Two surprises!

First, the Ultrasuede bag arrived that Orna Willis gave away on her blog!  It arrived with a very nice note and it is fabulous!  So soft to touch, yet sturdy and it stands up nicely.  It has a wonderful snap to close the top!

Next, Lacquered Leaves is framed.  Maggie put a beautiful silk mat on this piece and the simple yet elegant gold frame sets this piece off!

A better photo

I took this to my friend that is teaching me about my Nikon and this is the photo that he took of Lacquered Leaves.  Much better photo for you!  And, thanks to all of you who enjoyed the progress of  this piece.  It was a very different one to work, and is very dramatic!

Lacquered Leaves is finished.

Tonight I worked the final pattern on the Lacquered Leaves!  A single strand of Lacquered Jewels was run on the rows alternating with the ones covered by the four stitch pattern. This went fairly quickly.  So first, is a closeup so you can see the pattern....


And then, the final piece.  I wish you could all see this in person as I am not the photographer that can present this in the best advantage.  It is much prettier than these pictures depict.

Faster than a snail

I am stitching on the Lacquered leaves.  Just slowly.  There is a lot going on so I only get in about an hour an a half of stitching a day lately and that makes for slow progress.  I actually finished the four stitches over the four stitches tonight and took a picture.  When I got upstairs and tried to edit it, the computer says it is crap and won't do anything but show me a gray page with a lightning bolt through it.  Stop laughing, it is not funny....okay yes it is, but I am not going back downstairs again today.  I have made all the trips up and down those stairs today that I am going to!  There will be a picture sometime tomorrow--promise!  Not only that, it is my intent to finish it on Sunday.  Notice I said it is my intent....not that it will happen.....just being realistic!  LOL

Progress

 This is an overall picture so you can see what I did first.  I used a single strand of Lacquered Jewels and worked from the outside edge to the leaves in groups of four strands.  It does not look like much but I certainly used a lot of fiber creating the sets of four.  Notice how the strands were angled at the edges of all the leaves and the center not filled in between the leaves.

Then I started with another strand of thread and am making sets of four strands over every other grouping of four and creating a new pattern on top of the single strands.  Note that the patterns stop short of the leaf edges at least a half an inch.

Second border

Tonight I added the second border--it is only a partial one....you are not losing your sight....in the top left corner.  It is done with a single strand of Kreinik 8 in gold.  It is going to offset what I will be doing on the right side!

All the way around

 Yippee!  I got to stitch tonight!  I finished the outside border all the way around!  This is the start of setting these off and only a bit more to do and this will be done.

Some progress

I worked on the outside single row border and am now half way around.  I had hoped to work on this yesterday and get all the way around the outside so I can move on, but that did not happen.  Instead we spent some more time helping our friend go through more stitching things.  She is leaving this Friday and I am not sure what I will do about this piece for her, but I plan on finishing it and will go from there.

Moving on

I finished basting the perimeter of the design and then started a single half cross stitch outside of the basting.  I need to do this on all four sides to create the first part of the border.

The last leaf!

I finished the last leaf!  First I completed the pattern of four sided stitches in the bottom right leaf and then I did the six into one cording and couched it around the outside edges.  The basted line at the top was the last thing I did tonight.  I am to baste the entire perimeter of the design in preparation for the next step.  As a reminder, the basted line is the actual top of the piece.  I previously told you a different position, but according to the pattern instructions, this is it.

Starting Seven

Tonight I started the final leaf-number seven.  It is the lower left one in this photo.  It is worked using Kreinik #8 in gold and coppers and done in the four sided stitch.  One diagonal row working from right to left is done and then a left to right alternately across the sketched area.  The multi tone carries the general theme of the different colored leaves.  This piece is on 14 x 15 stretcher bars and is being worked on 24 count canvas.

Leaf six!

I added the last few rows of golds and silvers in the flat pattern.  I then did the six into one twist for cord and couched it all around the edge using a single strand of 105C.  Only one more leaf to go before we add other areas of interest. 

More of the filling

I worked on the filling in leaf six.  You can now see that the two strands of silver and the one of black silver are part of the pattern and that the two strands of gold and one gold black create the rest of the pattern.  This leaf is another in Ms. Chen's variations in metallic colors to add highlights and yet allow continuity in the design.  There is a little at the bottom left to stitch and then couch the cording around--that is for tomorrow.

Number five is done

I did the 6 into one twist and then couched it down with one strand of Kreinik cord on the number five leaf.  I also moved to the top right and started the flat pattern for this one.  You can see I have set up the pattern and am using Kreinik cord in silver and silver black.  Do notice that this is not a complete leaf, but a partial one.  Back to moving right along!

Back to business

 I am back from vacation in Connecticut!  We had a wonderful trip and the weather was fantastic.  We went to the Big E(xposition), Vermont country Store, Basketville, Yankee Candle, Whatley, Newport, Waterbury, Foxwoods Casino and lots of other fun stuff.  Coming back to reality like laundry, grocery shopping and pulling weeds!  LOL  And, my stitching.  I finished filling in the bottom leaf with the blend of silver cord.  It is ready to do the twist and couch the cord around the outside.  I also did some stitching in the car.  This is one of the Colonial Needle purses and I bought the initial letter P canvas by Lee and stitched it in the car traveling.

 To do the insert was very easy when I got home.  I trimmed the canvas and removed the protective paper and gently lifted the edges and placed the piece on the sticky surface.  It said to glue the edge but I used double sided sticky tape as it was less messy.  I am impressed with the quality of this bag.  It has a large zipper pocket on one side and two smaller pouches on the other.....think cell phone and pen holder.

A different view

Anne pointed out that I was showing you this piece from the wrong direction, so here it is with the correct position. I also worked more on leaf number five. This flat stitch is worked with two strands of 105C Kreinik cord and one strand of silver. It is a counted pattern worked on the diagonal. And, the three strands together are slippery! I must have re threaded the needle six or eight times to get this much done.

Finish on four

Tonight I did a four into one twist with the Lacquered Jewels and couched it down with a single strand of the Lacquered Jewels all around the fourth leaf. This finishes this one as well. I started working the next pattern in the bottom right leaf. You will see lots more of this one tomorrow.

The interior

I completed the interior of leaf four. I finished the pattern by using the copper and copper black in the remaining top rows. Then using a single strand of Kreinik cord in 205C, I filled in the edges of these leaves just like leaf three. I am glad you all like this one and have noticed the subtle shading and how the colors flow between the main focal leaves. I need to do the twist in cord and outline this leaf and I will start this tomorrow.

Two more rows

I was able to complete two more full rows tonight! I must be getting faster at this! These top two rows are either copper or gold and a mix of them in the middles. I should be able to get the last few rows in tomorrow nite! Then you will be able to see what happens with the tips of these.

Half the fourth one

Last night was stitching group and I worked on another present so you will have to wait a while to see it. But tonight, I got back to work on the fourth leaf. The rows are numbered on this one from the bottom up. The bottom right row one is all copper and then row two adds copper mixed with black. Row three has copper/black and gold as does four with some regular copper. Row five is all copper. Remember I am pulling each row with the pearl first and then removing it and adding the Kreinik braids back in. Did you notice the empty spaces at the bottom of the points of the leaves again?