Sept 9/18

The back stitching in black has begun. A headache, but not quite a migraine, made stitching a slow process this evening because my brain was working as if it were trying to wade through mud. I persevered despite my headache and stitch by stitch, managed to complete the back stitching on one ornament before putting some stitches onto a second ornament. I also found a section of gold filament that had been overlooked and quickly filled in that section around the mailbox of the top ornament.

I had an idea for the third panel of the triptych that I was working on ages ago. The third panel has languished for lack of inspiration, my failing eyesight and lack of motivation to stitch. My brain was in processing mode as I was driving to work the other day when the idea came to me. The idea involves using various shades of the same colour and creating a cascading kind of effect. Christmas ornaments are a priority at the moment, but I look forward to the third and final step of the triptych.

Happy stitching!

April 17/18

The odd stitches have been put into my work in between work, exhaustion, shingles, a dog bite on my hip, spring cleaning and the spaying of our puppy. This winter season is one that I would love to see far behind me as it has been several months of recovering from one thing or another despite my best efforts of sleep, exercise, nutrition and vitamins. Even now, I find myself getting tired easily and my lungs can not even handle things like vinegar for cleaning.

On a more positive note, I have 2 panels completed on my triptych. I have looked at some patterns for the third panel, but nothing has fully jumped out at me yet to say that it was the design for the third panel. The fabric is the remnant from a kit and the threads are all from my scrap bag.

So, our monster of a puppy was a little busy while unsupervised one morning (Hey! I like to sleep in on days off!). She pulled my needle work off the shelf and proceeded to chew away. Fortunately, the hole in the pattern is different from the hole in the fabric so I am able to start again.

I had been mulling over a re-start anyhow because I loved the pattern, but the 14 Aida was not doing the piece any justice. The re-start is being stitched on 28 count Antique Tan Linen Wichelt and I am much happier with the result.

Here is the monster of a puppy who is also known in these parts as Destructo Puppy. She was spayed yesterday and this is her "I am still drugged, but I am not happy with this cone" face. She is moving around much better today and has even attempted to chase a cat or two around the house, getting that cone caught in every corner and doorway.

Well, it looks like we have avoided the icy part of the freezing rain storm that has swept across Ontario, Quebec and the more northern parts of the Maritimes. This rainy day has been perfect for spring cleaning my kitchen and working on my French course. Now, it is time to use these pruny hands to stitch while I watch "Longmire" and watch the rain and wind whip around outside.

Happy stitching!

Mar 13/18 (I think.....dates are hazy on my days off!)

A snow storm rolled in today so what to do after a few chores and taking the dogs out to play...... Well, stitch, of course! A little progress has been made on my triptych. I have run out of scraps of the dark purple so I have to either find a matching colour in my stash of DMC or frog the colour.

The storm is still raging at this hour so I should head to bed in case I do have to go to work in the morning. The forecasts have been very inaccurate this winter for this region so who knows what I will wake up to in the morning.

Happy stitching!

Mar 13/18

The head cold is finally letting up so the stitching, reading, walking the dogs and general getting back to normal is in full force. Here is what is rolling off my needle these days:

I found the geometric pattern on pinterest, but once I was done stitching, I felt that it was missing something. I played with colour combinations until I found a handful of threads that were pleasing to my eye. Then, I started stitching. Initially, I had an idea of doing a vertical pattern of colour where I would fill in three little blocks with the same colour and then switch to another colour until the end of the row. The next row would have been staggered to prevent a block/square effect. Once, I started stitching, I decided that I preferred to do three down and then three across as a "row". After seeing the top right corner left uncoloured, I decided to break up the shading after the blue rows and the bit of purple is where I stopped this evening because my eyes were starting to droop. The movement and the colours are really pleasing to my eye and they should work well with the next pattern that I want to play with as part of my triptych.