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The 2022 thread consisted only of Bartram the Rainbow Ram, I noticed - even so, I thought I'd start a fresh thread for a fresh year. My first non-Mabel project is... drum roll.... a very small pear (3cm high including the stalk). It's part of a larger design by Alex Law featured in Stitch magazine, and I just liked the look of it.
Also, even the small trees I'm doing which are based on someone else's drawings may one day become a pack (if they are happy for me to do so), and I really wanted something small, easy, and completely complication-free to take to Cake & Craft this morning (which is doing well, by the way, we now regularly get 18 to 20 people!)

The pear is stitched in laidwork with the laid stitches shaded, a lattice over the top and a stem stitch outline, plus a chain stitch stalk and two lazy daisy leaves, in green, yellow and orange. As usual I didn't get a lot done in the two hours, not helped by starting with the wrong shade of green and having to unpick but here is a start to the shaded laid stitches:

i love your little pear.

fccs wrote: ↑Fri Feb 17, 2023 7:15 pm i love your little pear.

Me too!

Carole

rcperryls wrote: ↑Sat Feb 18, 2023 12:43 am

fccs wrote: ↑Fri Feb 17, 2023 7:15 pm i love your little pear.

Me too!

Carole

Me three

I just find the shape curiously satisfying and I love doing that stripy shading

My first finish of 2023 the first pic shows the laid stitches complete before all the other stuff was put on; the other two show the difference between direct and indirect sunlight when photographing.
Oh, the little orange stitches at the bottom are not in the original design but I thought they would balance the stalk nicely.

Very very nice. I must work harder on getting my laid stitches really close as these are. You've done a super job here, especially the colours and symmetry.

Serinde wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 2:58 pm You've done a super job here, especially the colours and symmetry.

Absolutely!

I really like this, I mean really really like this, and the extra stitches at the bottom do balance the design

Well done Mabel.

Serinde wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 2:58 pm getting my laid stitches really close as these are

There has been some unpicking along the way....

Garnet wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 3:04 pm

Serinde wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 2:58 pm You've done a super job here, especially the colours and symmetry.

Absolutely!

I really like this, I mean really really like this, and the extra stitches at the bottom do balance the design

Well done Mabel.

I really really really agree! Who would have thought a pear could be so lovely!

Carole

rcperryls wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 6:18 pm

Garnet wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 3:04 pm

Serinde wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 2:58 pm You've done a super job here, especially the colours and symmetry.

Absolutely!

I really like this, I mean really really like this, and the extra stitches at the bottom do balance the design

Well done Mabel.

I really really really agree! Who would have thought a pear could be so lovely!

Carole

I really, really, really, really agree.

As I bought the coloured metals and the chenille threads I came across a half-price little felt kit. Postage at this particular shop is a minimum of £5 (which I think is rather steep, but the metals I wanted to buy were also half price and that made it worth it) and adding the little £3 kit didn't push it up any higher so I got it for some relaxed stitching .

I was a bit disappointed with the instructions; it looks very much like an easy kit to get into sewing/stitching, but the stuffing stage was not described at all, attaching the ribbon was mentioned without the key-fob thing (you had to work that out from the picture), and if I didn't know about backstitch I would probably have needed one more step than there was to get it right (also I would have used - did use - double running stitch which makes for a much neater back).

Still, it makes a nice key fob (though rather large); I'll attach it to our back door key so it's easy to find in an emergency

Super cute fob!

fccs wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:32 amSuper cute fob!

Yes indeed!!

Carole

What I want to know is how exactly you get your double-running stitch to look so even? (Expect it's experience, sigh.)

When you see it head on and close-up it's not nearly so even Serinde! But as this isn't RSN Certificate stuff I wasn't going to measure every one of them

Mabel Figworthy wrote: ↑Tue Apr 11, 2023 1:02 pm But as this isn't RSN Certificate stuff I wasn't going to measure every one of them

And now you know why I'd never subject myself to taking a RSN Certificate!

Kits to take on holiday (more about them, and about the 70 appliqué card, on FoF):

Enjoyed FoF. You make Bondaweb seem to easy... As for all those kits you're taking on a trip where even you say that you'll hardly have time to stitch, well, I totally understand. Have a lovely time.

Beautiful kits. I always take two or three smaller projects when i travel, one for the plane and one or two more in my luggage. Sometimes I actually get some stitches in.