Sampler map Progress

Here is my progress of my England map sampler...

... as you can see I am still around the counties... and still five and an island to go!

I like how it looks like, even size wise, but I regret not having made a bigger map, with more space within the counties to stitch their names, as some of them will pose a problem.

According to almost all map samplers I saw in my searches, all the names were stitched only in capital letters, but I think I will have to settle with a capital initial, as it will give me more space. Also, in some counties I can only use the initial of their names.

As you can imagine a lot of counting and re-counting awaits me!

I like the process of creating the design for a piece I want, but I don't find it an easy job. It makes me admire all the wonderful designers we have in our stitching world.

I have also been working on my design for the Needleprint competition, but altogether I have not been having a lot of time for stitching lately, as I have been helping out with paper work in the local council committee for the protection of children, where I was the representative of education at the time of my heart attack and heart operation. I went on working there as a volunteer and there is always a huge amount of paperwork to do in January, because of the yearly report. Being on sick leave, I have more time than the others, but going there 2 or 3 times a week leaves me completely worn out, because I still get easily very tired and therefore it is the stitching that pays. It is also only the second Winter after the operation and my bones still complain, especially when the weather changes.

Today I wrote a lot and therefore it is time I wish you all a nice week,  thank all for the wonderful comments you left me, which I enjoyed so, so much.

Two finishes framed

Yesterday I got two finishes framed. I am so very pleased with them.

 I think the frames do enhance both pieces. 

The first I had completed over 15 years ago and was in a drawer. It is my attempt of a Portuguese traditional embroidery called Castelo Branco.  

Castelo Branco is the name of a Portuguese town and this embroidery is typical from there. 

The main stitch gives the name of the embroidery and it is the one seen, for example, in the carnations, which are, by the way, one of its typical motifs. 

Castelo Branco embroidery is always stitched in shiny silk on linen, and it has a very specific set of motifs and stitches that can be used. It was used mainly in throws and as either the materials and handwork were quite expensive it used to be only available to the wealthier families whose daughters usually took one (throw) in their dowry, when they got married. 

If you want to have an idea of how the Castelo Branco embroidery is done, here in these 2 links you can see 2 ladies stitching.

 You tube - Castelo Branco embroidery 1

 You tube - Castelo Branco embroidery 2

My second framing is of  Deborah Cockin Ackworth Sampler by Needleprint. And this one was a pleasure to stitch, as I said in some earlier posts.

What do you think of them?

Have a wonderful day

WIPocalypse 2012 - first post

I can't say I have a very long list of WIP's, which you can see in the sidebar, but for me it is rather long, as some of these projects have been on the side for a very long time. 

At the moment I am only working on two projects: the first one I have already begun at the end of last year and it is a map of England sampler I am recreating and designing as I go along. 

You can see its progress in my previous posts and here it is an update photo: 

The picture isn't very good, as it is more colourful.

Stitching inside all counties takes a lot of work, but the worst it is yet to come, as I will have to do the counting of each one of the counties, so that I can design their names in cross stitch.

As I have seen in map samplers pics, the names of the counties should be written in capital letters and that will take a lot of space.

The second project I have already started this year, is a Needleprint competition called "A Mirror to my Art". Although I will give the updates on the project I won't be able to show any photos. 

For the moment there isn't much to say, just that I have already got the mirror and I am around the design. I have also already decided I am going to embroider it in a traditional Portuguese stitch, which encompasses not only the stitches that can be used, but also the motifs. I'm very excited to see how it enfolds.

I hope next month I can say I have worked on other projects from my list...and that I have some finishes! That would be great.

May 2012 bring you all you wish

I hope you had a very happy Christmas. 

Mine could have been better, but a very close uncle had to go to hospital and didn't make it to Christmas - he died on the 22nd. It moved me a lot, as it seems all my close family is leaving and it also brought me back how close I was last year to leave as well. 

Nevertheless, life goes on and it is time to celebrate the New Year and hope it goes better than this one - may it bring health, happiness and a bit of money to make our lives easier.

Here are also two pics of my map of England sampler. It is giving a bit of work, but I like it and I think the distressed look makes it look old.

Thank you all for visiting my blog and leaving your comments - they always make my day.

Map Sampler of England - 2nd phase

Thank you for all your kind comments. They always make my day.

Here is some progress of my map sampler:

Phase one - I embroidered all the boundary lines using back stitch in black.

Phase two - I am using outline stitch within the boundaries in different shiny silk colours.

It is not very easy to stitch with this type of thread (they make knots very easily and also after stitching for some time the thread begins to frail and come apart), but I thought it would help to make the colours stand out.

I have to admit that this work is kind of addicting - I am always looking for to add a new colour and see the general result: so far I am happy with it.

What is your opinion?

Have a great week

Hannah's progress and a map sampler

First of all thank you so much for your comments and encouraging words and the doctors kept me on sick leave, which has been a blessing, because as Winter settled in, so have the pains in my chest.

Hannah Westcombe's sampler

Here is a pic of my Hannah's progress. It is not a major progress, because I had some sewing to do and began a new project.

I don't know if it happens to you too, but sometimes we need something new, like a new start to help us going out of our crisis/depressions/thoughts. Shopping used to do the same for me, but that, as for many of us, had to be cut down...

I am indeed sampler lover - I love the quaker samplers from Ackworth school, alphabet ones (like Hannah's) and always "had a thing" about the map ones.

So here I go - I'm trying to recreate a sampler map of England!

I started by searching for some map samplers and also maps of England at the time, to have an idea of how they were and what I would like to have on mine - mind you this is just a recreation, not a reproduction therefore my sampler will have modern and old elements: the map of England I traced is a modern one, but then I looked for an old compass and an antique frame for the word England.

Here is the traced map done in white card board and then passed to tracing paper. I recreated the compass and used a frame from the *The Graphics Fairy*.

I'm using Belfast linen (32ct) from Zweigert. It's the first time I'm using 32 count, but I needed a higher count so that I could have space within the county bounderies, to stitch their names. My husband and I dyed it with coffee to give not only an aged look, but also the look of a worn map that had been folded and carried around in someone's pouch.

It will take different stitches, but at the moment I'm only using the back stitch to trace all the map in the linen and used it also for the frame of the map. For sure all the wording will be in cross stitch.

I haven't decided yet what I am going to do with the border, but as you can imagine for the work ahead that is no rush.

It measures 49,5cms X 42 cms, not counting the border.

As always, I will be looking for your comments and opinions.

Have a great week.

Ramblings and Hannah Westcombe's sampler

I am definitely a very irregular blogger! The main reason, in my case, is always the same - if I don't have any cross stitch progress to show, then I don't post.

In these last months I haven't been in a frame of mind that makes me me want to stitch: my health problem that goes on playing with me in addiction to the side effects of medication; the financial situation that is not brilliant - I am just one of million civil servants, that is being affected by all the status quo in Portugal at the moment.

I guess all these made me a bit depressed and therefore not in the mood to stitch. On the other hand, I know this is stupid as stitching can be a great therapy! 

It also made me close a lot in my shell and not wanting to socialize - another huge mistake, as many times blogging makes us feel good with the nice comments we get and the feeling we belong to a big family. More than ever I need your words of encouragement.

Next Wednesday I am going to an appointment with the state doctors who will determine if I have to go back to work - not always they follow our doctors advice, as their role is much more following the government policies than anything else. At the moment it frightens me the thought of having to face 5 classes full of teenagers than have no mercy on how a teacher may feel, when I an not well.

I apologise for all my ramblings, but sharing with you is making me feel better.

Here is a pic of the small progress in my Hannah's sampler. The colours shown are not the real ones, as I'm stitching in dark blues. Hopefully I will post in a short time with more progress and then I will show better pics.

Thank you for "listening" to my ramblings and I thank you in advance for your comments.

Have a great week.

Deborah Cockin sampler finish

Finally a post. I want to apologise to you all, not only because I have not been posting, but also because I have not been leaving any comments on your blogs. The reason is I have not been around the computer mostly due to health reasons.

Anyway, here you have today Deborah Cockin sampler finished.

I hope you like it as much as I do. I think all the colours match very well together.

I have now begun another Ackworth quaker sampler. This time I went for something very different: Hannah Westcombe from Needleprint. I am stitching it with one over one in an antique white from Zweigert, 30 count.

I am using dark blues and dark greys.

Here is a photo of my beginning

Please, if you pass by, leave your comment - I love to hearing from you.

Have a wonderful week

D Cockin sampler update

Here is my weekly update of D Cockin. 

I decided to go for the 6 big medallions inside the frame and now I am heading to the centre medallions. It allows me to choose which ones will be light or dark. Of course I will always have a dark medallion next to another dark one and the same happens with the light ones. 

I am going now to start another medallion and I wish you all a very good week.

I have been taking some time to browse around and I have seen some wonderful pieces either already finished or in progress. Congratulations to all fellow stitchers.

I would like to thank you for all kind comments you have been leaving - it's so very motivating!

Hugs

New pics of the update of D Cockin sampler

DH took new photos with another camera, but I'm still not very impressed with colour, as they are somewhat greyish. 

I hope you like.

An update on my Deborah Cockin sampler

My "companion" goes on "growing" in my fingers. As I said before, it is a pleasure to stitch.

In some of the medallions I found some mistakes made by D when she made her piece and it makes the sampler feel alive - I can imagine a very young girl, either not noticing she made a mistake or not wanting to undo what she had already stitched. It's funny, because it is precisely through the mistakes that the presence of Deborah is more noticeable. Do you understand what I mean?

I hope next week I can post some more progress and until then have an awesome week.

If you pass by, please, leave a comment, as they push me forward.

P.S. I'm sorry for the quality of the photo, but the camera isn't working very well.

D Cockin - some more progress

It has been a real pleasure to stitch Deborah Cockin's sampler! I'm in the last 3 medallions of the "frame".

She has been a very good companion of these times when I still have to endure a lot of pains in my bones... still due to the operation. On the one hand, we have had a rainy (humid) Autumn and Winter and now also a long rainy Spring (very unusual for us), which is not good for the bones. On the other hand the pains remain, because my sternum closed with a difference of about 50mm apart from top to bottom. It affected the position of the bones in my shoulders and cervical.

Thank you so much for asking how I have been. Besides those bone pains, tomorrow I'm going to Lisbon to have an exam done, which takes around 5/6 hours to be done, so that it is assessed the state of all my coronaries, as the Cardiologist fears I may have another blockage! Let's see and hope for the best.

I'm sure that like for me, cross stitching is very therapeutic for many of you: it takes our mind away from pains and worries. Even more, when we are engrossed in a piece that is a pleasure to stitch and we love.

Have a very good week full of good things.

Deborah Cockin sampler progress

This week I made good progress on my D Cockin sampler, taking into account I am a slow stitcher.

Finally the post delivered the rest of the HDF threads I was waiting for,  and I was able to stitch  the medallions in between the other ones I had already done.

I am very pleased how both colours go together and combine with the fabric. It is not a monochrome, but the colour is the same one, being one just a tint lighter than the other one (Penny Wort 3449 and Penny Wort 3447).

I hope this week I can progress nicely again.

I wish you all a very good week with nice weather, which is something we are not having here: although it is 24 degrees Centigrade, it is raining a lot, which is not common in May.

Please, let me know your thoughts and comments, as they all mean so much to me.

D Cockin sampler start

Here I introduce you to my D Cockin (1806) Sampler.

It was offered to me by Jacqueline from Needleprint and I think it is a wonderful monochrome sampler from Ackworth School.

I am using rustic looking (not so 'greeny' as the photo shows) linen from Zweigart, 30 count. It is the highest count I feel comfortable working with, despite the glasses and a powerful magnifying lamp: sweet fifties!!! I'm stitching 2 over 2.

I've chosen Hand Dyed Fibers from Vikki Clayton (my favourite!). I will be using 2 colours: Penny Wort 3449, which is the one you can see on the photo and Penny Wort 3447, which is the conversion of the DMC recommended. As I already had the 3449, I started with it and now I am anxiously waiting for the post to bring me the other one. It was posted 2 weeks ago, but it seems that the cross of the Atlantic is taking some time.

I'll be posting my progress and I would love to have your comments on it.

Have a fabulous weekend and take some time to stitch - I will!

Dolls' Houses rugs

After a long time without posting, mainly due to health "ups and downs", I am showing you today something other than cross stitch: 2 rugs done for a doll's house I am assembling and furnishing.

These rugs were made with the "Arraiolos" stitch, which is a Portuguese traditional stitch for normal rugs (you can see some pics of the rugs I made in this post).

You can see the reverse of each of the rugs on the pic on the right, as well as their sizes.

Even though I love cross stitching, sometimes it is a nice change to experiment something different and work with other stitches.

I would love to have your opinions on my experiment.