Redwork

 The end of April already so it's time to share my stitching for the Stick6in2024 SAL. 

For the months of March and April the number 1 was generated and my pattern was one that had been in my stash for around four years, a lovely stitchery piece from The Birdhouse, called Gingerbread House.

The design comes already pre-printed on the fabric which is good because I always struggle to trace things.  The majority of the stitching is back stitching, with some french knots and satin stitch. 

The perfectionist in me isn't happy with the satin stitch sections, I tried them so many times and kept ripping them out, unhappy with how uneven the stitches looked.   I realised that I would have to embrace imperfection otherwise this stitchery would never get finished, and as I heard someone say recently, finished is better than perfect.   The perfection part of my brain would disagree with that saying, but I kept stitching and tried to ignore that little voice telling me my stitches looked bad.

To be fair you could probably pick faults with a lot of things in this piece, but on the whole I'm happy with it, no one is going to inspect it that closely anyway 😉

I used the recommended DMC thread, 221 Antique red, three strands for everything apart from the french knots and the satin stitch for which I use two strands.

Enjoy the rest of your week

-X-

A few things this month

My youngest daughter Stevie-Leigh turned 30

We all had a lovely meal out on Saturday night, It was a tad on the expensive side but lovely to all get together

I made this card for her on Moonpig, ordered the giant size, and it certainly was, lol

Jacob took part in his first march as part of the Squirrels

His Mum has joined as one of the leaders as they were under threat of closing down the group because of a lack of helpers.  They both look lovely in their uniforms.

 

There was a fantastic turn out from all the the various Scout and Guide groups, it was lovely to see them all walking together, and the weather behaved too.

Oliver is a Scout in a different division and they haven't done a march in a long time because of the lack of helpers, which is a real shame.

I bought a ticket to the Makings of a Murderer tour which went on sale in January, I missed it before Christmas so when I saw it was local again I made sure I got one right away.

I was really looking forward to seeing this last week, a talk from ex Detective David Swindale covering various high profile murderers.  I couldn't have been more disappointed!  

He didn't talk about anything that you couldn't have watched on tv for free!  

There was only one case that I didn't know about and there wasn't much information on that either.

I honestly don't know how this tour has lasted so long and has got so many good reviews because unless you have been living under a rock and not had any access to internet or tv you will know all about these cases, and he didn't say anything new about them.

By the time it came to the interval I'd had enough and made my escape.  The woman next to me said exactly the same when I spoke to her, so I don't think it was just me. 

So if you see this tour coming near you my advice would be to give it a miss.

I'm looking forward to another mini adventure on Friday, I'm going to Wonderwool Wales for the weekend.  I'm sure that will be a much better experience  😉

-X-

What else did I finish in March?

I had all the intentions of popping back sooner and sharing the rest of my March makes but time got the better of me, I've been busy with nanny duties and sometimes by the time I have five minutes to myself I don't want to do much.

Anyway, I'm here now.

This hat was a quick knit, the pattern is call the Rough Road Hat a design by Shannon Larson which is free on Ravelry.

I don't often knit hats but I really enjoyed working on this and can see me making more.  

This one is for Jacob and will go into my gift box for either his birthday in December or his Christmas stocking.  I knit the small adult size and I'm glad I did because the next size down would definitely have been too small

I have made the In Threes cardigan many times, It is a very satisfying quick knit.  Made for no one in particular but it will also go into the gift box

The last one is the Anker's Sweater by Petite Knit.

I'm really happy with how this came out, the fit is perfect and I might get a few days wear out of it as the weather is still very changeable.

It's knit out of Stylecraft Highland Heathers in the colourway Marmalade.  I bought the yarn last April on a trip to Blacksheep Wools. 

I love the ribbed yolk

 

I'm also very happy because all of these makes were made using yarn from stash :-)

As we are already halfway through the month I will see you all soon with what I've been making in April.

Take care and enjoy the rest of the month

-X-