Almost to the End

Once I finish filling in this gold, it's all silver tent stitchs in the background. I'll have the first of twelve(!) belt buckles done. It looks like all the stitch guides use the same illegible font, and the instructions are written in the same way, but if I can get through one, I can get through them all.

Turn of the Corner

I've completed the top part of the third water garden bit. It's slowed down a lot, along with my other stitching, because of other commitments. At least I'm doing -something- on the projects. Next month isn't going to be much better. I've got a full plate in non-stitching stuff for the next two months, but it's good things going on.

Almost Vined

I'm almost done with the vine; just needing to complete the way back. I didn't get to work on it again this week; it's fallen prey to the company I have. I hope to get to it and everything else in the coming week.

This Month's Ornament Start

This month's ornament is Rose Angel from just Nan. As you can see, I didn't get much done by the 24th. Since this picture, it's significantly farther along (about two-thirds of the way) and I hope to finish it in the next couple of days. I picked it because it was a full kit and in my smalls pile and I knew I could give it to someone who likes angels.

Sorted Out

The plaques are all on the same level now and everything's sorted out and on chart. The dark outline is in perle cotton instead of floss, but the perle is much more springy than normal for some reason. It's from Thread Gatherer. Hopefully I'll get to this today. It's next in line, but I have a lot of other stuff to do.

Baby Steps

I didn't get as much done last week as I'd hoped, but progress is progress, no matter how little it is. Some of the white on the flag got added and I started the flowers in her hand. This week isn't looking much better, but maybe next week I'll get more accomplished.

Guitar Done

I finished the guitar this week. It looks pretty good. Now I need to put initials in the banner and do lots of tent stitches.

What You Can Do Waiting at an Airport

Yes, what progress I made this week was made at an airport, in the international arrivals waiting room. More stems are done- all the darkest color of green on the outside piece. Some of the lighter green was started, too. I hope to get it done in the next couple of days, but I've really not gotten much stitching done this week.

Some Filling In

The designer had the cream color filling in the knots laid diagonally within them. It -really- didn't look good to me and was a major pain, so I switched it to horizontal, which looks better to me and is much easier to do. Got some more dark green done, too. The third band is nearing completion; perhaps I can finish it in the next couple of weeks.

Shelling the Edge

Added to the border this week. I'll be doing another starfle row next week. I didn't get as much stitching done this week as usual because I had lots of company over. This week, I'll still have a guest who lets me stitch but doesn't stitch himself, so I'll still not do as much as usual.

Swimming Away

The seahorse is done! I liked the wool this used - Strand, from New Zealand. No real pilling and it seemed to knot less than some. It also felt smoother than other needlepoint wool, almost the loft of crewel wool. This wasn't anything important to me. It was something to do at the doctor's office and in the car waiting for the kids. I think it'll look cute when my husband decides what he wants done with it.

Greening the Vine

After correcting a counting mistake, I wound the vine up and down some more. I'm doing the green first, since it's all one contiguous line. Then I can add the other colors and (hopefully) avoid more counting mistakes.

I Messed Up

The first couple of plaques are one stitch lower than they should be, so I'm going to have to do some frogging on this. It shouldn't set me back too much - and yes, I checked. It needs to be done; that one stitch upward makes a difference later in the design.

Third Corner Soooo Close

I probably should have gone ahead and finished the third corner last week, but I didn't. All that's left is a line of treasure braid on the bottom. I think this one took less time than the other two, and the fourth is already off to a good start.

Swim on By

Last week, I said I'd get this done this week. It was finished this morning. This picture is of the progress as of last Friday evening. Picture of the completed stitching will come over the weekend.

Picking Up the Flag

The flag is coming along pretty well. I added to each of its main colors this week - blue, red, and white. When I first saw the colors used for it, I was thinking they wouldn't really work. Now that it's so far along, it looks better.

Copper Guitar

The actual guitar is started, which means this is very close to being done. Next step is couching the gold torsade around the guitar's outline, then filling the rest of the guitar in. I'm hoping to do that today. I'm so behind this week on my stitching. It's been a very hectic week so far.

Stem Stitches

All the lighter colored stem stitches are done on the big panel, and I used the extra to start the small panel. I'm feeling some pressure to work more on this, since it would be nice to show people what they're signing up for at the April meeting. I don't think it's going to happen, though.

Interlacing Knots

This week was all backstitch on band three. I completely changed the color of the backstitch for the interlacing knots, from red to blue variegated. They'll be filled with cream satin stitches next. I like the way the color came out on them.

Third Band Done

More string art stitches and the third band is now done. The instructions for the darker blue ones took a little getting used to, but they worked. Now onto another row of starfles then more string art.

Yet More Blue

It's a good thing the fabric contrasts so well with the blue, as it would all blend in so far. Lots and lots of blue and even more added this week.

Starting the Vine

I've started the main part of band six. It's a vine wrapped around flowers in pots. Counting is, of course, a biggie in this.

Seahorsing Around

Lots of progress on the seahorse itself this week. Next week, I think, will be the week I finish it off. It's getting close.

A Set of Plaques

Well, this new stitching on part four is in the process of being ripped out because it's one space down from where it's supposed to be. And it makes a difference later, I looked. So ... anyway, there is a series of plaques in part four, straight across the piece. Each one has a flower in it. I -will- get it right this time!

Significant Progress

Lots of gold added and a nearly done third corner. I've also made some progress on the final corner and I'm feeling good about all the work I've done on this. Soon, I get to start buildings!

More Gap Filling

I corrected some counting errors this week and filled in some of the brown on the right and the blue on the left. There is still one counting error I haven't fixed up at the top of the dark blue, but it hasn't butted up against anything yet, so I've let it sit. She has more flesh now, too, as I begin to fill in her decolletage. I'm almost to the point where I see the top half being done soon. It's a good feeling.

Squiggles Done

This is getting closer to completion. The squiggles are all filled in now. Since this picture, I've started on the guitar, which is going fairly quickly. After that, the initials on the banner and filling in the background is all that's needed.

Fireworks

This is one of the pictures my friend took on the night of Kosovar independence. They had a fireworks show over Pristina. I've printed it on a piece of silk and will be using it as the centerpiece of a small wallhanging for him. It will, of course, be embellished quite a bit with beads and thread.

February Ornament

I was sick on the 24th of last month, so I'm playing catch up with my commitment. This is Winter Wood from Papillon Creations. I eliminated the birds in it because I did it all in one thread instead of the five or six colors she designed it in. The floss is Vikki Clayton's Plumage, which I got as a present last year. I think the abstract version looks pretty good.

Starting To Be Crewel

I got the pieces onto their backing this week and started the stem stitches. As usual with crewel, it goes pretty quickly once it's started. I think it will look good when done.

Flower Bud

The beginning of band three on this sampler is the middle flower bud. It's in bargello. I got it done fairly easily. What I have done is the approximate height of the band, and I just need to fill in everything around it. Maybe this week I'll finish the band.

String Art

My husband really likes these Walneto stitches. After doing both of them one and a half times due to counting errors, I'm not so sure. One more of these to go and then a couple of mistake stitches and some smaller filling stitches and this band is done.

Home Again

Nine months after I sent it out, it's returned to me. And only four more blocks stitched too. Another round robin bites the dust. It looks cute, though, and I have everything to finish it, so it will be added to my rotation soon.

Band Five Done

Done with a band now, and started on another.The next one has about as much stitching. It feels good to make progress, and the last band didn't take much more than a month. Maybe there's hope I'll finish this some time this year.

Part Three DONE

Everything except the beads on the top half is done. There are still three parts to do, but the majority of the stitching is complete. On to part four. Oh, the outline on the gold scrolls was in acorn woods perle cotton. I didn't like how bulky it was, so I changed it to Waterlilies Rye. I think it does a passable job.

Swirling Some More

This week was more work on gold. I filled it in some areas where the blue had outpaced it. Still progress, but not as satisfying as finishing off a color. On the other hand, I'm almost there...

Such a Stomach

This poor seahorse is fat! He looks cute, but he's got a bit of a belly. At least that belly's almost done instead of being see-through like it was. The basketweave's easy to do and coming along well. Probably in the next week or two I'll just take a day and finish this off.

Adding Undertones

Lots of dark blue added to the flag this week and the beginnings of the green for the flowers she's holding. Even some of the red on the flag got added. It's satisfying to compare pictures week to week on this for me. Shows I'm not spinning my wheels and am actually progressing forward.

Squiggling Some More

Well, I've decided that Gold Rush unravels too easily, especially when you don't want it to. on the other hand, I'm almost done with all the squiggles on this. only the last two on the bottom of the guitar, and then another step done. It's beginning to come together. This buckle wasn't my favorite, which is why I chose it first - get the worst over at the beginning. Now to hope the next one goes better and I like actually stitching the guitar.

Tuscan Blue

Added more blue again on this. It's going along at a pretty good pace and I'll be happy to get the third garden done. Yes, I'm getting tired of this area on my third time stitching it.

A Crewel Start for a Fair Maiden

I was cornered into teaching a workshop this summer for my local EGA guild. We knew it was to be crewel, but didn't have an exact project. The day of the last meeting, I got my issue of Sampler and Antique Needlework quarterly in the mail. They had a very nice crewelwork sewing purse on the cover, and we decided to do it. So I've started one now in order to have a model to teach from and in order to clarify instructions and such. Here's the start. There are three pieces, two of which get embroidered. I'll be starting the actual stitching this week, but at least I have it all traced now.

Second Band Done

I ended up clamping the frame to my desk and breaking out the laying tool for this band, but I think the result was more than worth the small extra effort. It went quickly and now I'm on to band three, which is much larger.

New Round Robin Block

I received another block to work on on Thursday. It's been embellished by two others so far, and they've done such lovely work. I'm thinking of filling up the upper left hand corner with a flower motif and do some crocheted edgings in some perle cotton and a very fine hook. I'm not sure what else I'm going to do. I definitely won't be using my really gold gold on it, though. All the other embellishments use silver as an accent.

February Recap

Especially compared with January, my stitching success in February wasn't. There is the excuse that I was down with the flu for a week of it, but I feel like things just got away from me. I only completed four projects, and none of them was my Take It Further challenge or my ornament challenge. I seem to have hit the doldrums.

The Take It Further challenge was "What are you old enough to remember?" Immediately when I read it, I thought of mimeographs, dittoes in the old parlance. Before copiers, there was a different printing method that involved ink and mess and a certain smell of solvents. By the time I was in high school, the age of mimeographs was over, but I still remember the smell. I have something designed; I just haven't gotten around to stitching it. I'll try to get it started next weekend.

With the ornament, I was just so sick on the day of and am just now creeping back to normal. I'll be working on it tomorrow, and I have it started. It's a Papillon Creations freebie called Winter Wood, but I'm doing it in monochrome. I feel so behind.

On the good side, Part 3 of the Midi Mystery is complete. That means it's well over halfway finished. Band two of the 17th Century English Sampler is done, which means I'm on track for it. And Band five of Tiramisu is complete. I guess this means I did -something- this month.

Filling in the Circles

I messed up this week but decided to keep it anyway. I used the right color of Edmar, but the wrong type. I used Lola instead of Glory, resulting in my circle filling being a bit more pronounced than it's supposed to be. I'm keeping it, though. Didn't want to rip out the smyrnas and I'll just use Glory instead of Lola somewhere else if I have to. There are three Walneto stitches to put yet in this band, but at least I'm making stepwise progress on it.

Third Iteration

Working on the third repetition of this garden now, it's getting kind of hard to say new things about stitching it. Of course, this lack of novelty could be the flu I've had all week. Maybe when I finally shake it off in the next couple of days, I'll start thinking of new things to say. I hope none of you get it. It's nasty!