Almost halfway

The second cloud block is finished now. I need to finish the sky in the first cloud block (still), then hemstitch the borders and this sampler will be at the halfway point.  

A bit more of cloud two

The second cloud is coming along slowly.  It's not been helped by the light at the moment, but then it is November in Yorkshire!  My plan is to have the bottom half of this sampler done by Christmas - so finish off this cloud, the sky in the first cloud, and all the hemstitched borders.  Let's see how it goes!!

Cloud two

After some serious procrastination, I got started on cloud two.  I decided to start on the sky (lost my light grey thread....long story...), and it has gone in fairly quickly.  I'm keeping it mostly one colour so the sky looks quite flat in the background and the cloud will be more shaded.  I have also used full squares and not put half squares to the edges.  I've done this in a few of the blocks I've completed so far and I quite like some of the patterns that have emerged.

Cloud one done!

I finished some stuff!!  I feel like I've been in the middle of doing things for a while now, so it's been good to reach some sort of closure.  This cloud feels like it has taken forever to get to this point.  I have learned a lot in the process, so I think the next cloud will look better for it.  I have finished the canvas stitches, and I think I'm going to move on to the other cloud and leave the pulled work sky to do later.

I have also finished the EPP I was working on.  It was really lovely to be working with something with so much colour while I've been stitching with the whites, greys and blues.

Cloud progress

I think the cloud is starting to come together and look more like a cloud.  I am still offsetting the pattern in each section of cloud, but instead of having nibbly tiny stitches around the edges, I have started to adjust the stitch length to fill the space.  I think this is helping to give it a more organic, cloudy look.

Back to the clouds

The photo is a little bit dark, but I like how it shows the sheen on the thread. It's taken some time to get back into this cloud, but it's been worth it, and now I'm making some progress.  I'm not sure I like the nibbly stitches between each section, but will see how it turns out!

First block hemstitched

I have done most of the hemstitching around one of the blocks.  There is still one side to do on the top edge of the block.   I decided to create a ladder pattern rather than a zig zag, and I'm happy with how it looks.  I am wondering if I can somehow fit in some other patterns in the hemstitch, but as its on the borders they need to be consistent or it will look a bit messy?

Indian ground done

The Indian ground block is finally complete.  The top half is plain Indian ground, the shading is very subtle and I noticed that it was more visible on the back. So the bottom half was stitched back to front.  I also really like how the threads are pulled in the unstitched stripe in the middle.

What I've done over the summer...

...isn't very much.  The weather has been too good for working, but I'm getting back to it now.  I've been working on the Indian Ground block, and it's getting there.  It doesn't look like the picture in the book, but I think that is because I'm working with different fabric.  I am using different shades of thread for each row, and I think the shading is visible, but quite subtle.

I haven't been wasting my time over the summer, I'm just back from a trip to the Festival of Quilts, which was great - so many inspiring quilts! And I've been playing with English Paper Piecing, and some really nice bright silk.

Indian ground block

The first diagonal rows of indian ground.  The shading might be a little bit too subtle, but we will see how it works out.

Eyelets finished?

I think the eyelets are done.  I haven't filled all the spaces, mostly because I like the distorted shapes in the fabric.

More eyelets

More eyelets, some with crosses in the middle.

Eyelets

New block started, with square eyelets of varying sizes, using different white threads.

Byzantine block and the bigger picture

The byzantine block is finished.  I enjoyed stitching this one and really like how it's turned out.  I decided to use only full stitches, and I think it gives it an interesting edge.

I have chosen another cloud block, and stitched the outline, but that's about as far as it's got so far.

The bigger picture!  This is the bottom half of my 16 block grid.  I have plans for the two empty blocks, and I really need to get to work on the cloud blocks.

Byzantine block

A block of byzantine in progress.  I am varying the stitch length, and leaving some of the linen bare.

Milanese block

The block is finished now.  I think my shading is better towards the end than at the start, but that is the whole point of doing it!

Still shading

I'm still working on the milanese, but almost there now.  Just a bit more of the lighter grey in the bottom corner and it's done.

Three shades of grey

I've introduced the third shade of grey into this block, and I'm pretty happy with how it's coming along.  It is looking more organic in shape than I thought it might.  I'm hoping when it's finished it might look like a cloudy sky

Shading

This block is going to go from light to dark to light again.  I'm quite enjoying it, but it's going to take a while to do!

Slow progress

But I'm finally getting somewhere.  I have finished another block of pulled work, so now I have two and a bit blocks done. Only 13 and a bit to go...

Clouds and a plan!

The clouds are coming along, slowly but surely.  I think I'm going to finish off the clouds before I start on the sky in the background.  Also I now have A PLAN for what is going to go into each of the blocks!!

Tiny clouds

I've been working on the clouds today.  The stitches are very small so I can only work for a few hours before my eyes give up.  The magnifier has been essential!

First block complete

The first block is done!  Now I'm moving on to the cloud block next to it, that will be a little bit more complicated...

First blocks started

I have started work on two of the blocks now.  The first is going to be clouds, the second filled with ripple worked over varying numbers of threads and I really like how the pattern is starting to build up.  The light has been really rubbish, but I've finally got a magnifier with a light, and it has made a huge difference.

Back again

 I'm back again after another long gap!  This time I'm working on some experimental embroidery with Tracy.  So far, I've created a 16 square grid on the linen by drawing threads, and then stitching guidelines for each square.  Now I'm looking at whitework stitches and playing around to see what I like.