A Finish and a Visit to the Cemetery

First, I finished DMC's Heart Band Sampler.  I'll be using the hexagonal button since, as Stitch Bitch pointed out, it mirrors the shape of the medallion.  How did I not see that myself?  I have enjoyed the challenge of re-charting this piece to better suit my taste.  I like monochromatic designs and this one gave me the chance to use a pair of skeins of Needle Necessities floss that I bought simply because I liked the colors.   But, sadly. the floss was separated from its label long ago so I can't give  any further information.  Anyway. NN went out of business many years ago and I can not recall the name of the company that took over their color line.

Next. I returned to the cemetery band of Witch's Hollow for awhile.  Once I got past the gravestones which were  all maddening tone on tone stitching [especially on 36 ct.], I made good progress.  I am nearly halfway through the band.  This particular band has lots of witches: some afoot, some in flight, some driving wagons.  After I am done with the sampler, I may pull some of the motifs and stitch them as ornaments.

Afghan Progress

Earlier this week, I devoted three stitching days to Lori Birmingham's Jacobean Elegance afghan: Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  I confess I continued to stitch on the afghan again today  in an effort to finish the block I was working on.  The result is that I now have five blocks out of 20 stitched.  Clearly, I am going to have to pick up the pace to meet the Mother's Day deadline.  I'd have to finish two blocks a week and I just don't see that happening.  But I will do my best.  I'll be doing all my "at home" stitching on this piece, relegating the other two rotation pieces to travel projects for the time being.  I'll also make the afghan my weekend stitcher's choice project for the next little while.  Maybe that will help me build a little momentum.  I'll post a photo after the weekend.  With a little bit of luck, it will show two rows of four blocks completed.completed!

I will say this though, now that the temperatures have dropped below freezing again, the afghan is a very cozy stitch.  With most of this afghan draped over my lap and legs, I stay warm even with the home thermostat set to the cooler temps my husband enjoys.  Furthermore, I love the blues, greens and golds of this piece.  Then, too, the flower and bud motifs are just complex enough to keep me from getting bored by repetition.  But I have only stitched three flowers and two buds so far.  And considering that I will be stitching 10 buds and 10 flowers before I am done, avoiding boredom is something of a priority.  The original chart called for ten stitched blocks and ten blank blocks but that looked unfinished to me.  I am beginning to regret my decision to stitch every block but it is too late to turn back now.