And the winner is...

A wall hanging!

The owls are finally finished.  I've used the same fabric for the backing and binding, so it was all very simple to finish.  I've added two hanging triangles on the back and it's all ready to go.

 

I don't think Jonathan's cross stitch will be completed as quickly, it hasn't been out for almost a fortnight.  I should rectify that this week, and work on it at least one day.

Peacocks

The peacocks haven't been seen for a little while, but you may remember, these were the trigger for one of my ledger pages.  I quite like the style of these peacocks, they remind me of Assissi work.

I've  finished the cross stitching, but that's only the first stage.  I need to look at fabric now, and make this up into a smal wall hanging.  I'm hoping to find some with peacocks on, for the backing.

Decisions, Decisions

The fabric arrived, and I had some time to make progress on the owls.  They've been trimmed and fabric added.

I had thought I'd make a cushion cover.  It would be a large cushion, but that doesn't matter.  We like large cushions, but then I had an idea.

What about a wall hanging?

 

Now, I don't know what to do, a cushion, or a wall hanging?  I have until the batting comes to decide.

Cross Stitch Update

At last, we are making progress.

Some of the area that was taken out last week has been restitched, so now it's all coming on so much quicker.  It's not the easiest thing to stitch, but seeing progress makes it worth while.  Not sure if I'll get as much time this week to work on it.  I am going to work across the top next

Cross Stitch Update

I found the reason why I was going to restart this, but, as so many more stitches when in, I've decided to get friendly with the seam ripper, and take out the offending block of stitches.  I'm doing  bit by bit, so it doesn't get too disheartening.

At the same time, work on the hands has been going on.  It's really a weird sensation to walk past and see the hands appearing like this.  All the confetti stitches and the bad chart seem to be a small price to pay.

 

It'll be interesting to see what changes there will be after another week.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Now the owls are finished, it's time to do a secret project for Jonathan.  In fact, I started this one almost thirteen years ago.

 

My mum died two days before Daniel was one, so Jonathan was a toddler.  A month or so  before she died, we went to stay with her and we went out for a picnic.  It was a typically British spring day, blowing a gale and freezing cold.  This was never a good photo, but it was the last I had of mum and her "bestie boy".

I had it converted to cross stitch, it was always going to be done for Jonathan.  I even made a start.  For some reason, I put it down, and was going to restart it on new fabric. 

I've finally picked it up again, and couldn't work out why I was going to restart.  Having started stitching, I think I may have got some of the symbols mixed up as they are so similar.  I don't think it will make much difference in the bigger scheme of things, so I am going to continue.

 

The pattern goes over six pages, the first one might take a little while to do, but little and often will get me to the end.

To-whit, to-whoo

The cross stitching, and the back stitching are done.

These are all four owls, seen in all their glory.  It's the first time since the beginning that I've been able to see the whole picture.  I am going to miss stitching on these.

 

Now the fun begins, shopping for fabric to finish this into a cushion.

 

All the leaves are ....

Done!

The first part of the last page is complete.  All the leaves are stitched and outlined.  It means I'm now working on the tail of the last owl.  Wonder if I keep Daniel out all week!

Small Progress, Large Milestone

I only had a short time for stitching, but it has brought me to the end of the third page.

The foliage has been started at the top right, and this can only mean I'm coming to the end of the whole piece.  I can now turn over to the last page.  This is about a third of the size, so all being well, the stitching part of this project might soon be over.

Back Stitching

Whenever I sat down to do the back stitching on the owl, someone would come, or would phone.  By the time they'd gone, Daniel would be back home.  It seemed to take ages before I could get this section finished.

It's now done and a start has been made on the foliage that goes at the top right.  Just a little bit of that to cross stitch and outline, and I can turn over to the last page.  It's only about a third of a page, so I'm hoping it won't take too much longer to do.

Before he went out, I did get two more crumb blocks done to add to the bag.  It won't be too long and I'll decide on sashing fabric and make up a quilt.  There's just a couple more projects to finish up first.

Owl Update

I've been plugging away at the owls when Daniel has been out, so it's been slow progress.  The fourth owl is a lot bigger than the others, so has taken that bit longer to do.

I've done all that is on the third page of the owl, so now it's time to add some back stitch detail, and a few leaves in the upper right corner.  Hopefully, I can get that done this week.

Remember Us?

Daniel has been at college doing a couple of transition days, so I've been able to work on these little fellows.

The one on the right is the latest one to be finished.  He's been cross stitched and had the back stitch detailing done.  That means one more owl to do.

Another page

The first lot of foliage has been added to the owls.

This marks the end of the second page, over half way through.  There's one and a third pages left to do, so a little way to go yet.  At leat the next owl is a little one.

Owl Update

It's not been a bad week for working on the owls.  It's just as well, as I thought I was going to be boyless for ten days this month, but their holiday has been put back due to the bad weather.  I'll get a weekend free, but have lots of paperwork to catch up with.

I managed to get all the cross stitch done on the owl,

and then after several hours, the back stitch detail was done.  You can't see the full extent of it on this photo, but believe me, it went on forever.

I had a good laugh when I too the photo, the camera came up with a warning-"blink detected"!  I don't think I could ask for a better compliment to my stitching.

I am now working on the foliage to the left which will complete another page of instructions.

At Last, A Finish

Well, I've been home, but it hasn't all been fun and games.  Housework had to be caught up on, ironing to be done, and the gardening was calling while the rain stopped for a short while.  It might not be much, but progress has been made, and however small it may be, progress in any amount is more than welcome.

I had some new threads arrive, so I could do a blue version of the "lavende" for "It's a little bit French".  This has now been put to one side for a bigger project at the end.

The next project was a joy to do, tiny hexagons are always welcome here.  The pink version has been made into a doily,

and the blue one is waiting to be finished into something else.

It may be done today, but Daniel is off for the day, so the owls are coming back out.  After hardly seeing the light of day last week, it's about time they had a decent outing.  The body will definitely be finished today-I hope.

A Good Week

It was a good week for stitching on the owls and a lot of the body on the third owl was done.

I don't think I'll get much opportunity for it this week, but I would love to get to the bottom of the body.

The Details

Things are back to normal here this week, and Daniel is back out to Spanish and piano.  This means the owls can come back out of hiding.

The middle owl now has the back stitched detail added and it's now back to the cross stitch.  I am doing the next page to the left, so the next milestone will be the owl on the left being finished.

First Page

All the cross stitch on the first page has now been completed.  There are two more to do!  Before moving onto the next page, I'll work on the backstitching detail on the middle owl.  It will be interesting to see the difference it makes to the appearance.

I was hoping to work on it today, but Daniel isn't well and won't be going to Spanish.  Will it be too cruel for me to kick him out anyway?  Just joking, the owls can hide under the settee for a little longer and I can spend some time catching up on other things.

A New Face

Progress is still being made on the owls, another face has been completed.

I had a beautiful picture of the full face before scrolling up the frame.  However, Daniel decided he needed the camera and was going to upload some pictures.  It meant that the original photo had to be deleted!  Never mind, it's done, and there is only a small portion of the body to be done before the end of the page.  Roll on tomorrow, when Daniel will be swimming.

We Have a Body

After a busy week, I finally get an afternoon when I'm home and Daniel is out.  That means the owls can come out and get a bit of attention

One body now has all the cross stitch completed.  Once I've completed the rest of the page, I will go back and add the back stitching.  I don't fancy leaving it all to the end.  The third head has been started, and eye has appeard, but there is still a long way to go.