Jo's Stitching 2025

[Mabel Figworthy]

It's looking wonderful, looking forward to seeing it with the lettering!

[Steam.Jo]

Thank you... I'm finding laying out the lettering a bit "stressful" so I have started sorting out the next piece. It is titled "Magpie Tree" by Maggie Gee

The chart is over 9 pages and the colour/symbols are not the same on all the pages for the same colour. This is a new one on me and luckily I found it before I stuck the enlarged chart together. What can I say? Unbelievable?

Jo

[Steam.Jo]

Sorry another feature of the chart: the centre marked on the chart is not the centre of the piece, there are two centres marked horizontally one for the trunk and another for the top of the tree ... Neither of which are the centre from which to start sewing

I have found the real centre and marked it on the chart and hopefully once I've got into the flow I will have something worth showing you.

I am hoping this is not one of those I wish I never started

Jo

[Mabel Figworthy]

Sounds very confusing!

[Steam.Jo]

If you look at this chart you can see two horizontal centre lines the higher one is the one on the chart. The lower one is the centre is you include the trunk of the tree:



If I had used the centre as marked the piece would have "fallen off the top of the fabric"

You can see it is one of those coloured charts that makes working out the symbol rather difficult. Anyway a bit of a start:



I like the phasing of the colours, it reminds me of a cushion I made which I am very pleased with. There is an ominous warning that "I should have enough threads" in the instructions, the amount of blues provided in comparison with what is needed suggests that this is a bit of cheek rather than warning but I wish they had left the cut strands about twice as long.

Jo

[Serinde]

Lovely start! But golly, it could have been different.

[Mabel Figworthy]

I do like the shading!

[Serinde]

The "Delft blue" thing is very nice, indeed.

[Steam.Jo]

The "blue thing" is supposed to be part of a "Tree"



Which has Magpies in it, hence the name Magpie tree. First colour to run out before I got to the final stitch Luckily I have my DMC box and could get some more. All I needed was an extra couple of inches to enable me to complete a dozen crosses but they only supplied one short length of the colour .

Jo

[Serinde]

Once this piece is completed -- and it will be lovely, of course -- you might think about listing all the difficulties with chart and thread and tell either the designer or the company that puts together the kit (or both). It won't do anyone's reputation any good to have these sorts of difficulties!

[Steam.Jo]

I would have hoped that they would have made one up before they tried selling it. Or maybe that was why the admitted in the instructions that you "might" be short of thread ...

Jo

[Mabel Figworthy]

Once this piece is completed -- and it will be lovely, of course -- you might think about listing all the difficulties with chart and thread and tell either the designer or the company that puts together the kit (or both). It won't do anyone's reputation any good to have these sorts of difficulties!

Hear hear! This is no way to put a kit together!

The design is very pretty though, I'm glad you had more of the right colour in your stash.

[fccs]

It's lovely, but it's a good thing you were paying attention to the center line/s.

I'm not a huge fan of color charts. I think the only designer I stitch now that uses the color ones is Owl Forest. What saves me is I scan them and then use my GoodNotes app on my iPad to follow the chart.

[Steam.Jo]

I've been doing the "low hanging branches" on the right of the piece:



And now I am heading up towards some birdies hiding within the tree

Jo

[Mabel Figworthy]

This is growing so quickly! I love all the little bits that make up the whole, you get a sense of achievement with each one I bet

[fccs]

This is growing so quickly! I love all the little bits that make up the whole, you get a sense of achievement with each one I bet

my thoughts exactly

[Steam.Jo]

I have had to scroll the piece and started stitching up the right side:




I rather like the little brown bird on the far right, it reminds me of one of my garden friends looking over its shoulder to see where I am.

Jo

[Mabel Figworthy]

A very curious little bird, waiting for his food - what would you say he is? A sparrow?

[fccs]

Adorable little bird! And, as usual, lovely stitching.

[Steam.Jo]

Its that time of the year when:



Where ever you look there is always a Pheasant looking for things to eat

Jo