Bargello Progress

This is probably my easiest and quickest project. I'm almost done with the second section now (two days after the picture) and it's coming out well. My daughter is loving the way it looks, which is a very good thing. Anyway, what it shows is that you can change up everything about a design except its bones and still get a good result. Nothing on this outside of the way the stitches go is like the pattern.

Medieval Town Mandala and Midimystery

I decided to combine these two, since they're by the same designer. I'm having fun with these - on the MTM, I've managed to finish two of the butterflies and get halfway done on two more. My husband really likes the way they look and the fine detail. He's an observer. It's part of what makes him such a good scientist. The Midi Mystery 2 is coming along, slowly. I finished the two columns and am finally! starting the bottom flourishes. When I'm done with those, it's on to finally doing the Rhodes stitches! I'll get there. Eventually. My husband agreed that I should order the Japanese Garden design before it goes out of circulation next month. So, another project! I'm not going to start anything else until I get at least one of these four done, though.

First Finish

So, my first finish after starting this blog is here. It's okay. I didn't really like the brown too much. I'm doing the same thing again over two on colors my husband picked - baby blue linen with Needle Necessities color 134. I've got the tree, one apple and part of the Calvados bottle done. The good thing about picking these for ornaments is they go fast. Of course, finishing them's going to be a challenge. I haven't quite decided how yet. Ideas?

It's so Crewel

As promised, my husband took pictures last night. Here's the progress on my Crewel Confidence GCC. As you can see, I got the little flowers at the bottom left done. They were a fun whipped spiderweb stitch. Now I'm working on the flower at the bottom - long and short stitch with color blending in four colors. I've completed two and, to me, it looks horrible so far. You'd think they'd give us a simpler shape than this three lobed flower with all the direction changes to do first. Oh well - it's getting closer to done! Maybe in the next couple of weeks I'll have it out of my rotation altogether.

One of Those Days

It's one of those days where, try as I might, I haven't been able to get any of my stitching done. I've been working on the newsletter for my local Embroiderers' Guild chapter and taking my daughter to and from her first day of the semester. Not usually a big deal except this is my first issue of the newsletter and the last editor had everything saved in a program I've never heard of despite being a Mac owner for twenty years. Oh well. Several ad scans later and some judicious use of MS word and it's done. It's at the copy center now being printed. My daughter, on the other hand, is on a schedule where it's just too short to drop her off and pick her up and just too long to sit in the parking log and wait. At least it's only Tuesdays and Thursdays this way. The other three days are long and I can go home between. I'll be so happy when she finally gets her license and saves up enough for a car.

On a bright note, I finished Normandie over one yesterday. Most likely tonight I'll have new pictures to put up of my WIP's. They're actually progressing pretty well.

Rainy Days

Today is one of those great days for stitching. It's rainy and windy out and a bit on the chilly side. Can't go out to do anything, and who wants to do house work on a holiday weekend? Looks like I'll be able to finish up my Normandie over one in the next day or two and get a lot more done on the other pieces. It's a good thing, especially since Lynne came over on Thursday and we went buying at Banbury Cross.

Normandie One Over One

This is what I've started a few days ago. It's the Normandie block from Annick Abrial's Terre de France sampler over one on Rue Green 28 count linen using DMC's new variations color 4140. So far it's going well. I need to make several of these for Christmas presents for my husband's work team - they have had two two month long trips to Normandy so far and will be taking another next spring. I get to go with! I went on one of the previous two and loved it. We stayed at a guest chateau so we pretty much had our own real apartment. Each one of these I do will be with a different background and floss. Now to get several done in time! Since taking this picture Tuesday night, I've finished the boat and the cidre bottle and am working more on the cow.