It took a little searching and lots of finger crossing but I finally managed to find a frame suitable for the Peacock Stumpwork. There are something I hate to buy on line, frames are one of them but I was lacking places to find one suitable and ended up finding this beauty on line. I took a chance and ordered it and I wasn't horrified at all. It's perfect!

So now I can finally say the picture is complete! 

If you wish to purchase this beauty then head over here...click me.

P.s don't forget still time to enter my little competition!

How about a Little competition?

In celebration of my branching out and joining Wow Thank You and opening another shop, I have decided that it was high time for a little competition. Once again I have a little button needlecase up for grabs and to go along with it a small set of Liberty Tana Lawn buttons. 

How does that sound?

To enter simply leave a little comment in this blog post! 

You have until Midnight on 3rd July!

Please note I won't be giving away my super sharp scissors or my fave thimble as shown in the image. As I sort of need them to make things.

Old School

Ever wonder what kicked start my love for stitching peacock feathers? When it happened? Well this little piece was my very first piece I had ever stitched where the design was the feathers. I think I either made it in my second year or during the first few months of my last year? One thing I am certain of and remember was that it was inspired by an embroidery that was hanging up on one of the walls in the workrooms. I used to walk past it every day, an angel with the most magnificent peacock feather headdress. 


The colours were amazing for such an old piece of embroidery. Now if my brain doesn't fail me it was designed by Edward Burne-Jones who had close links to the Royal School of Needlework. (If any fellow apprentice can recognise the piece or recall the one I am thinking about it used to hang near the lunch/break room, quite a long piece? And partly stitched??) I wish I could find my original notes from when I made it but anyway, I loved it and this was the product of my love for it:


A pocket mirror and little drawstring bag. Stitched in vintage silk threads on silk fabric. It was a fiddly piece to construct, in order to get it round the glass mirror tile without making it too bulky. 

Start of Good Weekend

Nothing makes a weekend go well when most of your chores are done before Saturday, and all the errands are run before the morning is out. Followed by a spot of shopping and baking and that's it. Holed up for the weekend with good food and a box set.


Sweet!


Spelt bread, with organic set honey, raspberry leaf tea and a new mug! Couldn't resist the mug, after all it says tea and scones on it. I wouldn't mind living on Tea Street or Scone Close! 


You will recall that I have recently completed the Peacock Stumpwork, and I had hoped to get a suitable frame for it, but couldn't get one. Which is a tad frustrating so I will have to look on line now for a suitable box frame and then list it. However, all is not lost. What I did buy today was some new plain button shanks ready to make some more liberty tana lawn buttons. A set of which will be given away as part of a competition which I hope to get under way this weekend! Keep an eye out for the post on it :D

For the Spelt loaf recipe taken from the Telegraph site:THREE-MINUTE SPELT BREAD

This recipe originally appeared in The Daily Telegraph a couple of years ago and has since built up quite a following on the internet.

Mixing up a yeast dough and then baking it without giving it time to rise (let alone kneading it) is counter-intuitive, but it works. Baker Andrew Whitley says that if you let it rise slowly, in a cool place overnight, it will be even better.

• 1lb 2oz/500g spelt flour
• 2 sachets/10g fast-acting dried yeast
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 2oz/50g sunflower seeds
• 2oz/50g sesame seeds
• 2oz/50g linseeds (optional)
• 17floz/500ml warm water

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

Combine all the ingredients, adding the water last. Mix well and turn the dough into a greased loaf tin.

Put straight into the oven and bake for an hour.

Remove the loaf, turn it out of the tin and then return it to the oven without the tin for a further 5-10 minutes.

Peacock Paradise

As promised I have finally completed the stumpwork piece that has been several weeks in the process, if not months.  And byjove I am very, very pleased with the final outcome. Only thing that does remain is getting a shadow box frame before finally listing it. This piece will be listed on Wow Thank You rather than Etsy, will let you know when it is up.


SO many stitches, threads, and time went into producing this beauty and I am almost sad its complete, but now it means I can move onto other projects, whatever they maybe.

Sheep!

Working on private commissions can be a love/hate affair, but what is a lovely part of it is when your working on it for a good friend. Finally finished this week the sheep clock. 


Hopefully I will be able to post up some images of the peacock stumpwork finished! I know, very exciting!!

Inspiration

Sometimes its just nice to take photographs for no real reason. Here are some shots taken during a visit to Loseley House and Gardens. Wonderful place, only taken about 12 years to go....