and fun.
I bought some metallic watercolour paints. Whilst I do occasionally paint I am not that good at it, and certainly not with water colours but sometimes I see a pretty looking craft item and well..
So with low expectations I drew out a couple of dragons ( what else, well there was else but I might share them later) and gave it a go.
I like them, I like the way they look on the black and I like knowing that them drying out is not an issue as is the case with my acrylic metallics.
If you have been visiting me for some time you will have seen these dragon designs before.
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| Celtic Knot Dragon |
Flowers of the Month Picture is done, well the stitching is done.
Ta Da!
The finished size is 14" by 18" (the kit suggests the matted size would be 18" by 22") it may wait awhile to be finally finished.
I did consider adding some little green beads as I have a tube of them but I have held off, impressed with myself.
The musical link is a little different due to the events of the weekend past. To everything there is a season.
As I work on this long-paused project, I’m struck by a double layer of guilt — the kind that comes from not working on other projects that are also waiting. Why double? Because this one involves both cross stitch (Millennium Comet and Earth) and embroidery (Hark the Herald Angels), meaning two beloved pieces are being side lined. I genuinely want to finish them; they have a place, a purpose, a future. Yet here I am, stubbornly pushing through a project I haven’t been enjoying much, and honestly, I’ve no idea what I’ll even do with it once it’s done.
However, I know that once it is done there will be satisfaction at finally getting it finished. I have even started thinking of a little Deborization on the project (So far I am resisting that).
The stitching on the last empty month finished it was time to turn back to the edge where many a lazy daisy stitch was required.
As I worked them I realised there were places that the stalks for the lazy daisy leaves were not all there. I had missed a few. In going to add them I recalled I made an error when doing the stems in the first place, using the wrong colour. Fortunately I had some of that thread left.
I kept sewing longer than I should thinking to finish this section and just have the names of the months left to do. With a contented sigh I put the threads away and took a picture.
Ah! still missed one! Can you see where it should go?
It will just have to wait till the next outing to get done. I have put the needle in the spot as a reminder so as not to get excited by how near to completion this is and going directly to the lettering.
As for the Forestella link well this is a long one as a compilation. I wonder if the popularity of the Netflix K-Pop Demon Hunters will inadvertently lead to more people finding them through the auspices of AI algorithms. I however don't have that particular subscription so have not seen that animation.
as oft is the case my BFF and I started in the same place and with the same colour and diverged.
and this is where I got up to.
I expect my BFF's post on the pattern will be a bit easier to see what is is.
Click Here to see my BFF's progress.
It was nice to be back with a SAL, but I think I will keep plugging away at that other project anyway so watch out for updates.
well they are knots of some sort, I did not follow the directions this time. I tried something a little different that felt more logical to me. Although I will note that the instructions on the pattern are the correct ones. Its just me not getting on with them yet.
To be honest I don't think it worked better than the set method however, nor do I think they were worse.
Either way they are done, and unless there manages to be a ninja Bullion Knot then they are all done with.
There are I think two French Knot s left, on satin stitched berries, so next is the currently empty square that is for October. July and August are now done.
And a Forestella link, well mainly because it is the piece I was listening to as I drafted this post and as it is also a season.
I was all set to put the project with many an odd stitch and very maddening pattern away for the BFF and start a new SAL.
However, that was not to be, Rudolph was not quite ready so neither was Roni.
So, I thought I was done with June and July only to realise June had over 30 lazy daisies to do and July, oh July has over 30 bouillon knots.
This evening June got the daisy stitches (and yes that particular perfume advert did earworm us a bit, Roni more than me but still. Then I moved onto some stem stitch and more daisy in August.
yes August, and the poppies
but what about July, and whatever those yellow flowers are supposed to be ?
Well I could rationalise that I was in the swing with the stem stitching a daisy stitches, I could but that was not the reason My Stitching Brain having been promised a nice new start of proper cross stitching was already in a bit of a sulk at having to do this project instead was certainly not going to put up with having to do Knots.
This is the current position. With work still to be done on July and August. September is done however, October is completely blank at the moment and November need veins on the leaves.
All the months need their names and there are more lazy daisy stitches than I wish to contemplate and channelling Han Solo "don't tell me the numbers" there or the chances of them being done any time soon diminish. I should not have counted the number of knots required in July and will have to work on forgetting I did so I can sew them!
Still it has been some reasonably constant progress.
I looked the pattern up, well the kit, it came as a kit and you can buy the kit on E-Bay if you felt a strong desire to suffer experience the pattern for yourself!
I have some hopes that these threads, sorted ready might get put to use next week and SAL 20 start , but we shall have to wait and see as Roni may explain on her blog of this evenings delights
Click HERE to see what Roni has to tell about the evenings goings on.
now normally this would be a Forestella link but this tune was playing in my mind about our SAL's and RAL's so her it is.
still doing French knots, 22 of them, well sort of French Knots, I appear to be all fingers and thumbs with them at the moment so they are a bit looser and wriggly than they should be so they are having to have a second holding stitch. I expect they are some strange knot invented by someone at sometime with a special name but at the moment they are my coping knot so I keep going until I reach an Entente Cordiale with the French (knot)
There was also some back stitching, although it is difficult to see here, well other than the trail of thread from the stopping point for this evening.
And well next week we might be back with a RAL and the projects we have been working on will be completed away from our BFF space. I anticipate that for Roni that will be to a stitching finish. For me it might be a relegation back into the waiting pile as I have a project that has been patiently waiting to be started.
Material chosen and thread all sorted (twice, that is a tale for another time when it is making me wince less) I just have to settle on the size to stitch it. Contemplating that.
CLICK HERE to visit with Roni, no idea why that link went so big ! Oh and yellow!! I might try and fix that later, it just wants to be big and yellow at the moment!
supposedly of the French type. Not exactly being cooperative, but I am plodding away at them. Red knots, brown knots and shades of yellow knots.
There was more stem stich to do, but that was not what I was feeling for this week. So I decided to do the Fancy stitches one month at a time and see how it went.
So first French knots.
Then bullion knots, someone told me they were easier than French knots! Perhaps for them not so much for me! The third one was the only one that went well. Nine of them done then onto more French knots, surely they would feel easier now?
Sadly not, but I got another set done. That was three squares finished apart from the lettering.
I managed the few knots in the fourth and that was enough for the evening.
I think we are still RAL for next week, perhaps I will get something more done before then.
CLICK HERE to see what my BFF worked on this evening.
