It's after Christmas, so I can FINALLY reveal the "semi-secret project" I've been working on for a few months. I'm thrilled to say that the JOY projects were well received by Mums on both sides of the Atlantic, too.
The finished pieces are 12" in diameter, stitched on "Christmas Red" linen and mounted in wooden hoops I painted white. I finished the back with blanket-stitched felt, which turned out reasonably tidy.
And as with a lot of designs, the backstitching and beads really made the piece sparkle!
I'm so pleased with how they turned out ... but also pleased to be able to refocus on my big stitching project.
Hi everyone! It's time for another stitch-a-long check in. I love this stitch-a-long; we all get to work on our own projects at our own pace, then cheer each other on every three weeks! If you fancy joining us, Avis is the person to contact.
I've finished stitching the lower part of the center leaves and filled in two parts in the center background. I still haven't sat down and finished the feather outlining on the left-hand swan; that's my #1 task in the next three weeks. After all the counting and staring on my other Super Secret Project (reveal to come soon!), just filling in the background and the leaves was quite a relief!
lots of lovely background fill!
So stitching the rest of the feather outlines is my goal over the next stretch -- lots to do here as for some reason this takes me a long time ... but when it's done, it will make the swan stitching easier!
Remember the really uneven scallop shapes in the bottom banner?
The piece is 222 stitches wide, so I also plan to chart out the replacement pattern. But I don't think I'll stitch it until the main pattern is done.
My fellow stitchers are all working on amazing projects -- I love seeing them all taking shape! Click over to their blogs and have a look for yourself!
Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Kate, Jess, Sue, Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Hayley, Megan, Catherine, Deborah, Connie, and Clare.
Our next update will be Sunday, January 13 -- till then, wishing you a very merry Christmas and a magical 2019!
I still can't believe this works ... and it's fiddly with multiple strands of floss ... but... who knew there was a better way to thread a needle???
Hats off to Good for bringing it to my attention!
However, some progress *has* been made, and I am pretty happy with it!
I finished the last big of edging of the lower leaves, and have filled in a lot of the satin stitch on them. I also decided to do one little bit of the light blue background just for a break. That's the nice mindless stuff that I think I'll work on a bit more in this next three weeks.
Here's something odd I noticed: in the bottom banner, the scallop shapes are really weirdly uneven. That is going to drive me crazy in a finished pillow... so when the time comes to stitch the edges, I think I'll just chart out something similar... but EVEN.
I am sure that the next three weeks will result in little progress... but one stitch at a time, eh?
My fellow stitchers, I am sure, have been much more productive, and I look forward to seeing all the amazing work they're doing -- click over to their blogs and have a look for yourself!
Our next update will be Sunday, December 23 -- can you believe how fast the year has gone by?