My very long term project is my embroidered tablecloth, still not finished and won’t be for some time I can assure you. I ‘borrowed’ the pictures from an astrology book that I bought deep into the last century when I was more into reading the stars whilst waiting for my white charger to come around the corner with that dashing prince. My enthusiam of stargazing has waned over the years, probably because white steeds are not commonly ridden by aged, yet handsome and personable retired gentlemen.  However, the project once started has not been abandoned, although at times it has been put aside whilst other activities have taken over. It also requires extremely good lighting to discerne the subtelty of the colours and to ply the needle, and dare I say it, to be able to even thread the needle(s).

The tablecloth is circular and I have divided it into twelve segments with embroidery stitches. Now some of my stitches are traditional but I have also made some up to ‘fit the design’. I use standard embroidery threads and have collected a great variety over the years, DMC, Anchor, Sullivans, Semco some of which are no longer available, and am sure I have every conversion chart I can find! I use only two strands or one, anything else is too heavy and I try to make them look as close to my pictures as possible. I was surprised today when I went into a local Spotlight and found they had only one brand on sale, normally they have carried three brands, DMC, Sullivans and Anchor, so I hope it is only this store; and I discovered there are two DMC whites – Blanc and 5200, one being much brighter, and dare I say it, whiter, than the other. Perhaps I have never seen them displayed side by side before.

This is Taurus: