YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAY...
It is a great source of amusement to many of my nearest and dearest who know me well that I am totally incapable of following instructions to the letter. It doesn't matter whether it's a recipe or pattern, I just have a tendency to veer off course and *cough* do my own thing. Julia could give you many examples, I'm sure, lol!!
And that happened with the cross stitch - it's supposed to be a Christmas one but the colours morphed!
And now it's more of a Spring version.... I really like it, I know there's Christmas trees and reindeer but it just doesn't fit that brief anymore. I've also stopped the pattern early and am not going to put the squirrels in at the top, I like the design just how it is. It's going on the JanCave wall and I might do a cooler version in blues next (I'm not exactly low on floss lol!)And as for the orange thread highlighted last week, there were some good guesses but it created little foxes...
I'm not going to outline the designs either but leave them naive and folksy. Talking of floss:
Lovely Elizabeth sent me some card spools in the post! I may have to get some more threads to wind on these beauties...metallics maybe? Thank you for your kind thoughts Elizabeth, I really do appreciate these.
I have been in the JanCave too as I had an order for some more masks - the lady lives in the next town which is in lockdown (fortunately my village isn't even though it's only 3 miles away) so I posted them to her.
All different colours, they don't take that long!
Until the storm this weekend, we'd had glorious weather last week - we went for a walk to the Old Harbour which is on the doorstep of where I grew up.
It was so warm I was in short sleeves, we basked in the sun like lizards! The light was incredibly bright which made for some interesting shots:I love seeing the changing colours of the sea....
There used to be a Second World war fortified building here which I spent my childhood exploring and jumping off (I was a proper tomboy). It's slightly different now but the view is just as beautiful!
Hope you're having a good week and that everyone is keeping safe and well xxxxxxxx
32 comments:
I love your "completed" cross stitch and think it looks perfect just as is... nothing wrong with going your own way (love that song) with colours too... who needs to follow the herd.....gorgeous photos, that beach is beautiful, I miss visiting the beach. Have a great week Helen#?
I love your interpretation Jan. It would look very Scandanavian in blues too. Stay safe and happy WOYWW. Sarah #?
Ah! Lovely photos Jan - real chill out and relax pics. Thanks for sharing them. Your little cross stitch picture is beautiful and I love the colours. I think we will all still be mask making for a while longer - one day we will put them away in a keepsake box to remind us of the time we all had to socially distance - it can't come soon enough. xx Jo
Very impressive with your cross stitch, I had no idea it was going to turn out so large and I thought you were doing tiny ones for Christmas cards - this is something else and I like it. I like it exactly as it is - folksy describes it well - and perfect!
The photos are beautiful and how lovely that you walked about in short sleeved tops. it must have been lovely to get out and about in weather like that and see such views.
I was a tom boy too - could climb the clothes props quicker than the lads could, I was proud of my scuffed knees in those days.
Stay safe and well in your village, Hugs, Neet 8 xx
Your cross-stitch is lovely. Nothing wrong with going your own way - you and me both. Your little foxes remind me of Japan, you see them a lot there in images of the Shinto fox god, of fertility, rice, tea and sake, of agriculture and industry, of general prosperity and worldly success.
Those beach photos are gorgeous.
We used to play in quarry pits, jump off garages and all sorts when I was a kid - things you’d have kittens about if your own children did them. We survived!
Take care, stay safe
Love
Lynne #19
Love your cross stitch and like you, I never completely follow the pattern. Serious envy of your beach walks-so wish we were there.
Ha ha ha. Basking like a lizard seems like a dim and distant memory today. I wish. Pretty masks, love the colours. Funny, too, the x-stitch. I'm like you - I never do the pattern as specified, and back when I DID x-stitch, it produced some really nice alterations and some real bastardizations or carefully thought out designs. But hey ho - it's a bit like my knitting. I like knitting. It relaxes me. If I knit a bunch then have to pull it back, it's still all knitting, right? So I have learned to take it with a bit of a "whatever" attitude. I used to go up to the local old folks home and knit with the residents. One woman used to kit a swatch of maybe 32 stitches for about 4 inches then pull it all back and begin again - literally over and over and over for the weeks I went. Maybe she was on to something? :)
Happy WOYWW!
Mary Anne (2)
Dear Jan. Thanks so much for your heads up on bloggers antics with photos vanishing yet again.
I nearly screamed with utter despair when I saw zero photos. I had to load every one of those about three times when doing post then when publish the whole lot and caboodle do disappearing act again. Theyre not large as I resize them all to under 200kb.
It's new blogger being a real pest.
All fixed if want to peek again. A one hour post took three hours then another 30min plus to correct.. sigh.
Love your cross stitch. Artistic licence.. love the lights you captured of your beach and we have war bunkers around our coast here in town too.
Thanks for sharing, and may God bless and keep you and all whom you love safe and well.
Prayer hugs, Shaz in Oz. X #16
{Wonderful Words of Life - Shaz in Oz}
{Calligraphy Cards - Shaz in Oz}
Love your completed cross-stitch... I was sure there would be a row of carrots rather that two foxes.
Beautiful scenic photos!
Happy woyww! Susan #7
Love your kind of stitching! It remembers me, when I was young and in the dance school. Why??? I always tried to make my own sequence of steps....and take leadership. LOL
The pictures of the sea and beach are great. I miss the sea, since my Daughter no longer lives in England. Next sea to us: Italy and Croatia.
Take care and stay healthy! ♥
Eva from Austria
Beautiful cross stitch and it still looks quite festive to me. The photographs are beautiful and I've really missed our usual week away at the coast this year. Nice masks too. Happy creative woyww, Angela x16x
I don't blame you LOL - you have to follow your heart! And there are trees and deer in Spring as well - and there could be a few rogue snowflakes too! It's nice to break out of the mould sometimes. Some of the lessons I do end up looking completely different as well. Loving those landscape shots! Happy WOYWW! zsuzsa #22
Hi Jan. Neither can I - stick to a pattern, that is! I actually think that, apart from the tulips - which were, after all, on the original pattern - that the colours you have used still make it a wintry scene. I love it. Yes, I think you are right - you may need to get more colours now you have those little winding cards... oops!!
Great views of the water and sand - brilliant patterns.
Take care. God bless.
Margaret #3
Hiya Jan, what a beautiful place to grow up! Weather sounds to have been better with you, been cold,wet & windy up here. Yuk. I agree that stitching is perfect as it is, and laughing at the idea of you breaking the rules, lol.Hope you are all well, sending lots of love and big hugs, Shaz #5 XxXxXx
Fabulous stitching, both decorative and practical. I have made heaps of masks too, had lots of requests from my choir.
Fab pictures too!
Chrissie ��
Hello lovely - who needs instructions? LOL I think your cross stitch is just perfect and now it is a true Jan original. You are good making your masks, my poor old sewing machine has died a death and I really can't justify buying a new one. (DD expressed an interest in sewing during lockdown which is how we discovered the m/c was a tad poorly. I did suggest getting her one for her birthday or even Christmas instead of clothes she wears once, another pair of trainers or very expensive perfume......but she stared at me like I had lost my mind and sewed what she had to do by hand.) Photos are just lovely, such a stunning place. It's been lovely here today so I stole a couple of hours in the garden. Blue skies and sunshine really nourish the soul. Have a good week, stay well, stay safe, Cindy #13
Your embroidery is just beautiful and I love your change of colour. It has a Scandinavian feel and would look very good in shades of blue too. Your scenic shots are stunning - what an amazing place to grow up in.
Hope you have a great week,
Hugs, Diana xx #14
I love how you changed the pattern & colors to suit you! It is very pretty! Those cards spools is what I have all my thread wound on. I even wrote the color numbers on the spools so it would be easier to purchase.
We're not in lockdown but still under a mask mandate. Our county has had a big decrease in cases and 0 deaths for quite some time according to the AZ DHS website. That's great!
It's still much too warm to be out during the day but the temps are supposed to drop to normal by the weekend. Sure need some cooler weather! Love your beach scenes, no beaches here, all dessert.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!
Carol n #24
Jan, you are too funny! I wish I could be like that, unfortunately, I am consummate for the rules or instructions kind of girl! LOL Sometimes, I wish I could be a little more off the cuff, but alas, my OCD kicks in every time! LOL Your pictures are ALWAYS SO GORGEOUS, and these are right up there! I wish I could see that beauty first hand! Blessings for the rest of your week! Felicia #27
Hi Jan, thank you for your comment which I totally agree with. When my grandchildren started “trick or treating” I started getting sweets in. Last year suggestions were made about leaving a Halloween decoration in the window if you wanted the children to knock. I don’t know how that worked out, but I forgot to do it and I still had a few callers. Am guessing it will be cancelled this year. Lovely photographs, it must be so nice to be able to walk along the shore. X Angela #25
Hi Julia, Love the cross stich. You could do the four seasons.
What beautiful photos.
Happy WOYWW
Sue
Hi, Jan!
What glorious weather you have had! So good for the mind, body and soul, to be out enjoying it!
(I find outlining x-stitch very tedious! Ready to be done by that time and easy to let that bit go...)
Stay safe and well,
Happy Wednesday!
Kathryn
Thank you for your visit to my blog and comment,
Love the cross stitch really pretty. lovely colours, how kink to send masks to the lady in lock down,
Lilian B #9
I love how your cross stitch turned out! Very Spring-like! And I won't tell the Cross-Stitch Police if you wont! I kind of like that localized shutdown idea, but then people tend to travel, don't they. our Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend and our Provincial Leader has told people to have their dinner just with their household members...while allowing 30 or more children in a classroom, bars and restaurants to be open, and casinos to be open. Makes no sense so people will ignore it. Glad things seem to be going well in Wales!
Hi Jan, I prefer your folksy take on the brief, those foxes were crying out to be orange wasn't they. I'm glad you have some blank skein cards now do you know there is a winger that those cards fit making it easy for you to wind your skeins onto. That used to be my Daughters job for her Granny hee hee..
Stunning photos the sea on the sand in the sunlight looks like silver.. (couldn't say that after a gin or two hee hee!!) Happy WoywW Tracey xx
Your cross stitch turned out great ~ I like the masks you made as well. The beach looks beautiful! I turned my face to the sun and soaked it up today too ~ it was 75 degrees still ~ Nice! Enjoy ~ Love, Karen#33
I cam back because I remembered your cross stitch and I wanted to say I love it and the colours you used x Angela #25
Oh Jan, your cross stitch is gorgeous! A charming design. I agree about not outlining it. Some things are improved by that, but I think some of the folk-style ones are better left, as you say. I think it still looks Christmassy though. Your outdoor photos are gorgeous - beautiful scenery. Thank you for your visit - so glad you like the tiny carpets and the backgrounds especially. I started designing #5 last night but tomorrow I am planning to get started on making up the first ones because I have to have one ready by Monday. I think I managed to remedy my mistake all right, just stitching on top of what was there!
Happy WOYWW,
Shoshi x #18
Hi Jan, I love your cross stitch sampler - it's so cheerful and I love anything folk style too. Like you, I rarely stick exactly to instructions - where would be the fun in that. I'm glad you'll find a use for the thread cards, even if it means you'll be buying even more floss! The photos taken on your walk are simply stunning - especially the second one! What a place to grow up in! Hugs, Elizabeth x 26
The finished Spring/Christmas theme is so pretty! ohh foxes, adorable.
stay safe and please share with us when you start the blue version
Ellie#14
I’m late, sorry, started at t’other end! How kind of Elizabeth. Metallics sound a nice addition to the floss pit. I agree that you shouldn’t outline the images, it’s still folksy even though you couldnt stick to the colour suggestions! I like the idea of one in shades of blue - you’ll end up with the four seasons at this rate!
Hi Jan. I'm a touch late. I thought I'd commented, was checking up and can't see a comment. I think the cross stitch looks great. I have some should finish :-( We'll see. Anne x 29
Post a Comment