Tension......................

Well after a few tries I have my second sample done.  This one, I think I will redo later with some fabric and coloured thread.  At this stage I am just experimenting with lines, being very patient because my fingers are itching to get on with more interesting stitching.
Here is my inspiration for this piece.

 

Here is my sketch

 

And here is my stitched sample

It doesn't look like much, but I'm only practicing at the moment and you would not believe the troubles I had today.  I ended up pulling the whole machine apart and cleaning out the tension assembly, but before that, I
changed the thread
changed the bobbin
adjusted the tension top and bottom
changed the needle.
each about  five to ten times. and this is the result!

Underneath, you can see where I originally started this sample before everything went pear shaped!
When I finally got my tension fixed, and finished the horizontal lines in the sample, I decided I needed to do something a little less like work, so I started doing some scribbling on a small landscape I had fused a few days ago as a stitch sampler.  In the sky I have just done some straight stitching and on the top of the first green layer, I have done garnet stitch, which is a technical way of saying I just scribbled in little circles to create the effect of trees or shrubs.

Obviously I was just using scraps for this and my cutting wasn't particularly tidy. but I must say I am much happier with this result than with my other sample.  I just have to keep reminding myself that later on I will redo these samples with lots more techniques and then they will be something to look at.