WF Update-5-23-10

By working hard on Saturday, we managed to have a "proper" Sunday. Went to church in the morning and then had no chores to do or errands to run for the rest of the day. I completed sewing my second poke for the Pokes & Seeds exchange, and put the backing on both of them. I'll post pictures after I've mailed them, as I don't want to spoil the surprise for the recipients. I also made some more progress on the Winter Fairy, so here's an updated picture. All the recent sewing has been in the white/almost white/very pale blue of her skirt and it goes s-l-o-w-l-y! Happily, Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day, so I had very good light for my sewing. I'm looking forward to the long weekend coming up and hope to finish this portion of that darn skirt so I can get back to some colors!

Update, 5/11/10

It's been a little while since my last update. Sewing is still going slowly. I have finished one of the pokes for the Pokes & Seeds exchange and finally got a kit together for the other. (It's maddening when you're trying to put a kit together and realize you don't have the colors you need and you can't get to the store until the weekend.) I'm starting on the second one today, and as it's small I hope to have it done quickly.

I cannot, however, work quickly on the Winter Fairy. As I've said before, it's a more detailed pattern and on finer fabric than I've ever done, so I have to be careful or I make mistakes. Hubby laughed when I said my goal is to finish her by this Thanksgiving but I'm sticking to it. Among other things, we have a week's vacation at the end of August and I tend to spend at least 50% of that relaxing, so I'll get a lot of stitching done then. Meanwhile, I've finally gotten enough done to warrent an updated photo, so here it is. I will be very glad when I'm eventually done with all that white and pale blue in the skirt!

WF Update -4-12-10

Weekends are still hectic, but I managed to find some time to sew on Saturday. I finished the fairy's long glove. I think if it's good and sunny next time, I will work more on her skirt. As it's white and pale blue on very pale lavendar, I need the best light I can get to work on it! Meanwhile, here's a photo update.

Update 3-28-10

Things have been rather overwhelming here lately and I am glad to say they are settling down a bit. I have gotten the tiniest bit of a start on a new bookmark - only about a dozen stitches, but it's a start. Yesterday I managed to stop myself rushing around and sat down for about an hour's stitching on WF before dinner. There's really not enough progress on her or the bookmark to photograph yet, but I will post pictures soon. I'm happy to be stitching again; I find it calms my mind and refreshes me (at least, when I'm not making mistakes!).

Winter Fairy update 3-10-10

Work has been progressing slowly on WF. Most of our free time, such as it is, is being spent cleaning out my parents' home, as the sale closes in less than 2 weeks. Once that strain is over I should be able to spend more than an hour a week on stitching. Right now I'm lucky to manage that much.

Here's a current photo. The lighting's not the best because I took it tonight instead of in daylight, but you can see what's done. I've done more of the sash and started on her gloved arm. It's kind of exciting to reach a different section.

Why, yes, I am doing just about nything to put off more white stitching. I promise - I will get to the skirt again -- sometime...

WF Update-2-21-10

Progress is slow on my WF, but every bit is exciting as a new curve is revealed or a new section completed. Working on the white and ultra-pale blue remains a challenge. I can only manage small sections at a time, preferably after I've stitched the surrounding colors. "Next time" I will either choose a darker fabric for more contrast or a figure who isn't wearing white! At any rate, here is what she looks like now.

After getting this issue of Cross-Stitch Collection in the bookstore, I was so impressed with it that I subscribed to the magazine. My first issue arrived in the mail Saturday, and the cover is graced by another beautiful pattern from the same artist. WF was the last in a series of seasonal fairies. Now the artist is creating elementals. Water is the first and she is exquisite. She shares many of the same blues and purples as the WF. The next one due out is Fire, and I'm agog to see her (or perhaps him??). I really need to win the lottery so I can quit working and have enough time and money to stitch all of these lovelies!

WF update - 2/7/10

A snowy start to the day turned into a beautifully sunny Sunday yesterday, and I was able to spend a couple of hours stitching. Since the light was so good, I decided to take the plunge and I started on the white. It was still awfully difficult to stitch, so I ended up stitching the colors around it (mostly very pale blue) and then simply filling in the white. Before I tackled all that, though, I stitched more of the blue in the top portion. I'd guess I'm about a third done with the first of the four pages of pattern. It's a good start. Here's a picture of how much I've done so far.