To hoop or not to hoop ...

 Hi everyone 

It has been a busy time as students are on to their last bit of the year. 

However, I recently bought an embroidery hoop stand & what a useful thing it is. I usually just use a hoop on my lap or balanced against the table but when you are adding beads or some stitches, you really need two hands to do it. 

I saw someone using one on a facebook group & thought - mmmm that could be so useful. We are spoilt here in that most things can be ordered online without having to trudge around the scarce haberdashery shops to find such things. 

I decided on one that can accommodate a variety of hoop sizes & has a small holder for an image etc to work from. It is sturdy & the hoops can be rotated slightly to how you like to work. 

I had started a design based on a baobab tree using various stitches I had recently learnt at an online workshop. 

The open blanket stitch is very useful as it can be used to create shapes & cells of plants etc. 

I used a stacked running stitch for the tree shape - that is a new stitch that creates a very good pattern & works best in variegated threads. I used soft shades & it looks like the golden hour at sunset. 

I added beads, including some large grey type seeds that are often used in bead necklaces in South Africa. These were from a necklace bought with my parents.  I am quite pleased with it, completely intuitive stitching, without a pattern.  I do like to add some interesting beads but it is often a challenge to find the right thickness of thread & needles ... 

What are you working on at the moment? Please share & thank you for stopping by, 

Dee 🧵🪡