I'm being totally flaking and decided to stop working on Days of Advent Sampler and move on to the next item in my rotation. Here's what I got done:


The colors do look brighter on the lighter fabric. Which is good. I decided to stop because I reordered the threads from the "05" dye lot that the way-off blue skein came from and I didn't feel like stitching around blank spots.

I got another shock today when I read my brother's obituary and see my father named the "late Thomas... ". I'm sure it's a big whopper of a mistake since I got an e-mail from my dad yesterday that he wrote around 4:30 p.m. No one is answering at their house, but I talked to my sister and she hasn't heard anything. Still, a wee bit disconcerting. Although I imagine the ribbing that will ensue may help ease things on Friday.

Labels: Days of Advent Sampler

I'm finally starting to feel better after a week or so of being sickly. Very little got done stitching wise, and I even went two whole days without checking my e-mail! I was concerned I might be suffering delayed withdrawal, but probably not since the little one seems to have contracted whatever it was. I did start taking the pills again, though. More because I was starting to feel very agitated mentally and was crying a lot. I actually choose Prentice Alvin to read because I thought it would be funny and I wouldn't want to cry. Such was not to be, I started crying while reading the acknowledgements!

Once I started stitching again, I got going like gang-busters and did over 1000 stitches yesterday. The dragon not only has a head, but also the remainder of his body. I've decided to call him "Bugs" since I spent a bit of time staring at that single blank eye before I got the second one in, and it was jumping right off the fabric. It's not so bad now that he has two, but the name is going to stick.

I almost didn't think I'd be able to continue on with this one. My printer has decided it is no longer going to print black. I made a special trip to Staples, braving the beach traffic, to get a new printer cartridge. Alas, $13.50 and multiple head cleanings later, still no black. It probably needs a new print head. Or perhaps I really did damage the printer by continuing to use it after it told me it had no ink. Or, more likely, my son did something that broke it! Fortunately, it still prints in color and I discovered I can paste the portion I want to print into my photo-editing software and change the black to something else. The working copy isn't exactly crisp, but it'll do.

My emergency shopping trip wasn't a total bust, however, since I also picked up new bathing suits for the little one and myself. I was even happy with the one I found, the only two piece they had for someone of my (ahem) stature and it doesn't look half bad. Although the top does cling to things I'd rather remain hidden, it's 1000 times better than the one I got last year, which exposed rather than clinged. I really like the design on the top as well. It looks a bit like something from a B. K. Lusk painting, what with the concentric squares and little dots. We also stopped by EB Games and I got the King's Quest Compilation and convinced Randi that she should get Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories (rather than yet another Pokemon game). The Perils of Rosella was the first computer game I ever played and I've been wanting the earlier ones ever since. Who knows when I'll get around to playing them, but for $10 I couldn't resist.

And since I had the camera out I thought I'd take a picture of the stash I received today from J&J Collectibles.

I got Rosewood Manor's And a Forest Grew and a fat half of Belfast to stitch it on. I've been pining for this one and decided to treat myself during the sale. I haven't bought charts for quite a while, but I wanted to pick up these before they disappeared. Paw Printings Knot Another Sampler, Abbey Lane A New Beginning and Mirror, Mirror, and Midsummer Night Designs Lady Prim and Proper, The Monkey Sampler, and Heaven Above. I've also decided to restart the Days of Advent Sampler and so got a fat half of 40 count ivory linen for that and also a few NPIs I wanted to check against the ones I have, since my threads seem so muted compared to the WIPs I've seen. Fortunately they all check out, except for the 921. The colors didn't scan true, but the difference between the two still shows up and it's much more marked in real life. I think I'll go through the rest of the NPIs for this project and see if there might be a problem with any of the others. The labels are quite different, so hopefully that will give me an indication if I've got any other off colors.

Labels: Days of Advent Sampler, Tower of Stony Wood

Here is the first block of Mary Beale's Days of Advent Sampler, Adam and Eve:


I am stitching this on 40 count Examplar linen from Lakeside Linens with the recommended NPI silks. Mine doesn't seem to be as vibrant as some of the WIPs I've seen, I wonder if that's because of the fabric or perhaps it's simply my imagination. No matter, it was a bunch of fun to stitch. So much so that I plan to work on it again for one of the "Favorite" slots in this month's iteration. I decided not to use french knots for the eyes, since mine always come out lopsided. And rather than filling in the block and doing a small straight stitch over the x as suggested, I did one over-one stitch with the black in the corner away from the nose. You don't notice that the remainder of that block isn't stitched, unless you look very closely. The one thing that bothered me about the WIPs I've seen of this project is that all the heads look like skulls to me. Rather sinister. Making the eyes smaller helped a little. But I think the real issue is the floss color used for the faces, so I might use the more fleshy color (used for Adam and Eve's arms) to do the remainder of the faces.

Next up is Frog Prince. This is another project that I've started on three different fabrics. I settled on the 28 count bone Lugana. And I've finally realized that 25 count Lugana is the best for me! Hopefully that will limit the number of restarts in the future. The pic shows my progress so far. Lots and lots of black! Good thing I picked up a new skein when I was at Wal-Mart yesterday.

Labels: Days of Advent Sampler, Frog Prince

Can you tell I really like Selena Fenech's artwork? This is the fourth of hers that I've worked on recently!

I am stitching these ladies on 28 count Nebula Monaco dyed by Tirowen Fabrics. I had originally purchased Shadow Cashel opalescent dyed by Picture This Plus for this design (and had even started it). But the moment I saw this fabric I thought it would be the perfect background for this design.

The link I have to Tirowen Fabrics no longer works, which is such a shame, I really liked her fabrics. When I ordered the Nebula, I also ordered a piece of Monaco in "Fuschia" which is the most gorgeous shades of pink and purple. I still have no idea what I might stitch on it, but it was simply too lovely to resist -- a piece of art in and of itself! I also received a piece of Monaco dyed in the most lovely greens. I would have liked to use it for Cirques des Cercles, but the piece wasn't big enough.

Speaking of Cirques des Cercles, I received the fabric I ordered and it is lovely. I changed my mind about the thread again, and started the design for the umpteenth time. And still wasn't happy, so I did a bit of test stitching and I think I have finally found something I can live with. Maybe. I also received the 40 count Lakeside Linen I ordered for the Days of Advant Sampler. I went with the Examplar, since I wanted something darker than what I'd seen other WIPs on. I just hope it's not too dark.

I'm antsy to get started on these two projects, but for now have convinced myself to finish up with the current rotation iteration. Just Goblin Tree and Angel of Frost to go anyway. Eight days. Surely I can hold out for eight days?

Labels: Cirques des Cercles, Days of Advent Sampler, Luna Sol and Stella

I haven't been on the Legacy Embroiders Guild BB in awhile. Probably with good reason, look what I found when I was over there:

Mary Beale - Days of Advent Sampler
Isn't it gorgeous? Before I knew what was happening, I was at a screen saying "Thanks for your order". And now I'm in possession of 2 pdf files with 6 charts each. A terrible indulgence, but... isn't it gorgeous? Now to decide on fabric and threads. I might have to go with the NPI on this, because those COLORS! Aren't they GORGEOUS?!!!!

(I think I need a 12-step group...)

Labels: Days of Advent Sampler