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Wednesday 26 May 2021

WOYWW 625 - Another Year Older

Greetings and salutations my fellow deskers!  So last week was the 12th Birthday for WOYWW, and today is my own birthday.... toot toot!  Have to blow my own trumpet as I'm sat here today, preparing for a full day of work (I work Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday afternoons, but all day Wednesdays currently, how rude is that? LOL) and on my own bar the animal companions.  No Mr B - he's currently stuck somewhere around London with a delivery - and Miss B is sleeping the day away in Exeter, having worked a late shift at the bar she's at.  Her dissertation was submitted without a hitch (fingers crossed) and now it's the waiting game.  At least she's back at work and has something to take her mind off it a bit!

Anyone not a regular here?  WOYWW is a weekly desk hop in crafting land, hosted by the lovely Julia and all the deets on how to join in are here...

So, onto the desk.

Oh my.  Have I got a treat for you - not.  The desk as you can see is relatively clear (who am I kidding???).  The roses in the pot are still waiting for me to do something with them, and I have another 10 black silk roses downstairs that I'm at a loss for what to do with them.  The urn you see on the desk is needing a coat of paint of some description, to tie them in, and the roses need shortening somewhat.  However, it's a bit small so I'm thinking of treating myself to a nice vase from Weird and Wonderful Ceramics.  Homewares for the darkly inclined.  We bought some of their kitchenware, and were just about to complete the set when they discontinued the particular range I had my eye on. Sigh.  I have a plan, though, being the consummate crafter, on how to get around that.... hehehehe


I'm digressing.  Back to the desk.  I made 8 ATCs in the end, and they've all got homes to go to - I'm just waiting for one address (Ali!) and they should all be going out in the post today.  I missed the post yesterday or they would have gone then (apart from Felicia's - I need to visit the post office for that one!).  I'll share the ATCs I made (they're not particularly special I'm afraid) once they've all arrived at their destinations.

But.... wait....what's this?  Gah.  I seem to be spreading!  It started out with a couple of frames and a bag of bits on the sofa and suddenly... yikes!  I'd better get myself sorted out.


In my defence, the sofa is now bloomin' uncomfortable to sit on and is causing me to have considerable pain in my left hip, and a trapped nerve/sciatica on the right side (a new sofa is on its way, don't worry).  So as I've physically migrated seat wise, so has all my stitchy stuff and where I bought the trolley a couple of weeks ago, it seems I'm now overflowing it.

Stitching... it's only been a week so not much has been done.  The only updates are to:

Siren's Lament


and the Peppermint Purple SAL - I added last week's box, and this week's has only just been released online, so that's yet to be done.  But I am what I'd call "up to date".


Another new start though - and this has a short tale attached.  I'm on a FB group - Cross Stitch Friends in the UK - and they usually have various swaps etc going on.  This month they elected to do an ATC on the theme of stitching.  What ho! says I - this could be interesting.  So, in my all knowing wisdom I decided to do a fully stitched ATC.  Then forgot about it until a couple of days ago - it needs to be posted on Friday.  Cue plenty of "assertive stitching" (a phrase I nicked from a fellow YouTuber, Georgie, rather than "panic stitching") in order to get it done.  I'm on track - just got a couple of little motifs to stitch, and then the back to do.  And then to post it..... I must be nuts.


Julia commented last week on the fact that my starts seem to be located in different places all the time - the top left corner, the centre, the words - and how did I decide where to start.  Welllll, she says, cracking her nuckles and setting to the keyboard, it's like this.

Often, patterns will give you an indication of where the centre point is on the chart, and tell you how big the finished piece will be.  Generally, you add an extra 2-3 inches of fabric to allow for stretching and framing, and you then have a choice of where to start - either 2-3 inches in from the edge, or in the centre once you've located that point.  When you're working on a piece that is not "full coverage" (like Christmas Moose, and the cactus in a pot I did a few months back) it makes sense to start from the middle and work outwards, as it saves an awful lot of counting to find where to start, and you're guaranteed to have placed the motif in the centre of the fabric (provided you got your fabric the right way up to start with!).  Full coverage pieces like Siren's Lament are a different matter.  You know exactly where the top corner is, and when you're working on something that big (35 A4 pages - 28 full and 7 partial!), finding the "middle" is nigh-on impossible.  I start top left, but I know others start top right or bottom left or right.  It all depends on preference, but the way I see it is that I'm right handed, and by working left to right, I don't fluff the work up by rubbing my hand on it.  The text start (Field of "ducks" LOL) is actually a top left corner start, and although it's not a full coverage piece, the majority of the design as at the top and on the left, so I worked out the inches I needed for framing etc, and just stuck in.

The box lurking on my desk contains some jewellery making stuff delivered yesterday, which I only opened this morning being forgetful, and therefore unsure if it was a birthday present!  I am thinking of making some needleminders and project bag dangles - I stupidly forgot to take a picture of the footie one I did for David.  Maybe in next week's blog!


Happy Hopping, everyone!

15 comments:

Lunch Lady Jan said...

It was interesting to read how you start a project because I’ve always wondered too! The little crane scissors are fab, your ‘assertive’ stitching is obviously working well!
Happy happy Birthday, hope Mr B gets back in time to help you celebrate!!
Hugs LLJ 10 xx

Ali Wade Designs said...

Happy WOYWW. Email has just been sent with my address - and ATC/postcard will be in the post to you today. You definitely have a lot going on right now. I totally understand why you start stitching projects in different places on the canvas - although most of mine over the years were small enough to be a 'centre start'. I am not joining any swaps or challenges currently, to give myself time to do the chronic pain exercise programmes I am in and just some time to breathe (literally, as we also do mindfulness). However, I have offered to make a Pyrography Dachshund ATC for someone who was offering a swap for a fabulous hand painted ATC, so that is on my Keep Notes app in my To Do list section! Hope your new sofa comes soon. Ali x #28

Julia Dunnit said...

Aha, interesting read. I get the left to right thing as a right handed, for sure. Working out the centre of anything that small would make my head hurt! Many happy returns of the day! I like the idea of assertive stitching...there is to be some assertive work done here this afternoon!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I have a pair of those scissors, but they are for decoration, not use. You have a very busy desk. I think the black roses would make a great Halloween wreath. I like the purple ones on your desk.

I really love that weekly black work. And I also hope you get a new sofa soon. Happy WOYWW from # 3.

Zsuzsa Karoly-Smith said...

Oooh, what are you going to do with those black roses? They remind me of Shaz actually - so many things do! Amazing how you can do that level of shading with just thread! Happy belated anniversary and happy birthday as well! xx zsuzsa #26

Robyn said...

So much happening here- I must stich more- NYR! thanks for the visit! Robyn 29

Mary Anne said...

Ah yes - xstitch start points are tricky, as you describe. I knew a stitcher, nearly blind, she was, stitched with the canvas so close to her face. But honestly? Her backs we absolutely as neat as her fronts, She must have used a ton more floss to make it so but really, they were a marvel to behold. Love the findings too - all so YOU! :D
Happy WOYWW
Mary Anne (5)

Shoshi said...

What an interesting post, Morti. Always interesting to get the inside knowledge on how people work at various projects, which is why I always like to give details of progress. I nearly always mark the centre of a cross stitch piece with two running threads, but I did depart from this a bit with my recent "Tiny Carpets" project because the designs did allow a bit more freedom to start in different places. I love the projects you are working on! Always so intriguing, and I love watching each piece progress. The metallic effect you've achieved on those scissors is amazing. It certainly looks as if the frames are taking over! I hope your hip/sciatica problem clears up quickly - that must be so painful and uncomfortable for you. How exciting to be getting a new settee - we loved getting our new furniture recently and I am continuing to have great fun making the throws for it!

Thank you for your visit last week. If you hop back this week you can see updates on everything - so far so good re my appointment but he did a biopsy just to make sure.

Happy WOYWW,
Shoshi x #24

Helen said...

well a post full of fascinating facts. I'd forgotten all about measuring for starting points it's been such a long time since I did any stitching of any kind. The black roses look very you I have to say so I am sure you'll find something intriguing for them! Have a great week. Helen #4

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Loving the metal embellishments especially the bats, gorgeous. Nice stitching going on here and look forward to seeing the ATCs too. Wishing you a lovely creative woyww, Angela x19x

Sarah Brennan said...

Look forward to seeing what you end up doing with the black roses Diane. How about a Halloween Wreath for the front door? Hope you manage to get your ATC finished and posted in time and that the new sofa arrives soon. Stay safe and happy WOYWW. Sarah #2

Lisa-Jane said...

WELL! Young lady! I have a bone to pick with you. Mentioning a shop "for the darkly inclined" had me scurrying to a new browzer tab and I can see where all next year's Christmas presents are going to come from! For me obviously, nobody else. How funny that I always tend to start in the middle (ish) but I choose a colour that has a lot of stitches to get me started as I do go along in one direction a fair bit first. I also have those crane scissors - I think they are part of uniform ;-) Stay safe and keep smiling, Lisa-Jane #8

Lisa-Jane said...

And happy birthday!!

Crafting With Jack said...

Lovely stitching and I do like those bats. Sciatica is not very pleasant, hoping your new sofa arrives quickly. Angela #12

Spyder said...

Love the scissors stitching, I have at last posted my ATC's off although I forgot it was a holiday weekend and they're probably still in the post box! Hope not! I misplaced some, so made more, so all my numbers have got muddled. I think I've made two of number three. No one will notice! Love those charms. Happy very late WOYWW?! from Me! Stay Safe and keep crafting! ((Lyn))#9

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