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.

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.

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.

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.

It's an Oval

This week, I was -one- jessica from finishing this when I realized I was -one- thread off two thirds of the way around ago. After muttering several curses to the stitching gods and frogging all the way back to the offending jessica, I decided I had enough of this particular area and spent three hours straight completing the oval. Don't you hate when you're off and it's a symmetrical design and would be noticed for placing everything else?

I still need to put the big stitches inside and fill in the jessicas, but I think getting that whole outline done is something to be proud of, especially since it's made with really slippery rayon.

Closing the Circle

I'm now three-quarters done with the little jessicas on this band. I'm glad this isn't my only project. Stitching all those circles crosses your eyes after a while! It's coming alone well since I started it back in the rotation.

Working on the Road Again

This week I added Cobblefield Road back to my rotation. I get to do little circles with really slippery thread again! Actually, it looks really good, so I'm pleased. Since taking this picture, I've got half the jessica stitches done on this band. I've not dared to count how many there are.

Go Round in Circles...

Lots of Jessicas in this band. I got about five done and had to rip them out because I was off by one thread. Now they're placed right and I'm putting this aside for the Christmas blitz. Expect to see it again in a month or six weeks. I do like working on it, though.

Starfles Done

I got the second row of starfles done this week, and started the next band, which has lots and lots and lots of Jessica stitches - in slippery Marlitt. This one's getting set aside for the Christmas blitz, though, so it'll be a few weeks before much more progress is made.

Edging Along

Shells on the border are what I got done on this piece this week. They're looking pretty good. Now to get those starfles done next and start the huge Jessica band...

Purple Circles

I finished all the Jessicas in this band this week. Looking at the next band ... that one's a huge amount of Jessicas. Before I get to it, though, there's another row of starfles (the middle band in the picture). I'll be starting them this week.

And the Wheel on the Row Goes Round and Round

I should have these Jessicas done this week! They're coming along pretty well, just have to count. None of my regular pieces, with the exception of the current round robin, got worked on while I was in Baltimore, so this one languished a bit. Hopefully, it won't for very long.

First Jessicas

This piece has a lot of Jessica stitches, and I just started the first set. Jessicas take up a lot of time and a lot of floss, but they look pretty. I know many people have problems with Jessicas; I haven't had any, thankfully!

Sprattering Along

This week, I finished the starfle row - I think it looks cute - and started the sprats heads below it. I'll get those done this week, along with the Jessicas that go between them. At least, start the Jessicas. The sprats heads are out of really slick Edmar stuff that I've never used before, so they're hard to keep tension on.

Starfles Started

I'm more than half done with this band and will finish it this week. The patterned stitches are completed, and the starfles aren't hard. Even though they're done in a pretty square fashion, they look kind of diamond shaped. Not very hard to do, either.

Shells... and More Shells

I got enough of the border shells done this week to start the second row on this piece's next pass on the rotation. It's something called starfles. Don't ask, cause I don't know. The shells take a lot of floss but go rather quickly. I still like their colors a lot.

First Band Done

I need to remind myself to count twice, stitch once. I think I pulled out the stitches on this band at least thrice to get them to line up right. In the end, it looks really good. My husband, of course, says it reminds him of string art. I'll work the border down a bit more before starting the second row. Definitely will be getting to it again this week, and hopefully I'll remember to take my own advice!

Cobblefield Road - First Row

I started on the first row of Cobblefield Road this week. It went pretty quickly, but it takes up a LOT of thread. That's why I stopped - I'd gone through more lengths of thread than usual for a rotation. I'll be back to this this week, I hope. It's coming along and I like the colors, though I think I wouldn't have used wool for the top diagonal on the squares.

Cobblefield Road Start

I'm taking the American Needlepoint Guild's cyberworkshop Cobblefield Road - a Jean Hilton design being taught by Ro Pace. I got my kit just a week before coming to France and I didn't want to start it until I finished another project, so I was just able to start it this week. The colors are beautiful greens and blues and purples - my kind of colors. Hopefully, with the big geometric stitches, it won't take too long to do.