April Recap & May Goals

April went by pretty fast. Here's what I was able to accomplish, stitching-wise:

• Finished and framed Bent Creek's Wedding Row for a wedding in May
• Finished part 1 of the Gay Ann Rogers mystery sampler (a.k.a. A Redwork Mystery Full of Surprises)
• Finished Jim Wurth's Hearts & Flowers (squeaked under the wire with that one!)
• Made some progress on the background for Goldwork Heart II by Michele Roberts

Wow. It didn't seem like I did that much, but it looks like I did a lot!

May is going to be a very busy month, with a project being started at the EGA meeting on 5/7, and then the EGA regional seminar 5/16 - 5/20, during which I'm taking two classes. So, besides starting these three projects, I'd like to:

• Complete GAR mystery window 1
• Complete the background on the goldwork heart
• Start GAR mystery window 2

I probably won't get to start the next Jim Wurth installment that comes out the week of the 15th, but we'll see.

Hearts & Flowers is done!

Well, I was up past my bedtime, and got into work a bit later than I wanted this morning, but I was on a roll with the beading last night! Here is my completed Hearts & Flowers from Jim Wurth's Dodecagon Series.
Now I'll pick up the Gay Ann Rogers mystery sampler again, to do mystery window #1 before she ships out window #2 next week!

Almost Done with Hearts & Flowers!

I haven't posted about Hearts & Flowers in a few days, but I have been making progress. Today I should be able to finish couching the long stitches at top, bottom, left, and right, and adding some filler stitches in these areas.

What might take a bit more time is to add the 5 beads to each Jessica stitch (the round ones outside the center square and hearts) - that's right, 240 beads. That will likely delay the finish by a day or two!

By the way, I tried to find a web page with instructions for a simple, small Jessica stitch like these, but was unsuccessful. I found one with a large square Jessica, and one with an oval Jessica, though. If anybody wants to know how to stitch tiny Jessicas like these (over 4x4 threads), let me know and I'll try to draw a diagram.

Framed Wedding Row

Wow! My framer/LNS owner made great time with this one! We went totally against my original thoughts of a wood-finish frame, and chose this:It almost looks gold in the picture, but the frame is actually a pink-toned silver. I think it dresses up what could be a very casual piece. Now I just hope it's appreciated by the recipients!

The Needlework Show

First, a disclaimer: I'm completely unaffiliated with this, but always like the opportunity to window-shop (or, in this case, screen-shop!). Now, on to the news...

The Needlework Show is going on! This is an online show, and while only wholesale buyers can actually purchase anything, we stitchers can browse and let our local (or not-so-local) shops know what we want! Most of the designs are counted cross stitch or counted thread designs, but even lovers of painted canvas, counted canvas, or punchneedle might find something tempting. Be aware that not all of the designs are new, but they may be new to you. I found one design I had stitched quite a while ago. This is still a great way to check out lots of designs in one place!

To look through the designers sites, click on the link above. Once you're on the site, click on "General Viewing", and you'll be taken to a list of designers. I recommend starting at the last vendor or the first, and then just using the "previous vendor" or "next vendor" link at the bottom of each page to see more. (Trust me, if you start in the middle at your favorite designer and then go to the end, it doesn't automatically loop back to the first on the list.)

Heaven knows I don't need any more projects, but I've found a few that I really like:

• Art-Stitch: The circular stylized florals at the top of the page are quite striking.
• Dames of the Needle: The Elizabethan Purse is gorgeous! A former class piece - I may have to pick this up!
• In the Company of Friends: This company sells items with images of samplers, rather than items to stitch. I particularly like the Quick Start Sets, especially the swans.
• Historic Stitches: Since I previously stitched a sampler with a pink house, the John Foster sampler is calling to me.
  
• Jeanette Ardern Designs: Villa I and Villa II remind me of my trip to Italy last year, and Reflection is intriguing.
• Kelmscott Designs: These magnets are beautiful!
• Threads of Gold: Repro samplers...need I say more? And the original samplers are beautiful, too!

I'm sure I could find others if I went through again! Enjoy!

Hearts & Flowers Progress

Since spring has actually arrived here in western NY, I've been spending more time tending to yardwork than stitching! It's not much, but here is the progress I've made on Hearts & Flowers over the last few days.


It's difficult to see in the pic, but the white triangle-shaped corner areas are actually sprat's heads in silver braided ribbon (FyreWerks from Rainbow Gallery) with a single strand of red Marlitt rayon floss on top. This makes a neat effect!

I'm off to stitch a bit more before bed...