Coming along nicely...

Sleeping Beauty is coming along nicely.  I am invoking executive privilege and will continue to work on Sleeping Beauty for an additional week. I wanted to get some more of the pesky roses done as there are quite a few, and I don't want to leave it all until the end. They're pesky because while beautiful, there's a lot of confetti-like stitching in them.  I wanted to get some work done on the top border this week and just didn't get to it.

I did get most of the green swirly swag of the skirt done and am currently working on the upper part where it's blue and white shaded.   You can't see the blue stitching too well on this picture so I took a close up.  This is going to look spectacular when it's beaded.

I have to say, I am tempted to keep working on her until she's finished at this point.  Not only do I have lots of other Miras crying to be started, but I just love this design and it's been fun to work on.   We'll see how I feel about it next Friday LOL   Knotgarden is up next and I really want to work on that as well.  

Broadway!

I had hoped to get the first page of Broadway completed this week, but won't quite make it.  This is the only page of the patter that is just about completely stitched, so the subsequent pages will go along quite a bit more quickly.  

I'm still pleased with the progress....love the colors!  It never quite comes through in a picture as it does in person.  I love how the petals swirl around the center.  I don't quite see it as I'm stitching because I'm working on 10x10 blocks but it's always a surprise when I step back and see what all those little X's form.  

I could almost just finish this one page and have it framed as is....so gorgeous!

Strawberry Sampler

I was in the neighborhood of Strawberry Sampler this week, so I stopped in for a look around.  I've been there before, but it's been probably two or three years.  

I think I'm destined to be disappointed in cross stitch stores because my tastes are very specific.   I miss Countryside Stitchery which used to be open in Newtown, PA - always tons and tons of patterns, and that's what I'm really interested in if I'm not shopping for materials for a specific project.  

And honestly....patterns are where it's at for me - it's the ONLY thing I collect, and I'm specific about the ones that I want.   Right now, it's mostly Silver Lining ones, some old Mirabilias that I don't already have, and a few others.   But there's no pressure because I won't be kitting up anything new soon.

They did have a couple Long Dog Samplers which were nice to see, but they're very pricey for "recreational shopping".  I picked up Celtic Christmas, which I'm surprised that I don't have - it's a piece I've long enjoyed and I'm not ashamed to admit that somewhere in the back of my mind, I'd like to do the four Celtic seasonal pieces. 

So, I think that if there's some specific threads/materials you want or you're looking for stitching goodies other than patterns...might be worth a trip.   I'm probably too roped into my specific tastes and it's easier for me to shop online.

Cat and Mouse

Yay for quick service!  

I ordered my extra floss from HDF last Sunday and had them on Thursday.   Not surprisingly, it's a different dye lot than those I already have but since I ordered them six months apart it's to be expected.   They look identical to me but I will still blend them when I stitch, because it tends to be more obvious if there is any kind of color difference then.

Despite my feelings that after stitched, there's not a huge visual difference between silks and regular DMC....the silks certainly do feel fantastic.  

And of course, working on Scarlet Ribands all this week.  I didn't quite get the second page finished, but I'm working on the partial motifs that overlap from page 2 to page 3.  The partials at the bottom of the page are complete.

I thought I might get bored working on a piece that only has one floss color, but I actually like the simplicity of it.  At this stage, it's not quite as spectacular as some of the other pieces that I'm working on (like Broadway, which is coming up in rotation next) but it's really interesting in a subtle kind of way.

The details are just really great.  For example, there's this little cat and moust detail, although the cat isn't quite finished as it overlaps to another page.   I do just enough on the overlap section that I won't have any problem picking up where I was working previously when I get to the next page.   Other than the historic appeal of red work, there's just a lot going on. 

One page down....

....eleven more to go.   This is page one completed.  The pattern pages are printed with a shaded overlap to each page, which is really nice since I prefer work on one page at a time.   It's easy to see where the overlaps are. 

I thought last time that I worked on Scarlet Ribands that I hadn't ordered enough silks to complete the project, and I definately think that's the case.  I finished the first complete page of the pattern, which used three full skeins of silk (Hand Dyed Fibers' 1147 OMG Red).  

In theory then, it should take me about 36 skeins to finish all twelve pages of the design.   I didn't have nearly that many, so I ordered the balance of the threads this morning with two extra skeins.   I hope there's no problems with the color lots being too different since it's been a couple months since I ordered the first batch.   If there's a difference, I'll just have to do some blending - not a big deal.

This is the first project that I've ever tried to do in all silk floss as opposed to DMC with some silk highlights (usually Waterlilies).  I like working with the silks - there's a great feel to them.  I'm not sure that I think there's a huge difference in appearance from DMC though other than the silks have slight color variations in them.   Because this design is one color on one background, I thought that it would be nice to try a different floss for it, and I am pleased with how it looks so far.   And of course - there's always that factor that I *know* it's done in silks and not cotton that is nice.  (Sort of the opposite of when there's a mistake that no one else sees,but you do and it drives you nuts because the piece is framed and it's a little late to do anything about it).

HDF's are definately quite affordable for silk floss.   Perhaps in the future, I might use HDF in a Mirabilia by doing the dress in silks and the rest in DMC.  It would be interesting to see the contrast of silks and the cotton flosses in a piece like that.

Roses, Roses

Nora does love her roses, which is good because I do too.  I didn't have a lot of time to work on The Kiss during the week, but I got a littl more done.   And with that, she's packed up and has to wait a little while before she goes back in rotation.

Busy week for me, but hopefully should have some good news on the job front soon. 

Up next:  back to working on Scarlet Ribands by Long Dog Samplers.