Pottery Prevails

The pots are back! They are in the upper arches, and I worked on four this week. They don't look bad, but this is obviously surrealistic at this point...

More Golden

I got quite a bit more done on this this week. Even started the golden area at the bottom of the left arch and started stitching the other arch. I feel like I'm making more progress now than I was earlier in the year on this.

A Bit Redder

I got more red on the Midi this week, and I'm kind of confused by Martina's choice to use two reds on this. They both look to be essentially the same color to me. Both are in the red area I've completed. Can you tell the difference? One is from Thread Gatherer and the other is from Gloriana. I'm sure she has a reason. I feel like I'm going to finish this part soon, unlike how I felt for so long with part two. Since this picture, I've even put some pictures on the other arch too!

A Touch of Red

Got some more colors onto this, including red. The red's for fuchsias. It's still coming along quite quickly. In the main, what's left on the first arch is a bunch of gold at the bottom. I'll be starting it this week.

Midi Making Progress

I am so pleased with the amount of progress on part three I'm making. I've got most of the cross stitches and half stitches done on the first arch already. I'll definitely not be spending ten months on this part, thankfully!

Part 3 Started

Yup, I finally started Part 3. Since there were a lot of half stitches instead of whole, I felt like there was a lot of progress when I worked on it. I'm definitely not going to take as long on this as I did on Part 2. Now I have to decide on whether I want to purchase the pattern for Midi 3...

Midi Part Two Done

I've been working on Part two of this for at least eight months now, probably longer. This week, I finished it. Big accomplishment for me. The other parts are all smaller, so it should go more quickly from now on. I'm happy with the way it's looking, although I think I chose too dark a background for it. No going back now, though.

Backstitching and Such

I'm so close to finishing part two of this. There are Rhodes stitches to put in the bottom part and the second half of the pots to outline. I got some things done this week on it, and hopefully can finish part two of six this week. It'd be a great relief. I've been on part two for a good eight months now.

Midi Flowers Done

I finished the Algerian eye flowers on the top arches this week and did some backstitching in gold. There's not much to do before I can -finally- go on to part 3. It's only a year since the group started....

Midi Flowers

I got some more Algerian eye flowers done on this. At least it won't take as long as the green of the arches! It's coming with me to France, and I'm starting to pack my stuff today.

Tiny Algerian Eyes

I started the specialty stitches on this part this week. Did a lot of teeny tiny Algerian eye stitches in the top left arch. They're supposed to be roses, I think. Because of their size, they're a bit of a pain to do. On the other hand, it's not cross stitch there and it should get along some soon...

Pots Done

Yay! I am down to only doing the specialty stitches on part two! Real progress! It feels good to get all those cross stitches done.

Two Chatelaines

I decided to put these two into one blog entry since they're in the middle of the same stuff they have been. On the Medieval Mandala, I got another color on the top half of the corner done, meaning I have only one blue to go on that part. Will be doing the gold next. On the Midi, I got a plant and a half done and and another pot. I might get this part done before I get to France. Stitching time is going out the window with preparations, spring, and everything else going on.

Tut And Stitching

Yes, I'm posting later than usual for a Sunday - I went to the Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Was okay, but not worth the cost because of the huge crowds around every single item. Couldn't see anything properly. Another gripe I had was that they implied the sarcophagus was there and it wasn't. There were several nice items, though. Needless to say, I haven't put a stitch in anything all day.

To get back to stitching - you can see that I added some foliage this week and got another pot plus done. Will be doing more this week, of course. It's still progressing and I'm done with the green arches of doom.

More Midi

Well, I got two more pots nearly done. It's going and the progress is more visible than on those arches, but sometimes I feel like I'll never get this done. Nine and a half months after the beginning of the chart and I'm still only on the second of six parts! I can only hope the other parts have less stitching in them. I -think- they do. If I knew what the design looked like when I started it, I wouldn't have put it on such a dark fabric. It looks okay, but just doesn't grab me as a good background now. I must have the mid-project doldrums. The rain and snow through yesterday didn't help that, I'm sure.

A Couple More Plants

I got two more plants done on the pots and progressed a little more on the terra cotta. Once I finish them, I have a lot of Rhodes stitches to do, but they go a lot faster than the cross stitching sometimes.

Pottering Along

Got a bit more on the pots done this time. I really didn't have much stitch time last week. This week has been a -little- better so far, but I just keep feeling like I'm falling farther behind. Oh well... at least I can see some progress on everything every week, and that's why I am doing this.

The Tale of the Appearing Pots

I got one pot done, at least. They're coming along and it's a lot easier to do than the arches. Once I'm done with the pots, there are a lot of Rhodes stitches to put into different areas. Maybe I'm over the slump I was feeling about this. I can hope so - I'd like to finish this some time in the next year.

One More Feature Done

I got the plant in the basket at the top done this week. Since the taking of this picture on Friday, I finished the balls on top of the columns and started the pots at the bottom of the piece. It's getting there, and I'm so glad I'm done with those arches finally. Perhaps I'll get some of the pots done this week, too.

Mini and Midi Again

Slowly but surely that mini mandala is getting done. Lots of backstitching on it lately, and I'm really just about done on the middle. Got all the cross stitching completed. Rhodes and more Rhodes to go, though, then the beads. I think it looks pretty, but it doesn't look like the picture in Gift of Stitching. That one didn't have a model stitched for it and there really wasn't an explanation as to whether things were Rhodes or Algerian eye stitches. It also had a really bad way of showing the backstitches. Who knows if, in the end, I'm making it the way Martina designed it? On the Midi, I got the ball and plant in the upper basket done and am now working on the basket itself. Once that basket's done, there are the balls on the tops of the columns and then a whole line of plants in pots at the bottom. At least it's not those arches!