Apple Blossom update

I've been busy with the Apple Blossom Fairies, but am fairly bored with it now I've finished the actual fairies and am purely working on flowers and leaves. Knowing me, when I'm doing the backstitch I'll be moaning about that and wishing I was doing flowers and leaves! Still, the end is in sight. For a change, I decided to do some of the french knots instead of leaving them all to the end (see the 2 yellow clumps at the bottom left). I am pleased with my success! I have never done french knots before but have read how to do them many times in magazines. Mine are not the neatest ever but not bad for a first attempt. I have learned that french knots cannot be unpicked so its especially important to get them right in the first place.

My Mum came round a week or so ago and picked up my wip and showed everyone the back enthusing about how neat it is. I'd never thought of my backs as especially neat but I guess it can be said that I don't trail long threads over the back and nor do I allow knots. I will unpick several rows of work just to get rid of a knot I hadn't noticed so I guess my work is pretty neat really. Quite flattering to have Mother being so enthusiatic about it!

I've been bidding for stitching stuff on ebay again. Mostly I get outbid because I have a ceiling above which I won't pay but I did get carried away with a Teresa Wentzler Romeo and Juliet kit, probably paying above the odds, but it does get quite irritating getting outbid by snipers on vitually everything so with this one I was determined to win. It hasn't arrived yet. What has arrived is the L&L Celtic Spring chart. I've been itching to get one of the Celtic charts for a while, I really want the Christmas one most of all but Celtic Spring is nice too.

I also won a kit of Sweet Pea fairies, which I probably shouldn't have bid on since I already have 3 larger flower fairies to do as well as the one I'm working on. They do look nice but take a long time and are not impressive in the way that a TW or L&L is. The smaller flower fairies are ok, such as the Iris Fairy which only took about 2 weeks to complete. But Apple Blossom Fairies seems to be going on forever! I will get there......