Sunday 26 September 2010

Spooktacular Pumpkin

So much for doing another Halloween stocking that did not involve much work. The one I chose to do next took longer than expected.  I also missed out some of the charted stitches. This is 'Spooktacular Pumpkin'.


As with last week's stocking this was done on 32ct lambswool with the recommended overdyed floss.  I've made a start on the next stocking, this one does involve less work!


This morning I was able to stretch and mount Pumpkin Stew, so that is off to the framer this week.  With a bit of luck I should get it back in about a fortnight to ten days.

Last week on the rotation it was White Nights.  This is a bad photo of my third corner. I managed to complete the two minarets in four evenings.


After the final corner, next month, it will be on to the buildings in the middle and then the border!  Yes, well that sounds good, but in reality I'm still on part 7 of 12. This week it's the turn of the Santa tree skirt but I've been enhancing my stash with some more Halloween stuff which I might have to start! Who knows?

Sunday 19 September 2010

A spooky stitching week

I did, eventually, finish Pumpkin Stew but not on Sunday evening as I had anticipated.  Instead it was Tuesday!  This was because I had a support evening for parents at school on Monday and the time I got home I didn't fancy doing any sewing.  This project was an early birthday present from my Mum and Dad.


This Shepherd's Bush design was stitched on16 count hickory heathfield, as suggested, with the recommended DMC Cotton Pearle #5.

After stitching on 16 count fabric for a week going back to Witches Riding By on 36 count linen was a bit of a shock.  Here is my progress on this so far.


This week the witch gained an owl, part of a broomstick and a little more sky. 

This weekend I made another attempt at rectifying my lack of Halloween ornaments to hang on my light tree.  This is 'Whooo's knockin' at my door?' and is from the chart booklet 'Tis Hallowe'en' by Blackbird designs.


This was stitched on  32ct lambswool, left over from Mary Wigham, using a mixture of the recommended overdyed floss and the DMC alternatives.  There are a number of other stockings in this booklet that I would like to stitch so this evening I'm going to choose one which involves a little less work!

Next week on the rotation it should be either  the Santa tree skirt or White Nights.  'The OtherHalf' has chosen White Nights so with another late night in school on Wednesday, this time for Open Evening, it will be interesting to see how far I get.

Hope you all have a good stitching week.  With a bit of luck, after this week, I should be able to return to my usual two posts a week.

Sunday 12 September 2010

Quick post

Just a quick post to show you what I've been up to this week.


It's Pumpkin Stew from Shepherds Bush and I'm hoping to finish it tonight.  More about this project next time.

Sunday 5 September 2010

Stitching update and something completely different!

WARNING this post is picture heavy but the something different really was very special!

This week it was back to school for me. Things were a little hectic, hence no posts for a bit. Last weekend it was a Bank Holiday here in the UK. We spent it in London. This meant quite a bit of time in the car so I was able to start and finish 'Trick or Treat Tree' by Pat Thode of Heartstrings/The Artists Collection. The chart was published in this year's Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue.


This was stitched on 32ct Crystal Peach Linen with DMC floss. I used glow-in-the-dark Kreinik braid for the ghost and the facial features of the cat and pumpkin. I finished it as a pillow using some left over Mill Hill beads on the edges.

On Tuesday I downloaded the September chart for Sylvia's My Little Heart SAL. I think I've mentioned before that each of these takes an evening to stitch.


On Wednesday it was back to school. I don't remember such a hectic first day back for a long time, and the pupils weren't there! I was leaving just as the caretaker was locking up!

Thursday was a little better I got home at a reasonable time. The Other Half met me at the door and asked me if I would like to have a flight in a hot air balloon this weekend. A friend of ours belongs to The Royal Engineers Balloon Club (for UK readers this is a private club for Army members who contribute towards it ~ no tax payer money is involved). They were hoping to fly at the Llangollen Show this weekend but their pick-up driver, the one who drives around following the balloon in order to help retrieve it when it lands, was not able to go, so they needed stand in ground crew, in return their partner would get a flight. So I volunteered our services. At six o'clock on Saturday morning we were there at the launch site to help out. Here are some of the photos to show you what happens.
Firstly the whole thing is laid out. The balloon part is actually called the envelope.


Next the envelope is inflated using cold air as hot air a this stage would cause the nylon material the envelope is made out of to melt.


When the envelope is almost fully inflated the burners are used to warm the air up. The whole thing is turned upright and after a few final safety checks take off soon follows. Here are some of the pictures I took from the air.

Looking up into the envelope. Yes it was warm when the burner was going and very noisy!







Dawn over Dinas Bran


Close encounters!






This round segment is called the parachute and forms the braking system. The pilot pulls on a rope and the round section folds in like a parachute causing hot air to leave through the top of the envelope. When fully inflated it is possible to stand on the parachute and not fall in!


GPS giving the flight details.


The balloon.


This was a fantastic experience. In the evening the balloon flew again and we were part of the recovery team. The balloon landed in a nearby campsite. Loads of adults and children went running towards it as they thought it had crash landed. Now that's what I call dropping in for tea!