FLORAL PROGRESS

I'm back from Seminar and enjoyed every minute of my stay in Denver. Even though I'm local I decided to stay at the hotel; was afraid I might miss something! Along with packing up the kitchen sink, I also brought along my cat, Tbear, aka, Half White Face or One Pink Toe. (Taken with camera phone in room, already claiming table)

Nothing like trying to duplicate the creature comforts of home. This is why I don't like to fly to my stitching events. And with the airlines charging for baggage, ugh. My compliments to those that fly with all their stitching paraphernalia, stands, lights, stash, oh and luggage, for they are brave and honorable souls. I also felt it necessary to bring my own 4-cup coffee maker. This hotel uses those coffee pod things in the room.....I think those are really meant for tea drinkers. There was a fridge for my half & half, making for a leisurely breakfast waiting for class to start. I love to stitch while on vacation. Time away from home, the bills, the daily grind allows for stitching well into the night and up before dawn to stitch before class...before breakfast! All in all it was a delightful 4 days.
Now on to project progress. As usual I stitched as much as I ripped out and someone happily pointed out that only good stitchers rip out. Oh? Well that's a relief, if that is the litmus test then I must be an expert. Although I do get their point and agree. The first day I worked on the Elsa William's floral. I have completed the basket and am pleased with the use of the Burden Stitch. I used 3 strands of Amy's Burmilana wool blend in two colors to cover the 14 ct. canvas. I also used 2 Burmilana and 1 strand Soy Silk to help shade and texture. I also used Medici wool for the flowers and NN Overdye for the long leaf. I am researching a stitch to do the oak leaf and the large tulip next. Any suggestions?

Thanks for stopping by today.

STUDIO TIME

with Caela! Okay, I am really excited. Next week at this time I will have the good fortune to be in the company of many fabulous needleartists. I'm attending the EGA Rocky Mountain Regional Seminar held in Denver. The class choices this year are fabulous and it is such a treat to have the Seminar held in my own back yard, so to speak.

As a member of the hosting Chapter I will have certain volunteer duties but the rest of my day will be spent with national needlestar Caela Tyler. I've opted to sign up for her Studio Time and plan on taking full advantage of her expertise and wisdom. Studio time is where you bring any stitching issues you may be having or canvas problems, etc. to an expert to help you work out solutions. I will be seeking her help in how to go about making either of these major canvas/thread investments the best they can be. The rooster is 14"x14" by CanvasWorks. It is a handsome canvas that my husband bought for me several years ago. I have been perplexed as to how to stitch it and have tried a few things here and there, just to give DH the impression that I am actively working on it. He is thrilled that I will soon have help and is imagining a light at the end of the tunnel.

This is the other canvas and I've been saving it for over 20 years! It's by Elsa Williams and originally came with her tapestry wool. Well I am so glad I held off doing this, can you imagine all the different thread and stitches that can be used now? It's fairly large but so light and airy I think it will work up fairly quickly. Don't you? I want an open back ground but will defer to Caela before making a final decision.

For those of you that know Caela's work you understand why I jumped at the chance to sign up for her Studio. Having viewed many of her finished works in person, all superlative adjectives worthy of a fine artist come to mind, but there is one thing that stands out to me. I am talking about what I refer to as her light handed touch.

When I first began stitching I believed that heavier thread and stitch usage would be more dramatic and, quite honestly, I was never really happy with the end results but didn't know why. After seeing Caela's exquisite work, so intricate, light, showing fine detail, I learned right away that this is a far more effective way to enhance the design. Unfortunately this style does not come naturally to me, but I'm learning and hoping for a little osmosis action to take place at Seminar. I'll keep you posted.