Sierra, Finished

Sierra is finished! I put the last bead on this afternoon. I ended up using the turquoise in all of the corner squares, but lightened it by using #8 Pearl instead of #5. The backstitching is done in a Kreinik braid that is aqua & gold. Beads were called for in the pattern & I used all aqua beads. I had thought I would use copper ones in the center line of copper, but I couldn't find a bead that looked right. Now I'm glad, as I think the aqua looks really good. This will go back to Vegas with me in the Fall, so I won't have it framed until then.

Sierra, Progress 3

Sierra has not been neglected! I do work on it occasionally. So this is progress to date. It doesn't quite fit on the scanner, but almost. You can see most of it. When I finish the little diamonds on the end, I will be taking out the peachy colored diamonds inside the upper left corner. And they will repeat in the lower right corner. I don't like the color. I will either do those eyelets & crosses in the dark brown or the turquoise. I think the dark brown would make them stand out and the turquoise would make them "equal" to the square right in the corner. I haven't decided what is "best" yet. Any comments?

Interactive Ribbons Bargello #2, Progress Report

It has been a very busy week, but I have gotten some stitching done. Mostly on Interactive Ribbons #2. I finished the center section and started on the background. After a few rows of it I realized that the darkest red in the background was too purple-y, so I took it out and changed it. Now I like it! This will be finished soon.

The picture is kind of wierd. I stood the piece on the back step in the sun in an effort to get the Kreinik Holographic Ribbon to stand out. It is better, but I didn't have anything to put behind it, so you can see through the canvas! Other than that, it is pretty good. And the Kreinik does show up more I think. By the way, the canvas is called Victorian Red (not Vintage).

Stitch of the Month 2010, July

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!! I hope you all have/had a safe & fun holiday. Yesterday & today I worked on the July SOTM and completed it. So that can be put away for another month. I'm curious to see what Susan uses next month to fill in the spaces!

Interactive Ribbons Bargello #2

I have started the second Interactive Ribbons Bargello. This one is also in Silk & Ivory and Kreinik Holographic Ribbon, 1/16" this time. It didn't fit on the scanner so one side is a little cut off, but you get the idea. The color didn't come out too well. The lightest color is a little more peachy. The canvas is Vintage Red (I think that's what it's called) and pretty much eliminataes any show through with these threads. There will be no canvas showing when it is finished. The Holographic Ribbon is bright red. The background on this one will be a little different than the first one I did. It is going quite quickly and I hope to have it finished fairly soon. It is such fun to stitch!

Sunday Project - Lighthouse

Several years ago, my husband went on a business trip to the East Coast. He visited a beach city, Newport, RI, I think, and wanted to bring me something back. The only store he could find that had needlepoint was a Michael's so he bought me this Dimensions kit. It is printed on 12-count interlock canvas and came with unknown floss. Well, I knew that the only way I'd ever stitch it was to change the threads and try to use a variety of textured stitches! I pulled a pile of threads from my stash and I worked on it for awhile, but then it wandered off to the "when I get a roundtoit" pile.

Last month, I pulled it out and decided to make it my Sunday Project for this summer. I worked on it the first time this past Sunday. I have used quite a variety of threads and very little of the floss that came with. The flowers are all rayon ribbon French Knots, some are deliberately sloppy. Not too many of those left to do, thank goodness. I am NOT fond of doing French Knots! The lighthouse is wool & a little Pearl cotton and it's lights are Flair and FyreWerks, they will become more clear with some backstitching. The paths are a combination of blended floss and Watercolors. All of the green is Silk & Ivory, some in Slanted Gobelin. This week I put in the boats with Neon Rays. They don't look like much yet, need some backstitching. I also worked on the sky quite a bit. It is in floss with Alpaca 18 clouds.

I think I'm going to use an overdyed Kreinik braid for the water, but I haven't decided on a stitch yet. Maybe next Sunday! This is quite an unusual project for me. It isn't Bargello. It isn't aqua & tan. It isn't a geometric. And it isn't charted! But I think it is coming along pretty well.

Crystal Caves: Topaz, Finished

The first Crystal Caves, Topaz, is finished! Actually I finished it last week the night before we left for Reno, but this is the first chance I've had to get a pic of it and do a post. I'm pleased with the way it turned out, but the Kreinik Holographic Ribbon I used doesn't show up well in the photos. I'll have to find out how to photograph it. This pic was taken in a sunny spot, sun coming in the window.

Something I learned: Once I completed the stitching all the way across, I was surprised that it seemed to come much to close to the frame. There should have been plenty of room. I measured again and the canvas was cut the correct size. Hmmmm. Then I thought, check the gauge of the canvas. Well! This piece of brown Zweigart canvas counted 18 stitches/inch acrosss & 17 down! Unfortunately I had used it the "wrong" way, with the selvage at the bottom, because that is the piece I had available. The moral to this story is that the vertical thread count may not be the same as the horizontal thread count. I checked several other pieces of canvas in my stash and they were all either spot on or only off by less than a thread. This brown canvas may have been an old piece I had. I think today's canvas is more accurate than it was 30 years ago! Anyway, from now on I will check the canvas thread count, in both directions, before I cut it!