WIP Photo

I've been working on Sisters Three for a few days now.  Each night that I work on it, I don't really notice my progress so tonight I decided to take a start of the night photo.  Here's that one:

Later on, I'll take a photo showing tonight's progress...such as it is.

Well, I didn't remember to take the photo last night, but here's the progress that I made:

Happy Stitching!

Stacy

Stitching Answers and an Image from the Past

I had quite a few questions recently about how I stitch, especially the HAEDs that I am working on.  Thanks to Carla for these particular ones.  All of Carla's questions and comments are in purple.

Are using 25ct evenweave or aida?

Aida?  Ugh.  Sorry, I'm an evenweave snob.  Actually, I don't believe Aida comes in 25ct.  I could be wrong - it certainly wouldn't be the first time.

I'm stitching  my current projects on evenweave with the exception of my PTP Floral Arrangement, that one is on 40ct. linen.  God Speed and La Belle Dame are on 25ct.  Sisters Three and Rapunzel are on 28ct. The Sistine Chapel is on 34ct. linen - I guess that makes this one an exception too.  Don't ask me where I got that unusual count - I have no idea.

Are you one over one or two over two?

Unless the pattern demands it because of quarter stitches, I tend to stitch over 1.

Sisters Three has a bunch of quarter stitches, so it's 2 over 2.  God Speed is also 2 but over 1, it needed the extra coverage due to all the black.  La Belle Dame, Rapunzel and the Sistine Chapel are 1 over 1.  PTP Floral Arrangement is 1 over 1 but I'm only doing half stitches.  Recently, I've learned that this is also called "tent stitching".  Why?  I don't know.

Do you prefer the over one and do you camp your floss?

Yes, I personally prefer the over one.  Do I camp (or park) my floss?  NO!  I've tried.  I can do it that way but I can't stand the "messy" appearance of all those strings of floss everywhere.  I grab a length of floss and stitch with it until I get to the end of that length or run out of stitches to do in that color.  Apparently, this method also has a name:  "cross country stitching".  Where that name came from is beyond me.  When I learned to stitch, it was simply referred to as "cross stitching".

I would certainly love to read and share any bloggity blog about your experience with HAED with my TW Stitchers as we ALL are slowing building quite the wish list on the HAED website.

Feel free to link to my blog for inspiration or just the occasional dose of silliness.
I have done a couple of TW's in my time.  Here's a picture of one of them.

I love what you have been doing and it's beautiful work....oh please Goddess of HAED, will you grace us with your wisdom?
Well, I don't know how wise I am, but hopefully my remarks have helped.  Since Carla mentioned TW, I will offer some comparisons between TW and HAED.

Both companies offer gorgeous patterns.  Here are some of the differences:

	TW Designworks	Heaven and Earth Designs
Blended threads	Yes	No
Fractional Stitches	Yes	No
Embellishments	Yes	No
Specialty Stitches	Yes	No
Backstitching	Yes	No

All the things that make TW's designs so pretty and unique, also make them a bit more complex to stitch.  HAED uses only full cross stitches.  Yes, HAED requires a lot of full stitches but that's all. 

Both companies' designs require patience to complete but the results are worth it!

Happy Stitching!

Stacy

La Belle Dame... progress photo

A few nights ago, I finished page 10 on La Belle Dame Sans Merci.  This page was almost entirely black.  Boring to stitch and it seemed to take longer than I would have expected.  Oh well, it's done anyway.  The next page is only about half black.  ;-)

The next project in my rotation is:  Sisters Three by Paula Vaughan.  This one will eventually go to my youngest sister.  She doesn't have internet so I don't have to worry about her seeing this!

Happy Stitching!

Stacy

Images from the Past: Smalls

Here are some more pictures of items I've finished awhile ago.  All of these are smaller items.  While I prefer HUGE projects, every once in a while, I just need a finish.  ;-)

I stitched a bookmark for myself.

 

I stitched a coin purse to hold my nickels for my bowling league.

This was for my grandmother.  She kept it on the top of the couch so no one would lean/sit on it.



 This was for a friend's wedding.  Her theme was hydrangeas and this matched her invitations almost perfectly.

This little ornament hangs on my mother's Christmas tree every year.

Happy Stitching!

Stacy

WIP progress photo

Let's see, Wednesday night, I finished pages 7 & 8 on my PTP Floral Arrangement.  Woohoo!  That puts me at the 50% mark.

Here's the photo of my progress:

Since I've decided to make La Belle Dame Sans Merci my focus project, that is what's next in my rotation.  The next page on La Belle is going to be boring but probably pretty fast - it's about 95% black.  I've already done the non-black stitches and then the bottom and right edges of the page so that all I have to do is...black.  I guess black is appropriate considering my current Netflix viewing choice:  Midsomer Murders.  ;-)

Happy Stitching!

Stacy

Images from the Past: Wedding Samplers

Images from the past refers to items that I finished some time ago and were on my personal webpage but not necessarily on my blog.

Today I thought I'd post photos of the various wedding samplers I've stitched.  No, I never stitched on for DH & me.

This one was for my younger sister and brother-in-law.

 

This was for my youngest sister and brother-in-law.

 

 

This was for my pastor's daughter.  This is one of only a handful of project to have no mistakes.  The mirror image effect of the pattern made any mistakes glaringly obvious so I frogged quite a bit.

 

This was for a good friend and her husband.  She was my matron of honor when I got married.

This one was the only one that I've done a major modification on to fit the couple.  The original was for two white hands and cream colored roses.  I was matron of honor in this wedding.  Unfortunately, none of the bride's other "friends" would stand up for her because she was marrying a non-white man.

I did this one for my cousin and her husband.  I modified this one slightly by extending the borders and adding their names and the date.

This is one sampler that I've stitched 3 different times.  I stitched it for the lady who used to be my babysitter (now divorced); my uncle and his 2nd wife, the image shown, (now divorced); and my niece and her husband.  The third time was the charm with this one - the niece and nephew are still together!



 

 

I have also stitched one with swans on it but never had a photo.  I stitched one called United in Love as well but since they got divorced, I guess they weren't that united.  Never had a photo of that one either.  Oh, well.

 

Happy Stitching!

 

Stacy





Finishes and WIP photos!

Whew!  I've finally gotten 12 Days of Christmas framed!  I was going through some old computer CDs during the last couple of days and I found my first WIP photo of 12 Days.  It was taken on Jan. 9, 2006!  Well here's the finished product:

I also had another, much smaller, finish recently.  It's an ornament, Let It Snow.  This is a Dimensions kit.  No, I don't have a Christmas tree up year 'round (DH won't let me), I just started my Christmas shopping in January this year.  It's hanging on a small tree with a snow family at the base.  The tree and the ornament are both going to be presents for my mother.

 

And finally, here is my current progress photo for PTP Floral Arrangement.  I've finished page 8 which is the right edge and am filling in page 7 now.

 



As I mentioned, I found some old CDs with photos on them.  I also "lost" my personal webpage when we changed from a business to a personal account with my ISP.  I'm going to start posting photos of my completed works that were on my webpage to my blog for "posterity".  ;-)

Happy Stitching!

Stacy