September 7, 2008

Keeping with the trend, here is my third finish in as many days! I'd Pick You is another Doodles for Leftovers by Hob-Nobb Designs. The LNS included some hand-dyed fabric in lilac with the chart pack. I thought it worked beautifully with the WDW and GAST fibers I chose, so I didn't switch it out like I did with God Bless America. This is my 31st stitching finish of the year.

I'd Pick You was done using Weeks Dye Works Plum and Gentle Arts Sampler Threads Shutter Green, Pine, and Royal Purple. The chart calls for the lettering to be black but being the purple fanatic that I am, I had to use the dark purple over-dye! I'm going to keep this handy for a small stitched exchange or a RAK. I may also keep an eye out for a pretty flower embellishment so that I may stitch another for a needlebook or flat fold finish.

I think IPU is a much quicker stitch than God Bless America; I only worked on it for about 7 1/2 hours. All the backstitching certainly goes faster than cross stitching, that's for sure!

My next project is Charmed Dreams by Heirloom Embroider-ies. I purchased this with the thread and embellish-ment packs back in March and have been itching to start it ever since.

I have to thank Kathy Y for making this start possible. Kathy gave me the True Colors sponged evenweave at June's Heirloom Stitchers meeting. She brought some stash to give away and the fabric was among the items up for grabs. When I showed her the chart pack for Charmed Dreams she agreed that it was very close to the Golden Harvest by Silkweaver that was recommended. The model was stitched on 32ct, but I'm using 28ct. That will make the design approximately one inch larger, about six inches square.

I've already finished the stitching on one of the motifs and started another. The design is comprised of four repeated elements in the shape of a circle. There is a gold medallion in the center. I'm especially happy when working on this piece because it uses my favorite fiber: Dinky Dyes silks! I'm not sure if you can tell by the picture, but that's dark purple, DD's Native Plum. The main thing that attracted me to this design was the fact that it's stitched with purple...and the specialty stitches! Specialty stitches go much faster than regular x's, so I'm hoping to have Charmed Dreams finished in seven days or less.