Sunday 2nd November

Ah. My friend has pointed out to me that I've got the day wrong. (See comments). I had hoped to be able to do a strike through Sunday and add Saturday but it didn't work. 9h well. I am only 'practically perfect in every way' to quote Mary Poppins!

 Hurrah! Ang has received my October stitching,  so I can post about it here. I  wanted to wait so as not spoil the surprise for her.

The inspiration was Autumn leaves. I was standing under a flowering cherry on a corner waiting for BB to collect me after my flu vaccination and admiring the colours of the leaves when the lines from A E Housman's poem floated into through my mind; 

"Loveliest of all the cherry now

Is hung with blooms from every bough"

That's as far as I could remember; I learned the poem from Miss Read's book 'Village School' many years ago.

But I started rewriting it in my head. I hadn't got very far, just two or three lines before BB arrived. 

It's got a little way to go yet...

That was enough though, for me to settle on the stitching. I ordered some felt, cut out the leaves and used variegated thread to outline them.

Next came the stems twining around, and some leaves to fill in the gaps. There was still something lacking so I added the berries. 

I love the feel of the felt, and the texture of the stem stitching and French knots.