Tuesday, June 28, 2016

almost there!

I thought I'd try seeing how much I could stitch in one day. The answer is... a lot.


This is several hours of progress... maybe about six? I was super focused on stitching today, which is unusual for me, so this won't be happening often!

I should have a finish pretty soon! :)

Monday, June 27, 2016

the biggest skirt!

Okay, I'm sure this isn't actually the biggest skirt I've stitched, but it feels pretty big! I thought I made a ton of progress over the weekend but now that I compare to the previous picture, it's not quite as much as I thought. Still, every stitch counts!


That bit of red at the bottom right is the bottom of her skirt, so you can see that there's still a lot to fill in! But at least I found the bottom. :p

She'll remain my focus until I finish! Let's see how long this will take. :)

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

more Geranium!

I've put aside the hardanger SAL for a while. Honestly, the number one thing I've learned from it so far is that I don't like embroidery, and I'm not especially fond of wrapping bars either. And the fabric I'm using is a massive cat hair magnet, and I have honestly been enraged by the amount of hair that's been caught in my stitching and wrapped up in my thread. Ugh.

So that's been removed from my WIPs and goals for the year. I have no interest in forcing myself to stitch things that I'm not enjoying - made that mistake too many times in the past, not repeating it again! I'll pick it up again if/when my interest returns. :)

That said, I'm cruising right along on Geranium and I've finished the cross stitching on the top half.


I'm saving the backstitching until the very end, so now I'll just be working on her (massive) skirt and then her legs. I don't think I'll finish this month, but definitely within the next couple of weeks!

I tend to forget how much stitching I can accomplish when I'm having fun and focusing on just one project. I may have to turn the laser focus on something else after this is finished. Well, once I do my Bride's Tree ornament for July...

Friday, June 17, 2016

unplanned progress :)

I was supposed to pick up my hardanger SAL again, but oops, I worked on Geranium a little bit more instead. Will definitely get back to the hardanger this weekend, but here's a progress pic:


Almost done with her wings! Like with South Seas Mermaid earlier this year, I'm surprised at how well the Kreinik #4 covers on the 28 count fabric. It helps that it's a light thread color on a light fabric, though... that always improves the look of stitching. :)

Well, back to Friday chores... :)

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

two more finishes!

I finally settled on a thread to use for the dark brown in my Bride's Tree ornaments (Dinky Dyes Ironbark silk, for the record!) and wrapped up the other two almost-done projects!


#5 - Happiness

...and...


#6 - Plenty

Now, these aren't completely finished because there's still beading to do, but I'm saving that until I finish the entire set so I can wash and bead them all at the same time.

Cruising along nicely on my monthly goals! Now I just have to catch up on the hardanger SAL! :D

Monday, June 13, 2016

slow and steady

First, I finally finished the fourth Bride's Tree ornament! I used the last of the thread from the original dye lot, then filled in the remaining rows with solid DMC that matches the darkest part of the variegated thread. It's almost an exact match, so it looks pretty good and I'm satisfied with the result.



The design looks deceptively small in the image, but it is dense with stitching and is easily one of the largest, if not the largest, design in this series!

Now I just need to settle on a dark brown thread to use for the remainder of the charts...

I also got a good start on Geranium! Again, the picture isn't an exact color match for the fabric, but if I correct the colors any more than this, the thread colors are all wrong. The fabric isn't blue at all, it's green on a soft yellow background, very pretty in real life. :)


Oh, this is the SMF Raindrop Cashel - thought I'd mention that since I was undecided about the fabric choice in my last post! I'm glad I went with Cashel here as there are a few small areas that are solidly beaded, which is always a struggle on Belfast. Plus, I've been itching to use this fabric for a while!

Next up, more Bride's Tree ornaments and some hardanger SAL work too! I got the borders set up for the next two hardanger pieces, so it's time to do the actual stitching. :)

Sunday, June 05, 2016

May & June goals

I can't believe it's June already... oops! Time for some new goals, then.

First, the goals for May:

- hardanger SAL part 3 - done!
- hardanger SAL part 4 - done!
- hardanger SAL part 5 - wasn't released until late in the month, so not possible!
- finish Bride's Tree Ornament 4 - done! (as much as possible with threads I have)
- finish Bride's Tree Ornament 5 - done! (as much as possible with threads I have)

Here's what I want to accomplish in June:

- finish Bride's Tree Ornament 4
- finish Bride's Tree Ornament 5
- finish Bride's Tree Ornament 6
- hardanger SAL part 5
- hardanger SAL part 6 (if it's released by the 15th)
- start Geranium Pixie

It looks like a ton, but for the three ornaments, I'm mostly done and just need to fill in with the color I had to order, even though it's a completely different dye lot. Or I may end up picking another thread from my stash, but I haven't decided exactly what to do yet. Sigh.

As for Geranium, I've been itching to start her for a while and I just need to decide between two fabrics. Here's the choices:


 SMF Raindrop Cashel.... or Crafty Kitten Buttercup Belfast?

Both are photos of the actual fabrics I have, though neither is perfect in terms of color. I'm kind of partial to the SMF because I've had it for ages and it's super pretty in real life, but the yellow of the CK fabric is really interesting too. Well, maybe my next post will be a fabric reveal. :)

Friday, June 03, 2016

Etude aux Fraises ~ juicy strawberry!

Got a bit burned out on my monthly SALs, so I decided to start something new from my yearly goals and bucket list - Etude aux Fraises by Veronique Enginger. I'm stitching on cream Belfast, but the photo is pulling a little bit pink and I don't feel like opening Photoshop to fix it, so imagine. :)


And here's what the final project will look like (which is a far more accurate represention of the color of my fabric and threads!):


So this is a relatively small start for now, but since I've been more focused on writing than stitching lately, I won't complain too much. And it's nice to stitch something with plain DMC rather than worrying about variegated threads. :)

Unfortunately, the chart is in color, which is making it hard for me to keep my place (I like highlighting on a b&w chart) but it's not bad since there aren't too many colors in this design.

Not sure what my next update will be... probably more strawberries, though!