Les Dentelles and other happenings

On Monday Esther at Brodeuse Bressane released Part 7 of  Les Dentelles SAL (taking place on FB and her blog) - only 2 more parts to go!  I'm stitching mine on Oatmeal Cashel linen and using Anchor 778 and 387 (Ecru by any other name) and Caron Wildflowers in Maple.  I'm also using DMC #8 perle in Ecru for the blackwork element.  I would have preferred to use a #12 perle but #8 was what I had in the colour I wanted so in the spirit of stitching from stash that is what I used!  Here are Parts 1 - 7 completed:

 

I wanted to go for a light and delicate feel to match the title of the piece (Lace), so neutral tones on neutral fabric was what I went for.  For the top part of Part 7 I used what I will describe as a woven lattice stitch, as I prefer the look of the longer lines and like to add a bit of texture!

 

In other news, I received my monthly subscriptions from Michelle at Jodyri Designs - always a welcome package in this house! 

 

 

The FOTM is gorgeous as are the new antique silks.  The only problem is that I think I have welcomed more hand dyed threads into my stash this month than I have used - which means Operation Threadporn might be a bust for February.........oops!  There are still 10 months to go though!  My sister was no fool when she put the percentage rule in place.......

 

Speaking of my sister, have I mentioned that she is in charge of my stash budget this year?  It's not as frightening as it sounds though and has worked out very well so far, making me focus on what I really want to have and not just randomly spending stash pennies on silks (my default setting!).  Branching out into new areas of needlework inevitably means new stash, but the items have to be on my wishlist before they are even considered as a viable purchase!  If it's a request for more (unnecessary) threads, the chances are it will get vetoed.  In fact for March and April I am not allowed to purchase any more threads outside of my subscriptions, so good news for Operation Threadporn if nothing else!  In fairness though, my sister is the only other person on the planet aside from me that knows the full extent of my stash, so she knows that I am not lacking in the thread and fabric departments!

 

I've pulled threads for February's Operation Threadporn projects and will be stitching them for the rest of the month.  I changed my mind a few times, but that's all part of the fun and here are my final selections - projects to be revealed at the end of the month:

 

 

Finally I gave a very talented friend of mine my Jodyri Dragonfly finish from a few years ago and a bunch of fabric I'd been saving for a "special project" as you do (except this time I was obviously right to do so!) and she made me this gorgeous pin board which now hangs above my desk in the craft room:

 

 

 

Happy stitching everyone!