Week Eight, February 25, 2016

Not a whole lot to report today, given that I already showed major progress in the WIPocalypse post yesterday. But…

I did finish the first color in the inner border! It was blended (two different yarns) and I hate blended stitching (can’t use the loop start, for example so there are all those ends to weave in; and inevitably, the two strands of yarn are different lengths so I feel I’m wasting yarn when I have to cut off that extra length…)but I managed to get through it. Sorry the picture is a bit fuzzy —- couldn’t sharpen it at all I guess my eyes were clearly fuzzy too when I took the picture!

Leaving here on Sunday so only two more days to stitch on this, and it may well be that at least one of those days will be occupied with another boat excursion (IF the company finds three more passengers, that is — they have a six-passenger minimum).

See you on the flip side, when “Rematch” will be out of the project bag once more!

WIPocalypse 2016 - February 22

I know - I'm late. I forgot that Monday was the full moon.

The topic for this full moon was” If you have any of your pieces on display in your home which attracts the most plaudits?”

Well, at present there are only two pieces “on display” (if you don’t count needlepoint pillows, that is): one is in the half-bath and never seems to be noticed while the other is in the “breakfast” part of the kitchen and, I think, has been noticed once, not exactly attracting plaudits but. It is a piece called Inspired by Iznik - designed by Carol Phillipson and published in "Cross Stitch Collection # 105, completed July 12, 2004. This is a photo of it before I had it framed:

Since the last WIPocalypse, http://210920746822434353.weebly.com/my-stitchery-journal/wipocalypse-2016-january-24 I have made some small progress on “rematch” of the Roll Your Own Mandala series, having only one page (of six) left to go on the outline:

However, since early February, we have been “traveling” and there has been insufficient light and magnification to take such a large piece along so I have resurrected my traveling project, “Palm Tree Elegance” Since arriving in Florida, between exploratory trips to various springs, I have managed to complete the leopard-spot border and (on the 23rd) start on the inner border:

I have part of one more week on the traveling piece and then I will be back home where there are taxes to catch up on, a house guest arriving and various post-travel chores (laundry, groceries, etc.) to catch up on so there may not be a lot of progress to report in March. However, we live in hope!

Week Six , February 11, 2016 and Week Seven, February 18, 2016

Between Week Five and AFTER the 11th, I didn’t stitch at all. We are in Florida right now, in the middle of our second week of a three-week stay, and I have managed to get in some stitching on the porch when it is warm enough to sit outside (it’s darned cold for Florida, even in the winter!) and enough sun to be able to see the holes in my needlework fabric (I forgot my magnifier! AAACK!).

Since we are traveling, I am working on my traveling needlepoint, “Palm Tree Elegance”, a kit by Dimensions from 2001! Th last time I posted about this piece, it was  October  and I had managed completion of the terra cotta fill in two of the border stripes around the outside of the piece. 

Since then, I finished the terra cotta and started on the burnt orange (One birder stripe — the left one — done). 

I live in fear of not having enough of that burnt orange color and it’s not a current kit so I may have issues with Dimensions getting additional yarn. May have to wait until I get home and see if the scraps of left-over tapestry yarn from previous kits match closely enough to continue…

I leave you with a picture of a beautiful Live Oak form the parking lot at De Leon Springs State Park (Think Ponce De Leon, of Fountain of Youth “fame”). It wasn’t the biggest, and I couldn’t get all of this one in my camera, but you can get a feeling for the size by checking it against the parked cars.

Week Five , February 4, 2016

Given that I only stitched one night on “Rematch”, I didn’t do too badly in terms of progress on the outline. I really only have one page to go before I start on the color fill…

I will probably switch to my traveling pieces in the next few weeks though…The fact that I can only brig myself for stitch occasionally on this means that I am tiring of the piece and need a break. There is  one small Aida piece in my traveling bag (“Biltmore”) and my needlepoint “Palm Tree Elegance”. Maybe some change of pace will bring back my mojo.

Meanwhile, the garbage man is now here and I need to retrieve our can from the street - with the high winds we are having, it will blow away if I don’t!

Happy February everyone!