WOYWW 820/40 - February 2025 update

Hello and welcome back to WOYWW, the weekly blog hop showing the chaos behind the crafting as always.... Hosted by the very lovely Sarah at Sarah's Craft Shed...

No really snappy title from me this week because I'm typing this at a ridiculously late hour while I wait for our latest flosstube video to upload to YouTube.  Sigh...

Do I have much to report? Not really.  A few bits of stitching here and there and nothing relating to any other crafts whatsoever!  Time seems to get away from me these days since I started my new job on 4th Feb.  I'm either working at one or the other and possibly earning less than before.  Seriously starting to rethink my strategy on that!  

No desk shot tonight but stitching wise:

The disaster that was Cryptids, where I'd stitched the right hand border one stitch too far to the right has now been fully corrected and I can finally finish off the last four cryptids in the middle.  It is hoped that I might finish it this year but we'll have to see how that pans out!

Siren's Lament trundles onwards, slowly but surely.  I worked it out yesterday - if I do 200 stitches every day, I will get it finished in 2 years and about 3 months.  So it'll likely be double that after all.  LOL.

Nevermore is moving along quite nicely too:

And the Chatelaine is finally seeing a bit of love after sitting in the naughty corner for about a year.  I really REALLY need to get this worked on and finished.  That said you're looking at a tiny portion of the overall design and it's probably going to take me a good year if I can work on it every day (or close to), maybe two.  It is incredibly beautiful and detailed though.

  

The fabric is a 28 count evenweave - meaning that there are 28 holes to the inch, and usually one stitches with two strands of floss across two threads of fabric, as you can see from the larger crosses on the right hand side of the first picture.  However, the yellow ochre through to blue-green coloured tiny stitches around the central beading are one strand of floss over one thread of fabric. There's over 600 stitches there, and it was eye-watering work but so satisfying to complete.  

Below is the overall completed design - see if you can work out which section I'm working on! 

I'm sorry it's not a great photo but it's all we manage to download from the website currently.  It will give you a decent idea of the sheer scale of this piece.

Right - well I have a video to go and publish.

Happy Hopping!

Morti x

WOYWW 817/37 - spot the difference...

Well - hello!  Welcome back to WOYWW as hosted by the fabulous (and Chalet School Friend!) Sarah of Sarah's Craft Shed, who is the most able successor of our dear Julia.

Thank you all for your lovely and kind comments last week. Nobody is to feel bad about missing previous news or not commenting etc.  I've been AWOL for a long while and am not the most diligent/frequent of bloggers or readers, and I've missed a lot of everyone's lives. Sympathies, love and hugs are automatically given from me and should be assumed as sent whatever your situation.  This community has been a family for a long while and whilst prodigal son I am not, occasional returning sheep I am.  I know you all are supportive and I am blessed to have you within my circle, albeit quite a widely spread one. That said, I mentioned to Mr B that there's a WOYWW crop coming up (mentioned, as one does, with one internal eyebrow raised to see what the response would be hehehe) and he said to book somewhere to stay overnight as Stoke is a loooooong way north.  Although permission is not required, blessing is generally sought and I would say that was definitely given!

I'm sorry I didn't get round to y'all to return the comment favour but I plan on making sure I do this week. I might even remember to answer some of your questions either in this Blog or in my visits, so if I forget, do please give me a poke!  And come back here later in the week in case I've added (or corrected) something...

First the desk.  As the title says, spot the difference. LOL  

I did actually complete two projects that have been waiting to be dealt with. Well, not projects per se but "things wot need fixing".  One was a zipper pull I'd previously made for a project back for Mr B, but the clasp of which had broken so the whole thing needed taking apart and remaking.  It's two inches long, took me all of 5 minutes to fix, but has been waiting at least a year.  What am I like?  So, job done.  It was in fact hidden on that pile of a desk last week, and is gone now - but you'll never spot it.

The other task was the embroidery scroll frame that was on the chair last week.  The staples had rusted through the webbing (to which you stitch your fabric) and new webbing needed stapling onto the rods.  Finally got round to that as well.  Another 5 minute job.  An easy win.  A quick dopamine fix, so to speak.  I do not know why it took me so long to sort out but it's done now.  The scroll frame is ready to go back in service and another item ticked off the list.

Stitching wise we have progress further into Siren's Lament, now on the next couple of rows below where I was....  can't wait to work more on her face.

BJ asked if it was cross stitch - it's actually tent or half-cross stitch.  Some would say needlepoint.  There's no hard and fast rule with full coverage, just personal preference.  With this particular design, and there being such a large area of pitch back, I decided to use three strands of floss over one thread on the fabric, and do tent stitch.  It gave me the coverage I needed in the black.  another one I'm doing is two strands over one (we shorten it to simply 2 over 1) tent stitch, but some folks do 1 over 1 full cross.  I work on the theory that I can stitch twice as fast with two strands and tent stitch but it does have its issues, such as warping the fabric if you're not careful.  I try, but it won't be until it's finished and washed that I'll know for sure.

And the Alluring Sorceress has moved on further too - squint and you'll spot a third shade of blue appearing.  The colours are just gorgeous....

Angela (Crafting With Jack) - I'm happy to have been of storage inspiration!  You asked how I reached the top shelf and the answer is simply - with a step ladder!  I have my very own two-step ladder in the craft room.  It never leaves and is solely for the purpose of hopping up and down as necessary.  Sometimes I stand on the futon to reach the shelves above there but the rest of the time a mini ladder suffices.  In answer to your second question, I try to put things up there that I rarely need.  So that I don't have to get up and down too often.  That said, both myself and Mr B are quite short so the next shelf down sees a fair bit of ladder action!  I hope that answers your questions?

Well, I'm late posting this and now the dogs are complaining that I haven't walked them so I'd better fly....

Happy hopping!

Morti x

WOYWW 816/36 - A very belated Happy New Year!

I'm here, I'm alive and I'm ok!  A very belated happy new year to everyone.  Life kinda caught up with me, overtook me, and left me standing still.  LOL

So first things first - let's get the elephant in the room out of the way.  I pretty much left everyone hanging and so I'm pleased to let you all know that my results from my operation came back and they're all clear. No cancer, and no need for accelerated re-scans.  Once every three years is sufficient, apparently.  I have what is called a "radial scar" or a "sclerosing lesion" and whilst there is a risk of malignancy much later on, it is a very low risk.  Or so I'm told.  I'm not going to worry about it as there's no point stealing joy from the now on the off chance there may be trouble a long way ahead.  I'm well now and that's what matters.

Let's switch topics and talk about what you're really here for - WOYWW.  What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday.  Once hosted by the lovely Julia, we now have it hosted by the equally lovely Sarah over at Sarah's Craft Shed.  The idea is to show your work desk, warts and all. The Chaos behind the Creations.  Well, we still have chaos...

Much as I love my crafting, and my craft room, I never seem to have the time to create and when I do, I don't have the energy.  Well, if I'm honest, I have the time if I stop wasting it on pointless pursuits (doom scrolling, anyone?), or stop stitching.  Sometimes one feels a little like a hamster on a wheel where the stitching is concerned, hehehhe.

So as you can see below, chaos has indeed resumed.  I mean, technically it's been reshuffled.  But there have been some biggish changes (new boxes in the Kallax, for example, to hold my DMC Threads) and the desks are still holding WIPS to be completed. I WILL get there.  

I just need my job to quieten down a little after the flurry of a new start and all that goes with it - answering immediate queries and dealing with post-Xmas issues, onboarding new clients who failed to return paperwork pre-Xmas, supporting a client as they bring in new HR software systems (and drag their reluctant employees into the 21st century!), and getting to grips with my own new systems.  Then I also start a part time job in February - still working from home but it's likely to be a big time suck three days a week as any job is.  So as I see it, I have this week and next to clear that pile on my desk and to get back to creating new stuff.

Stitching wise, here's some of the latest progress:

Siren's Lament - finally got to the end of that row!

The "Alluring Sorceress" by Dimensions is really starting to become more defined and you can see the patterns appearing in that robe,

And Lilith of Labrador's tail is really coming along with gaps being filled in.

I have a list of outstanding tasks that need doing (I owe a certain H an ATC - I've not forgotten and I WILL do it!) so time to sign off, and get on with clearing that pile of finishes waiting for me. And I'll document them and share next week so there's my accountability!

Happy Hopping!

WOYWW 810/30 - Not much changes round 'ere fast...

Seems I can't manage to remember to post regularly, but infrequently is better than not at all, eh?

There's not really any change to the desk this week.

Still has the same bits on it - maybe a couple extra even (LOL) but basically the room is still a mess and the cushion isn't finished and the Christmas stitching still isn't framed.  Maybe 2025 will be the year of finishing? Perhaps if I capitalise it, it will make it a thing. The Year of Finishing.  Sounds like a title for a fantasy book.

There has, of course, been stitching, and we're in the throes of Flossmas so daily vlogs are de rigeur right now.  The average vlog can take two hours to prep, film, edit, and upload, so it does take a considerable chunk out of one's day.

Where was I?  Oh yes, stitching.

So the whole Flossmas thing means that there's less time for stitching so a limited amount of progress gets seen.  Amongst the current suspects are:

Alluring Sorceress - art by James Himsworth, published by Dimensions - how it looks, and how it will look when done...

I'm currently adding in the darker shade of blue to add depth.  It's going to take a long time but I also had this in stash for nigh on 20 years so a couple more won't hurt.

Next up is Cead Mile Failte, Design by Joan Elliott, published by Design Works.  Another one that's been hanging out in my supply box for a long, long time.

What you can't see is the judicious application of some blending filament to the yellow to make it glitter and appear more like the gold leaf that would have been there.  If you squint.  Sideways. Heheheh.

I've also worked a bit more on Cherith.  Loving this one but it does require concentration and longer arms.  None of which I really have at the moment. This really does need you to pay your full attention to it because the threads need to lay just so in order to look nice and neat, and not like the canvas had a fist fight in a needlework shop.

The picture on the left shows current progress - you can see the straight line across the top where I've reached the topmost point of the centre panel.  I just have the corners at the top and bottom (plus that purple at the bottom) and the lightest diamond to stitch in.  then single stitch width of border and I can work on the zig zag border before moving on.  Again, this will take me a couple more years to do but I'm really enjoying it so far. I plan to get this centre panel finished during Betwixtmas, ready to move on next year. The picture on the right shows the design in its original colourway, and I know that more folks have done different colourways to mine as well.

Regarding next week, it's highly likely that I won't be posting a WOYWW, unless I pull my finger out and schedule it on Tuesday night.  In short, I had a mammogram back in October which flagged an anomaly and after 2 needle biopsies the doctors would like to do and incision biopsy under general anaesthetic. the prognosis at this point is pretty good because the previous two biopsies showed no issues, they just want to be really, really, really sure. My last day working for my current is therefore on the 17th and I have the joy of recuperating ahead of Christmas.  Fun times!

So there you have it.  This week's WOYWW.  Happy hopping, y'all...

Morti x

WOYWW 808/28 - A step forwards, half a step back...

Hellooo!!! Welcome to WOYWW once again - hosted by lovely Sarah over at Sarah's Craft Shed.  The weekly blog hop around creative desks across the world to see what folks have been up to, and behind the scenes.

Newsflash - I've discovered that if you upload from a desktop computer (or laptop) you can get photos to open large in a separate window - it doesn't work from a mobile!  So fee free to click into pics and have a proper close up snoop.

So we do have some progress after having got the desk cleared, we now have an empty box with everything in it being put away... or back on the desk!  To be fair, the items on the desk are there to be worked on in the very near future, or posted to people, so they're there as a reminder to get on with them - LOL.

Front and centre you can see an embroidered panel which was a Christmas Tree embroidery stitch-a-long (SAL) I took part in during advent in 2022 and I really need to finish it off.  By Sunday.  I plan to make it into a cushion and as Flossmas starts Sunday, I want to share it with the viewers as a finish.  No pressure then LOL.  I've some fabrics there to the right that I've been considering as possible options but although they were sold as fat quarters, they're actually a little smaller and that's causing a bit of a headache.

Here's a close-up, before you all ask:

It was good fun to do at the time, but the reason it took so long to finish was all the seed stitches.  They took me the better part of 2023 to finish off and then it just sat there.

I've another piece to frame as well - I started that for Xmas 2022, and finished it last Xmas.

It's quite sweet (pardon the pun) and a bit of a departure from my norm as there's quite a lot of pink in it!  I have the frame, just haven't got as far as mounting it yet.

Mary Anne last week mentioned that she was missing the needlework so here goes with some of the latest pieces being worked on.

First up is a "Vampire Caravan" which is by Living on the Rainbow.  A bit of a Halloween fest. 

I've actually got a little further than this but don't seem to have a photo to hand.  The caravan glows in the dark in places, 

and when finished will look like this:

It's really quite small and will sit comfortably in the palm of my hand with room to spare, once done. I will come back and show you the finished article.

I've also worked a little on the World of Cross Stitching SAL and hope to have this finished by the end of the year, although the last part came out about 6 weeks ago!  I think my brain has had enough, to be fair, and wants to move on. Only 4 sections to go.

I've also spent time working on Cherith, by Textured Treasures.

It's a real confection of speciality counted embroidery stitches and I love it.  Karen very kindly provided me with a bespoke colourway, and as neither of us had a clue what it would look like once stitched, it's a bit of a mystery until it's done! She is one very clever lady!

Well, that's all from me for this week - sorry I'm a little late joining in again but better late than never, I say.

And....wait.... it's actually December in 3 days' time.  How did that happen already???

Happy hopping folks!

Morti

x

WOYWW 806/26

Whoop!  Well I made it. Sorta. Quite late in the day (it’s nearly 9pm as I type this) but here nonetheless. I forgot the last couple of weeks but there wasn’t actually much to report so it didn’t matter so much. I meant to post last night and forgot, and then today didn’t go the way it was supposed to and now here I am. 

So this week I really wanted to report a step forwards. Look!

The desk on the left is cleared!

Okay, okay…. Everything off the desk is in here. Don’t judge me!

To be fair, I knew that one of the problems was places to put things, so I bought some new additional storage for pens and clay cutters, but in order to put them on the desk I first had to clear it and clean it. Now that’s done, I can spend time sorting the contents of that box and put everything away properly. 

We’re working on the rest of the room - and indeed house - to hopefully bring some order back into our lives before Xmas!

Happy WOYWW day, folks!

Morti x

WOYWW 803/23

Here we are for another round of WOYWW hosted by Sarah at Sarah's Craft Shed - she who has ably taken over the reins from Mrs D. Started 15 years ago, it was an opportunity for a good snoop at the reality behind all the beautifully staged shots of finished crafting.  And for a fair amount of enabling of course.

So what gives at Morti Mansions this week?  Well, we've stalled a bit l while I ponder next steps.  You see, I did actually sit down to start tidying the craft room up, and in doing so discovered that the entire north west corner of the house has terrible mildew. We had to pull everything out and clean the walls off, and while it dries I'm contemplating how to battle this going forwards.  So the desk currently looks like this:

Our north wall suffers terribly (to be fair, so does the west but the east is a party wall with the neighbours) and we have dehumidifying tablets in special containers everywhere.  We also have a mini electric dehumidifier that does a sterling job in the sunroom when I remember to switch it on, so I'm contemplating buying something a bit beefier for the craft room. I think I'd better go out and check the gutters next time it rains heavily too.  Everyone thinks Cornwall is this idyllic, Caribbean-like part of the UK but in reality it rains 9 months of the year and this year it was only hot for 8 days.  Still beautiful though.

As part of the tidying up I corralled all the stray embroidery floss knocking around and now have a bag full to bobbinate, as well the muddle Mum left (fear not, LLJ, I intend to keep all flosses - silk or otherwise - that I got from Mum's place) and that should keep me busy for a bit. Not that my hands are ever idle though.

I won't share my stitching this time, just to be a tad different LOL but there'll be plenty to talk about next week.

Happy Hopping!

Morti x

WOYWW 802/22 - Dismal, damp, and dreary...

Greetings, fellow deskers!

Short and sweet (and late) from me this week.  Circumstances as ever conspiring against me to get me here on time.  One day I may even be early.

So, no desk from me because nothing happened to it.  I did however start the inexorable task of going through the boxes that came from Mum's and we've managed a whole two.  Well, one and a bit to be precise.  The trouble is they're full of small things and treasures that were either too good to let go, or two useful.  Rulers and stencils, a box full of Windsor & Newton inks, this little witchy poo diorama...

One treasure was a box full of embroidery skeins that had been wound onto home-made bobbins (probably made by Dad) and which will turn out to be their very own nightmare.  You see, (and as some of you know) there's more than one brand of floss.  And did Mother write on the bobbin which brand it was?  No - she only numbered them.  And each brand bar a couple have different numbering systems. Jeez..... I will need to go through, unwind each floss and rewind onto an acid free bobbin, then work out what number it's meant to be and which brand. What a task, eh?  Some would say I'm crazy, others that I'm frugal.  LOL

Mum was what we call a promiscuous stitcher - she used lots of brands in one piece.

Not sure what we have going on here… yikes

There's also been some amazing finds - vintage British silks which I think are from the late 40's/early 50's, and some imitation silks which were lurking in Mum's stash.

Such beautiful colours!

It's a shame you can't zoom into the photos - you used to be able to but now you can't and I will need to work out how to fix that.  So, for the time being, here's a close up of the moons on the Cryptids piece.

I rolled the scroll frame down, and last week was mostly about frogging (unpicking) the border that was in the wrong place.  A whole 919 stitches had to come out but I feel much better for it.  Some folks think I'm crazy.... oh, I said that already.... 

Before

After

I've put it to one side to do my other WIPGO for this month, Nevermore, and I've finally picked up Siren's Lament after 9 months' break.  And after two days have realised exactly why I took a break - I was struggling with the basic stitching.  It gets hard work when there's lots of "confetti" but we have some progress. You can just about see the masts of a ghostly ship to the right of the mermaid's head.

Mary Anne asked last week if I have all my stitched pieces up on the wall.  I have one my Mum did, and then eight, I think, I stitched (including two of my own designs, tralala) myself and two that David did. There's a further 7 (2 mine, 5 his) waiting to be framed, and one which my best friend stitched for me currently at the framers.  We have plenty of wall space though.  Once the 7 waiting to be finished are done I'll share those ones here.  I think the others may have already been shown at some point. I don't sell them, but I have gifted some in the past, and so has David.

What was that about short and sweet?

Happy Hopping!

Morti x

PS - I was offered the job, which I've accepted, and Jeanette I think has an interview for hers.... yay!

WOYWW 801/21 - Where did that week go?

Blinked and missed it, that's where.  How is it Wednesday again so soon? I didn't get round anyone's desks last week either (shame...shame....) but I have every intention of doing double duty this week to make up for it hehehehe.

WOYWW - currently hosted by Sarah at Sarah's Craft Shed - is a fascinating blog hop across the desks of many crafters, a warts and all look at what's actually going on.... hehehe.... rather than the pristine display conditions you often see when folks display their beautifully made cards.  Well, not such pristine display conditions here!  Lots of mess and plenty of stitching. instead.

This week's desk is.... same as the last two.  In fact, I dare you to play spot the difference.  Go on, do!  I know that something has changed there but I'm not telling you what... hehehehe

Second desk is looking a little tidier but that's only by dint of the fact that it's normally where my sewing machine lives.  As the machine is not currently there, there's a little encroachment going on (no I did not make the project bag you see, that's a purchase from Big Stitch)

Stitching wise, I've not done an awful lot in a week to the World of Cross Stitching SAL, but the first skein of thread in the right hand box is now complete.  3 to go, and the border, then I can move down and work on part 9.

(By the way, any weird grid/mesh effects or whatever disappear if you click into the pic!)

WIPGO called Cryptids for some love, for the second time this year.  You last saw it week 790/10, and now it's out for another 5 days.  I've done 2 days so far and definitely moved it on - Nessie is now complete and I'm working on the border.

Zoom in and you’ll see pale cream moons down the right hand side - they need an outline, I think, though they’re more obvious in person.

Busy Busy Busy....

Good news - gosh, how things can change in a week - is that I have had a verbal offer of a permanent, part-time role with one of our existing clients, starting Feb, and several others have expressed an interest in retaining my services on a formal basis going forwards.  Watch this space to see what happens!  Even my colleague Jeanette is in talks with the same client and may have a job out of it too.  Just so happens that they have a couple of leavers themselves, who are in roles that would suit us.  Yay!  Fingers crossed it all pans out.

Happy Hopping everyone

Morti xx