Mustertuch von 1783

I have finally completed another page on my Mustertuch. This is pages 1-3 completed- only 9 more to go. I really like this piece. It is over one on 32 ct Raffia Cream by Sassy's Fabbys using the HDF conversion and also some variagateds here and there.



I hope to continue to devote one week a month to stitching Mustertuch and should be able to make great progress this year if no new starts get me off track.

My Beloved Sticklounge Yahoo Group has decided to close its doors at the end of June. It was such a fun group with many great pieces to stitch along together. Many of the pieces we stitched were freebies from the web (such as the giant RMT and Old European samplers). It wasn't about getting great freebies- I have most of them already. It was about deadlines and actually seeing progress on so many different styles of cross stitch that I wouldn't normally stitch. I am still amazed that the Group Moms (Susanne and Susanne aus LU) were able to run the group as long as they did with so many members and so many projects. It was definitely a labor of love! There is a page of my blog devoted to all my Sticklounge finishes- there are so many! I will definitely miss the group, but I have planned to focus on my HAED stitching and Nicola's Scarlet Letter Year stitching when the group closes in June. I would like to say "Thank You" to the Susannes for letting me participate in their wonderful group since 2010 (even though I don't speak German :))

Rebecca Cullin Update

I have been diligently stitching Rebecca Cullin and have finally taken a full photo to show. She is quite large! I have decided to restitch the leaves in the top embroidery, but leave the flowers. I am waiting on an HDF order of the premium (twice the diameter) silks needed, so in the mean time I will put her away. If you look at the leaves under the carnation in the center, you can tell the leaf on the left is regular silk and the leaf on the right is premium. It stands out so much better!

I had the pleasure to see Bethany and her mom's inspiring photobucket pictures on Nicola's Scarlet Letter Year Blog 2. It was so inspiring that I have decided to pull out Polly Phillip. The colors in PP are so bright and happy. The inside panels are over one tent/continental stitch, which I love! I plan to outline the rest of the panel and then start filling it in.

Daily Strand- Mathilde Duforest and February Finish

I managed 44 strands during the month of February on Mathilde Duforest. She is coming along nicely! Here she is at the start of February:



And here she is after February Daily Strand Stitching:



I hope to make Mathilde my March finish.



My finish in February is a piece started in the Sticklounge Group. It is Petit Sampler by Claire Findley, stitched with Waterlilies Kelp on 36 ct Butterscotch Cookie by Sassy's Fabbys over one. This lovely little piece was lost in my "need to finish" drawer for months until I found her a couple of weeks ago and completed her by stitching about 15 minutes every morning before work while my four year old ate breakfast. I have decided this worked out so well that I will be working on RMT this way for a while to see how far along I can get- I consider it my AM Daily Strand piece, while Mathilde Duforest is my PM Daily Strand piece.