The rose top is done

Well I stitched and stitched and stitched some more yesterday (until I had a totally numb behind from sitting hand stitching on the sofa) and finished the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Rose top for my sister around nine o'clock last night.

I've really enjoyed this - the challenge of working out which piece of 'leading' to stitch in which order so all rough ends are enclosed gave my brain something else to work out other than school accounts especially on the pink rose area. It's good to stretch your brain in a different direction now and again and a real relief to find it still works!

Atet from Quilting in Cornfields mentioned on yesterday's comments about her intention to do something similar but using the work of Frank Lloyd Wright as inspiration. I think he was probably thinking on similar lines to Charles Rennie Mackintosh albeit possibly slightly later and his stained glass works are lovely - just right for this type of work.

On my CRM piece here I've extended the design out by about 2.5" to give the corner 'nine patches' and create a bit of an illusion of a border but still echoing his style. I shall cut off the excess white you can still see on the picture when I square it all up.

I hope to get it sandwiched and machine quilted today and then I shall bind it in more of the 'school uniform' grey that I've used for the 'leading'.

I think I shall machine quilt along the edges of all the leading strips - I can't really think of any other way to tackle it - if I try and do something in the open white areas I think it will just detract from the simplicity and clean lines of the design. It's destined to be a wallhanging anyway so doesn't need close quilting for durability.

I ought to title it 'Glastonbury Rose' as I've discovered more new bands (well new to an old fogie like me anyway), sitting watching the Glastonbury Festival coverage on tv while I've stitched, than I ever knew existed.

I hope she likes it - she's not much of a stitcher, just does some cross stitch and a little simple dressmaking but she did like the Celtic Knotwork (her other real design love) cushion covers I made her for Christmas so I should be onto a winner. I need to get it completed for next Friday so I'd better get a wiggle on with it :o)

On a totally different note I received my penultimate winter block, indeed my penultimate block altogether, for the four seasons swap quilt I'm in the middle of. Can't wait to get the final block and finish assembling the centre. Then we're onto those borders and that'll be another top done.

Mind you there's no deadline for this so I don't know why I'm rushing. Don't you sometimes feel like it's a self imposed race we set ourselves with these things?

Never mind - on with the sandwiching of the CRM Rose - at least it's a small manageable size to handle.