Big Cornering

The big corner on the upper left is more than halfway done; after that, three more to go. Still lots of specialty stitches on the houses to do, too. And it's off in air cargo for a bit.

Quilting Stash

Some fabric, some patterns, and a couple of kits. Now to find time.

English Sampler Framed

My husband just finished framing this over the weekend. It only took him a few months, and he doesn't do things out in the garage in really cold weather like we had this winter. I think it looks very good and he did a great job!

I Finished Something!

So this week at Seminar, I finished something. Sure, it was almost done when I got there, but between the busy-ness and the new projects, it's amazing I did. See Anda? I told you I'd get it done. I certainly prefer the blue on bottom to the gold that was recommended. There were no new stitches in this last band, just a repeat of several from above. I think it looks pretty good and my husband has decided we're keeping it instead of giving it away.

Band Eight

Since this is due a week from Monday, I've been working on it almost exclusively lately - a hard thing for me to do! I finished the seventh band and then managed to do all of the eighth this week. The pattern called for gold where the blue is, but there's no gold anywhere else except the bottom, so I'm sticking with blue. Just started the ninth band, which shouldn't take too long. Maybe I can get it done today before I leave for seminar in the early morning tomorrow.

Ladders Done

The ladders on each side are done now; I'm not sure if they're supposed to be vines or leaves or what. There are leaves in mosaic stitch coming in off them. I started them yesterday and really wasn't pleased with the look. I might go ahead and frog that then just cross stitch them. Will decide later this morning.

Twining Some Tendrils

Got some more work done on band seven this week. I used medium green because I thought it stood out more. It's coming along and work will accelerate this week once I've finished part eleven of Totales Mysterie.

Darning the Leaves

See Anda? I got even more done! I did the darning stitches in the big leaves and started the satin stitches in the small ones. Those satin stitches were supposed to be cream colored, but I wanted them to look like real leaves, so I used light green. It's coming along pretty well, and I have more stitched than this picture shows.

Leaving It Go

I wasn't going to post this today, but Anda asked about it last night, so I am. Just for her. See Anda? I made progress! It'll be done by September 8th, I promise. For the rest of you, that's the date it needs to be sent to the evaluator. There are two more bands after the one I'm working on, and this one's the largest. It'll be worked on more often now that the due date's only a month away.

English Flowering

this week I got the majority of the bottom half of the flower done. There's a lot of green for leaves and such to put on this band, but the big central motif is done but for darning and backstitching. I definitely need to have it done by the end of August, though.

Flower's Core

This week I worked on band seven's flower core. It had algerian eye stitches and satin stitches and brick stitches. Because of all these, it's taken more time than just regular cross stitches. I've started the outer part of the flower now too. This is the last huge band in the piece, so hopefully it'll be done soon.

On to the Seventh

I got band six done last week and started band seven when I went to the sampler meeting last week. Band seven is a bit of a mess chart-wise. It's that there's writing all over it, so it's hard to count. I think I've got a good start on it now, though. There are only nine bands, and seven is the largest of the remainder. I should have this done before it's due date in August. At least, I hope so.

More Cream

I made a mistake on this sixth band, but I decided to make the same mistake on the other side, so it doesn't show. I worked quite a bit on this piece yesterday - it was the monthly get together to work on it. It's going to be done in time.

Green Redone

I'm much more pleased with this since I changed the outer heart color. I also did something different with the filling stitches - I decided to do a modified Algerian Eye stitch in the middles of the large flowers. I've also decided to leave the inner hearts blank instead of filling them. I like the look better. Since this picture, I've finished up band 5. On to band 6...

Back on the Net

I'm back on the net for the next three days then off for two then home. We've driven from Pristina to Split! I'll have pictures in the next couple of posts, but for now you're going to have to make do with my stitching. I got more done on the fifth band now, but I'm going to be doing some frogging on it. I really don't like how light the outer hearts are, so I'm going to change them to my medium shade of green. It'll make them stand out more on the gold. Will probably do that tonight or tomorrow night here on the veranda at our hotel.

Hearts in Outline

This week I'm back to green colors and all backstitching. It's coming along; I have all the big hearts outlined on band five. After doing the hearts, though, I'm thinking of redoing them in a darker green, the medium color used in Band 1. Then again, I might not. I'll have to see if they get more visible when I add the flowers.

Band Four Done

I didn't get very much done at the group stitchalong on this on Wednesday, but I did make some progress. On Thursday I finished up Band four and started Band 5. Band four wasn't difficult, just a bunch of satin stitches. Band five has a bit more variety.

Third Band Done

This week I did extra work on this and finished the third band. It went pretty easily, though I'm not sure I like how puffy the herringbone stitches turned out. Band four is another single color one without a whole lot to it. I hope it only takes a week or two.

Knotted Up

The knots on band three are nearly done now. Only a little bit to fill in on the last. I'll be working on it this week and hope to get this band to completion. I really do prefer the horizontal lines on the filling to the diagonal ones. It was a lot easier to do and, I think, gives a smoother line and looks better.

Some Filling In

The designer had the cream color filling in the knots laid diagonally within them. It -really- didn't look good to me and was a major pain, so I switched it to horizontal, which looks better to me and is much easier to do. Got some more dark green done, too. The third band is nearing completion; perhaps I can finish it in the next couple of weeks.