The April IHSW: One Almost-Finish and A "Finish"

Hey Blog Buddies,

I ran around a little this weekend (International Hermit & Stitch Weekend, for those of you who may be wondering what IHSW is), but I did get some stitching done--more stitching, in fact, than either of these two projects might lead you to believe.

First is Grandma's Roses, the canvaswork project from the Nordic Needle Retreat:

(the "before" photo)

I got everything finished except for

the bullion-stitch roses in the corners.

(I can't figure them out.)

A member of our Guild, moonsilk stitches,

is going to give me a short bullion-stitch tutorial

after the next Guild meeting.

Isn't it wonderful to have talented friends?

That large, flashy, silk-ribbon rose in the center

is a woven spider web stitch

and was actually pretty easy to do!

I wasn't muttering to myself while doing it

the way I was while doing the "twirled" rosebuds

on the outer border.  Oy!

Next is my "finish":

(the "before" photo)

This is the Naversom project from the Retreat.

I've finished everything but the ground stitch--

those are the 'shaded' areas you see between

the purple arrowheads and the borders on the narrow ends.

It's worked in a linen thread that's

extremely close in color to the ground.

It is supposed to be stitched in all unworked

areas of the ground! 

(I guess that's why they call it the ground stitch!!)

As I was stitching these areas,

it was next to impossible for me to figure out

what I had already stitched and what I hadn't.

(I was highlighting every 3 or 4 stitches in the instructions.)

The two small ground-stitch areas on either end

add a nice symmetry to the piece!

Therefore, this project is "finished"!

(Please don't tell Debi...)

Go to Joyce's blog for the links to the

121 other Hermitters

to see what they've been up to the past few days.

Hope you all had a fun weekend!

Thanks for visiting!