The last post

I'm very happy to tell you that my new-look website with integrated blog is now live, at http://www.rutholearytextileart.co.uk.

If you want to go straight to the blog, or update any links to it you may have, then go to http://www.rutholearytextileart.co.uk/content/.

This version of the blog will remain live for a little while to give regular readers the chance to move over, but it will be shut down in due course, and it will not be updated - to see new posts, you'll need to read the new one.

I've been writing this blog since 2009 and it's been great fun to do, not least because of the kind, generous readers who say such nice things and are always unfailingly helpful and supportive.  If you didn't read it, I wouldn't write it, so I have you to thank!

I do hope you'll join me on the new blog - see you there soon!

The blog is moving VERY SOON

Sorry for not posting anything for ages, but there are some major developments underway for the blog.

Very soon - in the next day or two, all being well - it'll have a new home.  I'll post the link once it's up and running.

Watch this space!

Plantagenet Wreath - cutting out

With all the embroidery done, the next stage is to cut it out so that it can be applied to the background fabric.  I have to admit I haven't been looking forward to this much as it's such a fiddly shape, but I relieved to be able to tell you that it's now done and with no disasters.

While it was still on the frame and so taut, I painted the back of the embroidery with diluted PVA glue, to prevent any fraying.  Then, off the frame and with the fabric on the outside of the embroidery cut away:

Then the fabric in the centre:

And last and very definitely worst, the bits between the intertwined stems and the broom flowers:

After that, stitching it to the background should be the easy bit!

Plantagenet Wreath - roses (part III)

The roses are finally finished!  Sorry that they've taken so long, but I got there in the end.

Last time, I'd filled in half of the 20 roses; I've now done them all, and here they are:

They're not quite finished, though: the little green leaves (or whatever the correct name is - does anyone know?) still need to be completed.

And here they are!

That's all the embroidery - now I need to cut it out.  Now that's going to be fiddly.

Advance warning: the blog is moving!

Just a note for regular readers: this blog will be moving to a new address in the next few weeks.

For years now, my website and my blog have been at different locations.  I'm currently getting the website redeveloped, and as part of that I'm bringing the blog into it.  All past posts should still be present and correct (I hope - that's the plan, anyway) but will be at the new address, and after the changeover happens all new posts will be there too.

I don't have a date yet when this is going to happen - it's still early days for the development work - but it should be reasonably soon.

I'll let you have more details when I know them!

Plantagenet Wreath - stitching the roses

Still slow progress on the roses, though I am getting there.  In the mean time, here's a closer look at stitching one individual rose.

The shading is already done, of course, so here I'm just filling in the rest with the off-white.

This is one of the larger roses, so there's a bit more stitching involved to fill it all in but the principle is the same for both. Firstly, I did all the rose petal 'lips', the bits that fold over at the top:

Before starting on the rest of the petals, I make life a bit easier for myself by putting in stitches to show where each petal starts and finishes:

I then went right round the rose adding a layer of long and short stitches:

And then round a second time, filling in the rest:

One more rose finished!  Still quite a few to go though...

Plantagenet Wreath - roses (part II)

Other things have got in the way a bit recently, so I haven't got as far as I'd hoped with the roses.  Still, I have done half of them, which is something.

And here they are, filled in with Madeira stranded cotton no. 2402:

The full wreath:

I'm going to be busy for the next couple of weeks too, but I'll do what I can, and hopefully it won't be too long before I can show you them all finished!