Last week I had the opportunity to indulge in more cross stitch on my train trips to and from Johannesburg, with a night at a hotel in between. Starting out:
Arriving home:
Thanks to the inability of Shosholoza Meyl to keep to any kind of $#@*& timetable, I had more than nine unbudgeted-for hours in which to stitch. And read and nap, of course. Unpropitiously, the kitchen ran out of water a few hours into the return journey so there was no coffee to be had. Now that was a real test of endurance.
Not sure when I’ll have a chance to carry on with this piece but one thing is for sure – it certainly won’t be on a bloody train!
Nice piece of work 
The silver lining is that you got LOADS done and it’s looking amazing! Were you able to chill out and enjoy it, or were you stabbing the fabric furiously with your needle and muttering under your breath?
No stabbing of needle. That would have required too much energy and I was EXHAUSTED.
Poor you… :-(
It’s so lovely and you are doing so well. It feels good doesn’t it when what could have been wasted time can be used profitably!
I do still love this design, I’m pleased to say – started it over 10 years ago I think!
Wow, you really did get lots done! Not sure I’d have coped that long without a coffee though. Gold star for you!
Gold star indeed. Supplies were limited to coke lite and biltong-flavoured crisps. Disgusting!
Nothing ever goes according to plan so I’m glad you had something to while away those long hours that turned out so absolutely beautiful! I can’t do cross stitch anymore but but love the effect. Yours is so beautiful.
Thanks, Marlene. It is such a marvellously calming activity, but then all handwork is. Aren’t we lucky to have our needles and threads to turn to, if only for therapeutic reasons :)
We have needles and thread so we don’t stick it to anyone else. :)
oh yeah…
Love your cross stitch, such stunning colours. I could understand running out of water from Cape Town but not from Johannesburg. Maybe the Cape Town based train staff were hoarding and hiding the water so they could water their indoor plants and flush their Cape Town toilets.
I think it was simply bad planning. The absence of coffee was a small thing, but it was the cherry on top of a very undesired trip to the Dark City – plus I had to miss your birthday lunch :(
Oh so annoying, but good for you for putting the time to good use!
Pros and cons – I also squeezed in a couple of extra naps……;)
Pretty cross stitch! And so fortuitous to have it to hand when you got delayed. Love the needlepoint elephants too. They look like they would have been fun to stitch.
Yes, I was elephant-mad for a while! :)
Gorgeously colourful design.
I like x stitch but find it hard to get the threads to lie flat and not twist. Any tips?
Yes. I am using three of the six strands of embroidery thread, so cut the length you want and then pull them apart separately before putting them back together and threading the needle. Best to do this even if you are using all six strands – separating first reduces the twist to practically nothing. :)