French Knots

The French knots have started and they are packed in fairly tightly.
I usually scatter a few around and then go back and fill in the area-it seems to work for me that way.
The texture is amazing and at present I am using DMC Perle 8 thread but I also have to use floss as well and the scattering of the knots in the beginning helps to blend the two different threads as well.
I have gone around the outer edge of the yellow knots with backstitch to give it more definition and I will do the blue when I start on those knots.

I am pleased with the way this is shaping up but I have thousands of knots to go--it's a good thing I like doing them.

Happy Birthday Ebony

Today is Ebony's 12th birthday -like I keep saying-"where has that little girl gone?"
She stayed at our place last night so we had a cake for her--just for the three of us.
I had to buy a sponge cake (a) because that is the only cake she likes at present and (b) because I don't bake cakes :-(
Pardon the decorative wrapping around the cake but aluminium foil was all that I had-but I did have enough candles.
Here she is blowing out the 12 candles----------------




And this is the aftermath------------

She is now taller than me---but then most people are.

Happy birthday Ebony.

Life begins again--

When I woke up this morning I knew things were going to get better.
At last I have had several good nights sleep--instead of waking up every couple of hours I had eight hours sleep except for the toilet trot that is.
For a long time now both Stephen and I have been experiencing restless nights -sometimes we get up and make a cup of Milo or we read or hop on the computer- anything to stop the twaddle that is going on in our heads.
No we don't have any problems that are worrying us but we don't seem to be able to turn our brains off once we hit the pillow.
I have been continually tired and I know that is the reason why I have not been able to do anything creative.
But today was different-I felt great-I knew there was light at the end of the tunnel at last.
So what have I started to do........
This year the ACT (Canberra) Embroiderers Guild is celebrating its 50th birthday and for the exhibition's challenge we are doing "something" in the ACT colours which are blue gold and white.
We were given instructions plus some thread in the prefered colours and a gold charm of a pair of stork scissors.
The thread and scissors must be able to be seen and there are limitations as to the size etc.
We can use more threads but they must be in these colours or shades of these colours and I can assure you that every one will need more threads than those that given to us.
What to do was the next question?
I had been thinking of a range of ideas and I have been talking to people who had wonderful ideas but I wanted something different.
I thought that seeing as I had done the embroidered button class with Karen Ruane I would like to do a button and maybe embroider the ACT floral emblem on it.
But last week I was surfing the net and I saw a site that had the Chinese Yin-Yang sign done in amazing designs and colours and I knew that was what I would do.
The self cover button I am going to use is 6.5cm(2.5") across the middle which is quite large.
You can see the size of it compared to the 15cm(6") hoop it is sitting on.
I drew the design onto an old doyley and I have stitched the outline in blue and yellow French Knots and I will fill in the whole area with French Knots as well.
It will be a carpet of French Knots--thank goodness they are my favourite stitch.
I also have to decide where to put the stork scissor charm as it must be visible.
I will keep you posted on the progress as it unfurls.



This is the sketch I did just to see how it would look.

Oh and another thing---I have decided that it is about time that I did something about my weight which also adds to my tiredness--who needs to walk around carry weight which is like lumping 2 suitcases with you all day--not me that's for sure-so like I said in the title--life begins again.

Yes I am still alive !!!

I must apologise for my absence but the truth is I had nothing to show you.
My muse is still on holidays-heaven knows where-but if you see it please send it home to me I need it.
I think all the rain we have been getting has well and truly dampened my spirits (pardon the pun) but I have not wanted to do any stitching or creating of any kind.
I have been reading blogs but not commenting and I do apologise for that as well I just found it all too hard.
Hopefully I will improve in the future.
So here is a photo--not of me being creative but of the ladies who came to our second craft day at our church-there were 16 ladies who were doing a lot of different crafting and even more talking and the decision was made to run the group twice a month instead of once a month.
They are all so eager to get together and learn from each other it is wonderful.



This next photo is of two of the many magpies that call our back yard home.
Stephen and I were sitting in the kitchen having some morning tea and I noticed something move in the back room.
To our surprise two of the magpies had trotted in through the back door having a sticky beak and I suspect that they would have entered further if we hadn't been in the kitchen.
Would this be classed as a home invasion?
The one closest to the camera was having a chortle at us by this stage.



They then flew out into the back yard and had a bath in our bird bath----ahh what a life.

Well I will try and do something creative----soooon--but please don't put a time on it I would hate to let you down.

Quack Quack Quack !!!!

If this rain keeps up I will need to grow webbed feet.
We have had rain constantly for 5 days now and it is expected to continue for another week.
Our back yard is waterlogged as you can see by the pools of water around the shrubs and the mulch ground cover is about to float away.
The bird bath looks like a water feature at stages during the rain---enough is enough.


We have a group of magpies that come into our back yard to scratch around in the grass for grubs but lately they keep hopping up onto our back doorstep warbling away at us.
Every time we open the back door they run to the step I think they want to come inside out of the rain -they look so bedraggled I feel sorry for them.

I have finished all the stitching on my white embroidery that I did in Karens class and it is now being damp stretched ready to attach the border.

Hopefully I will be able to take some photos if the sun ever decideds to come out again.