Ire stitches: pb10 #4

Hello stitchers!

Welcome to my first post of the new year!

Let's start with SQ, that's got some well deserved attention and love in the last few days of 2022.
I started this cross stitch project the 1st of January, 2017 and it has a long way to go before it will be finished, but that's not so important at the moment since i always enjoy stitching the Queen, never feeling the burn out.
Let's only hope that soon she will be finished, washed, ironed and then framed and hung on the wall.
What follows is the most recent pic I took of this colorful wip, that's filling with varing pink and red hues.

For WWAVMC, let's just say that, while SQ was out of the drawer, the main focus project of the last year was a bit overlooked on. Don't worry! The stitching will be finished hopefully in a short span of time. I'm assuming at worst the first days of the coming February.

I completed more than 243000 stitches and completed 141 colors out of 234. Not bad, if i say so myself...

Last but not least, i got happy mail! I oredered and present myself the 35 skeins of the "newest" colors that DMC put on the market in 2017. I got the package from a great deal on AliExpress, amd i'm not scared to say, or write, it.
The colors are lush and shiny and match the originals; the softness of the skeins are incomparable to those of the French brand. I'm quite pleased with what i received.
Have a look at these beauties:

Well, that's all for now!

See you soon,

Hello stitchers!

In the last month (just some days after the last post i wrote) I've managed to finish the Facebook NEW HAED group second challenge.

This time the challenge was to complete an entire page with the "cross country" method, one colour at time.
I've tried to resist (well, not so much!) from starting another HAED pattern, but Night Moves was calling me... And when a particular chart calls you only have to listen.
So... Yeah, I've dismounted Leo from its frame and i've started the second wip.

This is the first of many "first times".

Night Moves is the first pattern I've worked with the tent stitches thecnique.
More specifically i've opted to try the "continental" tent.
Theright side is looking like this "////" and on the back the stitches aren't like this "||||" but a bit slanted.

Challenge finished.

This method prevents the fabric from distorting itself when stitching with tent stitches.

The other first thing is... The loop method for starting. It's easy to make and saves a good amount of time from having to reach back for bolcking the threads.
I'll add that this techinque is really fast. So fast indeed that I've completed the first page and the challenge in two weeks. (!)
50 colours in that short time frame was really something!

Another first time: the use of Rainbow Gallery Petite Treasure Braid pb10 (first thread i've brought from the USA). This thead is sparkly and it gives the pattern a nice "feeling".
Last of the first times: the parking method. I've tried it with six threads on Leo when it was still placed on the Q-snaps frame but with so many colours i've feared (stupid me!) to mess up in some ways, so i quickly gave up and stitched it like i've always done before, following no particular scheme or the 10x10 grid.

Oh yes! One last thing.

Last Wednesday was my birthady and though I didn't brought something stitchy related (yet) i've brought this cute necklace.

I had many reasons for this purchase. I've wanted this necklace from the first time i've saw it, years ago but through one thing or another I didn't get the chance to buy it before and soon it was out of order. From all this I laerned a lesson: if you want something don't wait too much or you could end up a bit sad.
But this year, with a graet deal of luck I had finally found a seller and quickly made the decision to buy the three stars necklace before it would be too late. Long story short: at the end the neckalce has traveled way more than me and showed up just a couple of days before my bithday.
Now I'm happy but something will make me happier.
Guess what? Another purchase of an HAED chart, since Leo and Night Moves, when they will be finished and framed will go to my mother... And I too want an HAED all for me.
The wishlist is ever growing, it's so, so so very difficoult to choose only one, but sooner or later I will make a final decision.

Ok, rant is over! If you managed to read this far: congratulations! I hope everyone will have an awesome week end, filled with happiness and many cross stitches!

Saturday, 16 April 2016

First post.

Here I am!
This is my first Blogger post.

My name is Irene and I'm from Italy.

Here you will mainly find the progress on my cross stitch projects.

Right now I'm working on HAED's Leo and Night Moves.

I fell in love with that site, there are so many charts of many many artist to chose from! The only downside to life, is that's so little time to stitch and sometimes it's hard to keep away from browsing through those beauties and not buy everything i have on my ever-growing wishlist.

Less talk now, i'll let some photos do the talk...

Leo

(450x570, 90 colours)

The artist that painted "Leo" is Josephine Wall and this chart is part of her collection of the Zodiac Signgs.

Total stitches count: 256500.

I've started working on Leo in the last days of November 2013, more specifically it was the 20th.
It's being stitched 1x1 full crosses on 25ct. white Lugana.

The firs 100+ crosses done.

From that day onward it was (and still is) a nice journey stitch after stitch.

Night Moves

(450x222, 90 colours)

Painted by Jim Warren.

Total stitches count: 99900.

This pattern, brough along with Leo, was my choice of the 2016 challenge#2 over the NEW HAED Facebook group.
Stitched 2x1 tent (continental technique) stitches on 25ct. white Lugana.

I still haven't finished the challenge as i don't have three (shame on me!) colours.

Usually i follow the pattern and instructions carefully, but for this time i've chose to forego the use of Kreinik floss and instead i've decided to stitch the sparkly bits with the white pearl pb10 also know as the #4 Petite Treasure Braid produced and sold by Rainbow Gallery.

I love how it captures the light showing off its many reflections and i have to find a way to show that in my future photos.

Challenge#2 progress so far: