Little Cloth Book - Cottage - feeling happier

                                       I made a few little adjustments .

                                            Feeling happier now !

                 

Happy to be me :)

Ha ha ha ! Belly Dancing me !

 Scribbled on with pencil and stitched with Perle cotton thread and DMC cotton threads . Mostly back stitch , stem stitch , satin stitch , a few Colonial knots for my ear-rings and flower centres , some of my hair is couching stitch , Lazy daisy stitch flowers  and very raggedy Button-hole stitch around the edges of the page ... especially at the bottom to give the effect of long grass .

                                                I love to dance !

 A very simple and roughly stitched Button-hole stitch around the edge .

And for those who always want to look at the back ! I started and finished with a knot and tail on the back . 
 When I do my crewel work , especially more precious projects , then I usually start and end on the front .
  For my simple little cloth book , its free and easy who cares kind of stitching !

So now the first page that I did , does not look colourful enough !
   I think if I do a more colourful button stitch around the edge , it might help to make it work again .
    I,m making this up as I go along you see . I,m really loving these cheerful colours .
 I was deciding which page to do next  .....

                                             ....... this one maybe  ?

       At that very moment I looked up and saw these two hearts in the sky !
                                                 A sign maybe !

Ellen's Legacy -slow stitched books - started mine :)

                            Hello everyone and how are you all doing ?

                           Sorry about the sunshine ! Very bright picture  !

 Here I have gathered a few scraps of cloth , needle and threads .

  It was nice to see the sunshine by the way !

I have been following a lovely group on Facebook called the Ellen's Legacy -slow stitched books  and have joined in with the fun !
 I will give you the link here to go to the website of Paula MacGregor who can tell you all about it far better than me .
 It is a beautiful story and I,m sure that you will enjoy having a go at making your own little slow stitched book .
Come and join the group on Facebook .
This is the link to Paula's website - that tells the beautiful story .
http://www.paulamacgregor.com/ellens-legacy.html

                 Simply drawn onto fabric with a pencil and back stitched.

 I,ve always found embroidery to be very calming and have always enjoyed doing small meditative pieces in-between my bigger projects or whenever I,m feeling anxious  .

       I am putting my medieval needlework basket aside for a little while .

                                             I will come back to it !

  Every now and then the worries of the world try to get to me . I will not let it !

                            Putting up the Runner-bean frame , me ! :)
 So I have immersed myself in my vegetable gardening and jobs do be done .Lots of baking and trying new recipes .
Getting to bed early and making sure , I get as good a night's sleep as I can get .
 I listen to music ,  rather than the never ending stream of miserable news reporting .
     I don't want to talk about it , nor invoke it's name !
                        Keep yourself as cheerful as you can be .
    We are staying in , having our shopping delivered as and when we can find a slot . Doing our bit to lessen the stress on our National Health Service . To whom we are so very ,very grateful .
                I,m trying to stay calm , go carefully one day at a time .
                               And do lots and lots of embroidery ! :)

 

                   Embroidery is calming , helps me forget all my worries .
 So , the idea here , is to use what you have . You know all those bits and  bobs that you have squirreled away over the years .
   Little bits of embroidery , vintage embroidered tea tray cloths , worn out and tatty , treasured scraps of antique lace , little keepsakes , buttons , beads and  ribbons , badges ,photos, brooches , sea shells ,bus tickets , pockets , love tokens , pretty fabric scraps , all manner of embroidery threads , silks and wool . All freely stitched as you so desire .
 .....and stitch the covers and pages and put them all together with ribbon to tie  or a pretty bead or button to fasten .
   A little treasury book of embroidery stitches souvenirs and mementos .... but the real pleasure is in the making of it .

                                      Scruffy stitched butterfly ! 

So I am making a little book of affirmations for myself .
I can't really tell you any more than that . No real plan . No idea how to put it together  yet .  I am just letting it reveal itself as I go along . I will post more pics as I go along .

                      Here are a couple of pages , stitched before bed time .

 Old cotton embroidery threads , but I will change and  mix up threads .

 Not every page will be like this . I want to do some pure meditation stitching, colours and moods , straight from the heart stuff too ...as it flows from my heart and  mind .
 Therapy stitching. Like when I was stitching my sea inspired pieces ( I know you thought that was weird ! ) and medieval stars in earlier posts .

 You can click to enlarge my pictures , but don't look too close at my stitching , be kind ! :)

                      O.k so I'll tidy up that scruffy butterfly just for you ! 
                            Have a beautiful and blessed Sunday .

Sea Inspired Meditation Embroidery

After a clear cold night and a frosty early morning , which had all gone by sunrise , we set off for a walk along the cliffs .
 We didn't go too far , but we wanted to get out and enjoy the sunshine today !

We walked to the Marconi Monument , where we love to sit and just look out over the sparkling sea and blue sky and feel the warmth of the sun on our faces .

                                     Today you could see for miles !

This is looking towards St Michael's  Mount , where there are already daffodils in full bloom !

 I had brought along , a scrap of linen and a small selection of crewel wool in shades of blue , a chenille needle and my tiny scissors and began a simple " Sea Inspired " meditation embroidery .
  A more contemporary piece deliberately different from my usual style .
I'll show you my usual meditative stitching in my next post .

Just a calming little piece , just stitching as the mood takes me , going with the flow, enjoying the rhythm and the simplicity of little chain stitches .

                                       I,m in the mood for blue today .

                  The soft , blue wool , warm and soothing in my hands .

Not even the slightest breeze today , warm sunshine and so peaceful and quiet .
              Such a blessing after all the rain and gales last week !

 Soothing little stitches , tears of sadness, tears of joy , ripples on the sea , shoals of tiny fish , white sea foam .  Thoughts unfolding through my needle .
  Comforting rhythm as the needle passes through the linen cloth scrap .

                                      Gentle waves lapping the shore .

We sat and talked happy talk , reminiscing about when the children were small and of the dogs we'd walked along these cliffs   .

 We watched a little bird , who flew down quite close , flew off and came back again to the same spot over and over again .
  I found myself  looking closer at the seedpods of flowers from last summer , bleached in the sun , the wind and the rain .  So much inspiration  !

Simple Lazy Daisy stitches my mother taught me ! I looked it up and found that this is more properly known as detached chain stitch or sometimes known as isolated chain stitch .
                                No hoop ... my cloth just gently held in hand . Relax .

  Looking towards the cliffs , tin mines and engine houses along Rinsey , between Porthleven and Praa Sands . Memories of so many beautiful walks with our dogs along that stretch of the cliffs , with my dear friend Kath and her lovely old Labrador Elsa . My dear old friend knew where we could find four leaved clover leaves .......and took me there ..... and sure enough....we each found one !
 I still have mine in a little picture frame !
             She moved away ......

                                  The rugged cliffs and caves of Poldhu .
 I think we all need more days like this and to get out and make the most of these precious hours .
  I am enjoying this free and easy meditative embroidery , so very therapeutic .

                                      I don't feel that is is finished yet .