Fixing my Mojo

I'm still trying to find a solution to my crafty mojo problem -- more specifically, my stitching mojo problem. A dear friend suggested that a new start might be just the kick in the butt my mojo needs. She also suggested that I start a project I've had kitted up and ready to go for over a year now.

So I did. :)

I finally started my first Chatelaine - Evening in the Park. I love, love, love this design, and it took a while but I found the perfect fabric for it from Under the Sea Fabrics. I ordered the painfully expensive, but achingly lovely threadpack of silks and beads from European Cross Stitch.

One day it should look like this:

For right now, my start looks like this:

It's stitched on Ice Princess 32 ct opalescent lugana. I'm not loving using all the metallics at the moment, but it's looking good so far.

For the first time I'm using a magnifier while I stitch, because the hand-dyed fabric has tiny holes and the opalescent nature of the fabric splits the threads and makes it doubly difficult to see the proper holes. The stitches look pretty big under the magnifier, but when I look at it without, I can't believe how tiny the stitches are!

This piece is going to take a very long time.