The photo above shows the progress from our last update on my Heaven and Earth Designs (HAED) Twilight Duel cross-stitch project, based on the amazing artwork of Ruth Thompson. (You may see more of her art that HAED has charted here, if you are interested.)
My progress on Page 9 through our last update may be seen in the photo above. The picture below shows how it looks now.
Some of my recent stitching is also working onto Page 10 (which is just above page 9 in this photo.) The tail, part of the black dragon's leg and the sky are filling in.
1,015 stitches have been added since our last update.
The project is now 47.87% complete. (It was 47.18%)
Page 9 is now 42.02% complete. (It was 29.3%)
Page 10 is now 2.56% complete. (It was 1.41%.)
USA Road Trip Challenge:
I am participating in a USA Road Trip Challenge through the Stitchtalk HAED Challenges Facebook Group. There is a list of 108 destinations beginning and ending in Florida. There are 32,364 miles (stitches) in the challenge.
I made it through Destination #29: Campobello Island (the first 4,339 miles) with the Storykeep Effects of Caffeine.
March 8th: 4,808 miles (stitches) traveled, passing through Destination #31: Old Port Maine.
Today: 5,823 miles (stitches) traveled, passing through Destination #36 - the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
I do hope you will hop over to see what the other crafty bloggers in our Stitch Along (SAL) have been up to! Our next update will be on April 19th. If you are interested in joining, visit Sewing Beside the Sea through the first link below. Avis is fabulous at keeping us all motivated.
We do live in different time zones, so if a post is not up yet, please check back later.
Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue,
Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy,
Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan,
Deborah, Mary Margaret, Carmela, Jocelyn, Sharon,
Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny,
Laura, Cathie, Linda
Finishes shared on March 8th - in case you missed them:
Jocelyn finished Swirling Flowers designed by Karen Kluba, as seen here.
Carole finished one of my favorite cross-stitch designs, I Never Finish Anything from Nerdy Little Stitcher on Etsy. You may see hers here.
Sue finished embroidering lovely flowers onto a pillowcase, as seen here.
Kathy finished cross-stitching her darling Christmas stocking, as seen here.
Margaret finished the Dimensions kit, Finery of Nature (with a few modifications) and it is stunningly displayed, as seen here.
Hayley finished a camp blanket for her daughter that displays all of the badges she has earned, as seen here.
Thank you so much for stopping by! I wish you all good health during these crazy times.
-Renee
This Heaven and Earth Designs (HAED) "Twilight Duel" cross-stitch project will be my next focus piece for this SAL.
The photo above shows my progress through February 15, 2020.
It was 46.62% complete.
I started this piece, featuring Ruth Thompson's fabulous dragons, for my youngest son on August 30, 2015.
10 of 24 pages are complete. I will be focusing on finishing page 9. My goal is to finish the 3rd row of pages (3 - already done, 9, 15 & 21) by the end of the year.
This will also be my focus piece for Road Trip Across the USA Challenge with the Stitchtalk HAED Challenges Facebook Group.
829 stitches were added since February 15th.
It is now 47.18% complete.
Our next update will be on March 29th. My goal is to add at least 750 stitches.
There were a few finishes and happy dances during our last update. (I hope I did not miss anyone...)
I finished my Heaven and Earth Designs Storykeep Effects of Caffeine, as seen here.
Christina at Petals and Pins had 2 finishes! You may see her Christmas Dollhouse by Natalia Luneva and First Snow by Alicia Paulson here.
Sharon of Piecing Life Together One Stitch at a Time finished a darling Cardinal Stitch a Card Counted Cross Stitch, as seen here.
About this Stitch Along (SAL)
For this SAL, we each choose our own project to work on and share an update every third Sunday. If you would like to join, Avis has shared information about joining on her blog, Sewing Beside the Sea.
I encourage you to stop by and see what the other SAL bloggers have been up to. Linda, we are so happy to have you joining us again! Laura and Cathie, welcome to the SAL!
We are all in different time zones, so if a post is not up yet, please check again later.
Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue,
Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy,
Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan,
Deborah, Mary Margaret, Carmela, Jocelyn, Sharon,
Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny,
Laura, Cathie
Thanks for visiting!
Renee
A new round of Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) began in January.
TAST is a personal challenge to learn a new hand embroidery stitch each week. The challenge is offered by Sharon Boggon of Pin Tangle. You may learn more about the challenge here.
Beyond TAST offers a more complex stitch for those that have completed TAST in the past or are more experienced embroiderers. (I have not worked these yet.)
TAST Week 1: Chain Stitch
This stitch was worked with size 8 Anchor red floss.
I then added size 12 cream Presencia Finca floss to create a whipped chain stitch (as seen in the photo at the beginning of this post.)
TAST Week 2: Fly Stitch
Eight fly stitches worked with size 12 DMC pearl cotton made a snowflake.
A size 10/0 crystal glass seed bead was added to the center.
I need to work on my spacing, but I also worked a beaded fly stitched snowflake with the same DMC pearl cotton and crystal glass beads.
TAST Week 4: Stem Stitch
I traced a heart (using one of Sharon Boggon's Stitchers Templates Set 1) onto the foundation on the back of the block with a pencil (as seen below.)
Next, I used a pink Anchor size 8 pearl cotton to stem stitch around the heart.
TAST Week 3 was the Buttonhole Stitch. I have not used it yet this year, but I tend to use it to make flower stems (as seen in 2 of the seams surrounding the heart in my Stem Stitch photo.)
Do you have a favorite way to use the the Chain Stitch, Fly Stitch or Stem Stitch?
February Goals in Review and March Goals:
My March Goals:
- Complete the race I signed up for in March.
- Add 300 stitches to Fractal White Tiger cross-stitch and share progress on Stitchy Start Blog.
- Make progress on Twilight Duel cross-stitch to share in my March 8th and March 29th SAL updates.
- Make progress on Winter/Christmas Wall Quilt to share with the 1 X-mas Item a Month Blog.
- Make progress on my UFO list. #7 was selected for March - quilting my Sun, Sand, and Sea Block of the Month Quilt, but I need to swap that with #5 - finishing the last block.
February in review:
1. February: Train to run in March. I am a bit frustrated with a knee issue that I hope is only shoe related.
2. February: Add 300 stitches to Charting Creations Fractal White Tiger and share progress on the Stitchy Start Blog.
Done! 723 stitches were added and the update is here.
3. February: Add at least 30 stitches/day to HAED Storykeep Effects of Caffeine for 100 Days of HAED Challenge and share progress with the 3 week SAL.
Done! This piece was finished, as seen here.
1,756 stitches were added in February.
450 stitches counted toward the 100 Days of HAED Challenge.
1,306 additional stitches were added and 1,215 of those counted toward the Road Trip Around the USA Challenge - reaching Campobello Island in the challenge.
4. February: Make progress on HAED Twilight Duel.
On February 16th, I switched to Twilight Duel for the 100 Days of HAED Challenge after finishing the Storykeep Effects of Caffeine.
On February 28th, I spent time with a visitor rather than stitching. I only made it through 58 of the 100 Days for this challenge, but I am thrilled with my progress.
829 stitches were added to Twilight Duel in February.
360 stitches counted toward the 100 Days of HAED Challenge.
469 stitches counted toward the Road Trip Around the USA Challenge - reaching Old Port, Maine in the challenge.
5. February: Make progress on #2 and #9 on my American Patchwork Quilting (APQ) UFO Challenge.
#2 - Crazy Quilted Valentine Fabric Postcard - added a stem-stitched heart.
#9 - Winter/Christmas Wall Quilt - added a few more snowflakes.
6. February: Finish Snowman Ornament and make progress on Winter/Christmas Crazy Quilt to share on the 1 X-mas Item a Month blog.
Done! I finished this ornament yesterday and shared it here. I also added a few more snowflakes to the Winter/Christmas Crazy Quilt, as seen above.
7. InCoWriMo - Write a letter, card or postcard every day in February.
I knew InCoWriMo would be a stretch with everything else I hoped to accomplish this month. I only managed 5 of 29 this year - it was 4 more than I would have sent, though!
Thanks for stopping by!
Renee
