Monday, September 18, 2006

Purple Queen Framed


My husband's first framing job! He stretched the piece and the silk under it, made the frame, and picked out the mat, too! Then he put it together. I think he did a great job. This pattern is the White Queen GSS from the Embroiderers' Guild that I turned into a purple queen. It was my first project ever using drawn thread. I think it came out pretty well.

It's Done!

I spent most of yesterday's stitching time finishing this project, Crewel Confidence by Judy Jeroy. While I still feel crewel isn't my favorite thing, it's something I'll consider next time I see a really pretty pattern I want to do. I'm sure my critique will have a lot of things I've done wrong on it, but it was my first time transferring a pattern this way or doing a crewel piece at all in about twenty years. My husband will frame it when it gets back from its critique, and then we'll give it to someone. I just feel sooooo relieved it's done!

Friday, September 15, 2006

Bleu Normandie


This is my second Normandie, in the colors picked by my husband. Getting there on getting it done. It has one of the same problems the other one did - the lightest color fades into the fabric. Not too much to do on it. These are fairly quick. Maybe next week I'll actually have some things done!

Bargello Progress


It's not as far as I thought it would be when I posted last week. I took it to do in the car while I was waiting for my daughter to get out of school yesterday and completed the second section and started on the third. It shouldn't take too long to do, as long as I actually sit down and stitch. Life should be returning to somewhat normal next week, I hope. I really want to get this one finished before I go to the EGA national seminar.

The Chatelaines
















I've managed to complete four of the butterflies and get the other four about halfway done this week. Hopefully I'll be able to start the gold border and the corner areas before the picture next week. Since it's rainy out, I'm hoping I'll be able to stitch more. On the Midi Mystery, I've made progress on all that Treasure Braid on the bottom. It gets annoying to work with since it twists so much. Maybe I'll be able to get to the black bottom this week before completing the Treasure Braid. Martina released a small project using the same threads as the Midi Mystery to the group this week. I might make a Christmas ornament out of it.

I Think I Can - So Close!

I've got a leaf and a half to go and I'm done! I'll be so happy. My goal is to finish this in a week. I've learned some things about crewel and am less afraid of doing surface stitching now, but it will never be my favorite kind of stitching. It does, however, rank above the hated knitting. The flower turned out better than I thought it would. It smoothed out a lot and the wool poofed out to fill in the less covered spaces. Of course, it'll go to be critiqued and I'm sure that will turn out badly, but I don't care. It was new to me.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Less Than I Wanted














I didn't get as much stitching done this week as I wanted. Life intervened in a very hard, sad way for me. Anyway, the next few posts will be of my updates. This is Sweetheart Tree's Potpourri Heart from the kit. I finished it into an ornament. My daughter won't let me give it away. I did the finishing this week is why it's here. The second picture is of a pulled thread design we did at the May meeting of Pocono Mountain EGA. I did the mounting this week and need to put the gold cord around it. The copper colored silk behind it is from Plumridge Silks. They have a good bargain lot where you get lots of silk in lots of colors for cheap. I'll probably make a few more of these because I like the way it turned out.