Hide N Seek is finished...................The last stitch is placed and the project is finished.  The last squares are stitched and the striped border is also done. I'm glad to have this projected finished so I can start the next one.  Check in tomorrow and see what I have selected for my next project, it's a twist on a design I stitched previously.

 

Hide N Seek progress.......................I'm going to complain once again about laying Cotton floss or silk for that matter.  It is time consuming and not my favorite part of stitching.  I started the fourth diamond in the center and extended the checkerboard border.  This will be a very colorful design when completed.  I will post my next update on Friday, hopefully have more progress to show then.

 

 

Hide N Seek progress.....................I have more progress on Hide N Seek to show.  The laying of the Cotton floss is very time consuming, if I had been thinking I would have substituted Perle Cotton for all the Cotton floss and would be able to really jam through the project.

I'm always excited to start a new project and then I want to finish it so I can get to the next one.  Having so many counted canvas designs kitted up and waiting I could stitch the next couple of years without having to buy anything, not likely to happen.  Just recently I got 3 Dakota Rogers designs that will really be interesting to stitch.  Once Hide N Seek is finished I might pull thread for one of the Dakota Rogers designs, they're really different from what I usually stitch.

 

 

Hide N Seek has begun.....................This is the start of the new project Hide N Seek by Laura J. Perin.  The design calls for several different colors of Cotton Floss which have to be layed.  Because I have to lay the stitches my progress is much slower so I will not post every day as I will not have as much to show.  I usually stitch fairly quickly however laying stitches slows me down and as a result the progress I show you is not that much each day.  Posting every other day for the duration of this project will hopefully show more progress and keep you from getting bored.

The very center is stitched with Caron Watercolour Cranberry and the green is Perle Cotton.  The two shades of orange are floss and that is what takes the longest to stitch.

Mystery Class - Area 6.............Area 6 is now finished and that's the end of the first lesson.  The center of the design is stitched with Vineyard Silk and Very Petite Velvet.  The contrast of threads looks really good in person, gives nice texture.  Well that's all for this month, I have to wait to May 1st for Lesson 2.

 

The new project is Color Study:  Hide N Seek by Laura J. Perin.  I received this pattern for Christmas 2014 so it's about time to stitch it.  I am drawn to earthtones and also bright colors, not so much the cooler color palettes.

 

Hide N Seek is stitched with a variety of Cotton Floss, Perle Cotton and 1 Caron Watercolour.  I spent my stitching time today cutting a piece of canvas, taping the edges, marking the center and mounting it on a frame.  Next I wound the floss on cardboard bobbins to prepare for stitching.  I always prepare the threads before starting a project.  The Watercolour and Perle Cotton skeins were cut and threaded onto Twitchetts then put on a binder ring.  This just helps organize the threads and keeps them from becoming a mess.

Progress on the third quadrant........Today I came home and talked to the landscape contractor and found that the crushed stone will be delivered tomorrow between 10 am and 2 pm.  The front yard will be finished either Friday night or Saturday morning.  Demo started on Wednesday, the yard leveled and decomposed granite put down today.  Not bad for a yard re-landscape, 3 days start to finish.  I will post pictures of the front before and after in case anyone is interested.

So after talking to the contractor I was able to stitch Section 3 and most of Section 4 before going to Weight Watchers to weigh in.  Still at goal but need to ensure I don't go over goal again.

More progress......I have finished stitching a green silk and gold bar and begun a gold and brown bar.  The original design below shows both bars to be shorter but for my shadowbox design they need to be longer.  I also found that the height of the green bar needed to be taller to be proportionate to the space.  I included a photo of the original design showing the green and gold bars.  More stitching tomorrow.

Lone Star is finished......I placed the last stitch and the final order is complete.  This was an easy project to stitch and progressed quickly.

I will begin the shadow box project and see how needlepoint works as an art piece. 

On the Home Stretch.......Well I've rotated the canvas to the last side and working on the last border.  Looking forward to finishing as I am ready to start a new project.

While stitching Earth from the Elements Series designed by Kathy Rees as a special counted needlepoint club for Tomorrow's Heirlooms I had an idea.  There are parts of the design that can be stitched separately and then put together in a shadow box.  This project will require some finishing work to mount the needlepoint pieces on foam board and then attach them in a, hopefully, artistic way. We can talk more about that when I finish Lone Star.

And the progress continues......Today I had to go to the CPA and pick up my income tax returns so I wasn't able to stitch as much as I would have liked.  I finished the border on the second side and will rotate the canvas again in order to finish the last two stars on the third side.  At that point the canvas will be upside down.

Lone Star continues...

I rotated the canvas to work on the border on another side.  It is easier for me to rotate the canvas than work sideways.  In some cases I turn the canvas upside down to make stitching easier.  Normally turning the canvas upside is no big deal however when I stitched Around the Rainbow designed by Kathy Rees I had to also read the chart upside down.

 

 

This design actually stitches up pretty quickly I started stitching on the 20th and only a couple hours per day.  What will be interesting is to see what project I start when Lone Star is finished.

I've made some progress on Lone Star and wanted to show you. I've finished 4 Watercolours #199 stars and 3 Watercolours #68 stars.  I decided to do the inner border in Perle Cotton #550 which is a very close match to the purple in WC #199.  The border in the original design is all done in a single color but I think you lose the interesting design that Laura created.  I've done the ovals in WC #199 and used Perle Cotton #996 for the blue connecting stars.  The outter border is supposed to over 2 threads but I like to have a wider border from framing so the mat does not cover the design.

 

I stitched the squares at the end of the blue stars in Perle Cotton #996 and #943.  It gives almost a 3-D effect.

I thought I would take an inventory of sorts of the counted needlepoint designs I currently have kitted up and ready for stitching.  I found that I have 9 Needle Delights Originals, 2 larger designs and 7 4" square designs. Kathy's designs have a lot going on in a small design area and interesting and different stitches.

 

I have 15 designs by Laura J. Perin kitted up and ready for stitching.  What I like about Laura's designs are many of them are quilt designs which I think are interesting.

 

 

Last but not least I have 1 design by From Nancy's Needle kitted up and ready for stitching.  This design is Tiger Lily Tiles and is a very interesting design and colors that I really like.  I have stitched several of From Nancy's Needle designs in the past and will continue to do so.

 

In addition to all the kitted up designs I have about 45 more designs that need threads pulled to make kits.  On my stitching table I counted 33 designs that I had not yet put away.  I have several drawers of designs, those to be kitted and stitched and those that I have already stitched.  In addition I have many needlepoint books for reference and design ideas.  I am waiting for two books on ways to finish needlepoint to arrive.  I'm not at all addicted to needlepoint, how about you?

The stitching of Lone Star has begun.  I've started with Caron Watercolours #199 for the stars and the background is Perle Cotton #746.  I plan to fill in the other stars with Caron Watercolours #68 and then see what colors look the best.  More updates as the stitching continues.

Now on to a new project.  About 2 years or so ago I stitched Lone Star, designed by Laura J. Perin.  The original color way was very plain and I did not intend to use the specified colors.  I have a stash of Caron Waterscolours on hand at all times and tons of Perle Cotton so I selected my colors.

What I came up with was a very bright palette of yellow, orange and hot pink.  When finished I had the design custom framed with an orange frame and yellow mat.  I loved the end result.  The framed piece was then mailed to my sister in Texas who's comment when she opened it was "It sure is bright".  Not exactly what I was hoping for so lesson learned is know who you are stitching for and select colors they like.

 

I decided to stitch Lone Star again using a new color palette and this is what I have initially pulled from my stash. As you can see there are 2 different Caron Watercolours and 5 Perle Cottons.

 Let's see if all these are used or if any new colors appear.

Well today's post is going to be a little different.  I have progressed a bit on the heart design but I wanted to show some of my past finishes.

First up is Arizona Star, designed by Laura J. Perin, in reds and pinks with a green border.  I really like the design but the colors didn't speak to me so I changed them to a bright pallet.

 

The second design is Odd Fellows Cross, also designed by Laura J. Perin.  I stayed true to the colors called for in the design but changed the border slightly.  This is one of my favorite designs by Laura so far.  I say so far because I have about 14 more of her designs kitted up and ready for stitching so another one may become my favorite. 

Tomorrow I should be able to show the finished heart design and then frame it and send it on it's way to Texas.