Just One More

Only one more motif to go!

Tiny Bit Of Bling

There is now a little bit of green metallic on the bottom left as I get the corner done.

Most Of A Tree

Most of the tree is done now, and I'm halfway through the sampler.  Still have a lot to go!

Three Flowers

I've the outlines of three flowers now.  Just need to fill them in.

Climbing The Fabric

There is just so much of this to stitch! I've been working on it for nearly a month now and am only halfway through the part for this period.  I think it's looking pretty, even if the silk serica is a pain to work with.

Still Monochromatic

More and more brown, although I'm stitching around the berries and flowers now.  I am so going to have to start the other side soon.  Most likely, I won't grid or use markers, but use temporary pins to mark start points.

Filling In Again

Working on this project, it seems I race ahead with a bunch of little confetti stitches then come back and fill in the rest.  I'm in a filling in stage at the moment.  I'm also past the mistake I made before.  Can you even tell it's there?  I can't unless I look at the chart.  I've got 160 rows done and the total is 240.  A full two thirds complete.

Outlines

The outlines of castle walls are visible now, and there's a tree in the middle in full leaf.

Bits of Brown

Did some work on the stables and on the middle building. Not much difference, especially on the backstitching on the side.

First Bottom Stitches

I've come to a small part of the bottom of the design on the left.... maybe I'll get this done!

Little Bits

I did little bits of window, wall and sidewalk.  Not easy to spot.

So Slow

Despite having worked on this a few times and it being only about two and a half inches square, there's so little stitched!  I had hoped this would be something I could do quickly.  Looks like it's going to take longer than I thought.

22 Of 24

Two more motifs and I'm done!  Yay, it's coming along.

Progress Musings

Sometimes I feel like I've made almost no progress on this.  Stitching three lengths of thread each time it comes up in rotation is so little.  Yet I have to look at the amount stitched, and I -do- see how powerful that can be over time.  I'm just impatient and too scattered to ever work on one project at a time.

Leaves Everywhere

It's a bunch of leaves that make a tree.  I'm stitching through them!

All Bordered Up

This piece is done as far as I can take it.  It's meant to have a smaller stitche piece inside the square on another piece of canvas, but I don't have that design.  I will either fill it with a piece of gingko fabric or make it into a photo frame.  Either way, it's all stitched up.  I started working on this as part of my 2011 Crazy January Challenge, so it's one more off my list.  The design is called "The Gingkos" and it was created by Jane Ellen Balzuweit.

Bestemmed

The bluebells now have a stem!  Time to make some flowers.

A New Design

I saw a ball in completely different colors in this design on the JTA mentoring group.  It looked neat, so I decided to reverse engineer it.  There were a couple of false starts, but eventually it came together.  I think it looks pretty neat.  The picture doesn't do it justice!

It's on its way to Darlene D, who asked for a temari after winning the February challenge on the Crazy Quilting International board.

A Wreath!

I'm climbing my way up this.  I'm not really happy about working bottom up; it  feels wrong to me.  On the other hand, I'm getting this done.  It's huge!  The piece is about fifteen inches across, and I am working it over two on forty count linen.

Creeping Up on Color

The other half of this top part has the peacock's head on it.  The only problem is it's about sixty stitches to the right of the farthest out point at the moment.  Do you think I should go ahead and start the head and introduce more color?  What happens if I accidentally miscount and get to the point where they join - and they don't?  Do I rip it all out?  Or should I be patient and wait until they join and I start working back up?  I'm going back and forth on this question.  It's a matter of wanting more color!

Finally Put Together

I had completed stitching this design just after EGA seminar a few years ago.  The class was great, but there really weren't any finishing instructions, so it just ... languished in my armoire.  A couple of weeks ago, since I've set myself the goal of the year of finishing, I decided it was time to tackle this.  It's now officially a needlebook!

Working On The Shadows

A lot of dark colors this time, working on the shadows of the castle.  The roof's done now, along with the sky, so it's all landscape and castle.  The top visible horizontal line is the halfway point.  I'm edging there.

Windows Redone

I didn't like the way the Jessicas in the windows looked on the top, so when it came to doing them on the side, I ripped them out and redid them.  They look much better now.  I've even got two small brown houses done on the bottom.  It's getting there, slowly...

Welcome Spring

Martisor (pronounced mar-tee-shore) is March first.  It's a holiday to welcome in spring, and the two big colors are red and white.  The holiday is celebrated in Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria.  Little red and white decorations are given to your loved ones, who wear them all month.  Once the month is over, you hang the decorations on budding tree branches.  These two ornamens were made for us by my language teacher and her son, who had to make some for school.  Andreas refused to even think of wearing one.  It didn't help that the guys in his office were not in the spirit of it, either.

Like most spring festivals, Martisor also celebrates love, and it is customary to do a special dinner.  The poor men of Moldova have three holidays in the span of one month - Valentine's Day, Martisor, and International Women's Day - where they are pressured to do something for their sweethearts.

Leafy Bits

A few more stitches of the trees in the background, then some roofline.  This is such a small piece that I think it should go quickly, but it is very dense.

Fill In The Blank

I am about to fill in the blank, as I've come across a pattern that will fit into this more narrow space.  Only four more motifs left!

Upside Down

I didn't realize the picture was upside down until I uploaded it.  I think you can deal with it once!  Anyway, the whole bridge area is done and I have started on the bottom half of the little wall area.

Have Some Leaves

Same pattern over and over again with the leaves .... many, many leaves.

Gold's Done

I finished the gold background.  Now I have to outline the square and the leaves; then I'll be done!

Taking Shape

You can see the outlines of more shapes - a bellflower that will be filled with beads and one of two bluebells that drape down a bit.  

TAST Week #8 - Chain Stitch

As I had already used chain stitch as part of my week two, I just did a simple chain of chain stitches....

A Third Color

I decided to add another color to my sampler because I wanted the lattice work to stand out some.  It's being done in Kreinik's silk serica, giving it a bit of sheen, too. 

Dead Tired of Red

I never thought I would be so tired of working with one color.  I am now, although the piece is coming together and looking pretty good.

No More Sky

I am now officially done with the sky!  I am also almost to the halfway point of the whole piece.  It's beginning to look real to me.

A Bit Of Midnight

This is Lyn's Midnight Fantasy Garden block.  Below is the same block after my work.  I tried to keep to dark colors and to add some lushness with beads.  I hope she likes what I did.

Quick Start To Finish

I found this little piece on the Stitch! website; it's called A Little Gem.  Took me less than a weekend to finish it, and of course I shopped my stash instead of doing their colors.

Bits of Green

There are some leaves now peeking through on the left.

Roofing

All I did this week was a bit of roof, some sky, and a tiny bit of window. 

Biscornu From Frances

Frances sent me  this lovely biscornu with the cutest googly-eyed fish card.  Thank you Frances, I enjoy them both!

No More Boring Tree

I finished the boring tree and started in on the next motif, which is going quickly!

About To Round The Corner

I am getting close to rounding the corner on the bottom left.  For some reason, this corner seems to be going faster, to me, than the first two.  That's a good thing, right?

Well Begun

All of part one of The Mighty Oak is done.  I'm a little behind the rest, but will catch up soon!

Just One Patch

Just one more patch of gold background to go, then it's get the borders done.

Some Scrollwork

I added this into my rotation so I can get more crazy January starts done.  Added some scrollwork to the band.  It's not all that big, so it shouldn't take more than a few months to finish it.

Last Of The Christmas Temari

I made this temari for Davi and Jessica.  It was supposed to be made closer to Christmas, but I couldn't get favorite colors from them.  So... I listened and got green and purple from them early in February, then made this.  The kikus are different on each pole, so it's not as symmetrical as it could be.  On the other hand, I like the difference.  They seem to like it too.