Every Inchie Monday - Goat - and catch up Turkey, Boar, Wolf and Reindeer

I cannot believe where the last five weeks have gone!  What with trouble getting anywhere with so much snow, Barry's busiest time of the year so travelling the length and breadth of the country to entertain it's been difficult to keep up with the preparations for Christmas let alone any crafting or inchie making.  I have tried to do them but keep finishing them as a new one should be posted so I would have been on the wrong animal all the time.  However on Boxing Day when it was all quiet I was at last able to sit and finish the last three.  You can probably tell they have been done with a little less enthusiasm and care as some of my past inchies!!  The aim was to actually get them finished and posted.  I am sorry I have not been on your blogs to comment either - we have been trying to sell our house where we have lived for the last 33 years and apart from trying to clear out 33 years of junk and stuff everything keeps going wrong.  Out toilet got blocked and we had to call emergency services.  Our electric keeps tripping and now we have finally found the cause on the Eve of Christmas Eve (when it would not come back on), courtesy of emergency services again!!  Turns out it was our old microwave (which has a plug very hard to get to and of course it was the only plug I hadn't unplugged!  the electrician's meter told him something was still plugged in and that's when the penny dropped!) - I had thought it was the outside Christmas lights due to the excess snows but they appear to be fine.  So guess what I got for Christmas!!!  Not only that without electric we had no computers nor water since we are on a bore hole which needs electric to pump it in to our header tanks!  And to add insult to injury two weeks before Christmas we ran out of Calor gas which runs our rayburn and the heating - just after that really cold spell, and with everyone else in the world having done the same we had to wait until Christmas Eve to get a fill up!!  It's just a good thing that we have log burners and one with a water jacket that's linked in to the system to heat the water!  Anyway finally everything seems to be working again and I have a little time on my hands before I need to pack up this big house and move into a smaller warmer one - with hopefully, less work to do and more time for me and crafting!  Am really looking forward to it but am so sad about not doing our Every Inchie Monday.  Maybe I can get involved with something else?

Anyway back to the inchies I have at last managed to complete them all and this week's Inchie is Goat, which I thought was a strange choice for a last one but having read some of your blogs just quickly last night I've discovered I'm not the only one to think that, except Freebird, who posted it as the "Greatest Of All Time!"  Which I thought was great!  So here is my little billy goat - I have run out of my lovely variegated browns and creams so he's a little odd in colour!!:

And so here are my catch up inchies -

 Turkey I found quite difficult and in trying to do the background of his tail feathers dark to make his head stand out I've given him a crown!!

Then came Boar which again I found uninspiring and drew it on plain fabric (my wax removing strips!) with promarkers and then attempted to colour him in with thread but once I started making thread marks on his snout it looked totally wrong so I just left it as is.  I tried to get his bristly ears but not sure I succeeded!!  Here he is:

Next comes Wolf.  I have done a wolf before on an inchie which was Wild in 2013 and I did a lone wolf braying against a yellow moon which I loved and had thought about cheating and submitting that one for this to save me time!!  However I wanted to use my embroidery skills and really embroider one - maybe with more time and feeling less pressurised I could have done it justice but what resulted was a rather Red Riding Hood Wolf!!  He looks ready to gobble up someone!!

And lastly our penultimate inchie for this year was reindeer which I can't help thinking should have been Christmas Day's!  I would have liked to depict Santas's sleigh being drawn across the sky by silhouetted reindeer but on an inch it just became silly lines!!  So here is one reindeer in sillouette - Barry named him Prancer! 

So that's it for 2017 - I hope we can still meet via comments on each others blogs - I will try and visit in 2018 but hey - we have things happening - Firstly we hope to be able to move into something by February - we are still waiting for the solicitors to round up paperwork and so, having accepted an offer and had an offer accepted, we are now in the waiting game of monies being released so we can commit and exchange and set a date.  Still not sure what sort of wifi we will have but it's in a better area so should be ok.  And best of all were our Christmas Day surprises -  Not one baby but two baby grandchildren to look forward to in July 2018 -both my youngest daughter and my son had been saving their news - unbeknown to them!  My daughter in law is a week ahead of my daughter in her pregnancy how strange is that!! So a double whammy!!  Am so excited - we will then have ten grandchildren!!  So I think 2018 is going to be a good year and am quite glad to see the back of 2017 to be honest - it hasn't been a good year health wise for my husband or me and one of our grandchildren was very ill on New Year's Day which rather started the year on a bad foot when she was rushed in to hospital with a burst appendix.  And so here's to 2018 - I raise a glass to all the friends I've made doing this wonderful project every week and wish Trillian a relaxed and Happy free from pressure new year and everyone out there good health and good fortune.  Thanks for visiting my blog and for all the lovely comments I have received throughout the year - you have made my day!  All the best Jenny

 

Every Inchie Monday

And another Monday bites the dust!!  Only five more to go!!  Where has this year gone?  And so I have actually finished my inchie on time as I have been instructed to rest!  I've gone and sprained my arm muscle so can't lift a kettle or do any cleaning or sorting etc. so I thought I'd sit and sew, and by keeping my elbow tucked into my side I have no pain but I am rather glad I have finished sewing.  Am a bit disappointed that the repeated sewing of the quills on the hedgehog have pulled the fabric and distorted my inchie.  Oh yes this weeks challenge word at everyinchiemonday is Hedgehog and my daughter came home with one a few weeks ago which was very young, so she made it a hibernation home and has tucked it somewhere in the garden so fingers crossed it will survive!  We used to have loads around our house and they used to frighten the dogs when I was walking them up the lane late at night.  Scared me too when they'd start barking and leaping around and then, by the light of my torch,  I'd see this poor creature curled in a ball at my feet!  I guess the dogs had sniffed it and got a spike up their nostrils for their trouble!!  But I haven't seen any in the past ten years.  Locally there is a hedgehog charity which had a stall at the local vet's open day and there were loads of little ones in a glass cubicle - very sweet things.  Anyway here is my little chap - again I should have used my magnifying light but I couldn't lift it so I made do without!

So now I am going to sit back and watch some TV ... in the afternoon  so bad!!!  But it is cold and we've lit a fire so why not ... maybe I deserve a rest.  Thanks for dropping in and any comments you leave.  I shall really miss this when it's finished.  Maybe I can join something else ... have a nice week!

Every Inchie Monday - Goose

Can't believe how a week has flown by!  This week's challenge word on Every Inchie Monday is Goose and since we are getting nearer to Christmas I had wanted to do a lovely white goose waddling along with a blue bow round its neck - but the bow just wasn't working .... in fact the goose wasn't working either!!  I didn't have my special magnifying lamp and so it was harder to see the stitches but I'm not making excuses!!  Anyway I'm not sure at the moment if I'm sad or glad that my inchie making is coming to an end with the ending of Every Inchie Monday as I am really struggling to find the time!  However once I get through the next few weeks I am sure I will miss it dreadfully.  It is so nice visiting the blogs of like minded people and receiving their comments too.  But we still have 6 more to do so I won't get morose about it now.  Just a lot on my plate at the mo.  Anyway here is my goose!

 

 

Thank you so much for dropping in and viewing my work and any comments you may leave - it's always nice receiving comments.  Hoping your weather is warmer than ours - I just can't seem to get out of my nice warm bed in the mornings, but it gets dark at 5, and then I just want to curl up in bed again with a book!!  So not much time to do all the things I have to do let alone all the things I want to do!!  Sorry for the moan it's just that time of year - I'm sure I'll bounce back! Have a lovely week and peace be with you.

Every Inchie Monday - Owl

Another late one.  I nearly finished it Monday but had to drive my husband to the airport on Tuesday and didn't get back till Wednesday however I did finish it Tuesday night but was not able to post it!  I used to own a barn owl, which free flew in our kitchen, but having done a barn owl for one of my other inchie challenges before, I decided to do a different owl and so went with a Turkenian Eagle Owl as I just loved his stern face and beautiful amber coloured eyes.

Didn't quite get the mixed coloured feathering, it is more speckled brown but heyho - it's an inch and I'm running out of that coloured thread as I've been using it for nearly every animal! - the fawn and  the squirrel anyway. It is getting colder even though we had a fabulous day yesterday but was on the road driving back and by the time we got home the sun had gone and it was already feeling frosty!  I'm having to crank up the fires and working in the attic is getting more unpalatable!!  Also how dark is it getting? - my daylight seems to be gone by 5pm!  Anyway happy autumn and thanks for dropping by.  Make sure you click this link here to view the other wonderful inchie owls and thanks for any comments you leave, it's always nice to hear from you.

Every Inchie Monday - Spider and Squirrel

What a couple of weeks!  Grandchildren to stay as it was half term and so many things going on in the house anyway I finally managed to get my squirrel inchie finished on Sunday when everyone had gone and did my spider today.  I had to cop out a bit with the spider as I am so short of time and it is the only one I haven't drawn out before I've stitched it!  I found two beads which I thought placed on an inchie with black legs embroidered underneath would work and I tried to do a web with silver thread.  It only took me half an hour to do as opposed to the two hours for the squirrel!!  But I think they both work.  Anyway I am up to date and sorry I missed posting last week.  Can't believe we are already up to number 44!!  Christmas is looming!  Anyway hold that thought we still need to get through Halloween tonight so great choice for the inchie to be spider.  As it so happens my smallest granddaughter of 3 is dressing up in a spider dress tonight to go trick or treating in.  She loves spiders and is always doing "Incy wincy spider ..!"  When she sees my inchie I think she will want to take it home with her!!

 and here is my squirrel from last week's challenge:

Happy Halloween and thanks for dropping by.  Make sure you check out the other wonderful inchie spiders by clicking here.

Eery Inchie Monday - Bear and Deer

I tried to get my deer on last Monday and we couldn't link!! - then I was away without any internet!!!  So by the time I got home I thought I might as well wait till today to link it with my bear.  So today's challenge for EIM is Bear.  When I was a child my mother and I used to go everywhere by walking to the train station and then getting on a train.  Whilst waiting for the train we always used to play I Spy with my Little Eye something beginning with ... and whilst playing this game we would suck Foxes Glacier mints.  Mother always used to have a packet in her handbag and so this week's challenge is a tribute to her.  In case you've never seen the logo for Foxes Glacier mints I will include a picture and then my version as an inchie!!  I'm afraid his nose almost got cut off as it protruded over the edge of the inchie base which is why he looks a bit funny in the face!!

 

It is so easy to see the discrepancies when enlarged in a photo, but when you are working with fabric that is not a very fine weave it becomes quite difficult to cut small details without it fraying!!

 

And so we come to last week's inchie challenge which was Deer and so I thought I'd do a little Bambi lying in the grass!

We have very high winds at the moment from Hurricane Ophelia and I am worried the power will go off before I complete this so I am madly trying to get this online before that happens.  Hope none of you are suffering from the power of this wind.  I have already got quite a selection of starting wood that has been brought down across our drive!!  At least we will be warm but then it is 18 degrees outside - in October - what is the world coming to - and this morning was very strange, dark at 10:30 and the street lights had come on in the town - I had a message from my daughter and a picture of the sky - very dark and brooding and someone said the sun was red this morning too - good thing it's not Halloween yet!! I  have battened down the hatches and made sure all windows are closed so fingers crossed there will be no damage - Please don't forget to visit the other inchie makers fabulous work by clicking the link here.  Thanks for dropping by and any comments you leave.

Chameleon Inchie

I cannot believe how quickly this year is going - already it is October!  And another Monday challenge comes around for Every Inchie Monday the subject being chameleon.  I know very little about these little creatures but I do know there is a tiny weeny one that only just sits on your thumb coming in at 3 cms long and is thought to be the smallest reptile on earth found on an islet just off Madagasca which is where at least half of the 200 plus species hail from, and of course their most known feature is their ability to change colour and camouflage themselves to whatever their background. However I have since found out that this is not the case and that they only change colour to facilitate warmth from the sun or mood changes as in fear or aggression. (Thanks Di for that).  Not an easy creature to embroider to say the least, but I had an idea to use a thicker skein of embroidery thread and whilst doing the tail reduce the thickness as I went by taking a thread from the skein and couching the main run with it in effect taking it to the back of the work until I was down to 2 or 3 threads.  In theory this was sound but in practice ...hmm ..... especially since I chose a heavy count thread in shiny rayon - slippery little customer it was too!!  However when I twisted it, it became thinner so I managed to couch it whilst twisting until I was able to take it to the back of the work at the coil of the tail.  Couching the rest of the body took some doing especially trying to get the flow correct so it would show the legs but on smaller than an inch???  I also managed to try and embroider the eye radiating out with a French knot for the pupil which sits proud but I thought my pupil was black thread - it turned out to be navy!!!  Oh well.  Anyway I did actually enjoy the challenge of this one and I did the background in promarkers again as I was worried the green embroidery wouldn't show up on green fabric, I know it camouflages itself but what was the point of all that embroidery if you can't see it!!!  But the muted tones of promarkers suited it better and sets it off so you can at least see the little critter!

I had a couple of birthday cards to do so once again I used my fresh flowers between organza and a background painted dried out wet wipe!!  I then cut it into inch sizes and sewed a very pretty cord around the edges of four and mounted them on a card.  There was a piece left over and rather than waste it I decided to use it on a very simple card I made for a friend, it was one of those that sort of made itself in half an hour with what I had to hand!!!  But I was quite pleased with the result and the flower is lilac organza melted with a heat gun!

I do feel much more myself this week apart from feeling tired - I think it's the bear in me wanting to hibernate as it gets colder!  Anyway hope you all have a good week and thanks so much for dropping by and any comments you may leave, it's always nice to hear from you.  Take care and don't forget to click the link and visit all the other inch creations.

Every Inchie Monday - Boa

So this week's Monday challenge word is Boa - I did think of doing a feather boa but on an inch??!!  It was hard enough trying to do a proper boa snake on an inch.  Didn't look forward to doing this one and again am in a "can't be bothered" mood today and all week so far!!  So what I've done is what you get!  Had great ideas of doing a tree snake - they look so good looped over a branch all green but I just couldn't get it right so just opted for loops and tried to widen the head rather unsuccessfully!!  Used curtain cord coloured and marked with promarkers!  The only trouble with promarkers is they look great when you've just done it but fade when they dry - I must have marked it darker in places loads of times but it still doesn't look dark and light! And now I can see the head properly on the photo (enlarged of course) I can see he has wonky eyes!  He's supposed to have a forked tongue - very difficult to achieve - just looks what it is - two bits of cotton coming out of his mouth!!!

Oh well you can't win them all!  Weather is miserable again - everywhere else in the UK seems to be having nice weather but not us - I think your whole demeanour changes when the sun shines!  Anyway thanks for dropping by and don't forget to click the link to see the other creative works of inchie art.  Thanks for all your lovely comments last week and should there be any this week - thank you again - much appreciated - hopefully they will make me smile! Hope your week is lovely!

Every Inchie Monday - Trout

So we are staying with a sea theme and this week's challenge word on Everyinchiemonday is Trout.  I tried to do a trout twisting in the water so as to get it all in on an inch as it is rather long for a square!  It looked quite good after I'd drawn it but after actually embroidering it - I'm not so sure - it was difficult getting the black spots on it! and maybe I should have used a single thread as opposed to two!  It has become a little chunky however at least I've done it! 

We had guests staying over the weekend and was busy last week so have not had time to fit in any crafting hence being late this week.  Strange to think we only have 14 more to do for this year!! That means it's less than that till Christmas!!  Yikes!  Who mentioned Christmas? - have decided maybe I won't "Do" Christmas this year!!  And for anybody who knows me you'll know that's a big deal for me as I usually go overboard!!!  Anyway plenty of time to decide!!  I'll probably give in at the last minute and then will be racing round like a headless chicken!  Anyway weather is uppity at the moment ... rain and sun - don't know where we are - I think I'll put the washing out and just as I've hung the last item it starts raining ... hard .... so I'm ripping everything off the line as quickly as I can having spent ten minutes hanging it out!!  What a waste of time!!  Anyway hope you'll pop into the other inchie makers creative works of art by clicking the link and happy days to you all - Autumn is on its way the trees are beginning to change colour and soon it will be beautiful - I love this time of year - except the darker days.  Thanks for dropping by and for any comments you leave - always appreciated.

Every Inchie Monday - Starfish

Well we are just coming down off of our high of Italian food!  Our lovely Italian lady has gone back to Italy having cooked every day for a week and her finale was escalloped chicken in breadcrumbs with roasted veg and a chocolate pear cake - so scrummy!!  We are still living off left overs!! In fact today has been nothing but sheet torrential rain and tidying up indoors and Sem did us gnocchi (from the freezer hand made by his mum) with a ragu sauce she did also - so you could say we are still eating Italian!  I managed to get my starfish done - I hadn't realised how many beautiful starfish there are - in fact I found a gorgeous purple one and one with more than 5 legs!  I did do one 4 years ago in orange peel which was rather lovely but I wanted to do an embroidered one with beads this time, however I didn't do a purple one as somehow it just didn't look right and I had this gorgeous orange variegated peach thread which I think has worked well with some two tone grey and orange beads and so here she is:

I wanted to make Silvana a little something to remember us by and so decided to make her one of my flower embroidered lavender bags with organza.  It's funny I haven't made one for a couple of years and I thought it was going to turn out horrible but once I started embroidering and then putting the beads on it turned out as pretty as the others I've made - I was very pleased and so was she!  The lavender I put inside was from France and was picked in 2013 but is still so strong in perfume - so much more potent than our own English lavender - must be the sun!!

 

The flowers bonded between the organza layers are lobelia, lavender and oregano with ivy and fern leaves.  I emphasised the oregano flowers with purple beads and the lobelia with blue beads.  Well that's all from me today, please visit the everyinchiemonday blog page, by clicking this link, to see the other inchie makers fabulous starfish.  Thank you so much for calling in and also many thanks for the comments you leave.  Have a fab week!

Every Inchie Monday - Hermit Crab

Well it's still Monday so I made it!!  I have visitors from Italy staying and am experiencing the most amazing food!!  They insist on cooking as they love it!!  I don't mind cooking as long as I know what to cook but I hate having to decide what to do or try and make something up from what's left in the fridge.  Rosie's mum-in-law to be is a master of using up leftovers and making amazing dinners.  She's made fresh pasta, fresh gnocchi, fresh pizza dough and therefore pizzas - fresh Ragu sauce and tomato sauce - it's delicious - it seems the secret is to cook everything very slowly for a long time - she has things sitting on my rayburn for hours!!  But the taste is wonderful!  Tonight we had fresh tagliatelli with mushrooms and sausage!!  She used up the beef sausages in the fridge - but they tasted nicer than usual!!  It's been so nice as it gave me time to finish my little crab, this week's key word on everyinchiemonday, this afternoon when they all had a siesta!!  Anyway I was at a loss as to how to do this and the only way I could think was to make a shell out of coiled wool and then couch the red cord for the little crab with two black beads for eyes.  It looked more like a hermit crab in my draft drawing but I quite like the texture and I did colour the background with promarkers and silver thread in the water area - however the shell covers most of that!!!

 

Thank you for calling in and why not visit the other inchie makers talented work?  Many thanks too if you leave a comment by clicking the link - I always love hearing from you - it makes my day.

Every Inchie Monday - Gull and Jellfish

Well what a time we have had - I am afraid last week was spent travelling to a big funeral in Eastbourne, staying the night and then coming back and then off to Hove a few days later with so many things to do in between times I never got a chance to visit or post my blog.  So I missed last week's challenge which was Gull (which I will post beneath this weeks).  The challenge for this Monday was Jellyfish.  I racked my brains on how I was going to portray something see through in embroidery and whilst visiting my sister-in-law in Littlehampton last week she suggested a bubble from bubble wrap and so that is what I went with.  I embroidered the little round flower bit inside (which I don't think you can make out now!) and then did loads of tentacles sewing a bubble over the top of the head - it looks to me more like an octopus in shape and I realise that's because I didn't get it flat at the bottom - I tried to use a bigger bubble but it was too big - anyway I'd gone so far down the line this will have to be it!!

For Gull I had wanted to do Jonathan Livingstone Seagull because I just loved that book,  but the image was too big to put on an inch as it was one with wings spread.  So I managed to do a standing gull on a rock trying to get the flow of the feathers with the lines of stitching.

 I was sad to miss posting it as I couldn't do it via my phone - I usually do it on the main computer but I really don't know how to upload to my blog from the phone - One day I will learn!! 
I did make time on Sunday to make 2 cards, one for my daughter's Wedding Anniversary, I fancied doing a sewn one, and one for a very good friend who has a chicken farm! I thought you might like to see my efforts!

Anyway hope you are all having lovely holidays or at least relaxing.  Thank you so much for visiting and any comments you leave and make sure you visit the other inchie makers wonderful creations by clicking here.

Every Inchie Monday - Frog

So this Monday's challenge word at EIM is Frog.  I could have gone with the old common frog which we have loads of in our garden.  In fact every year around the 6th Feb (almost to the date give or take 2 -3 days) I can hear them all "singing" as they congregate in our pond to mate and they are there for a week and then disappear to wherever they came from!  However I am rather fascinated with the blue poisonous dart frog or it's native name, Okopipi - (isn't that a fabulous word?). It is found in the forests of northern Brazil and it is the poisonous skin toxins that were used on the darts of natives for hunting.  The bright blue warns predators of its poisonous nature which causes paralysis or death.  The black spots are different on each frog making each unique and identifiable.  I'm afraid my frog is not quite azure blue (I didn't have the right colour thread!) and the black spots were difficult to define in thread - French knots were too bold and anything smaller too little!!  So I have large and small black dots but then my frog is unique!!

You may have noticed it's Tuesday not Monday!!!  So the reason I am posting this late is that it was my daughter's birthday yesterday and so her birthday card and cake took precedence!!  I was rather chuffed with both so I just had to show you:

Her cake is a favourite - Chocolate Peach Gateaux except I didn't have time to make it as the gateau so I cheated and made it as a roulade - that way it was just one rather large thin cake with the filling and rolled up with the second filling on top.  This is what it should have looked like:

But I have to say it was delicious and just the same taste as the main cake it just took me half the time to make!!!

So on to the last reason why I was late - I wanted to make an engagement card for her and since their favourite colours are purple and orange I decided to do a series of 9 inchies in those colours and put them on a card.  I toyed with the idea of actually making them into a mini quilt with little dangly bits of wool and beads but time was not on my side so I opted to put them on a card and then later I can always do the mini hanging.  However I really enjoyed myself - I have no idea how other people do this but I used a sheet of fabric colour catcher paper, painted it with brushos. 

Then I laid a sheet of bondaweb over it, overlaid that with thread, material and lace, then another piece of bondaweb and laid a piece of organza on top - then over freezer paper ironed the sandwich together.  This is what I got:

 And after cutting the inch pieces I decorated them with threads and embellishments, here are some finished - I still had three to go.

And now here is the finished card - again photography cannot capture the richness of colour and texture but this is the best I can do:

So it's been quite a creative weekend and after all the gardening and clearing out I think I deserved a play!!  Have got lots of travelling to do again this week and next week so just as well I've got all that out of the way!  Hope your days are bright and fulfilling and thanks for dropping by and any comments you leave, I always enjoy reading them.  Until next time and don't forget to click the link and view the other inchie makers creative work.

EIM - Aligator

Well it's Monday again and I hope every one is happy!?  I took a respite from the house at the weekend and have had a lovely lazy relaxing weekend but I wasn't able to finish my alligator until this morning as the light wasn't right and I just couldn't' see properly - however I don't think it would have made any difference!!  I still struggled with it this morning!  I drew the image onto a piece of my waxing material and then coloured it with promarkers and then began to sew - I had intended to cover the promarker colouring with matching thread but somehow it didn't look right - having sewn all the dark areas and little pointy bumps, when I filled in between with lighter thread it looked awful so I unpicked it (probably should have put more promarker colour onto it as it does tend to fade) - then I tried doing the foliage and even that didn't look right and in an attempt to make the muddy water look like water I used my coloured kreiner thread but the red seems to be more predominant than the blue and yellow but I still think the silver would have been too bright!  Somehow the eyes and nose needed more definition so I added black but when I tried putting more on it ruined it so I ended up doing more unpicking so I have decided to leave it as is - enough is enough - I even noticed a bit of green missing by his nose but I need to got to the attic to find the promarker I used so I'm being lazy and haven't bothered so sorry!!  Anyway here he is although I must say he looks lighter in the photograph than in reality!:

So onwards and upwards with the day, still got things to clear and get rid of so had better get on with it, the day is sunny too so gardening might be on the agenda this afternoon - happy days and thanks for visiting.  Please visit other inchie makers by clicking the link here and thanks so much for any comments you leave.

Every Inchie Monday - Rhino

I am so pleased I am able to blog on time again!!!  Plus I have finished my other projects I mentioned last week and since I am so chuffed with the outcome I thought I'd share it!  My old wicker bedside table which was white and looking very poorly is now transformed using chalk paint in Aubusson Blue which is a teal blue colour and re vamps the whole thing:

Before

 After

And I said I was going to do the Ottoman to match and can't believe I did it!!  And I managed to make the material fit by sewing on a bit at each end to fold over! So here is the Ottoman:

 

Before

 And After

I still need to buy a piece of trim in matching colour to cover the tacks but all in good time!  On to our challenge this week at EIM which is Rhino. I hadn't realised there were so many - I had rather fancied doing the rhino with the plates but discovered that's the Asian or Sumatran Rhino and it has much smaller horns and I rather fancied doing the two big horned variety which turns out to be the classic white rhino which is the biggest.  Did you know the word rhinoceros comes from the Greek rhinokeros meaning nose horned, from rhinos meaning nose and keratos meaning horn! Anyway the poor things are being hunted for their horns for Asian medicine and are all in danger some more so than others.  Such a wonderful dinosaurus looking animal, quite weird in proportion hence only getting the head and foreleg in!  When I first look at trying to put these animals onto an inch in embroidery, my head rebels and thinks I can't do it, but I am getting used to the challenges now and am actually enjoying coming up with something acceptable!!  So here is my white rhino grazing - I meant to do some grass tufts in green embroidery thread but realised I forgot and I've already photographed it etc so it will have to be missed!

So thank you so much for dropping by and I love your comments it is always great reading them and visiting all the other inchie makers works so please click on the EIM link to view them.  Have a great week, and enjoy the summer if you can - it's tipping down here and I was just going to hang out the washing!!!

Every Inchie Monday - Camel

Do you ever have days when you feel bolshie and you don't know what to do, have loads to do and don't want to do any of it???  Well if you don't then lucky you - but I do and did ... yesterday! The house is still a mess with stuff from the moving of bedrooms around and I spent most of the day rounding up bits and bobs and packing them - but none of them were mine!!  I do have one nice room though now and painted an old (and I mean old I had it when I was 8!) wicker bedside cabinet that had been painted white once and was looking a shade more old than it needed to!!  So I bought some dark blue/green chalk paint and painted it and I must say it looks rejuvenated! So am going to do the little wicker ottoman that matches it and recover it some time this week.  I did the bedside unit on Saturday and was feeling pretty good and got my inchie prepared but was too tired to do it Saturday night!  So back to Sunday, having wandered through the house looking at the mess in despair and putting the odd bit away I found an old silk painting kit which had lost two of the paints and should be thrown away but having never done silk painting I ended up trying it out.  So I sat for an hour playing with three colours - made a right old mess of it but thoroughly enjoyed myself doing it and promptly put it in the bin when I'd finished feeling guilty about time wasted!!  So non productive again except for the throwing away which is what I need to do more of!  So finally I gave up did some tea and sat down and then remembered I hadn't finished my camel and I am determined to try and keep to Monday for blogging!  So, having put my special magnifying light away - I couldn't be bothered to get it out so with my dwindling eyesight and best pair of specs I embroidered my camel inchie and to be honest - I couldn't have cared less!  It's the first one I haven't worried over what the outcome will be.. and what will be will be - I try to give myself a challenge every time I do these little bits of art but you do really need to be in a creative and relaxed mood and I guess I just wasn't yesterday.  I am hoping this week will be more positive ... so here is camel - not my best his legs look like the feet were cut off or sunk in the sand!

Anyway hope you all have a wonderful week and thanks for calling by - love the comments you leave - some make me laugh out loud (Wendy!) and most make me smile so that is an up time of the day for me. To view other camel inchies please click here

Every Inchie Monday - Zebra plus catch- up inchies

Well Hi, after three weeks of not getting an inchie done at last I'm back!  What with visits to the hospital, working away from home and having 5 grandchildren for half term plus my own children there has been no time to do any form of crafting or sewing either because I've been too busy, not been here or because I've been too tired!!!  Plus our water pump stopped so we had no water over the Bank holiday with the children staying so I was washing up in 2 inches of water to preserve it, and not flushing loos!!!  We had to take the children swimming so they could shower and wash their hair!!  We finally got someone out to us by the Wednesday and we discovered the float switch had stopped working so until he could order another we had to switch the pump on and off by hand making sure it didn't overflow!!  So I was running up and down to the attic checking hence being tired!!!  One of the disadvantages of being so remote and being on a bore hole!  However the advantage is having beautiful water to drink!  Anyway finally I sat down yesterday feeling more myself than I've felt in a week and managed to sew the four inchies I was behind on, starting with todays' which I really enjoyed although I thought I wouldn't.  This week's is Zebra and I was surprised at the beauty of the zebra's face and perfect markings so I chose to do this.  Here she is:

The first one I missed was Panda and then Kangaroo.  Panda I did in felt and kangaroo I outlined ready to fill in but liked it simply outlined so I've left it like that:

 

Then last week's was Gorilla which was awful to do and I did a sketch which I quite liked but when I tried to sew it in reverse it was a terrible calamity however I am not going to do it again!

 

 Anyway it's nice to be back - sorry I didn't comment on anybody's work - we were in the process of having fast fibre fitted as well but things didn't go according to plan and we were without for a few days - With the promise of it being connected soon I left anything to do with the internet as it is soul destroying how slow ours was before - I am happy to announce I have 54 MBps at last and surfing the internet is now a total joy unlike out 255KBps we had before last Friday when I felt like chucking the device through the window!  Anyway hopefully life will settle down to a relaxed pace and I shall be able to resume inchies on time!!  Please click the here to view other inchie makers master pieces.

 

Every Inchie Monday - Koala

Well Guday!!!  This week's inchie is a Koala bear - what a cute little fella he is but apparently very sedentary.  Because they live mainly on eucalyptus which is very low in caloric content the koala bear sleeps for nearly 20 hours per day!!  I think I must have been a koala in my previous life as I always seem to be tired!!  Of the marsupial family it, like the kangaroo, carries its young (called a Joey) in a pouch and its closest relative is a wombat. With few natural predators its main threat is virus and bushfires or drought naturally and habitat destruction by man.  Here is my little chap.

  I managed to get though all the driving last weekend getting back home on Sunday to a lovely birthday surprise of the family visiting me and cooking lunch for me!!  So lovely and we have just been lazy today trying to get over all that travelling as we have to do it all again this weekend working in Bournemouth! Hence getting my inchie on today Monday would you believe it on time for once!!!Thanks for dropping in and any comments you leave. Don't forget to check out all the other inchie makers wonderful work at EIM by clicking the link.

Every Inchie Monday - Flamingo

This week on Every Inchie Monday the challenge word is Flamingo. Such a beautiful bird but quite a big one to get on an inch!! I've been busy clearing the attic out and so my crafting has had to take a back seat plus it's been beautiful weather so I've been trying to fit in a bit of gardening too and on top of that I went down with a horrid head cold on Saturday and have been fighting it ever since so I am absolutely amazed that I managed to get this week's Inchie done! In fact I prepped it on Monday when I was feeling a bit better and having come in from the garden exhausted and very hot, as it's a beautiful day today, I was sat thinking I might as well sew my flamingo and before long she was done and I feel really relaxed and satisfied! A few weeks ago when I was visiting a friend at Portishead we drove to a nearby village where there was a lovely haberdashery shop and I bought this gorgeous coloured metallic thread which I decided to use for the water. I think it's quite effective and blends with the pink of the flamingo.  I've been dying to use it so bingo!!

 

Thanks for visiting and any comments you leave and enjoy the rest of the week. I now have three days of travelling London, Wales and Southampton!

 

Every Inchie Monday - Bee

This week's challenge for Every Inchie Monday is bee.  I must admit I have actually been putting this one off.  I did Bee four years ago for the challenge word Wing and used bullion knots which worked really well but I wanted to do a different bee this time and the more I looked the more I felt I couldn't do it justice.  However this morning I jumped in at the deep end and decided to do a bee in Ghiordes knot or turkey stitch which I have never attempted, and after all the purpose for me doing these inches is to try different techniques and stitches that I've never done before. It gives it a very fluffy appearance just like a bee however it is not as easy as it looks - well the stitch is easy enough but it's the placement of the stitches and not knowing what it will look like until the loops are cut and the thing is brushed - I kept cutting more and more away until I felt there would be a mistake and I would rue the day so I stopped trimming it  It possibly needs more trimming but I was a coward!!  I was also going to sew the wings with silver gossamer thread but when I couldn't find my silver thread I opted for a  piece of organza bonda webbed together and then cut into wing shapes and sewn on.  This was the most difficult to photograph to advantage.  I must have taken ten photos and none really show it off - I have to say it does look better in real life!! 

Anyway thanks for visiting and for all the lovely comments you leave - I love hearing what you think.  Have a lovely rest of the week and I hope you all had a good Bank Holiday - the weather has actually been lovely here except for a biting wind!  Today is no exception!