Quicky post of CG progress

Been a busy week doing not much of anything.  Funny how we can get wrapped doing nothing.

Anyway - here's what I've stitched since last weekend.  Getting close!

Thoughts on starting/ending threads

So, I got a bit more done today.  Darn iPhone takes pics at weird angles.

I was pondering the horrendous mess that is the back of my stitching, and grumbling about having to flip my work over to start and finish threads so often with this mess, when I recalled some articles I had read over at Needle'nthread and decided to give them a try.  Then remembered something about pinhead stitches, googled it and found this.  I decided to give these techniques a whirl and see how it went.

Welp, I think they are right fine!  In the pic above, see the little black dash, kind of middle-right?  That's Mary Corbett's method of taking little back stitches, and I used it to end my black thread.  I placed them right in the center threads of where I'll be stitching a line of straight black cross stitches.  I used it elsewhere in the black gate, and you can't even see it.  The pinhead stitches I used extensively in the trellis to the left.  I discovered that I can't just ham fist my way through them, particularly when ending a thread because it will deform the cross under which they are stitched.  Finesse.  Finesse is the way to go.  For the ray stitches and eyelets I used a combo of the tacking stitches to start and pinhead to finish under the nearest cross stitch.  These turned out fine because they are stitched with 1 strand.  I wouldn't try it with 2 strands.  Also, rather than leaving a tail at the back when starting the pinhead I brought the thread back up in the middle and snipped it off.  No more flipping the work!  Woot!  And that section of stitching is far more tidy than I've ever seen on my work before.  It's fun to try new things!

The holes up there in the fabric were the result of me being silly with my laying tool, which has proven to be ridiculously handy for widening holes for the eyelets.  

Triangular Garden #4 is done

Today's goal met!  I got the Triangular garden #4 done

and completed the rhodes border.  Now to complete the bottom gate and fence

Working on Triangular Garden 4

Here's the latest progress shot on CG.  The small urns and grottos are done and I've started the 4th triangular garden.  I think I will be able to get that done today and get started on the rhodes border.

Meet Smudge

She likes to hang out there beside my desk when I work from home.  And she contributes to my stitching with cat hair. 

Octagonal Garden 4 Complete

I got the last octagonal garden done last night.  Yeah!

I'm looking forward to getting this project done so I can finally get back to my other projects.

Speaking of other projects - I left off yesterday with my run down of WIPs and UFOs.  The WIPs are all listed out, but I don't really have any UFOs, I guess.  Unless I count Stitching the Standard as a UFO, since I started it years ago.  But once I get CG done, StS will be back in the rotation.  So, I dunno.

Patterns in the "basket" to get started - way too many.  At first I was going to list them, but then decided it was pointless and I would feel like a failure lol.  Though I do have a little project list that I have prioritized and I'm going to try to keep to that as much as possible.  

So, let's talk about details on the CG project.
She's being stitched on 36 count white chocolate linen.  The chart calls for some DMC colors (white, black, 610, 3046, 3045 and 3371).  Beyond those, you get to pick - I'm using Dinky Dyes silk floss.  
  Dark Green:  189 Evergreen
  Medium Green:  162 Pindi
  Pale Green:  195 Mulga
  Floral Color 1:  143 Lost Gold
  Floral Color 2:  83 Peach Melba
  Floral Color 3:  146 Mingenew
  Floral Color 4:  134 Shark Bay
  Floral Color 5:  144 Aussie Dawn
  Floral Color 6:  199 Choco-Cherry
  Floral Color 7:  54 Ningaloo
  Floral Color 8:  82 Whitsundays
  Metallic Thread*
  Bead 1:  Bead Treasures CZ174 Silver lined red from Hobby Lobby
  Bead 2:  Bead Treasures CZ182 Purple/Aqua from Hobby Lobby

* Metallic Thread and issues with it
When I first started the project, I bought all the threads locally.  I was I hot mess about wanting to get it started and I knew I hated working with DMC metallics but that's pretty much the only thing I could find locally.  I had never stitched with RG Petite Treasure Braid before so I didn't even know what the thread looks like much less how it would work with my project.  Plus I would have to special order it.  Not great for instant start.  So I trotted down to Hobby Lobby to see what they had.

I found a pack of metallics there in which resided a spool of a kind of flat thread that was shot through with all kinds of colors on it.  I suspect it was intended as a blending filament.  I really liked the look of it on the spool and decided to buy it.  They also have another brand of thread, by Artiste, and there was quite a selection of metallics.  They felt an awful lot like the DMC metallics but I thought perhaps maybe possibly Artiste might stitch up better than DMC.  So I bought a couple of selections of color.

I stitched the center part of the design using the filament metallic and it had an interesting effect, but I wasn't enthused about it.  I didn't hate it.  I didn't love it.  And it's a PITA to stitch with.  So I decided to try the Artiste brand, specifically the color called Kaleidoscope.  It's also a kind of variegated thread.  I like the look of it, but OMG, it's a bloody nightmare to stitch with!  But I stuck with it.

Then, later down the road I happened to notice a LNS carries a small selection of Petite Treasure Braid, and they had a color that was somewhat similar to the Kaleidoscope.  PB51 Brown.  So I bought some and decided to try it on the fleur de lis finials on the blackwork gates.  And I love love love it!  And it's a lot easier to stitch with, too!

I'm lazy though, so I decided not to frog the other metallics.  I don't mind the effect.  

In the end, I think the design would have been better stitched with solid colors rather than with variegated.  I don't love the look of it, but I definitely don't hate either.  And it's fun to watch the colors change on the more varied threads.  Perhaps that kind of thread would be better on a 28 count fabric instead, where the stitches are a bit bigger.  It's definitely a learning experience, and a valuable one at that.

Run down of my current WIPs and UFOs

So, here I am just getting started on this little blogging escapade, and we'll see just how well this goes.  

The purpose of my blog is mainly to document my stitching progress on various assorted items.  With the added spice of blurbs about my cats (of which there are 5), life in central Indiana, life in tech support, life in general.  But mostly about stitching.

So, let's get to that, shall we?

WIPs

The Castle Garden

My primary focus has been on The Castle Garden, by Papillon Designs.  I started it with the intent of giving it to some very good friends who helped me get through my cancer treatments during the winter of 2012/2013.  Chemo.  Bleh!  BTW, I didn't die - in case you were wondering.  Ha!  I started CG near the end of September of 2013, it's finished size will be 22"x22" on 32 count linen, stitched over 2.  Later, if I feel like it, I will list out what threads I'm using.  Here's the link to my Flickr set.  But for instant gratification, here's a pic of my latest progress.

Well, ok, it's not my latest progress.  I have gotten some of the octagonal garden in the lower left corner done.  But for all intents and purposes, it's more or less that.  I'm hoping that I will have her done in about a month, then off to the framer.  

Also, I'm not a great photographer.  My little Nikon Coolpix L110 is flakey.  Which translates to:  Amy doesn't know what she's doing!  I do some photos with my iPhone or iPad, but they sometimes have weird angles to them.  

Around the World in 80 Stitches

This one isn't actively being worked, but it isn't technically a UFO either.  What's the difference?  I dunno.  My mood, I guess?  But CG has been my total focus.  Normally I stitch in a rotation (LOL, I crack myself up) and this is in the rotation.  It's the current SAL by Papillon Creations and it's a boat load of fun!  It was/is my first foray in to specialty stitches and I was hooked.  Now just plain old cross stitch seems boring.  Here's the link to my Flickr set. And here's instant gratification - a pic of where I left off.

Treasure Quest

You were expecting another Papillon Creations weren't you?  Psych!  This one is a HAED and I've only got 1 page done on it.  It's my tent stitch experiment.  Here's Flickr, and here's latest progress photo.

Stitching the Standard

This one is by Golden Kite.  I started it...well...hmm.   A Long time ago.  sometime before March, 2008 LOL  meh.  Ignore the cut stitches in the upper left corner near the castle tower.  I haven't gotten around to fixing it.  There's no rush, much to stitch yet and it intimidates me.  Here's the Flickr set and here's the most recent progress pic.

So that's all the WIP's for now.  Once CG is done, I'll be starting a Chatelaine and another HAED (a QS for my "neice").

I think this post has gotten a bit large and it's nearly time to go to work.  So, I'll come back later with UFO's.