The second leaf

I finished the green on the second leaf, put a dot of black in each of the berries, and also worked more of the white down the left side and in the center. Pretty good progress after not stitching for a few days1

Happy Thanksgiving!

I will be away for a couple of days! My niece is here for the holidays and we have a lot of talking and shopping to do, so there won't be a lot of time for stitching! I will be back on Sunday, November 30th with another update.
Enjoy the company of your friends and family, thankful for the bounty they provide in our lives!
Safe travels to all whether on the road or in the malls!

One completed leaf

I finished all of the dark green with the Gold Rush 18, and also the medium green on the left leaf. Remember this is done with two strands of Nordic Gold. This is moving right along. I am going to add a dot of black in each of the berries in the next session, so that they are realistic as well.

Polka Dots & Hearts

This charmer is just stylin' in his polka dot and heart shorts! I also shadowed his waistline.
Mom likes him! Yippee!

I changed my mind

Yes, I changed my mind. If you read my blog you know that I occasionally do this. LOL.
I did not like the medium value I had originally chosen for the leaves in the Kreinik # 12's.
So I spent some time this afternoon and took out all of the Kreinik. I then pulled out some Rainbow Gallery. A single strand of Gold Rush 18 in 144C is now the darkest value. Two strands of Nordic Gold in 5 are the medium value. A single strand of Gold Rush 18 in 33C is the lightest value. I also added Red 003 Kreinik 12 to the lightest red value in the berries.
Much better, now I can sleep. LOL

Toothpaste and a Toothbrush

First, using Splendor blues, I filled in the tube base, tube body, some letters, and then the handle of the toothbrush. Next I padded the bristles with four strands of Splendor. Then using a single strand, I worked individual bristles. Next I used two strands of gray Splendor and two strands of Hightlights and did the top of the toothpaste tube. Last, I padded the paste with white Splendor and then stitched Snow over that.
Doncha just want to pinch his nose? LOL

Leaves and berries

Tonight, I put in the dark green 009 Kreinik #12 for the outside edge and the veins. I put in the dark red 308 on the other two berries. I then filled in more of the 032 white background.
This ornament is very well painted and stitches up beautifully. I don't think it will take long to finish this one because it goes fast and is very pretty!
I will finish this one myself, and will blog finish it for you all to follow along.

The belly

Nothing fancy, just a belly, with a little shading under his hand and the toothpaste tube. I also outlined his upper left arm and started on his left hand. I got part of it outlined, but not all of it.
And, you can see his eyes better on this one.
Blogger and I argue about why if more than one photo is loaded, that it won't enlarge. Blogger always wins, but I will still keep posting two photos once in a while.
As you may have noticed, I am rotation stitching for a while. I have several things I want to work on, and some nights, I am more drawn to one canvas than another. This may have something to do with how late I got home, and how much time I have to stitch! LOL
So, right now, we have the Holly ornament, and Mornin Luv. Soon, you will see more of what I will be doing.

Two Photos!

The first photo is designed by Jody! This is one of the pieces I picked up on the trip to Michigan. I have a sister who loves Holly and she chose this piece for me to stitch for her. When I contacted Jody of Jody Designs, she told me she designs a lot of Holly patterns as that is her daughter's name! You can see more of her great designs at http://www.jodydesigns.com/. She told me that you can purchase this same canvas, along with many others directly from her by emailing her directly at: jodydesign@aol.com (note, no s on the email addy!). She is working on a website that will be up with a full catalog download soon!

So, I have been using all tent stitch on this piece. The top of the ornament is worked in Kreinik #12 (I am using all #12) 002J, gold. The white background is 032, the dark red on the holly berry is 308, and the first green is 008.



And then, I got a note from Mom! She said Mornin Luv looked like he was blind! Oooohhhhh, Nooooo! She said I had to go back and fix his eyes, using a darker color and putting the iris in his eye with a French knot. Yes, Mother. So, I did, and you know how mothers are always right???

You decide.
Yup, she was right!


P.S. Jane wants to know about his slippers. Yes, they are supposed to be fuzzy, but not bunnies!

He is back!

Here he is with a chest and his right arm! The left arm is complete down to his toothbrush. I did give him a hair on his chest and forearm as well! Next up is the shading under the arm and his belly!

Octagon 33

This is the piece that I finished while traveling. I bought a wooden box at Michael's and spray painted it with metallic gold, inside and out. Next I cut a piece of cardboard, quilt batting, and gold lame the size of the top. Layering those with the canvas on top, I wrapped them all to the back. I then glued this piece to the box and trimmed it with the gold gimp.
Tomorrow, I will post progress on Morning Luv!

A shoulder and part of an arm

Not found body parts, but actually what I stitched tonight! I started under his chin and put in some of the tan for a shadow there, and then moved over and started working across the arm and into the chest area. You can see I stopped at his toothpaste and brush as I want to continue to work from the top down.

Not shave and a haircut......Beard and a moustache....

Now despite several comments about this good lookin' dude that some of you may or may not have dated, I checked with Mom. She says she got this inspiration from a card from an old friend......We are going to go with that, okay? She also said she thinks it is coming along nicely, but said he did need gray in his hair tufts, (distinguishing...) and face. So, tonight, I added his beard, moustache, and some gray to what other hair we can see. I did not add any gray to his eyebrows as he is very vain and uses Grecian formula on them. By the way, I used a single strand of brown Splendor, and a single strand of gray DMC.

Eyes and Eyebrows

First, I finished stitching the face and outlining it and his other ear. Then, I outlined his eyes and the iris and then the eyelids tonight. I also added some eyebrows and a little bit of hair sticking out from under his nightcap.
I was going to outline his eyes with a brown, but Jane in CH prompted me to use a blue, and it worked great!
Now to answer some questions: Yes, Mom reads the blog and she is watching the progress on her fella. But, no she does not say who the model was!
I am glad you are enjoying watching this guy, as is DH! This one just makes us chuckle!

Starting the face

I am stitching the face with four strands of Splendor again. Around his ear and face I have also added two strands of a medium ecru to make them stand out. The same shade of ecru created his nose, and the darker shade of red makes his happy smile. I did his eyelids in a peachy color, eyes are blue and of course white. I need to outline them to stand out and will be putting in a lot more details once I finish the flesh tone.

What am I doing?

I am working on the face on Mornin Luv, but since it was not complete don't have a picture for you today.

Stay tuned for progress tomorrow!

Finishing the Loretta Spears heart

UPDATE: 
This pattern is called Sweetheart!

I completed the finishing on the Loretta Spears Heart ornament. If you remember, I stitched this piece in the car on one of the recent trips. I found a great pink trim that also has little white pearls on it. I sewed this one to a piece of white velvet for backing, and stuffed it with quilt batting. After sewing it together, I sewed the gimp on with a doubled strand of the Accentuate that was mixed with the Needle Necessities Overdyed to stitch the piece. I then added a ribbon loop and bow for the hanger.

The man has a hat

I put in the second color of red Splendor so you can see the full hat. I will add his tassel to the end of the nightcap later. Since this is on 18 count, I am using four strands of Splendor and my laying tool to keep these very smooth.

Summer Dream is framed!

I picked up the framed Summer Dream! It is a shadow box frame to accommodate the depth for the stumpwork. The interior frame is line with black to showcase the butterfly and the bee.

Starting with the hat

I forgot to put the white paper behind this before I took the picture! LOL, so you see the base of the stitching stand. Sorry! Anyway, I started with hat with four strands of Splendor, in a dark red, for all the shaded parts. At least I got the battery recharged! Do you ever have days like this??

Mornin' Luv

I would like to introduce Mornin' Luv! This is a piece that my Mom drew on a canvas for me to stitch! LOL. Isn't this going to be fun???