Spring Garden SAL

For the next month, Aurelia at Elgantine Stitchery is hosting a SAL. I really love blackwork and this design works beautifully.

I'm going to be using some different colours than the ones in the pattern, because I love doing blackwork in variegated threads! I didn't have any variegated pinks or reds, so I'm going for purples instead.

The threads I'm using are DMC 4045, 4065, 4077, 4235 and Weeks Dye Works 'Ultraviolet'.  The aida I'm using isn't quite as blue as in the photo, it's a very pale, slightly mottled blue-grey piece that I picked up a while ago.

If you fancy joining in, just click on the first picture and it will take you to the announcement post, with all the information you'll need.

Mother's Day gift and pattern

Last Sunday was Mother's Day in the UK. Although I'm back in the UK now, I wasn't able to go and see my mum, so I sent her a little present. I designed this myself, and even made my first attempt at making a tassle.

Here's a close-up of the stitching.

If you'd like to have a go at this yourself, here's the pattern:

Click to enlarge it, and if you have any problems reading it, please let me know!

I made the back by just backstitching the outer star, and then filling it with the pattern in the outer area of the front. Then I whipstitched the two sides together along the outer backstitch.

Let me know what you think, and I would love to see any finishes if you use the pattern!

Symmetric pattern stitched as blackwork.

Last week my symmetric pattern was featured as a Daily Deviation on Deviant Art. I got lots of wonderful feedback and quite a few people said they would like to use my pattern. I asked everybody who said so to show me their finish, and the first has just come in.

This was done by LunaStarFighter who thought the pattern would look nice translated to blackwork. I think it looks great, and I would love to try this myself with some filling patterns as well.

Blackwork flower

Thursday my boyfriend and I got back from our little trip to the Netherlands, we visited my dad, his wife, and my half-brother (only one-and-a-half and very cute). We are thinking of moving to the Netherlands so we used it as an opportunity to visit more possible places to live, and find out more information about the housing and job system.

Also, it was an opportunity to spend a little money without feeling guilty because we were on holiday. I didn't get any crafty bits, because I only found one craft shop, and it wasn't very inspiring, although I'm sure I'll be buying tons of fabric from the Wednesday market in Eindhoven (should we move there), because there was so much lovely stuff. What I did get was some Pokémon cards (now I have loads of doubles I don't know what to do with), the collectors edition of Heroes of Might and Magic V for the PC, PaRappa the Rapper for the PSP, and Gear Works for the GameBoy.

That's enough chatter. Now on to the stitching.
I didn't do any while I was in the Netherlands, but last night I made a little blackwork flower card for my Grandma.

The pattern comes from an old copy of Cross Stitch Card Shop. I used a variegated thread for the first time, and I'm very happy with the results.