So where the heck is the stitching?

And what have you been doing? Well for one thing I have company coming this week and I've been cleaning, putting away my stuff so the entire house doesn't look like a goat has exploded (contents strewn everywhere, you get the idea). My sister is coming for a visit from Arizona. Everything I don't get done by today is going to fall into the category of "Hi Sis, how'd ya like to help me reorganize the.... pantry.....stash closet.....kitchen cabinets....maybe dust?" That in part is where I've been, but I've done some other things too. Made a quick trip up to Breckenridge, visited Sara's Needlepoint and found a few necessities, buzzed into the Luna's bead store, found a few more necessities. I've kitted up several fun projects. That takes time. And I worked on my local chapter website. That takes time.  Attended a board meeting. Napped (no not at the meeting, but soon thereafter). There's only so many hours in the day and stitching has taken a back seat, sniff sniff. But I'm getting real ready to start something soon.

Since I don't have anything stitchy related today, maybe you'd like to meet the fur-bearing member of our family, the Bear.


Hello, my name is Teddy and I'm 12 years old. Cute too. When my mother is stitching and not paying attention to my needs, I usually go over to my toy basket. It smells just like catnip. Welcome to my world.

Yin and Yang aka Bright and Dark

The first thing I should say is that the photograph does not do justice to this canvas. Sometimes my pictures are wonderful, other times....not so much. I need a class in this too I suppose. I know my camera is quality and not the problem.

This is my first SharonG endeavor. Have you ever stitched a SharonG painted canvas? They are among the very best I've seen for stitch painting. I could not have been more pleased. None of this, should I put this stitch here or does it go there; this was perfectly painted making it easy for me. In addition, Sharon's stitch guide was most comprehensive including large and easy to read diagrams. Her instructions were thorough and easily understood.  Well done Sharon, thank you. Before I proceed, further I want to mention that any inaccuracies in the stitching or changes made were strictly of my own doing-whether intentional or not. lol

As for stitches, many were "layered" or composites of several stitches used together. This is the only way I know how to explain it. It looks complicated but in the end isn't because you do each "layer" in steps. I loved the Windowpane Scotch variation 2 in the black areas and especially enjoyed the Laid Bamboo border. It is fabulous for a border application; you use lots of 1/16" ribbon because each row has two lengths of ribbon in one hole, sort of padding the stitch when it is couched down. I liked it and will use it again.

New threads for me were the Kreinik Japan thread. This stuff is so neat, it's construction looks like it is regular thread covered in a slick and shiny coat. It behaves somewhat like very fine cord, stiff yet flexible; here it was used for the outline of the dragonfly. The metallic looking colors are exceptionally effective. I believe this Japan thread is relatively new; I know I hadn't heard of it until this piece and I can see it being very useful in future projects. I don't recall ever using Gloriana Silk Floss previously and while I love Gloriana's wool threads, I didn't like the silk floss, perhaps that was because you only used a single strand and it seems to become too soft and didn't hold it's shape. Again I think using only one strand might have been the problem.

So there it is, overall and in general I thought this an enchanting project and I hope the recipient likes it. I have a few things to fix and neaten up and then I'll consider my options for finishing this one. As always, many thanks for stopping by today.