WIPocalypse 2012 Last December post

Well the next couple of days will be pretty busy, its Christmas Eve here in Australia, so I'll do a quick post now of the Christmas ornament I made for an exchange in my lace group. Its a Christine Springett pattern which was a lot of fun to make, I'll have to make another one for myself!!

Here are also some of my lace bobbins which I spangled recently, you can see I was on a roll. It's fun deciding which beads to put on each bobbin, but usually a job I putoff

I particularly like the Cloisonne beads, so they went onto some of my favourite bobbins, a number of these bobbins were made by a lovely chap in South Australia called John Beswick. We do have some talented bobbin makers here.

Here is my progress on some lovely Bucks patterns by Pat Milne, a lovely lady and a great teacher!! I didn't wind much thread for the bigger piece, but it is so lovely I wish I had wound plenty and could have finished the edging!! Isn't it gorgeous??

Merry Christmas everyone!!

November Wipocalypse post

Last few weeks have been busy, another start on a lovely Hardanger piece by my pal Abi from The Stitch Specialists group, its already shaping up nicely. Parts 1 and 2 are the middle section, I've progressed a bit on parts 3 (the boat medallion) and the kloster blocks around the outside.

Now I can post my Christmas ornament I made for my Aussie lace chat group, its a lovely pattern by Christine Springett. Didn't want to give this one away!!

October WIPocalypse 2012

I meant to be faster posting, but you know what its like!!

Here is my progress on Many Years Ago my Sticklounge project by Gudi K

I love the way this is shaping up. Also, below is part 19 of 20 parts of Tribute to Ackworth by Luv2Stitch2 of Sticklounge too.

Also, I am about to receive my badge for being a member of the Australian Lace Guild for 25 years. Where have those years gone?? I am pretty nearly totally self-taught, I went to one workshop but it was in a type of lace that I haven't pursued. In a few weeks I am about to attend my second workshop!! So I thought I'd practice a sample piece before then to refresh my memory on this type of lace, so I can start on a harder piece at the workshop. Here it is:

Bucks (or Buckinghamshire) lace is one of the "queen's" of lace isn't it.

Now to start another piece!

WIPocalypse Sep post

Here I am at last, have been busy stitching on my two Sticklounge projects and not much else!!

Here they are:

Tribute to Ackworth by Luv2Stitch2 (just the bottom half, will save the full photo for the penultimate photo!)

Shame to be so near the end!!

And here's my Many Years Ago by Gudi

This has been fun choosing which part of the DMC 115 I use for each part.

Finally I have been busy making a decoration for a Christmas exchange which is part of my Aussie lace group, can't post till after Christmas!

Blog book Giveaway!

One of my favourite blogs is Laura's Reviews and Laura is generous to be hosting a giveaway

http://lauragerold.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/searching-for-captain-wentworth-guest.html

The book is available to one lucky person around the world but I might be tempted to get it for myself anyway!!

Good luck

WIPocalypse August #2 post

Just finished a section of my Sticklounge project Tribute to Ackworth by Luv2Stitch so here it is:

 I scanned it so the right side is missing. Below is my latest Sticklounge project Many Years Ago by Gulda

They are both lovely designs aren't they!! Love stitching them, the red one is interesting with the variegated DMC 115, you can sort of plan what colour is where!!

August WIPocalypse post

Well time is flying, and here I am posting again.

So what have I been up to?

Firstly my favourite piece at the moment, Tribute to Ackworth, I've finished 15 parts of the 20, and am keeping up with the fortnightly instalments. Sorry its a bit crooked.

Next my progress on The Token by LongDogs

Finished the Christmas ornament, just need to cut away the plastic when there is good light. Looks much better now the dreaded backstitching is complete.

And finally my latest lace pieces, a pale green bookmark and the piece (centrepiece for a cushion) I showed earlier.

OK, I know its hard to see the white lace piece at the bottom, I'll have to take a photo on a dark background won't I!! Time to cook now

WIPocalypse 2012

Here's my quick post at last.

Firstly my Tribute to Ackworth, what a shame this will be when its finished!!

Then I've also finished another Thimble with my Sticklounge group: here it is

Sweet isn't it!!

I'm about to start a new project but more on that next post!!

June WIPocalypse

Here at last is my post, better late than never.

I've been busy with my Tribute to Ackworth (designed by Luv2Stitch2) below, love how this is progressing

I've tried to finish a Christmas ornie (on plastic canvas) see below, still some stitching and backstitching to go

As well, I have restarted a Bedfordshire lace piece, but can't photograph yet as there are too many pins to see the pattern! Also have managed to pick up an older piece of Hardanger by Yvette Stanton, I'll photograph it for next time.

WIPocalypse May posting

Another month started and my pieces are showing some progress. Today I scanned my projects instead of photographing them, I'll see how these look, however I did manage to do crooked scans on most of them LOL.

Here is my Tribute to Ackworth by Luv2Stitch, isn't it just lovely. I keep thinking that I have just done my favourite motif, and then I like the next one even more!

Next bigger project is LongDogs "The Token" another gorgeous piece as you can see.

I also got back to the Cherry Biscornu from Sweetheart Tree, a tiny bit of progress which I managed on a sunny afternoon. Pretty colours aren't they

And lastly a small Thimble from my Sticklounge group designed by Karen from Sunshine Stitches, there is a series of them and I will try and do a row of them on a bookmark.

So there you have it, a good bit of variety.

I am so glad I joined the Wipocalypse, its great seeing progress every month and I must say I get spurred on as the posting date approaches

Review of "The Letters of Emily Dickinson 1845-1886 by Emily Dickinson and Mabel Loomis Todd

This was the first Emily Dickinson book I have borrowed from the library, but it is oddly written as the book was made by automating the typing, proof reading and design using Optical Character Recognition software on scanned copies of the original rare book. Consequently I have found it really hard to read as there are lots of mistakes and missing bits. It was hard to achieve continuity of the text becasue of this, so I have to say that I unfortunately abandoned reading it except for snatches here and there which were more legible.

Good luck if you attempt this one!

now to find some of her poetry!!

Ive also started "Afternoons with Emily" by Rose MacMurray, this was her only novel, which her children published posthumously after she died unexpectedly in 1997, how sad.

April WIPocalypse

Here at last are my progress pictures for the WIPocalypse:

Firstly my Sticklounge group piece by Luv2Stitch, I am keeping up which is great.

Secondly my Beds bobbin lace piece which has increased in size, and isn't too hard once I had prepared the 80 bobbins! If you look closely you can see the tiny "picots" in the centre a few rows down. They will be more obvious once all the pins are removed.

And lastly a picture of the Mill Hill kit I've started recently, today I added the last beads. Next I need to stitch the cuff and then do the finishing, so most of it is done.

The reindeers are cute aren't they, I couldnt stop till I'd added the antlers, eyes and noses!

Here I am a bit late posting my WIPocalypse things.  Firstly my Sticklounge piece, Tribute to Ackworth by Luv2Stitch!!

Isn't it a great pattern? Just loving stitching it.

Only a few stitches on my LongDogs The Token, and I did add many beads on my Mill Hill stocking, but no photos of these until I've done a bit more.

BUT, I finally started a Bedfordshire lace piece which has 40 pairs of bobbins (yikes 80 bobbins!! more than I think I've ever used before). To stop them getting muddled up, I'm using a few stitch holders but I must say its a bit cumbersome putting them on and off the holders. Nevertheless you get the idea, its a very small piece LOL!!

I'll do a closeup of the actual work later when I get a bit further on.

Anyway, I was in a bit of a lace slump, so I'm really glad that I got it started.

Review of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

I started reading Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson in February, I found an illustrated edition with pictures by one of our famous Australians, Robert Ingpen. What a wonderful edition, I had never read it before (Ingpen actually states in his dedication that it was written for boys, starting with Stevenson's step-son Lloyd Osbourne in 1883), but I do like nautical books loving the Aubrey/Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brian, and Hornblower, and I also enjoyed Treasure Island. Interestingly it was quite more descriptive of people being killed than I would have thought, I would have thought some bits would have been a bit too violent for small boys, specially in the late 1800s!! And I wonder if poor Jim was missed badly by his mother!!

All in all a great read, with lavish illustrations. Robert Ingpen writes that "The early chapters of Treasure Island remain the most compelling reading in adventure literature. It is often said by experts in literature for children that if a child can read and feel the drama of the happenings at the "Admiral Benbow" Inn as imagined by Stevenson, then they will be readers forever." What a great comment!!

Review of Jane Eyre

Just finished watching a new version of Jane Eyre on DVD made in 2011, with Mia Wasikowska who I had never seen before as a brilliant Jane, just perfect for the role, and Michael Fassbender as a terrific Rochester. Even Judi Dench appeared as the housekeeper.

I think it is good if you know the story, as it starts with Jane leaving Thornfield Hall, very upset and running away through boggy land. So it starts in the middle, then goes back to her childhood. If you didn't know the story already it might have been slightly confusing, but later it goes back to Jane walking through the boggy fields and so it would all have fallen into place.

I think one of the best features was the lighting! It really looked like the rooms were lit by huge fires, or by the actual candlelight, throwing up shadows. So many times someone lights one candle, and the whole room seems to light up. I've tried reading by a candle and its extremely difficult!

Great film which I recommend, one reviewer wrote: A love story, as fiercely intelligent as it is passionate".

The costumes seemed to be quite authentic, near the end she has the sweetest bonnet which looks all lacy around the brim, her wedding apparel was lovely too.

I can't seem to stop discovering Bronte things this year, even though I've moved on to the following month's author!!

WIPocalypse 2012 February post

Well, I must say I am achieving more this challenge as it has helped me to focus (and be accountable) on certain projects, rather than just flitting from project to project. This way you can see progress better and that spurs me on!!

No finishes this month, but I have completed my goal to finish pages 1 and 2 of "The Token" by LongDogs,
and continued on pages 3 and 4

have stitched a bit on the cherry blossom biscornu (need good light for this as the opalescent fabric makes it a bit hard to focus on),

and yes, I started a new project on 15th January, called "A Tribute to Ackworth" by Barbara J from my Sticklounge group. So I still have 3 projects going.

Now I think I'll add one or two "nearly finished" projects, small Mill Hill kits which I've had lying around for years. Don't want to have too many bigger projects on the go. This is where this UFO (a Charmed Mitten ornie from Mill Hill) was up to from some time ago, don't ask how long!!  :

I must say the month has gone quickly since the last post hasn't it!!

Happy Stitching everyone!!

Romancing Miss Bronte by Juliet Gael

What a terrific book, just recently published in 2010 by Juliet Gael. I couldn't put it down!

Here's an excerpt from the website for this book:

In this masterful novel of historical fiction, Juliet Gael skillfully and stylishly captures the passions, hopes, dreams and sorrows of literature's most famous sisters–and imagines how love dramatically and most unexpectedly found Charlotte Brontë.

The book starts from the time of Arthur Bell Nicholl's arrival in Haworth and is a mixture of fact and fiction. Of course as we know, he was patiently waiting to propose to Charlotte for many years, while he was her father Patrick's curate. In fact Charlotte did make fun of curates in her books, but he seemed to be a very hardworking and steadfast man and protective of Charlotte. Quite different in size from the petite Charlotte too being a big man.

The book describes Charlotte's time being feted in London by her publisher George Smith who was quite an eligible bachelor, but 6 years younger than Charlotte. His mother was a good friend to Charlotte through her nerve racking times when forced out in public when she suffered from nervous illnesses and headaches. Sounds like Charlotte was quite attached to him but things didn't go so smoothly when he realised he was the basis of a character in one of her books and the letters diminished.

Eventually Arthur plucked up the courage to propose to Charlotte, without asking Patrick Bronte first. Patrick was incensed with rage thinking Arthur wasn't good enough for Charlotte who was now famous. (Even Thackeray was a fan of hers!!). Even Charlotte's best friend Ellen Nussey wasn't happy with Arthur proposing and their friendship suffered because of this. Charlotte didn't accept him at first, she didn't love him then, but after he persisted and she saw how much he loved her, she stood up to her father and they eventually got married. The author describes Charlotte becoming more and more attached to Arthur as she saw all his good qualities and how much he loved her. As we know, she became pregnant shirtly after her marriage but suffered from the most debilitating morning sickness and wasted away and died. What a shame the medical people couldn't do anything for her.

Arthur did inherit from her, but he remained in Haworth and looked after her father until his death a few year's later. Then Arthur went back to Ireland and became a farmer, as even though he had worked as Patrick's curate for so long, he missed getting the job after Patrick's death. Arthur later married his cousin Mary Anna who was housekeeping for him (she was disabled, but they shared separate bedrooms.). He preserved Charlotte's wedding dress, had the watercolours that were on the walls at Haworth and also the grandfather clock that Patrick wound faithfully every night on his way to bed (after Patrick went to bed Charlotte, Emily and Anne kept writing their books without their father's knowledge). Arthur lived to 90 years old, he bequeathed Charlotte's wedding dress to his niece, with instructions that it be burned before she died so that it wouldn't be sold. Interestingly at one stage Patrick cut bits of Charlotte's letters up and sent strips of her handwriting all over the world. He did this secretly as Arthur wouldn't have approved of people making money from his wife's writings.

All in all a fascinating book, very easy to read, and hard to put down. Its not often you read a book like that.
I heartily recommend it to any Bronte fans.

Review of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol (being a Ghost Story of Christmas) and Little Dorrit

I decided to read A Christmas Carol for the first time. Like many others I have seen a few versions of this classic on TV, but never read it myself. So this was a small challenge I set myself.

Its not very long unlike most of Dicken's books, so it was an easy read. Very good descriptions of sights and scenes as he is renowned for. One of my favourite lines is:

"There were great, round, pot-bellied baskets of chestnuts, shaped like the waistcoats of jolly old gentlemen, lolling at the doors, and tumbling out into the street in their apoplectic opulence"

Can't you just picture that!!

I must say that it wasn't really scary reading the book, the film versions are much more scary!!

I also finished watching the DVD (well 4 DVDs in the series) of Little Dorrit. I haven't read Little Dorrit yet, but I must say the DVD was excellent, such great characters. I think Matthew Macfadyen is a brilliant actor, such a handsome chap and with a beautiful voice. If you watch it, make sure that you watch the "How they made it" special feature. The demure Amy speaks in real life with a country sort of accent, while the commoner sister in the film speaks with a high class accent in real life!! Funny how the casting people pick actors and then they have to change their voices!! It worked well anyway, so they were great choices. Tom Courtenay made a brilliant father, his brother was played by a chap from The Vicar of Dibley, not sure of his name.

Each episode was quite short, so it was good to watch one or two episodes an evening, rather like reading a Dicken's serial as they were originally published! I heartily recommend this to anyone, beautiful production.

As I am a bit ahead having done some of Laura's Feb challenge already, I might also read some of Dickens detective stories (will post later in the month), at the moment I'm reading a really great Bronte novel called Romancing Miss Bronte (only published in 2010) which I can't put down.

These challenges certainly help to broaden my selection of reading material: its great that our libraries have so many books about authors, I love reading biographical type novels which expand my knowledge of the real people.

Thanks Laura for this great challenge!!
cheers
Julie

Review of "Emily" by Dilys Gater

I borrowed three books from the library about the Brontes for the January Challenge. I just finished "Emily" by Dilys Gater which told the story of the Brontes from childhood, including their Gondal and Angria writings, their trials and tribulations at trying to live outside Haworth, illnesses, time abroad in Belgium, and the death in September of Branwell followed by Emily's decline late in the year. What a crying shame that the reviewers didn't appreciate Wuthering Heights during her lifetime, it was altogether too dark for the reviewers to commend it. Sad too, that Charlotte (who had the trustworthy and pleasant publishers) got such great reviews for Jane Eyre (and 500 pounds at least for it), while Anne and Emily's publishers gave them a pittance. For the last challenge I read a book on their father's life, amazing fellow too, he spent most of his life in his study, even had his meals solitarily there, and went to bed early while the girls did their writing unbeknownst to him. Amazing too how he had cataract surgery so long ago, but how sad it must have been for him to lose all his children so young.

It was an easy book to read, and I enjoyed reading it even though I knew the ending would be very sad!!

Now I'm trying to decide on the February challenge: Charles Dickens. I have read a few of his books (e.g. Oliver Twist, David Copperfield) but it would be nice to read one of his less famous books. Perhaps Bleak House, but I do have this on DVD to watch too. I'll keep you posted!

WIPocalypse 2012

I joined Measi's great challenge (I favour this sort rather than the sort where you start a huge number of projects!! Guess why: well, I have SO many projects on the go...and never seem to finish any of them).

So I chose just 3 projects to start with:
1. Persian bookmark
2. The Token by LongDogs (to finish pages 1 and 2)
3. A new start: Cherry Blossom biscornu by The Sweetheart Tree.

So, drum roll, don't fall over please! I have JUST finished the Persian bookmark!!! My first finish for months and months, thank you so much Measi, I needed a kick-start and now really feel like I have accomplished something!!

For the next week, I think I'll progress on projects 2 and 3 then will go through my stash and find another SMALL project to finish.

Happy Stitching
Julie

2012 Wipocalypse

Well as most of my goals seem to vanish quietly without being achieved, I am going to just post three goals for the WIPocalypse.

1. Persian bookmark by Anchor
2. Cherry Blossoms biscornu by Sweetheart Tree (can you believe it, my first biscornu!!).
3. The Token by LongDogs, to finish pages 1 and 2.

Then when I finish one of them I'll add another one!!

Thanks so much to Measi for organising the

2012 Wipocalypse!!

 

cheers

Julie in Oz where it is 40 C  :(