Another project completed

I finally completed my latest project, this time its for our local vicar who is moving from this parish in early August to another parish with his family after 15 years.  One change I made was to use varigated threads which surprisingly were cheaper than DMC or Anchor threads.  Compared to their £ 0.90 I only paid £ 0.30 per skein.  I also changed the design of the corner flowers after playing around with material however, stitching them onto the cushion at the end was more frustrating than on previous ones.   Only trouble is the family leaves when we are away, so the cushion is hidden away at my parent's home, so I am taking a risk putting it on here at the moment.  

The top part after playing around with the varigated threads

The dreaded shields and boat that is on the church sign outside

The finished piece

Really pleased how the flowers turned out on this one

The back view

This time I went a bit adventurous on the hem

I have also been surfing the net to find cheaper and different material.  One difficulty I have found is whilst materials are cheaper, you never know what you are going to receive and what the quality is like, the other option is buying locally and paying more money.  One place I did find for material, who actually provides free samples is www.myfabrics.co.uk so I have some samples on order and am waiting to see whether I can save some money and have a decent purchase.  Whilst our local shops, all 2 of them have a good selection, to get a more wider choice the nearest place is in Norwich 26 miles away and I never seem to get the time to go there.  My DH, Steve says that I have an expensive hobby, my argument is that whilst I am stitching I keeping busy and not raiding the cupboards and picking on food, especially chocolate.

High School and the Summer Holidays

This past week has also seen our daugher leave Primary school and she will be starting High school tomorrow and my son will be beginning his final year there.   Whilst she is looking forward to going, she does have mixed feelings and it seems to be the end of an era.  However,  we just have this one more week and then the kids finish school for the summer holidays.   I just hope the relentless rain we are getting eases off for at least the next 6 weeks with just a light shower at night especially as we will be away for the majority of the time.  One thing is certain though, whilst we are away I won't be stitching cushions as much so I am at the minute so I will not be spending money on my pastime, not unless I see any kits or charts!!!