An update on my Progress of the Sheep Baby Blanket, being encouraged by the participants of the SAL, arranged by the lovely Avis of Sewing Beside the Sea
Looking back to where we last were!
Last time we checked in with our three weekly SAL, I was making slow progress on the first lamb. Not a great deal of progress had been made on the little lamb from the previous checkin, but as a few of you commented, all progress is good progress!
After three weeks of stitching
Now this may come as somewhat of a surprise, but I have actually been stitching on this project these past few weeks!
With the canvaswork piece coming close to finishing, and the silk shading piece for the RSN Certificate still very much in the early/I need help stages, I have had a bit more time to stitch something other than RSN pieces. I’ve also found myself wanting to sit and stitch in a more ‘lazy’ position on the couch of an evening, rather than sitting at the slate frame. So this has been my go to project of an evening. It may also have helped that my hubby said something about ‘is this ever going to be finished’ when he was cleaning one day!
The first little lamb is now all finished, complete with a happy face!
And the second lamb is coming along nicely.
I’m having a few troubles with the colours, as I’m slowly running out of the threads I thought I would be able to finish both lambs in. So I am trying to work each thread combination around the lamb, and then I am going to have to just fill in the gaps with whatever I have left! Which at the moment is looking like a combination of a sandy colour and an off-white colour.
I’m also starting to think ahead to what to do after the sheep are all finished to ‘finish’ off the blanket. I’m currently thinking some brightly coloured ‘lazy daisy’ flowers, with maybe a couple of bees buzzing around too. For some grass I’m thinking just some simple long straight stitches. I will then need to decide if I should put in a stem stitch border around the whole blanket to ‘frame’ it. At the moment I’m leaning towards not doing this, and just using some mini piping when I back it, but I will make that decision when the rest is complete! Do you have any ideas on either the ‘garden’ or the border idea?
Join the others!
Do make sure you head over and see what everyone else has been up to! There is always a great array of different projects going along, and it’s great to see everyone’s progress each three weeks.
Avis,Claire, Gun, Carole, Lucy
See you in three weeks for the next update on this blanket – you never know – it might actually be finished!
Wow! You have been busy!! Love the texture you’ve created with the french knots.
I’m actually amazed at how quickly it’s coming along now! Maybe I’m finally getting some speed up with all that practise!
I love these lambs…so cute and cuddly! Some grass and flowers will be a perfect way to finish them off. As for the border, I can’t help but visualize a simple crochet border around the edge, but I don’t know if you even do crochet? I’n my mind’s eye I see something done in cotton, the same heft as a doily, maybe in a color that would pick up on the grass or the flowers…something that won’t look dirty when it drags on the floor, because I think this will be one of those blankets that go everywhere for about 4 years!
Thanks Kathy. I’m pleased how they are turning out after all this time of being a work in progress! I finally have the ambition to finish it off! Alas, I cannot crochet to save myself! I am a dreadful knitter, and for whatever reason, when I had the chance to learn how to crochet from my grandmother I never took it up. I have some lovely sheep fabric that I’m planning on backing it with, I just need to work out the details on how I finish it off. I do like the idea of crocheting something simple – I wonder how long it would take to learn? I have made these types of blankets for my nieces and nephews before, and my sister has great trouble washing them, she has to put them in a cage while they dry so the boys don’t drag them around whilst wet!
I love your sheep and lambs, they are so sweet. I love the idea of bees and lazy daisy and simple straight stitch for the grass. I look forward to seeing your finished blanket.
Thanks Deborah – I can’t believe I’m finally thinking about the finishing touches!
This is so cute. Can’t wait to see more.
Thanks Cindy. I’m looking forward to seeing it all finished up too!
This is so cute! I’m loving seeing your progress.
Thanks Sarah – it’s good to see some actual progress being made on this at last! I really had stalled on it for a while there.
Nice to see the extras growing 🙂
Thanks Avis. I’m certainly enjoying seeing them come along at last!
Yes, you’ve definitely been stitching the entire 3 weeks! That is some great progress 😀 I like the garden idea! Looking forward to seeing that grow. Are those drawn horns on the sheep? Will you be stitching those?
Thanks Christina! I’m enjoying seeing the sheep come along at last. I actually feel like progress is finally being made! The horns are drawn in, but im not sure I’ll stitch them. Im quite liking them without their horns.
But i googled “sheep with horns”, LOL, and that would be so cute!! How about horns on the mama sheep only? Either way, it’s lovely 🙂
I’ve seen a few cute sheep with horns too! I haven’t completely ruled it out, I’ll see what it looks like with three faces to start with!
I love the texture all of those French Knots give those adorable sheep. I can’t wait to see your finishing touches.
I’m quite impressed at how effective the French Knots have been! They feel great on the blanket too. Hopefully the finishing touches will be seen next time!
Utterly adaorable and very well executed.
Thanks so much Cathy, that is lovely to hear you say that!
I love French knots. So cute. i thought you had sewn on hundreds of beads at first.
No beads on this, just an unknown number of French Knots! It’s a good thing I love them too!
Stem stitch curves nicely for grasses, and you could give them a few seedheads with wheatear stitch and a few french knots.
When I’ve done a blanket, I turned it under, and edged it, rather unimaginatively, with blanket stitch in a thread to match the blanket. Then attached the lining/backing to the inside edge of the turned-in edges.
But, essentially, you have endless possibilities!
Great idea about the stem stitch for grass! I’m also contemplating woven picots for a different type of leaf/grass. I will see how I feel when I get to it! I’ve also used blanket stitch edging which is quite nice if you can get your stitches even! I’m thinking at the moment of two rounds of mini piping. But you are right, so many possibilities and I don’t want to get too ahead of myself- it is yet to be finished!
Sheep are definitely not all the same colour, so I wouldn’t worry about running out of thread. They are seriously cute though!
Yes, I keep reminding myself that nature is rarely perfect! They are definitely a lot more cute than I expected them to be!
This little family is looking good. I like the idea of putting them in a field with flowers.
Thanks Sue. I think it will finish it off nicely ?
Personally, I think they’re CUTE enough AS IS! – Nothing wrong in just keeping it all “simple”… However, if you must add in something, just do a few blades of grass.
Besides, as BABY BLANKET, it’s best that they have something CALMING to look at rather than an onslaught of “DETAILS” and COLOUR… They get enough of that when they’re awake!
Anyhoo, a FABULOUS bit of LOTS of WORK!! – *LOVE* IT!!
😀
You have certainly made me giggle! I do want to keep it simple, but I also think it needs a little bit of something else. That’s why I’m thinking last daisy flowers – definitely no bullion roses here! I’m glad you like it.
wow that’s a huge amount of progess in only 3 weeks!
I bet you’ve been doing French knots in your sleep ^^
?, yes I think I can now do them blindfolded! It’s definitely moving along more quickly now. I must be determined to get it finished!
Looking really good Catherine and at least the randomness (if that is a word) of a lamb’s coat means that if you do have more of one colour than another or even if you need to add some other colour it will not be noticeable. I like the idea of the sheep family in a field with wild flowers and insects buzzing about.
Thanks Helen. I’m really pleased with how it has turned out. And I hadn’t thought about that being an added bonus of being random with the stitches! Definitely a good point. I quite like the idea of a simple field for them too ?
How about simply hemming the blanket all round, but adding a fringe under the sheep and at the opposite end, in the same sort of colours as you plan for the grass, to sort of reinforce the effect of long grass? And I love the idea of meadow flowers: marguerites, poppies, cornflowers, that sort of thing, just a few… But whatever you go with will be beautiful!
Oh, another lovely idea – thanks Kate! I think I could go quite overboard with the flowers, so will have to be careful I keep it simple!
Wow, that’s a lot of french knots!! This blanket is looking lovely and I’m sure it will be treasured for a long time. I like the idea of grass and a few flowers, and a simple fabric bound edge would work well.
Thanks Ann. The more I think about it, the more I think simplicity is the key to finishing this off. I don’t want to detract from the sheep too much!
Hi Catherine, hmm, I have trouble viewing your new website. It looks lovely, but it will not load properly. Anybody else having similar problems? Your sheep look amazing, by the way! Jessica
Oh I’m sorry to hear that Jessica! No one else has said they are having problems with it loading. Can I ask what browser you are using and I will do my best to work it out!
Thanks for the kind words about the sheep – I’m excited the finish line is in view!
Hi Catherine, thanks for getting back to me! I am using firefox and it tells me that a script on your site is broken. When I stop the script, I can view your writing, but not the pictures :(. Your site won’t load at all on my Ipad. As I am able to view live tv on both devices and since I have no problems with other websites, I don’t think it is due to my internet speed. What are the digital gods up to this time :)! Have a nice day and happy stitching, Jessica
Oh dear, I think I will need to get my husband to look at this one! I have a lot of problems testing speed as our internet at home is just painful – I got a very bizarre message when trying to use internet banking yesterday! Thanks for that information and I will definitely try to solve it quickly!
Your sheep are adorable. You’ve made great progress. 🙂 I just read the last comment Your site is loading for me, but it is super slow. (Not sure why.) I am using Google Chrome. I look forward to your next update!
Thanks Renee. It’s good to see them finally coming along! Thanks for the comment about the site loading slow. I’ll look into it!
wow, what a lot of french knots!! Great progress! As for how the blanket should be finished, could we see a photo of the whole thing? I’m not sure what scale the sheep are on or where they are etc.
Thanks Wendy! I’m definitely getting good st French Knots know!
And a very good point about needing to see the scale of the piece to get ideas on how to finish it. That didn’t cross my mind!
Congratulations! Your post was my feature pick at #OverTheMoon this week. Visit me on Sunday evening and to see your feature! I invite you to leave more links to be shared and commented upon.
Oh I’m honoured Marilyn! Thanks so much.
I love your little sheep – the colour variations in the thread only make for a more realistic fleece in my opinion. As others have said – a bit of grass would be good, unless you want sheep in a snowy landscape of course but I imagine grass would be the simpler embroidery option 😉
Yes, grass is definitely a simpler, and I think nicer for this piece, option!
Love the little faces! I’d add some grass, maybe a wild flower or two and I love the bees idea. But then I never know when to stop so you may decide just to keep it simple!
Yes, I too have a habit of doing too much. It will be a struggle to keep it simple, but that’s all it needs I think!
Oh, thank you for the update. I love the way those sheep are turning out, So cute. And I really admire your patience with all those french knots…Thank you for joining The Really Crafty Link Party this week. Pinned!
Thanks Teresa! It’s certainly a good thing I like French knots!
I think I may have said this before but my goodness those lambs are just the cutest! And I do admire anyone who can complete that many french knots and have them all look good. French knots are not a favorite of mine. 🙂
Thanks so much for linking up to last week’s Stitchery Link Party. Aloha hugs!
Thanks Sue! This isn’t a project for those who find French Knots distressing in any way! Im actually a little excited, as last night I finally finished up the lambs!