Fantasy Tryptich

Here is an update on FT after a week's work. Sorry about the poor scan - I can't find the camera. I'd like to have got a bit more done but its been a difficult week. I did have the land of green and brown marked out in a partial grid with red thread to make keeping my place easier. It really is just a mass of green until the backstitch goes on so really difficult to follow. But I found pulling the red thread out of the stitched areas really difficult and some of my stitching got a bit messed up so I decided to pull the whole lot out. Now I am using the parking method which is working quite well. I have a feeling of deja-vu with this one - I previously stitched Teresa Wentzler's "Companions" which is a beautiful design but full of trees, as a result of which it was a UFO for about 10 years. I love FT but am not surprised the pattern was discontinued. Its so hard!!

This week's project is the Rose Fairy which is a much easier stitch. I've skipped away from the area I went wrong on for now - will go back to that when I am feeling brave! I should hopefully have a bit more time for stitching & blogging this week so hope to update again in a couple of days.

Ballet Dancer is finished

Finished at last! There was more still to go than I thought - I spent a lot of hours working on her this weekend determined to finish but at about 11.30pm last night gave up because I had run out of yet another shade and my supplies, being in the stash cupboard in the bedroom where my husband was sleeping, were not to hand. I finished her off this evening. The picture is bad - I'll see if I can get a better one in daylight next time I'm off work. (Wednesday). I ran out of 4 different colours in the end, warning, Lanarte are mingey with their threads. I had a bit of a sort out of my stash cupboard the other day and came across a number of kit thread cards with all the left over threads. DMC flower fairy kits are very well supplied, I'm sure some they had almost enough thread left over to stitch the design all over again.

I showed her to my husband, who said 'well done, now screw it up and put it in the cupboard with all the others'. Ok, I have quite a lot I need to get framed, including, shame on me, Celtic Christmas which was finished over a year ago. My husband does like a lot of my stitchwork but I don't think he's ever been a fan of my Ballet Dancer. (I must add here, they are not screwed up, they are rolled up).

My sidebar is out of date - I need to update it but this new version of blogger won't let me use html tags - I don't know how else to get the pictures on there! I'm wondering if *upgrading* to this new version was not such a good idea after all.

I've decided to go back to rotation stitching now that I seem to be back in stitching mode, but, instead of a 6 project rotation I am reducing it to 4. I have 5 projects currently on the go, Teresa Wentzler's Fantasy Triptych, Cecily Mary Barker's Rose Fairy, Mirabilia's Sleeping Beauty, Passione Ricamo's Moon Fairy Spirit and HAED Waiting for Neptune. The HAED will go on hold for the time being until one of the others is finished. It will be a while off, they all have some way to go on them. With this new rotation the idea is to stick with each one a week at a time, that way I should get a good chunk done without swapping them around too much but get some done on each every month. Tonight I'm pulling out Fanstasy Triptych, the land of green and brown here I come!

Ballet dancer

I've done a bit more work on Ballet Dancer - not loads. On the column bit behind her head so here's a close up. there's metallic thread which frays like mad. I have got some thread heaven buried away somewhere - must give it a try. Should be finished soon!!!

Two Days in a row!

Thank you so much ladies for the comments on my last entry. It means so much that you didn't forget me during my long absense!

Karen, good idea about contacting Lanarte. I will do that if I can't easily match up the thread. I have done a little more work on Ballet Dancer - on the column behind her head - it is a bit more rewarding that doing the shadow on the floor, of which there is unfortunately still quite a bit to do.

Today's picture is an update of Sleeping Beauty. I haven't stitched on her for months but haven't done a photo for even longer. She has a face!

Believe it or not

I'm back!! You always knew I would be eh?!

I had a mega stitching slump at the end of 2006 - I always do seem to trail off in December but this was serious - about 4 months and hardly a needle lifted - what was happening to me!!!

I did, from time to time, pick up my Rose Fairy and put a few stitches in. But I've gone a bit wrong on it, and not being in stitching mode could not bring myself to sort it out. It will get done eventually, I'm feeling a little drawn back to it right now. Maybe it will happen ..... maybe not.

The real work has been done on my Ballet Dancer ...... taa daa!!

I am determined to finish - I've run out of a couple of colours - my frogging and not Lanarte's fault, unfortunately the pattern doesn't include the DMC numbers so I have to use my eyesight and colour chart and come up with the best matches. Not something I relish. These missing colours explain the hole in her head and half a missing foot - but she does at least look human now and not just a blue blob. The background stitching, in particular the bit on the floor which is shadow, is the most boring ever! I am so looking forward to finishing it. Don't have any strict rotation plans at the moment ..... will go with the flow. Would like to get a few more finishes done this year though - the stash cupboard is bursting at the seams!