more whitework stitching

When I went away overnight the other day, I suggested that I would get about 1.5 hours of stitching time each way, there and back. I calculated wrongly – actually it was more like 2.5 hours each way! However, due to the fact that I kept making mistakes, I didn’t end up having very much to show for all that stitching time! I kept having to undo large sections of what I’d done, when I’d find that there was a tiny mistake WAAAYYY back, and that large slabs had to be moved…

I often say that the sign of a good Hardanger stitcher is someone who is willing to undo lots of it to get it right. I think that also applies to the style I am now working on.

I think this therefore should tell you that the embroidery style that I am working on is definitely counted!

After returning from my trip away on Tuesday, there was time to visit The Crewel Gobelin, my semi-local needlework shop. I had dropped in there a few weeks ago to buy some Au ver a Soie, only to find that they were closed for renovations.

Well, I am pleased to say that the newly painted, newly reorganised shop looks great! Julie, the new owner (who was working there for several years before she bought the shop from Margaret, and is just lovely) from what I remember, has a background in window dressing, and it certainly shows. The shop looks more spacious and very fresh. The staff are as helpful as ever, particularly the lovely Gill!

If you are in the area of The Crewel Gobelin (Killara, Sydney) then do drop in to visit and check out the shop. (No affiliations, just a long-term, very happy customer!)

Last night I finished the embroidery for the first project for the new book. I am very pleased with it. I learned a lot by doing it, particularly about designing this style of embroidery. The design changed quite markedly from my first draft through to the final product.

I had previously wondered whether this might be the first book I’ve ever done where I might be able to send a pattern and materials off to a model stitcher and get them to do some of the embroidery for me. However, with the number of changes I made during the process of stitching, I don’t think that that will be possible. So as usual, I will have the pleasure of doing all the stitching myself!