Sarah

Here is a photo of Sarah. She is a very sweet, well behaved dog! She & the cats are beginning to get along. It won't be long before the cats start tormenting Sarah!

Twister, Progress #2

Here is my progress on Twister to date. At this rate it will take years to finish! Oh well, at least I'm working on it! I've started the reverse swirl, notice the little gray patch under the dark red square, so the next update should show more changes. This section that I'm working on will end up being a square and there are 4 squares to the whole piece!

New Dog

I'm sorry I haven't posted for a week! But last Thurs. we got a call from the Golden Retriever Rescue Society that they had a dog for us. She came to our house that afternoon. Things have not been the same since! I don't have a good picture to show you yet, but she is 4 years old, named Sarah. She is very sweet & well behaved but she has to learn about cats! Sarah is a big girl, about 20-30 lbs. overweight! So she will be getting lots of exercise & less food. She is still nervous and doesn't quite know what has happened to her. Poor little girl, it must be very confusing to suddenly be in a new home with new people & two cats! The cats are not exactly thrilled, but are coming around. They'll work it out in time. I haven't got much stitching done, but hopefully will have something to show you again in a few days, along with a picture of Sarah.

Twister, Progress #1

Twister by Patricia Spencer is a project I started about 4 years ago. I got a good start on the first quarter, but then never got back to it and it has been in my UFO pile ever since. Now that I have finished the Mystery Retreat Project, I have moved Twister up to WIP and made it my new Sunday Project. Sunday I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out where I was and refreshing my memory (LOL) on the directions and overall process. I completed one section and basted 2 more for next week.
This project is on Congress Cloth with floss. I chose the gray & garnet colorway. The instructions are quite complicated and a little hard to keep track of! I imagine at least some of you have done this project as it was quite popular a few years ago.
When I first started it, I elected not to do the marking on the canvas that the instructions required. Rather I charted the outlines so I could be sure all the lines are straight. With slanted lines it is much easier, for me, to make sure they are straight by doing it on the computer! Being a bit on the picky side, I can't stand it when lines aren't straight! Anyway, I use the chart to baste the lines for each section, which then makes it easy to stitch the patterns and do the compensation.
I hope you will enjoy watching the slowwwww progress of this piece!

IT'S FINISHED!!!!

I can't believe it! The Mystery Retreat Project is finished! I put the last stitch into the bottom section yesterday. What an accomplishment. Started at the Mystery Retreat July 2009. Once I made this my "Sunday project", progress was consistent. The bottom section took quite awhile to do as it has so many isolated stitches. This is one of the most ambitious projects I have done in years. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself & doing a MAJOR Happy Dance!!!

Mediterranean Tile, Progress #8

I have now completed the inner braid of the not-an-overlay version of Ro Pace's Mediterranean Tile. I had to leave out one row of the small braid and reverse the colors, because I'm not doing it as an overlay. Jan's has the braids and colors arranged as intended.
Next up will be a lot of crescents filling in around the petals, as we did in the center.

Seasons, Progress #4

I completed the next two squares of Seasons (the top & bottom ones)! They are the same colors as the previous two, but the arrangement of colors is different and there are some different stitches. The next, and final, four squares will use some different colors and stitches. Since there are 4, it may be awhile before I finish!

All Framed Up

I picked these 2 pieces up from the frame shop today. The red Interactive Ribbons is for DHs office. I hadn't planned to frame it, but he wanted it, so here it is. It looks pretty good I think. The frame goes well with the piece and also goes well with his office furniture. The pattern for this piece is available on my website.

The other piece is Sierra, design from Needle Delights Originals. You may recall that I changed the colors. Big surprise! Anyway, I decided to frame it on end to go with another piece I have that is also a rectangle. They will eventually hang together.

New Designs on Website

You watched my progress as I stitched these 3 pieces, Interactive Ribbons and Crystal Caves--Topaz. Now the designs are available to purchase on my website. The aqua & red ones are in one pattern. These 2 patterns appear at the bottom of the Bargello page at http://www.lizartneedlepoint.com/ .
Please take a look!

Mediterranean Tile, Progress #7

I have completed the first step of my "Overlay that isn't an overlay"! Lots of pretty petals with a #4 Kreinik filler and a Kreinik ribbon laid through them all. The metallics really added a lot; before I put them in it was looking pretty bland.
Jan has completed her Overlay petals too and will be posting today, so be sure to compare!