Friday 30th June - just a weeny bit weird?

Cross Stitch Collaboration Update;

We have managed to exchange our June stitcheries just before the end of the month - Ang received my box yesterday, and hers arriveded here this morning.

Now, I promise you, we try not to even hint at what we are doing, but more and more often we are clearly thinking along the same lines;

here are my initial ideas for my piece;

Originally I thought of some kind of hexagon back ground, with a bee, or maybe bees, and perhaps a hive, and could I fit the words of the old rhythm about swarms? 

like this, perhaps, with the bees in and around the words, and something pictorial - hive and folowers at the bottom, or between the words?

 It all got too complicated and I completely changed my mind. Perhaps I'd revisit this for July.

Here's is Ang's piece;

She made larger, honey-coloured hexagons so that each one could be filled with a different blackwork pattern. Isn't it brilliant!

I was going to use an all over hexagon pattern for mine, as you can see in my first doodles. But I think Ang's version is terrific, and would make a great sampler! 

Ang also slightly re-jigged the top left border to solve the problem of the empty space in the 'no cross, no crown' piece for April. ('I have a cunning plan....') 

The 'flat presents' are a sample sachet of granules for adding to pots and containers to retain moisture, and a matchbox size box of bee friendly seeds.

So, if I gave up on the bees, what did I sew instead?

I liked the effect of the completely red 'no cross no crown' piece, but didn't want to use red, or the equally traditional black thread. Green seemed a good choice, for the bird - probably meant to be a dove, by my garden is full of pigeons - and plants. This is part of a Victorian design for a border, with an alphabet added top and bottom.

Here's my chart;

As usual, once I've sorted out my ideas I chart it on a photocopy of the actual fabric, magnified to about 140% . As I go along I can mark the design, either by colouring in shapes different sections, or by numbering the stitches in each row to help me keep track of where I've got to. 

But both of us thinking of bees........ I wonder what we are both going to do in July? Perhaps I should do something Christmassy to be sure of being different?