WIPs

Progress to date on The Sweetheart Tree's Holly and Hearts Sampler: still plugging away on Row 13 ... but as I progress, I find the back-stitching less stressful and more satisfying. My method of attack has coalesced: do a discrete section at a time on one side only of the center line working very carefully from the chart, doing the cross-stitches as they come up ... and then stitch the mirror image from the already stitched side, only consulting the chart when needed ... move on to the next discrete section. Happily, there are recognizable breaks in the vines and leaves and it is easy to identify sections. This keeps the back-stitching from being overwhelming and/or confusing. And, if a row includes specialty stitches as well as back-stitching [like Row 13], do the specialty stitches after all the cross-stitching and back-stitching is completed ... then affix the beads.
As a small project that requires less concentration, I have been using the WDW Noel that was part of my Mystic Stitcher's Hideaway goodie bag to stitch another biscornu ... I have the absolutely perfect buttons to complement the colors in this overdyed floss: square buttons divided into triangles of green and rose that pick up the colors in Noel as if made-to-match. ... but since these buttons are "vintage" buttons, it's all just one of those happy accidents. I'll have quite a basketful of these little projects fairly soon as this is the 8th biscornu I will have stitched this year ... so far I've given away 3 and kept 4 ... they are decorative and useful and somehow very appealing. And then there is my second Stitching for the Cure ornament for the 2009 Tree. This is Dragonfly Stitches' Hope and I have stitched it on a 32ct ivory mystery linen [DMC or Zweigart, can't remember] in Carrie's Creations Strawberry Shake overdyed cotton floss.

I had intended to back this with a bright pink fabric polka-dotted in white but the color was actually too bright for the floss so I chose a softer floral print in rose pinks for the backing ... I usually have a good memory for the color values of the fabric I have stashed away but this time I was just a wee bit off in my assessment. When I pulled the polka dot fabric out, it really clashed with the colors in the Strawberry Shake overdyed floss. Since I changed the fabric, I had to change the trim as well. Having nothing on hand that really worked, I made my own flat braid [a first for me] from GAST Oatmeal, Carrie's Creations Raspberry and Strawberry Shake flosses. It was time consuming since I first braided three strands of each color to make a single strand and then braided those strands together to come up with a multicolor flat braid ... but I am pleased with the result and will probably use the technique again to trim other ornaments. Once I'd glued the braid in place, I finished off the ends as a tassel [another first for me]. Finally, I made a beaded loop for hanging using some of the same clear beads I had used in the piece with some seed pearls and some pewter beads ... also left-overs from other projects.

And, just because I can't seem to resist new starts when I come across ornament charts in my current "To Do" binder, I have started on an Imaginating chart of a snowman ... part of a four chart promotional page ... another "goodie from the Stitcher's Hideaway [this time, the 2007 retreat]. I am stitching it on a 32 ct. ivory linen using Belle Soie silks of my choice rather than the DMCs listed. I'll finish this as another flat ornament for Christmas and post a photo of the final finish.