Glitz & Glamour Sapphire FINISHED

 Glitz & Glamour Sapphire by Debbie Rowley is complete.  As you can see, I changed ALL the colors.  It looks totally different!  I wanted it to go with Carnelian and used the same colors, threads, canvas.  Below shows them together.  Believe it or not, they are really the same colors!!  The overdye is even from the same skein.  The canvas is Aquamarine on both.  Different camera, different light.  I adjusted them the best I could.

Glitz & Glamour Carnelian

Happy Dance!  I finished Glitz & Glamour Carnelian before the end of the year.

Of course, mine is quite different.  Surprise, I changed all the colors to aqua with a touch of brown. 

This piece is where I learned to use Water N Ice over an overdye to create amazing effects!  Thank you, DebBee's Designs!!

Here's my version:

I think it turned our really pretty!

Glitz & Glamour Carnelian

 I've started a new piece!  I know, too many WIPs already, but I just can't help myself.  LOL!
This is Debbie Rowley's Glitz & Glamour Carnelian.  Naturally I changed all the colors!  Aqua - are you shocked? Ha.
I also started in the center.  The instructions want you to start on the outside edge, but I just don't want to do that much counting!  So I'm working from the center out.  It was a bit of a challenge to figure out where to do that, but I finally "got it".

Diamond Delight III Finished

Finally - cataract surgery recovery is complete and I have new glasses.  It was a long haul.  It's so great to be able to see properly again!

Diamond Delight III is finished.  I changed one color and thread, I changed the center.  Otherwise it is as designed by Debbie Rowley.  Oh, I think I changed the bead color too.  There are a lot of beads, but they don't show up very well in the picture.  

2012 Mystery Retreat Progress #5

You have surely forgotten all about this piece!  This year I am trying to finish some WIPs and I decided to pull this one out.  I haven't worked on it much since right after the retreat!

There's still a little "spaghetti" from the parts I worked on at retreat, but most of that is gone.  I have completed the center section except for the very center which I will do later.  The right side section is complete.

Now I'm working on the bottom.  I won't do much more there until the end.  This section has some parts that I don't like and may change; those will have to be done later when I can see the piece as a whole.

It is much prettier in person!  The darkest turquoise is quite intense, but it doesn't photograph well and the metallics don't really show up.

Diamond Delight III - Progress 2

DebBee's Designs "Diamond Delight III".  Started last summer or fall.  
It took me forever to complete all the eyelets, but once that was done it has moved along nicely.  Originally I did not plan to change any of the threads/colors, but that hasn't quite worked out!  
The stitch that was supposed to be in the center didn't work for me.  So I changed it, but used the called for thread.  I plan to put a jewel or beads of some sort in the center of it.
Then the Sprats Heads that fill the box out to the rust color.  Well, I had the proper thread, but I hated it.  The color didn't work for me and it was rayon and that didn't work for me either.  So I changed it to a Kreinik braid and now I like it.  Now to get those corners done!

American Beauty Rose, Finished

American Beauty Rose, my "white" one, is FINISHED.
I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.  
Eventually I'll get it framed, but don't hold your breath till that happens LOL!

American Beauty Rose, Progress 4

I've been working on my White American Beauty Rose and I am on the home stretch!  I could finish it this week, depending....  I don't seem to get as much stitching time as I used to.  
I really like this piece and I think it is finally looking like a rose!

American Beauty Rose, Progress 3

The only real needlepoint I've worked on for months, is my rose.  Well, it's Debbie Rowley's design, but my colors.  It is beginning to look like a rose!  This is a fun piece to work on.

American Beauty Rose, Progress 2

This doesn't look much different than the last time you saw it.  That's because I haven't worked on it much!  I am waiting for a thread.  Since I changed one of the threads in midstream & combined a new one with an old one, I ran out.  Hopefully the new thread will be in soon.  I really want to work on this! 

AND, Happy Thanksgiving to you all this week.

Diamond Delight III, Progress 1

It's been quite awhile since I started this.  There are a gazillion pulled eyelets and that is very slow going for me.  I can only put in a thread or 2 before my hands start to hurt.  I finally got the outer row of them done, and quickly put in the next row - Waffles.  Then, oh no!  more pulled eyelets.  Well, at least this is a shorter row!  Debbie wanted all the eyelets done first, but that is too much counting for me, so I'm jumping around in the directions to work the rows consecutively.  I have just barely started the next rows after the eyelets, there are 3 rows like this, so I'll be working on them along with the eyelets.  I like the colors and, for once, I haven't changed them!

American Beauty Rose

Yes, I know it doesn't look like anything.  Yet.  
This is DebBee's Designs "American Beauty Rose", but I'm doing a white rose.  Well, it is mostly tan, but it's MY white rose.  
I started this just before all the moving craziness hit.  I had quite a time finding the right threads and I ended up ripping out all of the darkest shade that I had done as it was toooo dark.  I restitched it blending the dark shade I had with the next to the darkest and it is much better.  

This is a fun design to stitch!  Each color (6 I think, or maybe 8) has it's own stitch.  The picture color isn't quite right, the lightest shade is an old Needle Necessities overdyed floss that is white to light tan.  So the lightest squares are really white.  The canvas is eggshell, so it is lighter than it appears in the pic.

Diamond Delight III

 We are back in Las Vegas.  DH had some meetings, so we returned a week early.

While we were still in Reno, I got a bare beginning on Diamond Delight III from DebBee's Designs.  I am using Debbie's colors throughout, even the Vintage Brown canvas!  How rare is that??!!

The stitching begins with about a million pulled diamond eyelets.
I got 1/4 of the first row of those done.  I decided to start the next row of NON eyelets so I can go back & forth.  I can only work about 2 thread lengths of the eyelets before my fingers give out!

This is going to be very pretty!



2012 Mystery Retreat Progress #4

Although I have put away most of the large projects, I have worked some on my Mystery Retreat project.  This is the bottom section, which was designed by Debbie Rowley.  There is still a lot to be done on it, but I think I am now working on the last bit that is relatively easy.  The rest of this section involves overlays and overstitches and even some needleweaving and will require a LOT of attention!

2012 Mystery Retreat Progress #3

The center section of the Mystery Retreat project is finished.  Well, except for the very center which I will be the last thing I do since I'm not sure what I want to put in there.
This section was designed by all four of the teachers.  Amazing how a collaberation like that can work!

Below is how the whole piece looks now.

Mystery Retreat 2012 - Progress #2

The right side section (designed by Mary Knapp) is complete.  Except that I have changed the red to turquoise, it is exactly like the pattern!  Well almost, I did use the Very Velvet instead of the Memory Thread to connect the little squares running down each side.  The turquoise Memory Thread is just too light in color.  The Very Velvet worked just fine!
The pic below shows what the whole thing looks like now:

Mystery Retreat 2012

Mystery Retreat 2012, Portland, OR.  Report #1.  The retreat was a LOT of fun!  I had a great time!  I really like the project.  I selected the gray/red color way, but changed the reds to a bright turquoise.  There's a surprise, huh?  Several people also changed the red, and they were all turning out really pretty.  The red is gorgeous too of course!

The Retreat is 2-1/2 days of classes.  There are 4 teachers and 5 sections to the project.  In this case it was the center section that all 4 collaborated on.  For info about the retreats in general, about the teachers, and to see all 4 colorways, go to their website at http://www.needleartsmysteryretreat.com 

The picture on the left below  is what my project looked like when I got home:  The top section was designed by Linda Reinmiller and is called Phoenix Rising.  Count on Linda to come up with some really unusual and unique stitches!  My Phoenix is finished and I really like it! 

The right side section was designed by Mary Knapp and is called Florentine.  It is really pretty and uses some Bargello.  Yeah!  I have almost finished this section, see photo on the right above. 

The left side section was designed by Partricia Hartman and is called Mountain Pass.  Pat used a variety of stitchs with some weaving included.  I got half of the weaving section finished.

The bottom section was designed by Debbie Rowley and is called Ashes of the Phoenix.  As you might expect, Debbie came up with some very innovative ideas!  There are stitches over stitches, memory thread and some tulle for good measure.

The center section is the collaboration.  I didn't get much done on it cause I kept messing up & ripping out, but it is a beautiful section.  Since coming home I did redo the big center diamond and it turned out quite pretty.

When I finish the side section, I'll get a close up of it (I forgot this time!).

Mystery Retreat Project Progress #5

I have been working on the Mystery Retreat Project and this weekend I finally finished the 3rd Section. This section was designed by Debbie Rowley, of DebBee's Designs, and has been a fun challenge. The only real change I made to this section was to the ecru & green sections at each end. The straight lines of ecru Neon Rays were supposed to be squiggly and I made them straight. This piece will now rest for several months. I will be going up to Reno in a couple of weeks for the summer and it is too big to haul back & forth!