Slowy Stitching

I don't have much stitching to show for the last couple weeks.  The dogs and I have been busy with classes and an agility trial this past Sunday.  Willow and I had a totally awesome jumpers run.  After 7 years, I think she and I are finally becoming a team.  Beagles are such independent creatures.  It seems to take them longer to get the concept of  "team".  My first beagle, Daisy, didn't get it until she was 10, so I'm thrilled that Willow is a quick learner.

Ok, on to stitching ......

My Little Tree is up to date.  I need to do something about the white flowers -- they don't show up well on this fabric.  I'm thinking I will add satin stitches over the white cross stitches of the flowers to see if that will make the white pop out more.  And on the white in the borders, maybe pink (or the red from the overdyed thread??) french knots.

The Golden Cat is starting to actually look like a kitty.  This thread is such fun to stitch.  I love watching the way the colors unfold.  It may be one of my all time favorites.  Unfortunately, the picture isn't accurate.  I haven't given him eyes yet.  I want them to stand out and plan on using a solid green for them -- perhaps something with a little glitter to it.

And last but not least, I spent time on Toccata while watching John Wayne movies and doing the laundry on Saturday.   It was a fun time!

Finally ......

I finally remembered to unroll this piece and take a picture of the entire thing.  In doing so, I noticed that all the other non-letter bands have the dark brown in them except the top one.  I think it needs added here and  may alter the pattern a little to include the dark brown.  Maybe in the acorn caps or the veins of the leaves.  It doesn't need much.  I also planned to add beads to the non-letter bands and left some x's out for this reason.  The bottom 3 bands are easy but the top band .... hmmmm, I'm not sure where to put the beads.

This next piece is called Toccata Number Three by the Drawn Thread.  It is a SAL that my EGA chapter is stitching.

The fabric is a 32 count linen that's really rough -- not soft at all. I found the perfect Sulky thread color for the pulled thread areas but after having the thread rip or shread apart repeatedly, I decided it was too weak for the rough fabrics of the linen. So I grabbed some DMC floss out of my stash, put a thick coat of beeswax on it and tried again. This time the thread held up to the pulling and roughness of the fabric threads but I don't think I like the results. I really wanted to use the Sulky thread because it's thinner and nearly invisible -- making the pulled areas the highlight, not the thread. It doesn't look bad, just not what I had planned.

However, I really really don't like the bulk of the floss in 5th square from the left.  The stitch is a triangular one where the floss goes over fabric threads twice, making the floss much to visible.  Something I did not want.  At this point I want to tear it out and use a different stitch here, a less bulky one.  But for now I'm just going to live with it ... maybe it will grow on me .... or maybe not.  

Is that croaking I hear? 

Ripit .... ripit

Knowing what I know now, I would have chosen a different fabric, specifically one that is softer  for this project.   Stitch and Learn.  I won't make the same mistake again.  Have a good one!

Busy .... busy ..... and with house guests, no less

Well, it's the busy time of year at work again .... which means less time for fun stuff for the next couple months.

And not only has work picked up but so has playtime.  I have the papillons back as house guests and this time add one more.  Can you believe it?  Nine dogs.  And my back yard is full of snow higher than most of them.  Oh dear. 

Here are some pics of the guys having fun in the snow:

Mr. snowy nosed Eure loves to eat the stuff.

This is the first time Moose has been to my house since he was a wee baby.  Now at a year and half he's full of pis and vinegar.  So much so that the little girls and Stormy run outside, potty and run back in the house to get out of his way.

Here's Moose trying to get Happy to run and play with him.  Mostly Happy wants to be left alone.  But Moose, ever the optimist, keeps trying.

This is what Happy thinks of Moose's optimism.

And Willow just can't believe he never stops moving.

I have been stitching.  I finished the top band of the German Group Mystery sampler.  Instead of doing the dark brown in cross stitch, I laid the diagonal threads and tied them down with a vertical stitch.  I was very happy to finish the flowers.  Each one had a frog hiding behind it so it took me f-o-r-e-v-e-r to finish them.

I started back on See the Star this week.  I needed to take a break from it because my eyes were bothering me.  I purchased a wonderful new stitching tool that has helped with this -- a Daylight magnifier with light.

 Love it!

Should have bought it years ago.

This weekend I need to begin a new project that my EGA group is stitching.  It's called Tocatta 3 by The Drawn Thread.  I'm stitching it on 32 ct linen, something new for me.  I expect the new magnifier will be a great help here.  In fact, without it, I would not have attempted the 32 ct.  I plan to being it Sunday.

After going to see Shasta's puppies.  I can't wait.  They are 5 weeks old now and I need to see the little devils and their mom.  Hopefully, we won't get more snow.  I already had to cancel my visit last weekend.  Keep those fingers and toes crossed.