17 in 2017 May Progress

I have been very busy this month with work :(  so limited project progress, but some progress is better than no progress!

This is my original list for Meridith's challenge
http://emilyscupboard.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/17-in-2017.html


No. 13 Silk Shading Goldfinch

This was my project for my weekly term time embroidery class - finished and framed!

No.4 Estonian Lace Scarf Just be You Beaded Shawl

This has been ripped out as it was so full of errors! I have started a new beaded shawl instead.
Ravelry notes here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/suller/just-be-you-2

No. 6 Embroidered Angel Mermaid

This is now a mermaid :) as I have finished my Goldfinch I need a project for embroidery class, I am going to finish this cross stitch I started in about 2009 (!) with freestyle embroidery. I will do a separate post on it soon.

No. 15 Down the Rabbit Hole

I am still slowly appliquéing the leaves, I am behind but I don't care, I am enjoying the stitching

 As I mentioned at the start I am busy at work at the moment, apart from my weekly embroidery class, my free time is in the evenings when the light is not so good for stitching. I have been knitting a lot, I joined in the Joji Locatelli Mystery wrap, it's lots of fun, I am using these yarns, a gorgeous mixture of fine wools and silks.
Ravelry Notes here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/suller/joji-mystery-wrap

The Goldfinch

A couple of years ago I read Donna Tartt's excellent book The Goldfinch 

I really enjoyed the book, but I only picked it up as it had a copy of one of my favourite paintings on the cover! 'The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius which hangs in The Mauritshuis in The Hague, we lived there for more than seven years and I often visited it. It is a small painting but very poignant, the poor little bird is chained to his perch.

Last year I was looking for a new design for my embroidery class, I knew I wanted to try a silk shaded bird, hopefully one that visits my garden regularly and was a little colourful! I have seen a Goldfinch only once in the 6 years we have lived here and of course it flew away before I managed to get a photo of it!  I found this image online

With the help of my embroidery teachers I started to try and recreate it in threads.  I am using DMC stranded cottons. It seems a little counter intuitive but you start at the tail...

and work towards the head, at this point I was a little worried that I had made him look sinister!

Once the rest of head was stitched he looked much better!

He is all mounted and ready to frame - it was tough going mounting the embroidery and very hard on the hands :( I have to confess my teacher Sophie did most of it!

Here he is in all his glory :)

Just be You Beaded Shawl

You may remember the canvas work embroidery I did last summer ...(http://emilyscupboard.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/an-hour-day.html)

I forgot to list it as a finish at the end of the year and discovered it languishing in a drawer while I was looking for something else (!) I decided to turn it into a project bag using this tutorial and some Essex Linen.
http://betsymakes.blogspot.co.uk/p/project-bag-tutorial.html

A new project bag deserves a new project right? I have cast on some gorgeous yarn - This is Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace a mix of Merino Wool and Silk. It is difficult to photograph, but is a beautiful dark teal colour 'Wine Gum'

I am using beads for the first time too - these are Miyuki 4mm Seed Beads Duracoat Galvanized Dark Seafoam Size 6/0

They match perfectly :)

I am joining in with the Boo Knits mystery KAL for a beaded shawl named 'Just be You' The clues are issued twice per week and I have just finished Clue 2 - so far so good :)

Ravelry Notes Here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/suller/just-be-you-2