Kaleidoscopic Finish

Yay, a big finish!  I even got it done three weeks before the deadline!  I really like the way it looks and people have commented on how much they love it when they've seen me working on it.  The piece is called Kaleidoscope Mandala and was designed by Tracy Horner of Ink Circles.  I used all Vikki Clayton floss and the linen is 28 count antique white.  Now I think I'm going to make it into a bread cloth.

Dense Area

The square I'm working on now is really densely stitched, so it's taking a while to get through.  On the other hand, it looks pretty good.

Spot the Missing Letter....

This is easy to make progress with.  I think I'll be able to do a section once a week, which will make it easy to get it done on time!

Waving Along

I am now officially over halfway done on the second rectangle!  Now I have to decide next time I work on it if I am going to start on the third or just continue with the second until it's done.

Done with the Crosses

Yay!  I've started the specialty stitches.  As promised, I finished the cross stitches last time and have now started doing the special stitches, starting at the top.  There are a -lot- of them, but they'll make the piece stand out even more.  Once I'm done with that, there's a scattering of beads to place, too.  It's well on its way to completion.  Maybe, since it was my New Year's start, I'll actually finish it in the year I started.

Winnings from Gone Stitching and Weeks Dye Works

It's here!  The very first time I listened to Gone Stitching's blogcast, back in March, I entered the competition.  And the next week, I won!  I was soooo surprised!  It took over three months to get here, but it's HUGE and wonderful!  They originally said it would be pearl cotton for use in needlepoint, but I got much more than that.  I didn't know that Weeks had so many products.  I'm so thrilled! 

So, here's an inventory, sort of: pearl cotton in sizes 3, 5 and 8; embroidery floss in two strand, three strand, and six strand colors; quilting thread (wow, something I never knew they had!); wool fabric, and a very nice twill - which isn't even on their product page.  It feels great.  Anyway, I love, love. love this and cannot thank Weeks Dye Works and Gone Stitching enough. 

I've already used some of the size 5 pearl in a temari, which I'll show pictures of later this week.  It is nice and shiny and lays flat very well.  I've also started stitching two different things with the two strand floss.  It is very like linen floss in feel and has a matte texture.  One is a Debbie Draper mystery sampler from Sticklounge, and the other is the Punto Antico biscornu we're working on in CyberStitchers.  Pictures will follow later in the week.  I'll be using more of these things as I go along and will be buying more pearl cotton for sure to use on temaris and in my needlepoint.

Thanks again Gone Stitching and Weeks!

Back to Naptime

I was finally able to return to this last week.  Yay!  I'm still on the first page, but I -will- get it done.