Success!! A finish!

I've been concentrating solely on this piece for the last few weeks. It has traveled all over the Maritimes with me. Progress was slow. Tons of counting and constant stopping and starting. I found this project exhausting. It'll be a while before I do another mandala.

All that being said, it looks lovely finished. I'm glad I decided not to do the black outline. It's softer, more organic this way.

A very late update on my T & E Mandala

I took pictures of my progress on the mandala several weeks ago, but I've been out of the province and haven't had a chance to post them.

And so ... here they are:

I am hell-bent on finishing this piece. It's just very slow going.

Mandala - May Update

Tomorrow is the final group gathering for both the Thread & Eye Mandala and the Blackwork SAL groups. Those who can from both groups will gather to ooh and ahh over the work that's been done thus far.

My blackwork piece was finished a few months ago and will be proudly displayed, but my mandala has taken a backseat more often than I wanted and isn't anywhere near done yet.

Over the past week as I traipsed all over the province for a conference, I did get a little bit nearer to being finished.

Just the corners left to stitch. I'm hoping the balance of colours evens out a little. I feel like it's a little blue/green heavy right now.

This piece will be headed out East with me later this month as I attend yet another conference for school, and I hope to finish it on that trip.

Finally an Update!!

It has not been a stitching-friendly month. Between schoolwork and traveling I have managed to get barely a stitch done on my Thread & Eye Mandala project.

It's not much, but here it is ...

The next few months are full of school and travel and so I am sad to say that my updates may continue to be few and far between. :(

Thread & Eye Mandala - February Update

I put a few days into this before the SAL at my LNS, but I don't feel like I really made much progress.

I really love how this design grows and changes as you add each element, and I love using HDF silks. I will eventually finish this project, but just not anytime soon.

Like the Layers of an Onion ...

I've been working on the Thread & Eye Mandala SAL for the past 3 days. This design solidifies why I love geometric patterns. As I slowly add each new colour and shape to the project, it's as if I have a whole new piece in front of me. (I'm not exactly a pink person, but the darkest shade is a wonderfully rich berry colour and it is stunning.)

I keep thinking that I should stop and just leave it as is because it's beautiful.

I must add in a pic that showcases how small stitching over 1 on 25 ct really is:

Couldn't you imagine this design as an ornament? Picture it in icy blues, whites, and silvers .. what a snowflake it would make!!

Each element adds something exciting ... I love watching as the design unfolds. This project in particular is exciting because I chose my own colorway, and since I'm not the most visual person, I can't picture in my head the way the colours will come together in the design, so it's a constant surprise for me. A delight to stitch!

Then I add the next part and it's even more perfect then before.

Updates (I really should be doing schoolwork ...)

I think better when I stitch. My fingers are busy, and somehow that quiets the noise in my head as I think a kazillion things and lets me concentrate on something specific.

And so, not only is my paper for school almost finished, but I have two projects to update!!

First of all, my Jasmine pixie now has arms, a torso, a head, and part of a flower hat. Just need to finish the hat and stitch up her wings (and of course add in a little more backstitching), and then she'll be ready for beading!

I also did a little more work on my SAL mandala. I've added in a third colour - blue! I had to force myself to put this one down and work on something else. It's so lovely to stitch.

Working on Little Things

It feels like I'm working on something different every day!

I finished this card a week or so ago, but I have more to make in the coming weeks.

Also, I decided I wasn't happy with the colourway for my Thread & Eye Mandala by Ink Circles (it's a SAL that I'm doing at my LNS), and so I have restarted the project with an entirely revamped palette. It's much earthier now, and I am finally enjoying stitching it. This mandala is still being stitched on 25 ct Lugana, 1 over 1 using HDF solid silks.

And I have to show off what a dear friend of mine gave me as a little Christmas present. My first stitchy gift from a non-stitcher. I think that is awesome!!

Too many finishes means a lost stitcher

It's been a while since my last update. The tree has gone and come back from the framer's (I forgot to take a picture before I took it down to my parent's place, so a final picture will be forthcoming in early January) and it looks stunning!! I am in love with it and it will likely kill me to give it away. The butterflies are still at the framer's and a picture will be up as soon as I get it back.

Now that my two bigger projects with deadlines are done, I'm feeling a little lost. I spent a good week not really knowing what to stitch. I knew I needed to stitch a few Christmas cards but I wasn't that motivated. I did want to start a new big project, but wouldn't allow myself since I had so many little things to do. I have two stitch-a-longs to work on, plus a slew of Christmas ornaments and cards.

Just this past week I got my stitchy bug back, and I finally made a little progress. I managed to finish the stitching for three Christmas cards. The awesome sparkly fabric doesn't show on the snowflake and the smaller Christmas tree. :(

My LNS is hosting two stitch-a-longs this winter, one is a blackwork piece (pics to come in a future post) and the other is a specialty Ink Circles mandala. I chose my own colourway for it and am stitching it in Vikki Clayton silks on 25 ct antique white lugana. It's a long way from being finished, but I'm really liking how it's shaping up.