One Frog, Two Frog

This picture was taken on Friday early in the evening. I finished the piece about half an hour ago. Now I don't have to send it back to get framed; my husband can start next weekend.

Fourth Band Finished

The fourth of five bands is done. Of course, the fifth band is rather large and I'm leaving in three days without this project. I had toyed with finishing it up before I left, but my husband requested I get a different one done (a gift) so he could frame it while I was gone. At least I got that one done today ... Oh well, I'll finish this up when I get back in the summer. I've really liked doing the string art and this was the first time I've done a triangular Jessica.

Bubbles

This is another pattern from the German group. It's called Bluebber Blaesen and is an abstract design. They had three colorways; I chose blue. It's supposed to be done on 14 count aida, but me being me, I had to change something. I'm doing it over on on 28 count lugana. I think it's coming out pretty well so far. This is the first of twelve parts. I have to finish this part, take a picture, and post it, before I can go on to the next.

Third Quarter

Still working on the third side of part three, but the end's in sight. I've got a bit more done on the fourth side, too. Maybe I can finish the third one before I go on Wednesday. There are a few pink flowers and a couple of blues to do.

Two Out of Three

Got some more done on the insides. The turquoise is done but for a very small piece of the third opening. Just as I'm feeling I'm making decent progress, I'm abandoning it for six weeks. Dang! But I really can't take everything and this was a good project to leave behind.

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.

Bluing Down the Arm

I filled in one arm of the darkest blue this week and added some more gold. It's to the point where I'm going to probably sit down and just finish off this quarter, so I can -finally- be done with part five. I believe this was the largest part of the chart.

Leaves Emerging

I've been catching up with the rest of the group on this. It It's coming along pretty well, I think, and I still like my color combination. It'll be coming with me to Europe.

Facing the Lady

This week I ended up working mainly on the Lady's face and hair. It's adding a lot of personality to have them up. It also means I'm getting close to having the top half done! Yes, the Lady is going with me to Europe.

Look Familiar

If you've been reading my blog for a while, the frog looks familiar. I made this Tree Frog Trio for my son last autumn. My sister in law saw it on my blog and told me how much my niece liked it, so I offered to make them again for her. I started last Wednesday and am already done with the first one. Maybe I can finish it before I go to Europe, but the more likely scenario is I'll mail it home from there.

Petal Progress

Four out of five petals done, at least the outsides. I think they're coming out pretty well. Since the picture on Friday, I completed the last petal and did the French knots in the center. I think I did about a hundred or so. They look all nice and fuzzy and like the center of a flower, though. I wasn't sure about doing the satin stitches over the split stitches, but it turned out okay. The hardest part is alternating colors on two of the petals. Was difficult not to get the two strands tangled up with each other. I ended up using two needles. It seemed to work better.

An Explanation of My Rotation

I'm writing this because someone asked. It comes with the warning that I have, on occasion, violated my rotation rules. So, what I do. I pick one project that I work on every single day. For the past couple of months, that's been Lady of the Flag. This is the one I want to move forward the most, get things done on, and so forth. Then I list nine other projects I'm working on on a sticky note. I work two lengths of floss or thread (sometimes slightly more) on each, in order. When I get one done, I relist the eight, putting them in the same order sans the completed one. I then add another project to the bottom. I do try to keep at least one short term project in my rotation so I feel like I'm getting things done. Right now, my rotation is loaded down with biiiig projects, so I feel bogged down sometimes.

I'll be doing the same in Europe when I go next week, but I'm leaving some of my current projects home due to bulk and weight considerations. Lady of the Flag will still be my daily project, and I'll write my actual sticky note list when I get there.

I hope that makes sense to people. I know it's not for everyone, but it works for me.

Band Four Done

I didn't get very much done at the group stitchalong on this on Wednesday, but I did make some progress. On Thursday I finished up Band four and started Band 5. Band four wasn't difficult, just a bunch of satin stitches. Band five has a bit more variety.

April Recap

Well, about all that can be said of April is that it was better than March, stitching-wise. I finished six projects and worked on everything I was supposed to. Got the March and April ornaments done, so I'm on track with that goal. The other goals are still there, but I haven't completed any of the big ones. Take It Further has just gotten lost in the mess. I guess this is what happens when you have a life. I'll still be trying to plug away at things in May, despite a change in continents mid-month.

Silver Swirls

Another part of this buckle done - the swirls. The dragonfly's body is next. Yes, this is going to Europe with me. It should be something quick and easy to do, and I'm going to have a lot of airport time, since I have two connections to make. I doubt I'll sleep much in public places, and I'll be afraid I'm going to miss my flight anyway. So, not only is this going with me, I'll be taking a couple more to mount on the same frame when this is done. Those will be going by mail, though.

Triangles Into Diamonds

Unfortunately, this one isn't going to Europe with me. I won't have a way to make stretcher bars there and it's a bit big for my suitcase. I got the rest of the triangular Jessicas done. They went very easily. I almost feel like just sitting down and finishing this, since the large part of the work is done. I don't believe there are anymore huge numbers of tiny Jessicas in the last band. There are two small stitches to put outside the diamonds I completed and then the arcs again to finish off this band.

Slogging Through the Third

I've really seemed to bog down on this third side now. It's looking more and more full, but I feel like it's just dragging. This will be another project I take with me to Europe. The person I'm staying with is the person it's for, after all. I've had a lot of stuff going on preparing for the trip, so I've had less stitching time. Maybe this week, right before I go, I can scrape up more. Yes, I know I'm dreaming.

The Heart

As you see, I finished stitching this over the weekend and my husband came home, so he took a picture last night. I learned (again) that I really don't prefer Aida anymore. I also learned not to take a beading project to do at a medical waiting room. There's no place to put your beads and the receptionist gets upset when you spill them off your leg. It'll be turned into an ornament. I think it looks cute, but I won't be doing it again.

A Total Mystery

This week I discovered that I loathe gridding. I joined a German yahoogroup that is basically a pilot group for a couple of designers. They were starting a new project, so I did too. The title is "Totales Mysterie" and they made us grid the fabric. Every two weeks, they give us four blocks to fill. Today, they released the fourth set of four blocks. This picture shows two blocks stitched. Since then, I'm up to ten stitched. It's interesting seeing it come along. I'm using a hand dyed opalescent from Silkweaver and Victorian Mist premium floss from Vikki Clayton.

One of Three Down

One of the vases on this band is done now, so two more to go. I think I'm not taking this with me to Europe. There's no great urgency to finish it, and I think I need a break from it, too. It'll be in my rotation to do until I go, and, in fact, will be what I'm working on today.

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.

Fourth and Blue

Gold outline and another shade of blue added to the fourth corner; it's coming along. I've decided this is one of the projects going to Europe with me in two weeks. The airline into my final destination allows only forty kilos of checked baggage, and I'm going to be there for just over a month! So I've got to be really careful about which projects I carry along with me. I'm mailing a couple to myself too.

A Little More Flag

This picture was taken only a couple of days after the previous one, so there's not much difference. Mainly, if you look at the lower part of the flag, you'll see more red put in. It's progress, at least.

A Little Heart

I'm over halfway done with this heart; it helped that I was trapped in a medical office waiting room for a couple of hours and had this along. It wasn't easy because there was no table, but I managed to do some beading anyway. Since this picture was taken, I've finished the project - but - no picture yet, as my husband has a camera in another state. It's my April ornament for ornament of the month.

Maidenly Progress

Somehow I missed getting a picture taken of this one week. As you can see, I've got the spiny leaves done and have started on the central flower. It was a pain to split stitch, but it's coming along nicely now. The satin stitch overlay looks pretty good to me. I will be working on this on Sunday in order to do some catching up.

Dragonfly Buckle Start

I started this on the way home last Saturday from Pittsburgh. The spider webs went really quickly and I think it'll take a lot less time than the guitar did.

Starting to Triangulate

I got the large crescents done this week and started in on four triangular Jessica stitches. They go quickly and are fun to do, though it's hard to slide the needle beneath that many threads toward the end of the stitch. I'll finish up the other three triangular stitches next week. I thought this band was going to go a lot more slowly than it is, most likely because it's so wide.

She's a Blonde

I started in on the Lady's hair. She's blonde, and she's coming along a bit more now. The week was weird; I had a trip and I just cannot cross stitch on the roads here. They're too bumpy. So she's got progress, but not as much as a typical week. Much better than none at all, though.

Cobi's Block Finished

I finished up Cobi's block earlier this week. The top picture is of the overall block; I found it hard to add things, and ended up leaving one patch blank because of the way the bow tail went through it. Below are the bits I did.

I added the bee and the monogram in this picture. The bee is in several stitches with petite treasure braid and ribbon; the monogram is in three rows of stem stitch using silk.

In this one I did the herringbone stitch seam in ribbon and the bead and silk flower cluster. I guess doing that silk ribbon class has made me want to experiment some.

I did the bead seam treatment in this picture. It's a fly stitch with the spine in one color and the outliers in another. I like the effect and will use it again.

Another bee here, done in a different manner. I got the pattern for it from some Jacobean embroidery plates. The bee up top was one I sketched myself.

For this area, there was a print on the fabric that just needed some oomph, so I did some outlining and emphasis on it. The block was mailed back to Cobi yesterday. I hope she likes it when she gets it.

Car Project Finished

I am one of those people who hate waiting without doing anything, ergo I have a car project. Especially on long trips, it gives me something to do. This afghan has been my car project since last summer and I finished it on the way home from Pittsburgh on Saturday. It'll be going to the local VA hospital to be used. Now I have to remember to put a new project in the car.

Round Robin Brings Craziness

Yay, I received my block back from its trip to others. Thank you Cobi, Debbie, Jill and Melissa for working on it! I'll be making it into a wall hanging when I get back from my trip. I like how it turned out. When you send things out like this, you never know how it will turn out. I'm very lucky because it came out in a way I like!

This block is the last one in the group for me to work on. It's Cobi's and it's been a challenge to figure out what to do with it. I knew as soon as I saw it what I wanted to do with the lower left corner. The rest - I had no clue. This picture is before my work. I completed it last night after working on it all day Sunday and yesterday. I'll post pictures of the work I did on it later.

More Filling, Less Stitches

The filling's coming along, it seems. I'm definitely over halfway done with the third quarter, which makes me feel good, even if others are working on the ninth part. I never keep up with the releases of the chart parts of these, so it doesn't bother me anymore. I'll get it done and it will be beautiful.

Shawl Finished

I finished putting the fringe on the shawl on Thursday and mailed it out on Friday. My son watched me put the fringe on and said it was a lot easier than he had imagined it would be done. I think I'll probably make a few more of these for Christmas gifts and so on. They're quick and easy and warm and sooo soft. Didn't learn anything new in doing it, but that's okay.

Curlicues and Flower Pots

I've started more than the outline of the band now, startng in on the pots. There's quite a bit more to put into the middle of each of the three areas, but at least it's coming along.

Framed and Given

I finished this piece back in January and my husband finished the frame on Thursday. I think he did a really good job of it. When it was given yesterday, everyone admired it.

Finished with a Ribbon on Top

The top picture was taken on Friday last. The other two were taken last Saturday. As you can see, I finished it rather quickly. That's the big reward of silk ribbon embroidery: it goes quick. I learned some about stitching with silk from the course. Really not pleased with the color choices, but ... that wasn't the point of me signing up. I've got some confidence in this technique and will probably start using it in some of my projects, especially ones where I want a quick lift.

Comfort for a Friend

I hadn't planned on making this, but there's a friend who's going through a very hard time, so I thought I'd make her a comfort shawl. I'm using Angel from JoAnn fabrics. It's very soft and not hard to work with. It's between a worsted and a bulky weight. This is also really easy to do, since it's just a rectangle of double crochet stitches. I hope to mail it out on Friday; if I don't, it'll be in the mail on Monday. I'm that close to having it done.

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.

Outlining the Fourth

I'm feeling a sense of relief regarding this piece now that I'm on the fourth quadrant. There's already quite a bit stitched on it, and I hope to have it done in about a month. I really love this design and the colors are even more vibrant in person.

Third Band Done

This week I did extra work on this and finished the third band. It went pretty easily, though I'm not sure I like how puffy the herringbone stitches turned out. Band four is another single color one without a whole lot to it. I hope it only takes a week or two.

Neck and Shoulders

She's got a neck now and the beginning of a face. The roses are almost completed too, and I've stitched a bit more of the flag. This week I made more progress on her than I have in quite a while, so I'm satisfied. Now to hope I can continue the pace.

Starfles Away

This week I finished the starfle row (yay!) and started in on the fourth of five big bands. Band four has crescent stitches and more string art stitches in between them. The first row of crescent stitches took very little time, so hopefully the second row, this week, will too.