Progress on First HAED

I'm finally getting around to updating what I've done on my first HAED! The name of the design is Believe. It's based on the artwork of Jessica Galbreth. 


I started this on May 19th and I haven't put it down yet ;o). I've lost track of exactly how many hours I have in it. I just put in a stitch or two whenever I get a chance. The pictures aren't great. My husband has our camera with him on a trip, so they're taken with my cell phone. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some better ones in the next day or so....

Next...

I thought I was going to pick up Peaceful Retreat after this go round with the Rainforest Afghan, but when I went to pull it out my hand got distracted and I ended up with In the Wild instead! Oh well, I'll get to Peaceful Retreat soon enough and still in time for Stitching Sisters May SAL. But, first, an update on what I've gotten done on the Rainforest Afghan:

Vital Statistics:
Pattern Name: Rainforest Afghan
Designer: Mary Stockett - Graphworks International
Fabric: Zweigart 14 count Hearthside Afghan (dark green/beige) stitched 4 over 1 (2 DMC strands with 2 strands of blending filament on rainbow)
Stitch Count: 5 x 6 squares with 7" stitch area in each square
Time Investment: 40 hours on square 3, 10 hours so far on square 4 -- project picked back up Dec. 28, 2006 with 2 squares finished (time for first 2 squares not recorded)


Before (at 40 hours + 2 finished squares):

After (at 50 hours + 2 finished squares):

Close up of Block 4: The sloth is starting to appear. Isn't he cute??!!

What it will look like when I'm finished:

So next up is In the Wild. This one is almost done, although it's a bear with all the quarter stitches. It's being stitched on light blue evenweave over 2, so the quarter stitches aren't as bad as they could be, but still....

Here's where I'm starting:

Vital Statistics:

Pattern Name: In the Wild
Designer: Kooler Design Studio published in the 1993 Keepsake Calendar

Fabric: Light blue evenweave of some nature stitched 2 over 2

Stitch Count: 102 high x 136 wide

Time Investment: 30 hours when project was picked back up 1/5/07 (time not recorded before this time)

Where I am now:

Listening to: 

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Next update when I've finished 10 hours on In the Wild... Or I start or buy something else ;o)...

May SAL

The May SAL for one of my Yahoo! groups, Stitching Sisters, is anything with flowers. So I'm pulling out yet another WIP, Peaceful Retreat.

Vital Statistics:
Pattern Name: Peaceful Retreat
Designer: Dimensions
Fabric: 36 count white linen stitched 2 over 2
Stitch Count: 196 x 140
Time Investment: 30 hours since I picked it back up in Feb. 2007


Here's what it will look like when it's finished:

Here's where I am now:

Do you have anything with flowers on it? Get it out or start it up and stitch-a-long with us!

Manatee Finish

I finished the manatee I was working on for WOCS last night. If you haven't checked out their blog, you should. Bonnie, one of the quilters, just finished an awesome ships quilt. I should make some guy smile ;o)! The manatee will go into a quilt with other sea life.

Vital Statistics:
Pattern Name: Manatee
Designer: Stoney Creek Collection 1986
Fabric: 18 count white AIDA stitched 2 over 1
Stitch Count: 87 x 56
Time Investment: 15.5 hours

This is what he looks like now:

I'll let you know when a picture of the Sea Life quilt goes up. For now, back to stitching the sloth on the Jungle Afghan....

Rotation Change and Friday Stitch-a-Thon

I finished up my 10 hour rotation on Four Seasons Village this week.

Before: 

 

Vital Statistics:
Pattern Name: Four Seasons Village
Designer: Stoney Creek
Distributer: The designs for the four buildings in this pattern were published in Stoney Creek Magazine from July/August 2001 through Jan/Feb 2002.
Fabric: 36 count white linen. Stitched 2 over 2.
Stitch Count: 320 W x 97 H 

Time Investment: 40 hours since I picked it back up in Jan. 2007 (I didn't keep track before then).

After: 

I mostly worked on the grassy area. It has several mistakes in it, so I'm trying to fudge it and still make the rocks and grass look right *sigh*. But, on the bright side, I think I'm out of the weird section now and the next time I pick it up I should just be able to stitch on it!

I've picked up my Jungle afghan for the next rotation. I'm also gridding my fabric for the HAED Believe project so I can start it after the Jungle gets its turn. 

The Stitching Sisters Yahoo! Group hosts a Friday and Saturday Stitch-a-Thon. Tonight I'm going to work on my Manatee and I plan to work on the Jungle afghan tomorrow between chores. 

Hope everyone has a very nice Easter weekend!

Stitching Away

WIP this week: Manatee, Four Seasons Village
Listening to: Just finished listening to The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson and I've started listening to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

I've finally gotten far enough on my manatee to backstitch his face. Now I can look at his cute little self while I stitch the rest of him.

I've also gotten my fabric for my HAED design - QS Believe. I decided on 25 count pale pink Lugana. A lot of people (including my LNS owner ;o)) has questioned why I would chose to work on a colored fabric when I'm going to cover it all with floss. Two major reasons:
1. If there's any show through, I'd rather you see pale pink than white.
2. Pink fabric makes me happy ;o).

And, since I'm going to be working on this project for a good long while, I want to be happy with the fabric I'm working on. I've done a few test patches and I've decided to stitch the design 1 over 1.

I've also been working away at my Four Seasons Village. I'll take a picture of it when I finish my 10 hour rotation on it (2 more hours to go. So should be early this week). 

Sunday Stitching

One of the stitching Yahoo! groups I belong to has a Halloween/Thanksgiving/Autumn SAL every Sunday. The only piece I have in my UFO pile that fits the bill (for the moment, anyway), is a pattern called Four Seasons Village. So I've decided to pull it out and work on it for a while.

Vital Statistics:
Pattern Name: Four Seasons Village
Designer: Stoney Creek
Distributer: The designs for the four buildings in this pattern were published in Stoney Creek Magazine from July/August 2001 through Jan/Feb 2002.
Fabric: It appears to be 36 count white (maybe winter white?) linen. It's stitched 2 over 2.
Stitch Count: 320 W x 97 H
Time Investment: 30 hours since I picked it back up in Jan. 2007 (I didn't keep track before then).


Here's where I am now:

I'm working on the Schoolhouse in Autumn. After that one's done, the last building is called "Church in Winter." 

Off to stitch....