April IHSW

IHSW! Yay! My favorite excuse for stitching all weekend. :)

Since I just started Crystals and Crows last weekend, I figured I'd keep working on it for IHSW. Most of the larger blocks of color have been filled in (though there are a couple more toward the bottom right) so the color changes are really starting to slow me down. Still, it is slowly filling in and trying to look like something. I seem to be outlining more leaves and stems, but it will be a while before I get through all those colors. Here's before, with 12 colors done, and after, with 29 colors done (out of 95!):

Somehow even with my tablet helping me, I'm still being plagued by ninja stitches. Must be a special talent of mine. :) But it is coming along, and I'm happy with the progress. Now to check in on my fellow hermiters!

Until next time!

March IHSW

It felt so good to be hermiting again this weekend! Many thanks to our wonderful hostess at Random Ramblings for continuing this happy sal. :)

I worked on two projects this weekend, Luna and Euphoria. I don't think I got a whole lot done, but I did manage to reach a milestone on each. First, I'm doing a mini happy dance for Luna, as I've managed to complete the first row! So happy about this. Here's before and after:

It was just the last 1000 stitches or so, but it did seem to take forever. Probably because I was a little sick this week (but ok now). Sad to say, but in 8 years of stitching BAPs, this is only the second project I have with a complete row finish. Guess that shows what a serial starter I am. :)

It was hard not to continue to the next row immediately, but I was determined to finish the next page of Euphoria, which was also close to being done. Here's the (messy) before and after:

Not just solid pink anymore! That bit of white is the tip of the first flower hanging over her shoulder. Surprising just how long that flower really is; I don't think this bit is even half of it. But it does help to break up the monotony.

This next bit isn't exactly stitching related, but I think it's pretty, so I'm gonna share. As I am finally well enough to sit at my sewing machine again, I've been practicing quilting designs to finish off a quilt I'm making for a friend. I'm still debating, but I might have settled on this design:

This was my first attempt, which did get easier as I found my rhythm. (Can you tell which half I did first?) I found a tutorial for this here if you want to try it. I have never done a branching pattern before, but it's a lot of fun, and I love the results. I'm trying a larger sample now to see if I can really do this on a full size quilt. It's tricky (especially seeing where I'm going with all those branches) but I might be able to pull it off.

Well, that's all for now. Hope everyone else has had a lovely stitchy weekend. Until next time!

IHSW?

Hi all! I do hope everyone is having a lovely November so far. It seems I have finally hit my stride again with stitching, and have a small update on Pavonia to show off. :)

This weekend was supposed to be the IHSW sal, but unfortunately our beloved hostess seems to be missing. (I do hope she is okay...) But in the spirit of my favorite weekend of the month, I've hermited as much as possible and managed to knockout of big chunk of stitching. She still doesn't look like much, and she is getting very dark (I'm stitching the shadow side of her face, which is further shading the feathers behind her) but it won't be too long before she begins to look like something. Here's the before and after:

 I want to say I'm more than half done with the worst of the confetti stitches. The shadows have three main colors, and I did two this weekend, so hopefully next weekend I can fill her in a bit more. I'm saving her forehead for last, as my reward (and something to look forward to!). It will be so nice to stitch some nice light colors for a change.

I'm hoping I can finish this part by the end of the year. I'm also hoping I can resist buying too much stash during any holiday sales this weekend. That's going to be tricky...

Until next time!

September IHSW

Hello to all and welcome! Man, September is really flying by. IHSW is already over, and I have an official new start to show off. Yes, Cassiopeia has been on the frame for three whole days and I am thrilled to finally be working on her. I wasn't able to get as much done as I'd wanted, thanks to a quilt I'm working on for a friend, but I did manage a bit. So how 'bout a look?

Cassiopeia, Sept. 20

I've started at the bottom left hand corner, skipping over the border and going straight for that beautiful dress. I just couldn't resist all those deep teal greens and blues. So gorgeous! There is a lot of dress on this girl, so I'll be working on it for quite a while. At the moment, there are lots of big blocks of color, so it's working up pretty quickly. My total for this weekend is 1,159 stitches. I'll be sticking with Cass at least another week, then it's back to Luna to finish off page 5. Alas, all of my ladies are so demanding...

Until next time!

August IHSW

Have you ever rekindled an old friendship after a long separation and wondered why on earth you stopped hanging out in the first place? That's kind of what I'm experiencing with Pavonia. I know I was dang busy this spring and got crazy sidetracked with knitting, but I've really missed stitching on her. She's been my only wip this week (and I actually stitched all seven days!), so the progress is really starting to show. For this month's IHSW, I managed 1,040 stitches. Not bad for three days work. :) Here's before and after:

I'm hoping to have this part done by the end of the month. It might be a stretch with all the confetti I'll have to deal with, but I'm gonna be optimistic. After all, on the next set of pages I'll *finally* get to start her face!

Wishing everyone amazing progress. Until next time!

July IHSW

Hello again! Thanks for dropping by. I'd offer you tea, but this darn computer screen is so limiting. (Okay okay, on with the stitchy stuff...)

It feels so good to get back into the swing of things with my fellow Hermiters. I did manage to stitch all three days, not as much as I'd hoped, but I'll take what I can get. All three days were spent on Scale, as I'm still trying to get the page finished by the end of the month. I didn't quite finish the eye, but its very close. All told, I got in 976 stitches this weekend. Wanna see?

Here's before:

*gasp!* I actually did some stitching during the week?!

And after:

"Here's looking at you, kid" -- Scale, as of July 19

It's going to take a little getting used to having her stare at me now, though at least she's not glaring directly at me. More like she's miffed at me for not being further along. (C'mon, I know your stitching talks to you as well...) My fingers are still crossed for a quick page finish. And of course, I'm wishing fantastic progress for everyone else as well.

Until next time!

April IHSW

I can't believe it's already April! Time flies when you're busy... especially when you're behind on your stitching. :) My stitchy mojo is gradually returning, but I don't seem to have time to indulge. I did make an exception for IHSW tho. I made sure to stitch all three days, though it was only about half as much time as I usually spend stitching. That brings my monthly tally up to... seven days spent stitching? (Pavo and Luna are not very happy with me.)

For this weekend, I spent all my time on Scale, which has been poorly neglected this year. I had hoped to have another page finish by now (my second) but after the Frogging Incident last month, plus starting Euphoria, I'm not quite half way through the page. Still, I managed 829 stitches this weekend, which reminded me of just how quickly she works up. Here's before and after pics:

Where I left off in March

After IHSW

The subtlety of the color changes really amazes me. I never knew DMC made so many shades of light blue and teal. Even when the color jumps to an odd shade of green and I think, no way that will look right, the result is beautiful. Kudos to both the artist and HAED on this one. :)

By the way, this whole page is her eye, from brow to lashes. I'm working on the upper eyelid now and it seems huuuge. I can't wait to see it finished. Hopefully by the end of next month...? After that, the next page sparks things up with a bright red fish. (But that is far in the future...)

Until next time. Happy stitching!

March IHSW

Hi all! It feels like ages since I've updated, but March has been a busy (and unfortunately, not very stitchy) month so far. But now Spring is here, and I've got a new start to celebrate! It was a perfect way to spend my IHSW.

My new start is a HAED chart called Euphoria, by artist Melanie Delon, whose work I've come to admire. She seems to specialize in ethereal, fantasy portraits of ladies (my favorite subject) and I'm hoping several more of her works get charted.

I'm stitching this one on 28ct Baby Pink Cashel linen, 2 over 1, using tent stitch. Here are pics of what she'll look like finished, plus my progress so far.

Don't she look sweet?

Progress as of March 22

I've started on the bottom right, so I'll be sewing nothing but skin for a while. I was hoping for a page finish this weekend, but couldn't quite manage. But thanks to the tent stitching and a mere 3 colors on this page, I did manage about 2,150 stitches. Not bad for three days work. :)

I'll be continuing on this one through the end of the month, and possibly until I finish this page and the next. She's 96 pages total, so it'll be a while before I get to those gorgeous eyes of hers. Something to look forward to, I guess.

Wishing everyone good luck and good progress. Until next time!

February IHSW

So, I have finally taken the plunge and joined in on a few SALs. Funny, that's one of the main reasons why I started a blog, was so I could "officially" join in on the fun. Silly of me to wait until February, but better late than never!

First up is IHSW, a wonderful idea for motivation. As usual, I didn't get as much stitching done as I'd hoped this weekend, but I did manage a bit of progress on my Green Fern Fairy, who now has most of her skirt, and Moon Indigo, one of my focus wips for the year. Here are the before and after pics:

I was actually able to finish a column and get a page finish on Moon Indigo (yay!). That's three pages finished so far (out of 63!) and two more to complete my goal for the year (though I'm secretly hoping to finish another four).

Total stitches for the weekend: 1935. I usually only do about 2000 a week, so I must say the IHSW was a success! Hoping everyone else had a good bit of progress, and I'll definitely be joining in again next month. It aligns perfectly with my New Solstice Start, so that must be good luck, right?

Until next time!