All done...

... and nowhere to go.

I always keep a small stash of inexpensive, ready-made frames, so I have something to put my small pieces of embroidery into as soon as they are finished. I was so certain, I had a square frame that would be perfect for my little 'doodle' piece, that I didn't even stop to check - Big sigh, Big mistake!
As I mentioned last week, I am already late getting it to my brother for his birthday (no, he doesn't read my blog) and I really, really wanted to get it in the post before the weekend. I can still only stitch (and work on the computer) in short bursts of time, so Wednesday, I set my trusty egg timer and set to work adding the final details to the piece.

Some of you may have seen the progress of this small piece on facebook and Instagram, but I have just realised that I have not shared anything here until the picture last week. So, to start at the beginning - well kind of and in short:

I no longer take anything complicated with me when I travel - instead, I grab (literally last minute with one foot out the door) a handful of threads, a scrap of fabric, a needle and a small hoop and shove it into a small bag. Once on my way, I fill a small square with a 'doodle' drawing and spend my time away just filling in. I find it relaxing on the plane or after a day of stitching, to just stitch whatever I feel like without having to think about it too hard. It is all just playing with colours, stitches and textures while filling in shapes.

The interesting thing is, the pieces very quickly start to reflect the place I am in or where I am going and this one is not different. I was visiting my brother and we were enjoying a glass of wine and the view from his backyard, which backs right down to the edge of the water. After a long and unusually hot summer, the garden and the hills on the other side of water were dry and parched and it occurred to me that the small pile of threads I had thrown in my bag before I left Australia, were exactly (almost) the shades of water, the sky, the dry lawn and scrubs, and the hills in the distance. So, I decided I would give this piece to my brother once finished.

I just let the piece grow how it wanted to and as so often before discovered new stitches and ways to fill shapes on the way. Like the area below the yellow spiral - it is filled with pistil stitches of varying lengths so the knots fall randomly across the shape. The only plan I really had was that I wanted to add a bit of silver once the coloured embroidery was finished, so I left narrow gaps along some lines were the metal thread would go later on.

I chose two weights for silver couching thread and couched the heavier one (Jap T69) across the full width of the piece. It slotted neatly into the narrow gap I had left earlier.

The finer thread, went along each of the swirls.

And there, all done... and no frame to put it.

Lyndby 2018

Oh well, there is always tomorrow.
With this piece finished, I can move (swiftly) on to the next. Finalising colours for my new crewel project??.... getting started on the juggling jester???... and I really want to stitch some little Christmas trees???...
Whatever I start, it is undoubtedly going to be a busy week ahead.

I started today taking Tilly for a fabulous long walk 'around the block' in our neighbourhood and now that my trusty timer has beeped (more than once) I will turn off the computer, I enjoy the afternoon outside...

I hope you enjoying a lovely and relaxing weekend and to those celebrating Thanksgiving, I wish you a happy and safe holiday with family and friends.

Best Stitches,
Anna xx