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Wow you were a busy little Mabel!!!!! So much work and they all look fab!!!!!

Well Mabel, I think you have been slacking a bit( )
Seriously, what a lovely collection of work done.

You really were busy! They all look great!

Wow I feel like I'm slacking off congratulations on finishing the first bookmark!
Love the mini hardangers, looks great.
Love the newest Madonna, and the whale and hippo look fab!

Beautiful stitching Mabel

Those hardanger minis are SO quick to stitch up, and I'm really enjoying them! Last night I finished of another Madonna, and still had time to do 2 hardanger minis

The Madonna is on 24ct black Congress Cloth and uses Dinky Dyes silk (18 Apricot & 49 Tropic Sunshine):



The first mini is on off-white hardanger and uses Caron Watercolours and Wildflowers (051 Abalone):



The second one is not actually one of the designs I found in New Stitches, the backstitch is but I made the middle bit up myself, it's great fun combining cut areas and fillings and Algerian eyes, you could make up dozens just based on that very basic outline in the centre!

Oh, it's on black hardanger and uses Caron Watercolours and Wildflowers (240 Stucco) -- the thread is a bit darker than in the picture, but I think my camera couldn't handle the contrast with the black



And I'm rather proud of having successfully poked away all the cut ends -- I had to do something as in both of them there was such a contrast between the fabric and the thread!

Awesome!! They are all great Mabel!!

Lovely work as always Mabel. I think that madonna is now my favourite one.

They are fantastic!

Niki xxxx

Super work!!!!

Great job on those projects. How did you like working on Congress Cloth? I've got a piece to work something on but I haven't given it a go yet.

Wow, Mabel, I am gone for a few days and you manage to finish a whole bunch of wonderful projects! I love them all! The hardanger minis are great, and the bookmark has turned out wonderful!

The new Madonna looks great, but I really love the newest hardangers, the first one is my favorite

Great work Mabel! I love all the mini hardangers!

Everything is absolutely stunning, Mabel!! I couldn't say which would be my favourite as every time I see another photo I go "Ooohh ... beautiful"!!

Thank you all, you're very kind !

Pengwenn wrote:How did you like working on Congress Cloth? I've got a piece to work something on but I haven't given it a go yet.

I like it -- it's stiffer than fabric so I just stitch it "in hand", which is fine for small projects. For a larger one I suppose a stretcher frame (the ones you tack the cnvas onto) would be a good idea.
The holes are relatively big, so it stitches up very easily and quickly and even when, like me, you cut your threads too long and they are rather fragile threads like silks, the threads don't fluff up very much because the holes are nice and wide for them to pass through.

[quote/]And I'm rather proud of having successfully poked away all the cut ends -- I had to do something as in both of them there was such a contrast between the fabric and the thread![/quote]

You're right to be proud. Zero contrast with that fabric & thread, Wow! I can't get over how you keep your fiber twist locked dead on. The colors are great; but, "The kind God is in the details."

mig-3 wrote:I can't get over how you keep your fiber twist locked dead on.

Purely accidental, I assure you !

This morning I cleaned the oven, ruined a few nails in the process but it certainly looks a lot better , unfortunately it triggered my back so managed to do the accounts but then DH ordered a relaxing afternoon with some stitching (don't you just love husbands ?)

I was itching to start my new little Hardanger kit, but came over all virtuous and decided that instead I would do a ribbon kit which I bought at the Stitch & Craft two years ago ..... They're a great idea, Crafty Ribbons do seven different designs (circle, heart shape, and so on) and 14 differently coloured material packs, and you just mix and match. I bought the Circle design with the white-and-gold material pack, and then, just because they were colours which I wouldn't normally choose, the ruby-and-thistle pack which is hot reds and purples. I'm a little less enthusiastic about the kit than I thought I'd be as there is a bit of the instruction missing (one type of flower is simply not mentioned) and the fabric, which you're told to put in a hoop, is much to small for that, so I got some neutral non-count fabric my MIL passed on to me and used that.

Apart from those two little niggles I do really like it -- it's a bit of work transferring the design and getting ready, but then it's great fun to stitch! I'm back at the computer for some more accounts now, but here's what I've done so far: