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I love it all: embroidery, canvaswork, quilting, crochet. So much to do, so little time.





Monday, April 15, 2013

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!

17 comments:

Julie said...

Wow,that is just lovely.Like you say it is eye catching.Those stitches are amazing and the red hearts makes it pop.
Hope you enjoy your retreat.

Carla said...

Love love love your finish!! Your stitches and the colors you used are beautiful!

Eva said...

I love, love, love your Variations on a Theme of Rhodes! I must, must, must stitch this one.....

cucki said...

wowwwwwwwwwwww sweet finish and great new start x

Emma/Itzy said...

congratulations on your finish, it is beautiful!

Linda said...

Congrats on the gorgeous finish and I love your new start.

Linda

geeky Heather said...

That is a beautiful piece! Those Jessicas with 3 strands would have driven me nuts, too.

I'm very jealous of you going to the Nordic Needle retreat...have a great time!!!

Anne said...

Your Rhodes piece is absolutely gorgeous! And I can't believe you've already started your Rosewood Manor piece - you're such a speedy stitcher!

Karen said...

Variations on a Theme of Rhodes is stunning. The red hearts stand out beautifully and all of the stitches look perfectly done.

Love the saying on A Tree by Itself, and look forward to seeing it progress. :)

Chris said...

Beautiful stitching. The Jessica looks amazing. So many Rhodes stitch variations.
I love your new start too.
Have a wondeful time at the retreat! I am looking forward to hearing about it.

Giovanna said...

Congrats on the great finish! And lovely new start.

Lili said...

Lovely finish!
Nice start! Beautiful project!Enjoy!

Carol said...

Wow! That is a gorgeous piece with all of the specialty stitches. I had never heard of a Jessica stitch--so pretty!! Your new project looks like it will be beautiful and fun to stitch--enjoy :)

Sally said...

Wonderful new start.

Wow your finish is so pretty! Gorgeous colours.

♥ Nia said...

Wow! beautiful work! looks amazing :D

Julie said...

Oh my, what a stunning finish, so beautiful and definately eye catching, well done.

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

This is so gorgeous, I love it!
I quite enjoy canvas work but the parsimonious person inside me doesn't like how much thread it uses up! With DMC being 72p a skein I feel entitled to be mean though.