Backwards Progress

I've made quite a bit of progress on Ares this week despite the backwards stitching. I don't know if it's a good or bad thing that I'm getting comfortable doing it this way. I really want to have this piece done before the end of next week, so I'll be working diligently on it some more. I do wish she had picked three strands instead of two, though. All that black and dark colors on the white are showing how skimpy the coverage is. Not my problem, though.

Skirting the Edge

I started in on the outer edges of this quarter this week. I'm beginning to feel excited that I'll have part five done soon. It seems to be going faster these days. So, the dark blue and green are done on the outer upright edge and the lighter gold traces the inner edge. Every time I work on this piece and Tuscany, I just love the feel of them. Silk is so soft and buttery and a joy to work with.

Looks Almost the Same

The progress this week is kind of hard to see because it was mainly filling in color in areas already outlined. On top of that, the colors were gray and brown - ones that don't even stand out.

Bordering on a Finish

The last band before the outer border is almost complete - I just need to finish putting the Fyreworks on it. There's brick stitch and another star in the blank areas of the square. I like this piece a lot. It's given me a lot of practice with my laying tool. Considering this is the first year I've used a laying tool, I needed it! My husband will be making a box to put this on the top of. I think it'll look sharp, especially in something like a light poplar.

Lining it Out

I got most of the tendrils done this week. The knotted Portugese stitch 9darker wool) looks good, but it has a nub at the beginning from the way it starts that I don't like. I had to be careful to not pull the whipped stem stitch very tightly to make it smooth, else it was pulling up and out of shape.

Knot Takes Shape

After only two sessions stitching on it, you can see the knot taking shape now. The outer edges are where the lighter yellow ends. I've worked on it some since the picture was taken and hope to work on it again before next Friday - unless I decide to finish up either the zodiac calendar piece or Dazzle before then.

New Calendar

This piece is just weird, and I'm learning exactly how much muscle memory I have invested in stitching. All the stitches are backwards. I guess the person who started it is left handed or learned that way, so we all have to do it the same way to make it look good. I'm doing Ares because it looked like the next one that needed to be done. Right now, I have this round robin, one more, and supposedly one in the post to me. I -will- catch up.