Page 2 Update

Hello Everyone,

I have really been enjoying stitching this page completely cross country. It is hard to say how much of the page is finished but I am plugging along.

One of the other update is a big thank you to Lucy at Crafting Across Continents who had a giveaway for her four year anniversary and drew my name. The prize is a beautiful Dimensions chart that I am very excited to stitch, the sea in the background really draws the eye, especially with all the little boats.

I also received two pieces framed by a local shop  as a gift from my parents and they look fantastic. The Salmon I finished a couple of months ago and is now hanging in my hallway. The Dolphins I finished a little less than a year ago and are a gift to my sister.

I will see everyone with an update. I hope to be half way done the Dryad page at that point.

Bekah

Sockeye Finish

I have finished the salmon head and the background. I am really happy with how it came out and, although it was a push at the end, it came together in less than a year so I really happy with the progress. This was the first time I used black linen and, although it was difficult to see the stitches sometimes, the effect would not have been nearly as nice on a light fabric.

Here are the finished piece without backstitching (close up the head and the whole piece).

 Here is the final piece. I have gotten a black frame for it and will put up a picture once it is framed (and a frame for one of my other finishes).

The Spirit of the Sockeye by the Stitching Studio

Original art by Blaine Billman

32 count black linen (2 over)

16'' x 20''

I love the mix of realism with the shading and the mixed colours and the addition of the Haida designs. 

Now I am gridding the fabric for the HAED piece and for a smaller chart I purchased last weekend (it will give me a break from the huge-ness of a HAED). We get Kingfishers nearby and I love their beautiful colours and the tuffs of feathers on their heads. 

Kingfisher by the Stitching Studio

Original art by Sue Coleman

32 count linen (over 2)

7.0'' x 18.7''

Well I think that is all my news. I will return with a new start and the framed pieces.

Also as an aside from sewing I would like to offer my support and condolences for the LGBT community after the horrors of this weekend.  Our thoughts are with you, your loved ones and the community. 

See everyone next week, 

Bekah

Page Finish

Hello Everyone,

I have finished up another page on the salmon and now just the head needs to be completed.

I am hoping to finish in the next week and a half which I think should be possible depending on what else ends up happening this week. Next time I will post a picture of the whole piece so the internal designs can be better seen.

Have a good week,
Bekah

Quick update

Hello Everyone,

I have just a quick update on the salmon piece. I managed to fill in some more of the red and the under belly of the fish. You can see one of the figures is almost complete (need to fill in some black although it is hard to see here) and another is starting to get a shape. I have about 600 more stitches on this page and then it is just the head left. I have already done some of the last page just to finish off the triangular-like shape. I think I will focus on getting the two fins done (one is almost complete and one is higher up) and fill in a good chunk of the black. This is still coming along nicely and I love the reds with the black background and all the Haida shapes that have been hidden in the body of the salmon.

Before:

 

After:

See everyone next week,

Bekah

Salmon Update

Hello Everyone,

I have been working almost solely on the Salmon and am close to finishing up the crow figure. I have some more black to do on the fin but it is coming along fairly quickly. I am hoping to be finished this page done half way through June.

Before:

After:

The after picture came out a little fuzzy and the reds are truer in the before picture. But the black shows up better in the second picture so a combination of the two is the real life version.


Have a good week,
Rebekah

Weekly Update

Hello Everyone,

I am trying to get back on a weekly update schedule. I was able to stitch a bit on both the sockeye and the tiger this week so both are advancing slowly. The tigers face is now mostly finished and I am going to be working on the chin and mouth this week. Here are the picture updates
Before:

 After:

 You can see that the bottom ear is filled in as well as some of the darker regions on the face that I had been leaving. I am definitely in the tiger mood right now and will continue on it this week.

Sockeye Before:

After:

I still have to add in the black on the fin, it is difficult to see the black in the picture.

I hope everyone has had a good January and is looking forward the the upcoming month. I am three months away from finishing my degree!

Talk to everyone next week,
Rebekah

Late Update

Hello Everyone,

I am a little late on the update this week. I was able to work on the salmon a bit and have finished the highest point and also worked a bit on the tiger.

Before:

 After

Before:

 After:

 Close-up of first figure:

Doing the figures within the sockeye is quite fun as they come together quickly and really grab the eye (hard to see here as it is zoomed in). I will probably do the underbelly of the fish next so that the width of the sockeye will be apparent.

Have a good week,
Rebekah

Finished Page

I finished the third page and therefore am half way through the piece. I am hoping that the body of the sockeye is faster as there are larger groups of colours. I managed to also start and finish the side page as it only had about 100 stitches (part of the back and some more water). I won't be able to stich as much this week (and for the rest of this month) so I am glad that I was able to get so much done. I would like to have this finished to submit to the Calgary Stampede this year but if not I wouldn't be too disappointed. Here are the before and after pictures.

last week:

Finished page 3:

Finished Page 4 and started 5:

Page 5 has the bulk of the sockeye body minus the head so I will be able to start on the more complicated designs. My next few updates will likely be the tiger as I will be doing more travelling away from the frame.

Hope everyone has a good week,

xxoo,
Rebekah

Busy Weekend

This was a fairly productive weekend. I have only about 400 more stitches until I am done another page of the Sockeye. Plus I am almost done all of the water and will be able to focus on the body of the salmon which I am looking forward to. There is less confetti in the body of the fish and I am hoping that it stitches up faster.

Before:

 After:

I am hoping to be done this page by the end of the week. 

Have a good week everyone,

xxoo,

Rebekah

Finish and Updates

I have finished a crewel design. The original pattern used wool on linen and I thought it was okay but I enjoy cotton thread more. So I redid the pattern on grey cotton using DMC threads.

It was a fairly quick stitch up and the colours really remind me of winter. The original used fall browns and reds but I liked the blues as more of an abstract tree. I am thinking of doing a tree for each of the seasons that just has different colours and a different stitch for the ground. I used a variation of a chain stitch in light grey for this one.

Over the break I also did some work on the tiger and sockeye.

before:

after:

before:

after:

For the next week I will be working on the sockeye I think although I like the tiger for travelling.

Hope everyone had a good holiday season.

xxoo,
Rebekah

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone has a safe and beautiful holiday season. It has been wonderful here with all the snow and the lights.

Here is the recent page finish, it was quite a bit smaller than the first one.

Before:

Now:

Talk to everyone soon,

xxoo,
Rebekah

1st Page Finished

The first page of the Sockeye is done. That means only five pages left although the next one is quite a bit smaller so I should have another page done during this Christmas break.

Before:

After:

Talk to everyone soon,

xxoo,

Rebekah