A Few Works In Progress

Somewhere along the line I got out of the habit of scanning, photographing or in some way recording my progress on projects. With Move It Out Monday the WIP list is growing and my finishes feel farther and farther apart. I pulled out a few projects tonight and scanned them. I am making slow progress on them, but it feels very slow.

First for your consideration - Periwinkle Promises Antique Sampler Accent
This is a FUN stitch. The instructions are great, the AVAS silks are yummy and I'm having fun with the specialty stitches. My only whine about the kit is that the fabric is exactly the right size for stitching and finishing as pictured, so it isn't big enough to go into a Q-Snap. I do miss my Q's. Of course when the stitching is done I'll be thrilled that it is exactly the right size so I don't have to do any major trimming around the edges! I am already on band 8. There are 12 bands total. Perhaps a happy dance is around the corner? (Waving at Lelia - this is the one!)













Next up is Cross Eyed Cricket - Green Thumb, Garden Initials
I didn't think I could find a good picture of this project on the internet so I scanned a smidge of the photo on the chart. It is tiny, but you get the idea.









The model was stitched on Sage Jobelan, but it sure looks pink in my scan. I am stitching my version on a pretty R&R fabric called Nearly Spring Green. I love the way the yellowish greens in the project kind of clash with the fabric. (I know, I'm crazy.) I can't wait to stitch the froggie on top of the trowel!



















Finally, La-D-Da - Bless This House
You can see a decent picture of this design at Shakespeare's Peddler - you will need to scroll down a few pictures. When I saw this design it screamed "stitch me BIG" so I decided to stitch it like a Bent Creek Zipper on 18 count fabric over two with perle cotton. Then I turned the chart over and discovered that it is charted for Sampler Threads. Oh boy, I was going to have to convert it to Weeks or whatever I could find. EEK! I considered stitching it on a higher count fabric, but it kept begging for BIG. Thanks to Heather at Mom & Me and my friend Linda I was able to choose conversion fibers. Pardon this picture, it is a bit dark and the fabric was a little lumpy on the scanner.


















I will post my floss conversions as I go. So far I've only used 3 colors. I changed the Old Blue Paint to Weeks Dolphin, the Blue Spruce to Weeks Juniper and Black Crow to Watercolours Dark Shadows. So far I am very happy with the results. The Dark Shadows was a slightly scary choice because I have stitched with other Caron fibers but never Watercolours. It looked "fuzzy" compared to the Weeks. I am pleased to report that it stitches beautifully and I love the color. Thanks to Heather for suggesting this one! I am using the Danish method to cross stitch this project, in spite of using overdyed threads. It has a muted look and is a little bit less striped, if you know what I mean.

Tonight I am attempting to felt wool. Right now it is in the dryer. Tune in later and I'll let you know how it turned out. I might also have a thing or two to say about Violet Threads this week and the status of my MIOM project for the 25th. But first...a trip to the dentist tomorrow. ACK!