Sunrise in Syria

Linda and Donna enjoying that first cup of coffee at 6 in the morning. Sun is rising, birds are singing. It's a beautiful day.

First finishes of the weekend - both wool. Jane has a turtle. Donna has a cardinal.

Retreat!

Today is all about packing. And unpacking. And repacking. Because I can't make up my mind what to bring on retreat. 

Tomorrow we leave for 5 days, 4 nights in the hills unbothered by modern electronics which gives us more time to stitch. This is a guild retreat and there are 19 of us going.

I made a list last week. I've crossed it out and started over a million times. Usually I don't have this much trouble. Maybe in the back of my mind I think I'm forgetting something? 

I now my packing is heavy on the canvas and light on linen projects. That's just where I am right now. I've got a couple of obligation pieces with deadlines for gift giving. I've got some fun stuff. I've got some serious stuff that requires concentration. Just trying to get the right balance. I'd bring it all, but that might require a moving truck!

 

The Big and the Little

Damn the apologies for not posting. Let's just get right to things.

Starting with progress and a small finish. 

 It seems to me as I look back I always have big and little projects going at the same time. Maybe it's the contrast. Or maybe it's just my habit of having small, portable things to tote around with me. I always have a purse project. You never know when you can fit in 10 or 50 or 100 stitches. And little bits of progress add up to finishes. Eventually. 

 So here is my Bunny Project. Of course, I named it because I can. This is after the second embellishment class. I'm feeling fairly confident that I have the skills to stitch this well. Of course

 Ha. I've frogged that top corner of background twice. Once for color issues. The second time because the thread I was using was making the lilies recede. Ah, backgrounds and me - we just don't get along. It takes me forever to land on the correct things. I've been given guidance on this area and we'll see what happens when I get back to it. 

 My hibiscus. This I love. I rejected the burden stitch and oblique burden stitch as being too straight. The petals needed more movement. And I hit on this. It's a zigzag cashmere. Starts with a Watercolours, then a Planet Earth silk, and ends with just a hint of shine provided by Shimmer Floss. The middle will get its own special treatment eventually.

 I started to split stitch my bunny. Original plan called for Alpaca, but to me these bunnies need to be smooth, not fuzzy. So I'm using Pepper Pot and a chenille needle. I'm happy with this. 

 And then we have a piece back from the finisher. I stitched this back at the end of February when I went to Florida. It's the Portland Head lighthouse from ABS Designs. When I started stitching it, I had to google image the lighthouse and find a photo from this direction as 90% of all photos of this are from the other side. LOL (Sorry it looks crooked - that's just the photo. It's not crooked.) I'm so happy that Anne has a ton of these lighthouse ornament canvases as I'm planning on having a large collection.