June Gifted Gorgeousness and WIPocalypse

Hello Everyone,

We are going to do another combined SALs post so that I have a hope of being on time for WIPcopalypse. I am working to find a better system of getting photos onto the blog using both my camera and tablet. Right now I am writing the post at home and then inserting the pictures during lunch at work or I am bringing my laptop home. Neither of those are ideal but I am going to try using a micro SD card in my camera and see if that works.

Onto stitching. For GG we have to work on something that was gifted to us or will be a gift and shoehorns are welcome. Jo is the host of this fun SAL and you can see all the other entries on her post, she also recently completed the "longest day" stitching if you want to take a look at the diversity of her wips and ufos.

Coastal View is an easy piece to use since it is both, no shoehorns necessary. The Birds and Berries will also be part of GG for me once I actually start it.

Coastal View:

I have worked a bit on this piece but missed the last two weekends because A) I forgot my threads at home when I went to my parents (sigh!) and B) I did not travel last weekend and so didn't really work on it. I do really enjoy this piece and I love the balance of backstitching and crosses. I am hoping to get this page finished before the end of summer. The next bit is mostly the arch and should be large blocks of colour.

Birds and Berries:
I have selected the fabric that I am going to use and just have to decide which birds to do. I think I will do all the red ones first but I could mix them up as well. I am planning to start this piece this weekend once I attach it to the scroll bars and make some decisions.

For WIPocalyse I will update you all on my other wip, the Dryad haed piece. This has been finally getting into a rhythm and I have made a fair amount of progress given the amount of time I have stitched. I am more than a third through the final page of the first row which would be a huge milestone on my first heaven and earth design.

You can start to see the final blue flower on this page and also the very tip of the dragon's tail (the gray/blue part on the bottom right). 

Also just a quick thank you to Minnie for her not only running a great giveaway with four wonderful prizes but then also rewarding all the rest of us who entered, and were not selected, with a gift as well! Thank you for your generosity Minnie and for your awesome blog (and flosstube) posts. I love the diversity in your projects and how personable your posts are.

Have a good week everyone,
Bekah

May WIPocalypse, Page Finish, and Haul

Hello Everyone,

It is time to log our monthly progress for WIPocalypse hosted by Measi. This is such a fun and low stress SAL and you can find everyone else's post up here. One day I plan in being in the first row of the link-up but clearly not this month!

Which designer’s projects do you absolutely love, but are too intimidated to try?
This would have to be Chatelaine's and Goldwork designs. For me the biggest deterrent against a Chatelaine or similar silk-heavy piece is the cost. I am concerned that I will not like the piece enough to justify the much higher cost that silks and beads bring to the piece. I also do not like the idea of not being able to wash the final piece. At this point in my life my stitching place is wherever I am, which means pets are around, the furniture is far from pristine etc and not being able to wash a piece would not work well for me. If I was going to get into silks and goldwork I would want to have a designated stitching spot that the cat couldn't come into.

Now onto the stitching. This month I was able to focus on my HAED which was really exciting. As I finished up the Kingfisher I was itching to get back into this and to finish up the page, and I did! Last time I had just finished the first flower and now I have finished one more, a bell shaped flower and started the one below it. This is the last page in the row which will be a huge step and it is a partial page so it should be faster.

And the total design up to this point:

28 count antique white evenweave

1 over 1 DMC

Dryad and the Dragon

Josephine Wall

Heaven and Earth Designs

Stats:
Total stitches: 290,625
Total completed: 30,400
Percent complete: 10.5%

I am going to continue working on the Dryad this month and hope to get a decent dent in the 5th page.

I have also picked out and purchased my next project to replace the Kingfisher. It is another bird piece! Actually, I do more than a normal amount of bird stitching considering I wouldn't say they are my favorite animal. This is a piece by Ajisai Designs (currently the site is down for maintenance) and is a mix of blackwork and cross stitch. They also did the ladybug piece that is fairly popular that was in the Just Cross Stitch magazine (I think) and that Mii is working on.

I am planning on putting three on a piece of fabric and writing the names of the birds and plants under each one. I might do a few changes to make them all Canadian birds and my environmental scientist sister is researching which are found here and which aren't (or are introduced and non-native). These designs are quite small (100x100) and I am excited to really get going. I am planning on doing the cross stitching first and then filling in the blackwork but if anyone has any advice please let me know.

I think that is all for now. Have a good week everyone,
Bekah