Canvaswork . . .

I finished the canvaswork piece we started at West Country Embroiderers this month. Except that it needs some more beads and sequins. And I have to decide what to do with it! As usual. I really enjoyed doing it, and want to do some more.
This is my practice piece. Having only tried canvaswork once before, a small and unsuccesful attempt, I thought I'd try a few threads and see what worked best. I had bought single canvas with a larger mesh (eyesight) and wanted to see before the workshop day which ones would cover it enough. We did paint the canvas first, so bits showing were not a problem. I guess with white canvas you would want to cover it all up? I thought it needed the thicker threads - stranded cotton, soft cotton, some wools, thicker perlé, those knitted ribbon things or else finer ones used double. Our tutor used some torn chiffon strips but I didn't get round to trying that.

Easter celebrations . . .

A representation of the empty tomb we had in church at Easter. It started life as a pair of stocks (!) but some creative people with hammers, cardboard, paper and paint transformed that, others worked on the garden setting , and with the candles lit on Easter Sunday it made a great visual aid for the resurrection message. Interestingly, this cross is made from the tree we had in church at Christmas - an interesting symbolic link.

The flower fades . . .

My Mothers' Day tulips now. DGD asked, quite politely, 'Grandma, why have you got a vase of dead flowers on the table?' The answer could have been of course that I hadn't got around to clearing them up yet. But the real answer is that Ive been finding the drying, twisting petals so fascinating! 'I see,' grandaughter said, a bit hesitantly! The last 2 amaryllis when they were beginning to open. They are coming to an end now, more a soggy mess than interesting curls, so soon now the flower stalks will be cut off and when the leaves have died down they will be put away till next year.
This is the first one I bought, several years ago, buy one get one free in the Co op in Marple, and I gave the other one away as a Christmas present. I wonder if that one is still flowering?
How to keep amaryllis flowering year after year:
When the flowers are finished, cut off the flower stalk. Keep watering the leaves till they are dying down too. Put the bulbs away somewhere dry. After Christmas somewhen take the bulbs out, soak them in water for half an hour, pot them up and put them on a windowsill. Keep a little watering going. Eventually you will have the excitement of spotting the first shoot - is it a flower shoot or just a leaf? - then keep them well watered and they will flower for you.

Mothers' Day and Amaryllis

Mothers' day flowers from eldest daughter, who called round with her three daughters bearing a card, a jam sponge cake and these lovely and unusual tulips:

rivalling for a while our only double amaryllis:
'Apple blossom' is a good name for this colour: Seven out of the 8 plants with flowers this year. (The ninth is a baby and had no flower)

Not quite an oscar . . .

, but it comes close! SewIknit2 said...
"I nominated you as blog "which bring you inspiration and make you appreciate the blogosphere!" If you wish to participate please nominate your choice of 10blogs and let them know."

Thank you so much Sew1knit2. How nice that you enjoy my blog and how kind of you to let me know in this way!

I hereby nominate my choice of 10 - I could have picked 20, so don't feel bad anyone, please, whom I don't mention, I appreciate all the stitching and art blogs I read regularly. There isn't always enough time to leave a comment, unfortunately.

I'd rather be in India

Occasional Jottings

One Hundred Quilts

Spirit Cloth

Margaret Cooter

Musings of a Textile Itinerant

Exploring the Surface

Little Works of Art

Purple Missus

Threading Thoughts

All these have a good variety of pictures / types of work / bits of stitching / etc, and have me hunting for needle and thread or getting the paints out. or wanting to, only its time to get the tea or something! Any of these will feed my soul a bit. Thank you to all of you for blogging as you do. And because I don't like to do a blog entry without a picture, here's one of my favourite views - Chesil Beach in Dorset, from a viewpoint high up the hill at Portland. Nothing to do with anything! I just like it.