A Finish and a Start

Hey Blog Buddies,

Hope your weekend was fun.  Winter returned here on Saturday, complete with tiny ice pellets, and early summer made an appearance on Sunday (70 degrees--a gorgeous day).  And I did finish one of my ongoing projects this weekend, to-wit:

Variations on a Theme of Rhodes

by Freda's Fancy Stitching

This was a class I took in January.

Rhodes stitches aren't really that difficult

and they're actually fun, except when you

have instructions that call for extra-long lengths of thread

for stitches such as the corner triangles.

Those weren't too bad because the triangles were stitched with

just one strand of Carol Watercolours (Flagstone)

even though the length recommended was

"double the length of your outstretched arms."

What drove me nuts (just ask DH about my language)

were the Jessicas that called for 3 strands of DMC floss

which were not quite as long but had to be laid.

For those of you not familiar with the Jessica,

it is the round stitch, middle left.

I realize that the more I do this technique

(laying multiple strands of thread)

the better I will get at it,

but I guarantee that I will never enjoy doing it.

The smaller triangles you see pictured

were also stitched with three strands of DMC.

Eight of each needed to be stitched.

I'm very happy to be done with this one,

but I don't regret doing it because

the design is so eye-catching.

Having finished my Rhodes piece,

I'm feeling less guilty about starting a new project,
Rosewood Manor's A Tree by Itself.

Here is what the project will look like (one day):

It calls for 56 colors, 31 of which are shades of green!

The saying at the top reads:

"Hold on to what is good, even if it is a handful of earth.

And hold on to what you believe,

even if it is a tree which stands by itself."

According to the booklet,

the saying is from the Pueblo nation.

Here is my modest start:

The colors are a little on the dark side

because it's a cloudy day here.

The linen is 36-count lamb's wool,

and I'm using the recommended DMC threads,

except for the saying, which I'm stitching in

CC German Chocolate instead of 310.

(Yes, my lovelies, the color of that first "Hold" will be changed.)

Well, the excitement for this week will be

a 630-mile road trip to Fargo, ND with my friend Joyce (no blog).

We'll be attending Nordic Needle's annual stitching retreat.

They have quite a bit of snow up there, with more predicted.  Oy!!

We're leaving on Wednesday, and will be back

the following Monday--with four new WIPs for each of us.

Stay tuned for photos and a retreat recap!

That's it for now.

Have a wonderful, stitchy week and

thanks for visiting!