And all of a Sudden There are Twelve

Twelve Crumbs from the Cutting Room Floor

Time marches on relentlessly.

Week eleven was a red letter week

because the black ducks arrived back at the pond.

When they appeared I regretted having stopped

stitching the Daily Scratchings!

But why not record this Springtime event?

So can you see him?

He's hiding there in the black.

They must be in shock

It's been snowing and freezing since their arrival.

Perhaps the red sky is a morning sky

warning us of the snows that followed.

For week twelve I decided on a multitude of cross shapes

with no embroidery at all at all

Perhaps later on in the year

another multitude of crosses might appear

covered in embroidery.

And Finally Thank you Judy

for your lovely post about the Daily Scratchings.

Happy Birthday Mark!

The youngest of my boys

came into our lives

39 years ago today.

Such a precious little being.

He was a quiet calm little thing

who loved watching every move

and hearing every noisy sound his older brothers made.

He soon caught up with his brothers

and loved hockey from that first wobbly time on ice.

Loved soccer

Loved fishing and still does

He wanted to be an artist from very early on.

Thank you Mark for bringing so much love into our lives.

You fill our hearts with pride.

The dimples never left!

And then he found his beautiful and talented Donna

Then Ashley came along

to fill all our hearts with even more love!

 So now there are three!

Sorry about the love-fest!

Just ignore it if you are not family!

A Wander Through the Woods

Wandering through my woods

my mind is often on stitches

I look at things and wonder

what stitches are hidden in the textures and shapes.

Perhaps this one has very delicate sword stitches in it.

I like the fineness and irregularity of those little cracks in the bark.

Not so sure stitches would do here

What I see is burnt bits and pieces of silk

loosely attached to a foundation.

French knots

Sorbello knots

both individual and continuous Palestrina knot stitch.

Perhaps Bullion knots

or

another wrapped thread type stitch

or 

the simple running stitch

Definitely Sorbello stitch.

Couched lumpy bumpy threads

and as for those eyebrows....

I made a piece many years ago using a kind 

of stitch used in carpet-making.

Can't recall the name any more!

Heaven only knows!

Distressed and ruched cotton fabric perhaps.

And then sometimes you spy 

a wild and rusty animal wandering through the woods

in the distance!

I like this delicate graffitti

Just stabbing stitches here and there.

How about Raised Cup stitch
or some other
Catherine Wheel type stitch

Tall and narrow Cretan stitch

might work.

Stem stitch

or some might call it Outline stitch

More knots

or padded Satin stitch would do too.

Haven't a clue
but like that this really doesn't look like tree bark
more like water I think!

That was a fun walk!

Week Ten of Crumbs from the Cutting Room Floor

I Like this one

It seems to be about crossing paths

There are many people

that I am so grateful to have crossed paths with in my life.

This lovely little nobly knot stitch is a new one for me.

Very nearly the Sorbello stitch but not quite.

This one is called the Palestrina stitch.

I found it on a set of very old notes

so old I think they were reproduced on a Gestetner!

Given to me by an embroidery teacher

with whom I crossed paths many, many years ago.

Funny that here the knot is described 

as being of Danish origin....

researching on the internet today

it is described as Italian

and

it always seems to be in a continuous line

not these individual knots.

Have a great day.

Nine Crumbs....Nine Weeks

A small collection of nine crumbs

Just the beginning

Blue skies

Cloudy smoke-rings

Rising from the horizon

Bringing a message of hope that

warmer days are coming

Pebbles

or to some

French knots

sprinkled among grassy stubbles

or to some

Wonky Blanket stitch

A sky filled with a hundred little crosses

Wonder how many there actually are!

The cross is the most ancient of symbols

dating back to the Stone Age.

Crumbs from the Cutting Room Floor.....

....sometimes don't come out as beautiful

as one imagined!

I thought I would challenge myself to solid stitching....

....Obviously not my thing!

Even as I stitched I felt it becoming heavier and heavier.

That is why the right 'arm' didn't get filled in completely.

It was done during week seven of this year.

Perhaps something was weighing on my mind!

A little house with a red door

is bound to need protection

under a weathervane cross.

So this week the pendulum swung the other way.

I wanted a light cross

and so simply drew it on.

Feeling less oppressed!

Yesterday March 'blew' in like a lamb

a beautiful sunshiny, windy day.

The snow has all disappeared

but people say a storm is on it's way

for the weekend.