My almost weekly update.

I worked on my Rosewood this past week. Here are the latest pics.

The design is beautiful. I loved doing the stitch under the first square, the one that looks like a feather. I thought the sheen of the floss was excellent with this stitch. DMC really does shine.

On a reading note, I'm currently reading Cotillion by Georgette Heyer, a wonderful regency author. I'm also reading Ramage by Dudley Pope, a seafaring book. Surprisingly enough, I'm quite enjoying this one, but then again, I've read most of the Horatio Hornblower books.

Here it is, at last. .

I finally was able to snap a photo of the sampler. After making my way through the eyelets, I moved down to the peacocks. What an absolute lovely colour that teally-green is. Simply beautiful. I'm sure the picture does NOT do it justice. This part is rather straight-forward. Simple cross stitches, no specialty ones.

Hhhmmm

HAs anyone noticed I've begun most of my posts with "OK"? Highly annoying. I've been working on my TGOS sampler. Almost done with the eyelet alphabet. I will post my picture when I finish that alphabet. I must say, if you don't like eyelet stitch, you might want to think of substituting a different stitch for this, say, a smyrna cross, or just plain cross stitch.

Wow, this is late! And a new one, at that!

OK, now I'm going to be alternating weekly, what design I'm stitching on. This past week, it has been a Rosewood Manor design called Antique Tin Tiles. It's quite lovely, and seems to be working up quite quickly.

It's a large design, so we'll see how much I can get done on my next week, this one being dedicated to TGOS Sampler.

A new update

OK, here is my latest on the TGOS Companion Scottish Sampler.

The Eyelets definitely take longer. I have to be very careful that no threads are carrying over the opening. Trying to keep it completely clear takes a little thought, especially when starting and ending a thread.

I find I also have to drop my needle more often. I must twist it as I pull the eyelet open.

Algerian Eyelets

OK, here is my progress as of today. I have started the Algerian Eyelet letters. This is a little slow going, because I have to be careful about nothing covering up the opening that is made in the center. They do look nice in the overdyed floss.

A little Easter stitching

OK, so here is the satin stitch with the cotton Olde Willow Stitchery hand dyed. Oh, I forgot to mention that I did use a laying tool/awl to make sure the 2 threads were side by side. I think the sheen is great. I don't know if you can see it easily in the photo. It did take up most of that colour, so hopefully I have enough left to complete the cross stitches. ETA Actually, yes, there is another entire skein full of this colour, so I'm sure I will NOT be running out.

I do plan on stitching tonight whilst watching Opening Day at Fenway. I find baseball is very good to stitch by!

On a different note, my ds received Scribblenauts for Easter, and he says it's a great game. I may have to save up to get this one.

Well, I finally Started!

Finally got the fabric loaded on my scroll frame for The Gift of Stitching Companion Scottish Sampler. The fabric is beautiful. I find the higher count fabrics are a bit more fragile, so I have to be careful not to pull the stitches too tight, or it will open a hole. Keeping the tension very tight on the fabric also helps.

What a day!

It was not a nice day today. Things just didn't go my way at all. I did finish reading Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer, and will be moving on to The Quiet Gentleman as part of a read-along for April. I am also listening to The 39 Steps by John Buchnan, which is NOTHING like the PBS Masterpiece program. I'm quite wondering how they came up with that story line? It's nothing like the story in the book.

Onward!

Well, I've got my TGOS chart printed out, and my fabric is zigzagged and ironed with the center marked. I should be able to load it on my scroll frame in the next couple of days. Unfortunately, I discovered I had shifted a few motifs one square to the left on the current model, which I had to rip out and re-stitch. It was quite a bummer.

I have moved onto reading Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer. I do so love Heyer books. Quite entertaining. I have been watching the 3rd season of Wooster and Jeeves. Quite humourous, I must say.

Done!

Well, I did finish Willoughby's Return. I thought the ending about Marianne was pretty good, but the part with Margaret was a little obvious. I knew what was going to happen with her way back in the very middle of the book. But, it was entertaining.

I did try to read Queen Victoria Demon Hunter by A. E. Moorat, but it was a little too riske and gory for my liking. I am waiting for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter to come in from the library. It looked rather entertaining.

I am practically finished with my model, so hopefully, by next week, the TGOS model with be loaded and on my frame.

Moving on to something different

Well, we got the new Soul Silver and Heart Gold Pokemon games. They come with a Pokewalker, where you can pop in any Pokemon you have in your actual game, and they can catch Pokemon unavailable in the actual game. It's really quite ingenious. I am a really big Pokemon fan anyway.

Willoughby's Return is getting a little dull. Marianne is always arguing with Col. Brandon, and Margaret is really Marianne in disguise. The story was so promising, and now has become so predictable. I was hoping for something a little different than a re-write of Sense and Sensibility.

Moving on. . .

OK, I'm almost done with my model, so I'll be able to move onto TGOS one. However, I find Willoughby's Return still rather entertaining. I'm about 1/2 of the way done, and it's pretty close to what I think JA would have written. Not necessarily WHAT she would have written, but in the style.

Just starting

Well, since Wordpress is spazzing out when I try to publish my posts, I'll go over here to Blogger.

Anyway, I've been reading Willoughby's Return and have found it to be quite well written. I'm not really that far into it, but the characters definitely continue on from where Jane Austen had left off. Though Margaret seems to be taking a more forward roll, as it is 3 or 4 years after the original Sense and Sensibility.

I will also be posting my model project for The Gift of Stitching magazine on here. Once I get it loaded on my scroll frame, that is.