Saturday stitching roundup

I have two finished pieces to show you this week, one of which has been several months in the making. And now I'm currently working on another fairly long term project together with a piece of lace which is almost finished. This lace is going to be a part of my offering for the exhibition next year on 17th century embroidery - but more of that when it's completed.

So ... to the finished pieces ...

 This is the second (and final) project for the Sumptuous Surfaces course I've been taking online. The design was inspired by lichen on rocks but I really wanted to slip outside my comfort zone for a while and work a more abstract piece than I usually do.

Aren't these colours gorgeous? Regular readers will remember from a few weeks ago the sweetie jars filled with threads which my good friend gave me for my birthday - well here they are, stitched into this project.

I've thoroughly enjoyed this course and would  recommend it to anyone. I've learned such a lot about the design process and about colour theory and how to apply it to my embroidery designs. I've also learned a little more about using a working journal/sketchbook with my embroidery. This is a topic which I'm finding increasingly useful, though I've never really used one before this year. Just goes to show that you're never too old to learn new techniques!

The second finished item this week is a mixed media fabric journal, which I've been working on for for a while. Earlier this year, whilst I was clearing up some shelves, I came across a folder filled with poems which a good friend sent me following the death of my husband. After re-reading them I began to think that it was a shame for them to just sit unread and often forgotten on a shelf. And so, the idea for my 'Stitched Therapy' journal was born. The words are all either from the poems or were spoken by my bereavement counsellor and the book now sits on the coffee table in my lounge.