Easter Eggs - Complete

Well, one of two is complete. I am still not sold on doing the second one, but I am ready to do a different project so I will call this one complete for now.

Easter Eggs - Update 4

Good weekend of stitching, even some out in the sunlight on Saturday. I had to move the pattern in the frame so that I can stitch the bow on top.

Easter Eggs - Update 3

Color blindness is often amusing more than it is annoying. For example, the aqua and pink squares in the center that look vaguely of 80s Miami art deco bathroom tiles are very difficult for me to differentiate. A friend asked why I picked the pattern to do if I was going to be unable to see them. I told her that, well, it looked OK in the picture. I had assumed it was all one color or the other. With difficulty I can identify the squares.

Easter Eggs - Update 2

I went out last night and picked up the remaining flosses for the project (I was short 6 of them). I immediately put them to use, filling in between the yellow bands with blue.

Easter Eggs - Update 1

I started this last month, but I put it down to make the Ghostly Mandala. This project is from Just CrossStitch magazine, April 2013 issue. The design is by Sharon Pope. There are two eggs. I have not decided how I will finish them yet. I am doing this on 28 count fabric, what looks to be some sort of cream color.

Ghostly Mandala - Complete

I finished this Tuesday evening. I did it on glow-in-the-dark fabric, but my cell phone camera is not up to the task of capturing the piece glowing. The contrast when it is in the dark is not what I imagined, but the idea was still pretty cool. I bet it would look great with a black light hitting it.

Ghostly Mandala - Update 6

Sat outside on the patio this weekend and make excellent progress. The end is certainly near!

Ghostly Mandala - Update 5

More than half way there. With a little effort I could be finished by next weekend.

Ghostly Mandala - Update 4

Did not progress as far as I would have liked this weekend, but progress nonetheless.

Ghostly Mandala - Update 3

Moving right along. I do like that the whole finished project will fit within the q snap, so I should not have to adjust it again.

Ghostly Mandala - Update 2

I enjoy stitching mandala patterns. For one thing, they are almost always one color floss. For the other thing, they are rarely a "fill in every stitch" kind of project. I am about 1/4 complete here after only 4 days.

Ghostly Mandala - Update 1

As soon as I finished the Gator Logo, I picked this up to work on. This is from the Halloween 2014 issue of Just CrossStitch magazine. The pattern is by Tracy Horner of Ink Circles. I started this Saturday, January 24, 2015.

Orchid Intrigue - Completed

One I got the correct floss, the rest of the project went very quickly. The completion date was actually January 17, 2015.

Orchid Intrigue - Update 1

As the first official project of the new year, I chose a piece from the February 2015 Just CrossStitch magazine entitled "Orchid Intrigue," by Beth Ann Seal of Summer House Stitche Workes. it is a nice, symmetrical little piece requiring the Briar Rose floss from The Gentle Arts. I ran out of this variegated color, so while I wait for the reinforcements to show up, I am at a stand still for the moment. I am stitching on 28 count beige linen.

Wedding Announcement - Heart Swirls

So, late Monday night we got word that one of Dorissa's cousins got married, and that a gathering was going to be in two weeks to celebrate it. Dorissa said it would be nice if we could whip up an announcement as a gift. So, after going through the patterns I had on hand as well as scouring the internet for a quick, yet nice, announcement pattern, we found an item in the just Cross Stitch magazine from January/February 2013 (Heart Swirls by Sharon Pope). The pattern is a lot larger and quite ornate than the finished product. However, this is the center of a much larger heart, and seems to have been included as a smaller variation of the pattern. Interestingly, the example of the pattern included the smaller version, framed, done with DMC 127.

I had DMC 127. I also had plenty of white Aida to choose from. So I went with 18 count. I finished the letters with DMC 823.

Here is the finished product. I will take it with me Friday evening to pick out a frame at The Crafty Framer.

Halloween Skull - Complete

I put the finishing stitches into this Saturday evening while watching, I think, Georgia and South Carolina. I will make a second one, but first I want to get back into 12 Days. I also have Ornaments to make for my office. Last year they got the Partridge in the Pear Tree. This year - Two Turtle Doves.

Halloween Skull - Update 2

Moving right along. Football season has helped - since I am planted in front of the TV watching the games anyway, I may as well stitch. Unlike Hockey and Basketball, Football does not take constant attention in order to follow the game.

At this rate, there may not be a third update, just a finished one. And I will be making this one again - my boss has requested one, too.

Halloween Skull - Update 1

Ever since I got my copy of the Just Cross Stitch Halloween 2014 magazine, I have not been able to stop thinking about getting several of the patterns in here finished. Therefore, I have put down 12 Days for a bit and have really delved into the Halloween Skull pattern by Alessandra Beretta of Alessandra Adelaide Needleworks. The colors remind me, for those of you who remember such things, of Dynamints, specifically the variety pack. Google it.

Anyway, during a trip to JoAnn's I was lucky enough to come across some 22 count Hardinger fabric, 18X15, for a buck each. I bought all 13 they had. And I started making the Skull.

I am doing 2 over 1 on the 22 count, and it seems to be flowing very well. I want to say I started this project on the weekend of August 16/17. So this is just over 2 weeks in.

Mardi Gras Mask - Complete!

Finished! The back stitching here adds a subtle sharpness that actually makes a difference in spite of the dark fabric.

Mardi Gras Mask - Update 18

And now, all but back stitch.