A New Design

I saw a ball in completely different colors in this design on the JTA mentoring group.  It looked neat, so I decided to reverse engineer it.  There were a couple of false starts, but eventually it came together.  I think it looks pretty neat.  The picture doesn't do it justice!

It's on its way to Darlene D, who asked for a temari after winning the February challenge on the Crazy Quilting International board.

A Wreath!

I'm climbing my way up this.  I'm not really happy about working bottom up; it  feels wrong to me.  On the other hand, I'm getting this done.  It's huge!  The piece is about fifteen inches across, and I am working it over two on forty count linen.

Creeping Up on Color

The other half of this top part has the peacock's head on it.  The only problem is it's about sixty stitches to the right of the farthest out point at the moment.  Do you think I should go ahead and start the head and introduce more color?  What happens if I accidentally miscount and get to the point where they join - and they don't?  Do I rip it all out?  Or should I be patient and wait until they join and I start working back up?  I'm going back and forth on this question.  It's a matter of wanting more color!

Finally Put Together

I had completed stitching this design just after EGA seminar a few years ago.  The class was great, but there really weren't any finishing instructions, so it just ... languished in my armoire.  A couple of weeks ago, since I've set myself the goal of the year of finishing, I decided it was time to tackle this.  It's now officially a needlebook!

Working On The Shadows

A lot of dark colors this time, working on the shadows of the castle.  The roof's done now, along with the sky, so it's all landscape and castle.  The top visible horizontal line is the halfway point.  I'm edging there.

Windows Redone

I didn't like the way the Jessicas in the windows looked on the top, so when it came to doing them on the side, I ripped them out and redid them.  They look much better now.  I've even got two small brown houses done on the bottom.  It's getting there, slowly...

Welcome Spring

Martisor (pronounced mar-tee-shore) is March first.  It's a holiday to welcome in spring, and the two big colors are red and white.  The holiday is celebrated in Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria.  Little red and white decorations are given to your loved ones, who wear them all month.  Once the month is over, you hang the decorations on budding tree branches.  These two ornamens were made for us by my language teacher and her son, who had to make some for school.  Andreas refused to even think of wearing one.  It didn't help that the guys in his office were not in the spirit of it, either.

Like most spring festivals, Martisor also celebrates love, and it is customary to do a special dinner.  The poor men of Moldova have three holidays in the span of one month - Valentine's Day, Martisor, and International Women's Day - where they are pressured to do something for their sweethearts.