Monday, May 31, 2010

More Mandala

Still progressing on the mandala.  I'm almost done with this set of squares - one full one started and then a partial one at the bottom.

Started on the Fourth

Real progress, in that I've started working on the fourth of five jellyfish.  The third one, as far as I can tell, is totally done.  The first one is, too, which leaves two for more work later.  No idea on if I'll get done in one pass on the fourth, but it's started.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Another Stitchalong Start

This piece is called Fiori, and it's a little circle of flowers.  I thought it was perfect to do over one, so I am.  I also changed the colors, as usual.  It's through Marquoir, of course!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Near the Bottom

I am almost done with the sides outlining!  The last inward part will start the bottom.  That means I'm getting somewhat close to being done on all the cross stitching and can start the special stitches soon.

Rita's Asian Block

This block was sent home to Rita about a week and a half ago.  The picture at top is how I received it.  All fabrics used were from kimonos.


And here it is after my work.  I added some embellishment to the lady, as she was rather drowned in the other wonderful things.  Then I did more rickshaw wheels and some seams.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Four Parts Done

This is getting done quickly.  I've now got four parts done in this picture.

All Crosses Done

All the cross stitches are done and the backstitches are started, so this is almost done.  Yay!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Autumn Warmth

It might be spring up north, but down here, it's autumn.  We've been making some fires in our fireplace to chase the chill out of the house.  Here are a few pictures of some.

Better Red than ... Red

Still more red background.  Next time, I get to do some of the dragon/salamander itself.  I've definitely made a few forays into the second of three pages, so progress is there.

Minimal Progress

I only managed to put a few lengths of thread into this last week, but it's more than none...

Monday, May 24, 2010

Some More Squares

I'm still plugging away at this.  More squares and more squares...

Tux a Doodle


Tux, the cat, climbed a ladder.  Here's how he got down.  There's a reason his name's not Grace.

Hearting It Up

Back to Herz Rot Weiss.  It's coming along nicely, don't you think?

Finished Pillow

Here's the pillow I made of the finished Mutterstagherz from the Marquoir group.  It went to someone as an exchange angel. 

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Heart Done

I finished another heart for the sick children charity.  This one's on its way to Germany to be made into a quilt.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Temporarily Squared Up

Getting more of the outlines done.  The end is in sight!  In the meantime, the center's square again.  Boring, boring, boring, but I'm being a good girl and not doing any of the fun stuff until this is done.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

A Rectangle Done!

I finally finished the first of four rectangles!  I think it looks good, and the second one is well started.  Now to speed it up.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Silk Ribbon Block for Candji


And here it is after I got done.  I added a floral bouquet and her initial.  I also did a few seams.  I hope she likes it.  It's off to Australia now.
This is actually Candji's second block.  The postal office ate the first one.  So, we're playing catch up.  I had about a week to work on it.  Here's how it looked like after I got it.

A Bit More Color

This week I added some flowers to the backstitching under the line, added more of the line, and put some color in the latticework on the top left.  I was busy!

Quakerchen the Third

Here's the third part of the little quakerchen.  It only takes me a couple of hours, at most, to stitch each part.  Halfway there.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Garagede

The village has another building - the garage/stable on the top right.  I also got some work done on the crenellated structure on top of it and finished the light brown house on top, too.  Even the middle building got some work.

May Day Exchange


An exchange from Jacque!  She made this beautiful sachet for me and gave me three silk skeins.  I sent her the pillow I posted a few weeks back and some silks, different kinds, too.  Whatever we sent had to have a ribbon, so we both succeeded.  The sachet is going in my clothing drawer.  Thank you Jacque!


Sunday, May 16, 2010

Still Skirting

I've started some of the bottom ribbon, but I'm still working on the skirt.  That means more brown, surprise.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Still More Pattern

I am now down to the wire on this.  I have three months to finish all the rest of the pattern, so I'll be working on it daily.  At least I'm about halfway done.  Some people are even farther behind.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Tentacles Down

This week, I finished all the stitching on the tentacles of the third jellyfish.  I have one more step for this jellyfish, which should go quickly, and then I get to start a new one!

Half the Alphabet

Half the alphabet's done now, so it's time for another part.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Another Child's Heart

I've started a new heart for Hilfe fuer Kranke Kinder.  This one's by David.  He's nine and lives in Germany.  It's got a lot of blank space, so it should go very quickly!

Peaches for Me

I added peach tones this week, working on the wall.  No shutters, but I did add to the lower walkway too.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Fourteen of Twenty-five

I've now finished off the fourteenth part of this.  It means I'm only two behind, so who knows?  I may even catch up eventually.  I like the way this is looking overall.

Quakerchen Part 2 Done

Quakerchen is going quite quickly.  We get a new part every week, and here's my second part done.  I still love these colors for it.

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Flowered

All four flowers are done, with purple put in place.  All that's needed, cross stitch-wise, is the outer border.  Then backstitch and beads.

Back to Black

I got a few more rows done on this.  I even got some stitches in on the second page.  That means it's getting to be more than a third done.

Saturday, May 08, 2010

Pinks and Purples

More work on the Naptime Dragon.  More and more petals filled in, and now the centers of the flowers are coming out too.

On the Sixth Part

I'm working on the sixth part of the German Group Mystery now.  I still love the colors on it and it's going pretty quickly.

Friday, May 07, 2010

Rectangulating

Two and a half more rectangles done... it's boring, though.  Needless to say, I won't be done in time to turn this in.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

The corner of the second rectangle is coming along pretty well; the pattern's emerging.  I'm also nearly done with the first rectangle.  The last line of dark diamonds is in place!

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

On Its Way Home

I was the last person to work on Arlene's Bees, Butterflies, and Beetles block.  Here's a picture of it before my work.

And here it is after I worked on it.  I added a couple of seams - one is a flower trellis and the other is a fly stitch braid - toward the middle of the block.  I also added some vines, flowers and ladybugs at the top right of the block and a big beetle on the left middle.  I like the way the variegated silk worked on the wings.  I also added a couple of butterfly charms just above the butterfly in the middle.  I hope she likes it.  It's on its way home to Australia as I write.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Hamburger, Uruguayan Style

I picked this hamburger up at the hamburger stand at the Saturday market - one of those mobile things you see at festivals and such in the States.  Anyway, notice something weird? 

Hamburgers here in Uruguay automatically come with cheese, bacon, and ham.  Sometimes evey with a fried egg on top!  This one doesn't have that, but it does have a few of the condiments that they put on things besides ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise.  I asked for green olives, and they put them on.  I need to get a picture of the stand so you can see the line of stuff, from corn to chimmichurri, you can put on a burger.

Nearly to the Bottom

I have made significant progress on this piece!  The cross stitching is almost to the bottom, but after I do that, there's a lot of specialty stitching to do on it.  I do like the lacy effect of everything so far, though.

Outlining

I was outlining in two ways on this this week. I backstitched on part four's border and started outlining bricks and such on part five.  It feels good to be starting a new area, almost like starting a fresh project.

Monday, May 03, 2010

Linking to a Flower

I've come pretty close to finishing off both the bordeaux read and the light blues and greens area of this part of the design.  I'm almost done with another part.

Another Biscornu Done

This is the third biscornu I made for SAS 30, where Cyberstitchers is responsible for the favors.  I think the colors went a lot better than the first two I made for it.

Saturday, May 01, 2010

Quakerchen Start

I started something new this week - another small from Marquoir.  It's by a French designer and has five parts.  This is the first, the middle.  I'm in love with the color combination I picked for it.  It's a piece of gray Vikki Clayton linen I got in a grab bag buy and Antique Brass Watercolors from Caron.