Pink and Plaques

All the plaques are done and I'm thankful that I didn't work with just celedon this week. I added in some pink. I still plan on finishing this this summer, and it will probably be my big push project while I'm in Europe.

Celadon Redux

I added more celadon this week to the plaques and didn't get much more than that done. It's still making progress. Perhaps I'll finish this piece while I'm in Europe. Since this picture, I've finished off the outlines of the plaques across it. Now to fill them in.

Pointy Middle

I got more of this light green done over the past week, making the pointy middle things. Filled it in some with the darker gold petite treasure braid, too. I really need to get back into the swing of doing more stitching, but things are still hectic. At this point, I doubt they're going to calm down before I go to Europe. Just so much to do! This one will also go with me overseas, and I hope to finish it there if I'm not too busy. Either I'm going to be really busy during the days doing research, or not busy at all during the days. Time will tell.

A Bit of Gold and Green

This week it was the metallic gold in between some of the bars and the half stitches of celadon green. At least I'm making progress now. For a little while there, I was worried that I was getting bogged down in too much other stuff going on around me. Back on track and ready to move forward to a finish by the end of the summer.

Lining It Up

Not much done, but some on this. The black parts of the v's are in, as is some more celadon green inside a couple of the plaques. The dark green is added on the left, too. It's getting there despite the setback last month where I misplaced the line of plaques. I'm ahead of the point I was at, which is progress indeed.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Middle of the Midi

After this picture was taken, I completed part three, totally, except for the beads. Yay! The red roses had to be finished and there was a bunch of backstitching to do. But it's done. This means the thing is now well over halfway done. None of the three parts left is as big as any of the three completed. I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere on this. The roses I did this week that you can see in the picture are an algerian eye variation that took me a little bit to get the hang of, but I think they look good.

Significant Milestone

After working on it for the past few months, I completed part three's cross stitching of the Midi Mystery! There are still a bunch of specialty stitch roses to put in, and some backstitching, but this is a big milestone for me. The next part is much smaller and is only a few colors. Part five is surprisingly sparse. On to work some more...

Gold, Stems and Leaves

I'm getting so close on having the cross stitches done on part three. The gold is much more stitched now, and the plants all have their leaves and stems. All that's left is completing the pots and the scrollwork. Maybe I'll do it this week. Like most Chatelaines, this one's fussy about where you put the stitches and there aren't a lot of blocks of color. That's what makes it so lovely to look at, though! I'll be happy when part three is done.

Greener and Golder

Just as the title says - I added more gold and more green this week. I hope to finish this part by the end of February, and I look to be on track to do it. For some reason I find this piece somewhat tedious to do, but I'm happy that the progress being made is so good.

Flowers Done

I got the flowers done on the right side this week and even managed, barely, to start some of the stitching on part four - directly below part three. At this rate I'm certain I'll get this done this year. It's going along more quickly than it was last year. I think part two was just soooo big it was hard to get past. There are still a lot of specialty stitches to add to this part once the cross stitches are done, though.

Arching Up

I finished the inner arch of the right side now. All I have to do is fill in the flowers and the pots with the gold scrollwork and the third part's cross stitching will be done. It's coming along pretty quickly and I hope to have that done in a couple more weeks. Wishful thinking, probably.

Back in the Rotation Again

The Midi is back in the rotation again, and more than halfway done with part three. The left side arch is done with cross stitches and the right is on its way. Finishing this is one of my goals for 2008, so I need to get working on it!

Nearly Arched

I am almost done with the left hand arch. I'd run out of the metallic thread I've been using, else it'd be finished. Found some, so it will be done next time I work on it, after the Christmas blitz. Had to do some frogging on the right side; the pots were all off by one stitch. That's fixed now, though.

Golden Filigree

I did almost all the golden curls at the bottom of the left arch. It looks pretty good, even if i did have to frog some of it at first. That's done now, it's properly placed, and I even mananged to add some green to the second arch. It's coming along...

Pottering Along

I managed to get all the pots done on the first arch and start those on the second this week. All that's still needed in the first one is the gold curlicues. Making progress, for sure.

Frogging and Progress

This week I had to frog all the gold braid inside the arch. It was off by one stitch too low. Fixed that and added some green, including on the second arch. It's coming along, and I should have the first arch done in the beginning of October.