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.

Tangerine Twist has begun.......I am stitching Tangerine Twist by Kathy Rees of Needle Delights.  Ok, so this is a name you see me write over and over and that is because she is one of my favorite designers and I love her designs.

 

Tangerine Twist is stitched on 12 X 12 canvas using 11 Caron Watercolours and 2 Kreinik Braids.  The Watercolours are Buttercup, Burnt Toast, African Sunset, Pomegranate, Creamsicle, Peach Clobber, Saffron, Tangerine, Bittersweet, Ethiopia and African Violet. This photo shows the Watercolours sorted with Twitchetts.

 

Twitchetts, what are those?  I found them on Terry Dryden's website, here is a link to a stitching must have  http://www.terrydryden.com/-accessories/.  The Twitchetts have a large hole for the entire skein of thread, a small hole for the leftover piece of thread and a medium hole for threading onto a binder ring.  These are absolutely a must have for any stitcher.

 

 

 

I began stitching the center of the design, I always start in the center unless the design does not allow for this.  Tangerine Twist is cut into 4 identical quadrants, you get the design for 1 quadrant and then you rotate it to fill in the other 3 quadrants.  I stitched the first part of each quadrant as a reference point.  The design can be drawn on the canvas for ease of stitching, each section has a number and you stitch them in order.  I however don't draw the sections on the canvas, right or wrong, I just don't do it.

 

 

 

This is the center of the design and the complete section 1.

 

 

A close up of the Amadeus stitches.  I've used Amadeus stitches in other pieces that I have designed but this is the first time I have encountered them in one of Kathy's designs.  When I stitch a Rhodes stitch I usually start in the left lower corner however this design calls for them to start just left of the center.  You always have to read the instructions and look at the diagram to ensure you start where the design indicates.

 Next up is section two, a long diagonal strip.