derived from two kaleidoscopes that I produced during the course. I became totally addicted to making these using www.krazydad.com/kaleido .

The challenge for July was Half Way Mark - my interpretation is very simplistic - this is the first side of a biscornu that I embroidered.

This is very late and I need to start my August exercise since we are well into the month. The second half of the biscornu will probably wait until I have stitched the August TIF.

June Take It Further Challenge - Shell, Stash and Stories

This was a delight to stitch. The theme and colours that Sharon provided us with this month were made for my project!

"What stories could our stash tell us and what stories will it provide when we use it." is my interpretation of the theme.

The shell, I have based the stitching on, is a beautiful specimen that I inherited from my mother. It sits in the bathroom and the children love to listen to the song it sings. I would love to know the history of this shell but, unfortunately, I can't translate that song. I don't know where or when it was acquired but it was a very long time ago - more than 70 years.

The subject for this month's TIF for me had to have some relationship to my mother who was not an embroiderer but was a knitter and dressmaker, extraordinaire. She shared these skills with me although I never achieved her level. Nothing was wasted or thrown out if it could be used for another purpose. I inherited much of her stash as well as her stash collection propensities. While this particular shell can serve only as an inspiration it is certainly a symbol of that stash.

Time spent stitching just flew. I managed a new pulled thread stitch - Algerian eye - and made some woven spiders for the first time. Both of these I will use again. I tried some cast-on stitches for texture but I am still unhappy with my efforts there.

Now it is onto July with a new theme and colour scheme and a stitch along with Stitchin Fingers - but before then, Sharon's new and exciting Studio Journal begins on Saturday. I will be busy in July.

Can't leave well enough alone!

The only trouble is I am definitely not sure that this is well enough to start with. After sleeping on it and spending the morning coming back to have another look I feel that I should do something -I have tried adding some of the blue contrast among the flower sprays. I am in two minds whether to pull out the French knots in the butterfly (I am not sure that butterfly is not the perfect example of a "sore thumb") and redo it in a noncontrasting colour and not in knots, or, whether to keep it as an example and stitch the design again - I tend to the latter as I really like the basic shape and would not mind trying it in different colours with a few minor changes.

Any thoughts , gentle reader?

Here is another scan in portrait mode and with the addition of a few blue knots. In portrait the pulled satin looks loads better as well. What a learning experience!

Phew! A day to spare!

My TIF challenge for May just made it. What do I call myself? Well, as I said last post I am a weaver. However, over my life I have played with many textile forms. I began with French knitting on a cotton reel with nails and made yards and yards of knitted braid. Did I use it for anything? Probably only food for clothes moth!

I progressed to 'real' knitting - white cotton face washers.

Primary school samplers were disastrous however in my teens I tried 'fancywork' as it was then called. Traced designs on linen in bright colours.Later came learning how to crochet and tat. Dressmaking became all important and occupied most of my spare time.

About 25 years ago I learnt to spin and discovered a Visual Arts course offering a semester of spinning instruction- sheer heaven! However next semester the subject on offer was weaving. A new challenge! And one that was meant for me. The spinning wheels sat idle. There have been forays into bobbin lace and kumihimo - all to be used for embellishments for fabric from the loom.

About 18 months ago with an enforced break from the loom I was bored and while web surfing I discovered Sharon Boggon's "Sumptuous Surfaces" course on line. I just had to learn how to make that gorgeous sea horse. After nearly 50 years break from embroidery my hands won't behave as they should but that has not diminished the enjoyment very much. Improvement comes slowly at my age but it comes.

All that history is a roundabout way of saying I consider myself a dabbler in textiles - just as the little butterfly grub samples as many leaves as possible I have sampled many textile experiences over my lifetime. For quite a long time I was totally wrapped in my weaving - rather like the grub in his woven chrysalid - when suddenly I was unable to weave there turned out to be other textile experiences to enjoy. I am just a happy venturer in this wonderful world of textiles.

Am I happy with the piece? Sort of! I had originally intended to stitch this piece in May colours but after starting out I decided that it wasn't working for me. The colours are lovely but for some reason I couldn't make them work. Colour can be difficult. I did want to stitch something in the challenge colours so will keep them in mind for another biscornu when I ahve some spare time. I enjoyed working with two Anchor variegated cottons. I was not sure whether they would be satisfactory for the purpose but was delighted with the result. I also used a variegated Stitches and Spice stranded cotton that I bought at the Craft Show - practically my only purchase on that trip. I tried bullion stitch yet again and this time it has improved sufficiently for me not to unpick - something that has been necessary for the last couple of months. If I can try a new stitch each month I am happy.

The butterfly in French knots - well, I am not exactly delighted with how it turned out. In future if I need to do an area in french knots I will back that section of linen.

Next month and the new challenge are only just around the corner and there is the stitch-along on stitchin fingers to keep me occupied. And I keep promising my loom I will be back weaving soon! Not enough hours in the day!

April TIF

Time flies! Well it must when I read it is nearly a fortnight since my last entry.

I have done quite a deal of thinking about change and how I cope with it. Basically I think change is an inevitable part of life. I need to control change when I can and make the most of what happens when I can't be in control. Over the last 10 years my life has changed in many ways - I retired from a full-time job, we shifted house from the country back to the city and there have been some health issues. Some of these were exciting changes, others not so exciting and others quite difficult - similarly some changes were easy to manage, others not so - but nonetheless each day begins as something wonderful and there will always be new challenges.

I decided to represent change and how I try to cope with it by considering flowers - they start as quite small buds and over time change into the fullblown flower. This I enjoy (and do all I can to hang onto as long as possible) until eventually the petals fall and the flower dies - but what joy that flower has provided! I have my first pot, ever, of hyacinths (this is the subtropics after all) sitting on the chest of drawers at the foot of the stairs and the beauty and perfume is amazing. It has been wonderful to watch how they have changed from the pot of green shoots to these beautiful flowers - enough to inspire an embroidery,perhaps.

To my embroidery for the month. These are the colours of the month as I had seen them on my monitor. However I certainly wasn't using them in the same proportions as Sharon's Chinese photo - there is a preponderance of the pink and purple with some vanilla, green and terracotta/orange added. This gave a totally different feel to the colour scheme. I do find that my computer screen seems to give different results from others that are suggested.

My stitch list was again fairly restricted. The pulled thread is in single faggot stitch. (Another new stitch to me - I found this in Mary Thomas). This month I used a #12 perle and what a difference that made in comparison to the doubled Gutterman polyester sewing machine thread from last month - it was a dream to stitch whereas last month every stitch was a struggle. (A thought - could it have been the polyester thread? Maybe I should try pulled thread with doubled 'cotton' sewing thread.

The flower outline is in whipped stem stitch, again perle cotton. The fly stitch is also in Finca perle. The rest of the piece consists of buttonhole wheels and French knots (what else!). I tried to use a variety of thread. I found it very difficult to stop stitching and at one stage I thought I would have to do some unpicking but decided against this after I added the darker knots in the centre of the flower.

I would be very grateful for any criticism of this piece, especially designwise - I find working in isolation very difficult. As I mentioned in an earlier post I am a beginner in the total process (interestingly this came about because of a change in circumstance) and would really appreciate any help that anyone might offer.

Added later: I am really looking for suggestions in ways in which I might improve my work - thanks a million!

While I was working this piece I met up with Paula from The Beauty of Life and she very generously gave me an enormous bundle of DMC floss - threequarters of which were tints and shades of my chosen colours. Some of these are tucked into the knot section. I still have not worked out how to put photos where I want them!

Alysha's biscornu

This has kept me occupied recently - a biscornu - it is a birthday gift for a young neighbour. I am not sure if she is doing needlework yet but I think these little cushions are treats on their own.

The new-to-me stitch was tulip stitch and it was fun to do in Anchor variegated perle. I used green Finca perle for the herringbone and DMC floss, 2 strands for the crossstitch.

I think biscornu is a lovely form for needlework - I have ideas for the next one floating around in my brain already.

Just a comment - I was caught out badly - the cybersampler letters , which I love, were supposedly 13 stitches high. Foolishly I didn't check until the A was half done as it was going to finish much too early. I had doubled the number of stitches in both directions so I assumed it would finish 26 by 26. No - it was only 11 stitches and while that may not have mattered too much if I had not been doubling the stitches 4 stitches less really upset the applecart. However the fly stitch managed to save the day as I am not certainly very happy to unpick masses of crossstitch. I can so easily cut a thread!

March TIF challenge piece is finished!

Well, this started out as an exercise in using the colours suggested by Sharon. My original intention was to do a series using the same design but different fillings - blackwork and needlepoint as well as pulled thread. Foolishly I thought I could produce one a week! What a joke! This was only completed today.

While I steadily counted the threads on 32 count linen (using a magnifier) I thought about Sharon's theme challenge - "Do you ever notice the small moments, the details in life?" When you get to my age you appreciate these small moments even more - well I find this is so. Just the dew on the grass each morning is exciting. I could go on for ages. However it occurred to me that counting threads is definitely a metaphor for noticing those small details. So I decided that, while I did not manage to produce the series I had hoped , I had satisfied both sections of the challenge for the month.

Back to the embroidery - I think this could be used as a flap on a small bag. The pulled thread work is done in Gutermanns polyester machine sewing thread. The pink is ringed back stitch, the green 3-sided stitch and the deepest purple is a stitch that I did when I thought I was doing step stitch! It never ceases to amaze me how inept I am at following instructions. I had read the instructions for step stitch in Moyra McNeill's book so carefully. Then followed a day spent stitching one of the shapes before referring back to the book. Absolutely no resemblance to the one in the book! However I liked what I had done (and, besides, unpicking pulled thread work in doubled sewing machine thread is not for the fainthearted!) so decided to leave it as it was. The outlines are perle cotton in stem stitch except for the dark purple which uses 3 strands of 2/20 cotton weaving yarn. The yellow stitching is crested chain in 3 strands of stranded cotton.

Pencil doesn't scan easily - however here is my basic idea for a series of samples. One I didn't mention previously is using the shapes for needlepoint stitches. While I feel happy with using rice stitch in two colour for the largest shape I am not sure that I won't need to try out some stitches elsewhere beforehand to get some idea of what might work or else I could be in for some unpicking.

Did I happen to mention that I loved these colours? Any more ideas on how to use the same design and same colour palette?

As you may have realised the theme has been filed away for future consideration - another stash - "Themes for future use"

Week's progress

Thankyou to everyone who commented on my fabric. I have put it back in the stash - there is enough fabric for a light jacket (what other sort of jacket do you need in the subtropics?)and after it is made I can consider what to do with the leftovers.

This week once again I cheat a little by trawling my cupboards and coming up with this ancient piece of fabric marbling. The actual colours are closer to TIF shades than show up on the scan. It seems that I urgently need some help with my scanning and photography - especially when one realises that my photos aren't nearly as close in colour as the scans.

However, for what it is worth, I feel this fits quite nicely with Sharon's colours for March TIF Challenge.

On the subject of colours while I quite agree with some of the chosen DMC numbers that I have seen on blogs I have spent considerable time with the DMC thread chart and have decided that the deepest grape (the far right hand side shade) is just not available in DMC. However, as I mentioned in the last post, I do have a cone of 2/20 that I can use. Also since my first piece is using pulled thread I have chosen to use Guttermans machine thread and these are 893, 925, 718 and 575 - the latter is a deep grape shade.

As I have done so little of the pulled thread I have not bothered to scan it yet. Hopefully by next week there will be enough to show and tell. I love pulled thread work but since this is on 32 count linen I can only work in good daylight and with my magnifier. Also my eyes need a break every half hour so the progression is slow.

For some days I spent ages messing around in my journal. The aim was to produce a design that could be used in a variety of techniques. I would also like to use the design for blackwork . The interesting part of these 'sample' pieces is that I have always considered both pulled thread and blackwork to be work in monochrome and here I am attempting to add colour to the mix. Maybe I will also manage to produce a third example in crewel embroidery.

Stitching on February TIF colour challenge finished!

The stitching is complete except for the backstitch edge for which I need a perle cotton - hopefully the needlework shop will have a match. There is a carton of combed washed wool lurking under the stairs which will make great filling!

However because I am mean with my fabric I will not complete the biscornu until I have used the end of this piece. The Aida was purchased as a fat quarter and cut it in half so there is a postcard sized piece left on the end. However this will only fit in my hoop if I don't cut off the work I have done. I have designed a First Communion card for my grandson - it is in cross stitch and needs to be done within the next month so I should be able to get them both out of the way in the not too distant future.

The buttons are temporarily connected to show the finished effect. They were two lonely buttons in my blue drawer. Their provenance is unknown - could be vintage, almost. I can't bear to throw out a button and unless I am giving away a piece of clothing I will carefully cut each and every button off . This is an inherited characteristic - my mother and grandmother did the same (and my grandmother did not even sew!) Mum always said it was our Cornish ancestry. I wonder! She was wonderful as she would unpick the bottom of sleeves of jumpers she had knitted for my boys who seemed to grow their arms overnight and then reknit in the opposite direction ( all this in 3 ply or finer) - and if there wasn't enough wool left she would redo an even longer section to be able to add some fairisle or stripes or both. When I think of how long it took me to knit anything I am still overawed by her knitting.

I was not sure I liked the colours in the beginning but it turned out that they were easy to use. It was good to have used the month's colour palette to make something simple. My only reservation about this biscornu working as a workaday pincushion is that some of the stitches may be a tad long for the purpose and could catch as the pins go in and out. I have tied down the longer stitches but it will be a good trial to use it for a time and see if I need to tie the stitches more. Anyway it will be a good excuse to design another.

One side finished

Well, a morning's work has produced this much. Sorry about the crooked picture. I am not that thrilled with my french knots but am reasonably happy with the overall design. Definitely not colours I would work with normally but the total effect was not unpleasing.

I seem to have managed to get the picture at the bottom of this entry - not sure how!

Now I just have to make some decisions about the other side of my biscornu. I have found one ancient button that will be perfect for the centre of the top.

February Colour Challenge

While I have not blogged in nearly two weeks I have not been completely idle. I did finish a crossstitch sampler I started for my granddaughter in 2001! Not exactly a quick worker. I thought it only needed mounting and framing but looking at it recently I decided that the piece itself needed a stitched frame . This was not an original design but a sampler from a Burda Crossstitch Special. While I spent some time stitching three of these samplers about 7 or 8 years ago I find crossstitch repetitive and counting from charts quite difficult nowadays. However I am pleased to have finally completed the last two samplers.

Reporting on the TIF challenge for this month ( there has been some wonderful work reported on so far - I keep resolving to look only at the end of the month but then just can't help myself!) - for the moment I have shelved the theme section of the challenge and decided to use the palette to stitch a biscornu. "Biscornu" is a comparatively new word in my vocabulary. Isn't the Web wonderful! I love that shape and have been meaning to make myself such a pincushion for a little while.

The fabric is 16 count cream Aida and the embroidery will be on two 4 inch squares. Designing embroidery for a purpose, other than a postcard , is something that is new to me. However I am enjoying the challenge.

Once again I am sticking to a very limited palette, just 5 colours of DMC stranded floss. I based my decision on the colours on my computer printout of Sharon's graphic plus the RBG numbers. The final choice was 3778, 3773, 158, 932 and 3752.

Originally I thought I might try to design a suitable crossstitch pattern for this biscornu. However it seemed this might be a good opportunity to use some of my newly acquired PLOS stitches.

As usual the design will evolve as I stitch- I really would like to be able to get it all down on paper first but that just doesn't seem to work very well for me. If I keep trying maybe one day it will happen! Also because I have not made one of these before I can only guess exactly where focus stitches need to be placed. Maybe I need to cut out two paper squares and fingershape them to help.

Not much done so far! However here are the colours and the outline.

A postscript - Why can't I get blogger to put my images where I want them?