WIP Introduction – Heaven and Earth Designs #1

I had mentioned earlier that HAED was the primary cause for my steady decline into the cross stitch cesspool. Today I’d like to share with you the first HAED pattern I ever purchased.

For the longest time I have admired the work of Dona Gelsinger on the website. Her work to me is ethereal and carries a touch of magic.

The piece I fell in love with is, to me, the epitome of perfection. It has a child angel, pure and innocent (I believe we’ve already established my weakness for angels). It is set on a beach at sunset (Come on… that’s got to sell it for you right there. Who could possibly complain about a beach sunset?). It has a lighthouse of sorts (Can this piece get any better? O yes, it can!). To top it all off, the artwork features one of my favorite prayers of all time.

Okay enough buildup… Here is a picture of my very first HAED.

A Little Serenity by Dona Gelsinger (Picture Courtesy : HAED website)

Those warm, autumnal tones, the golden glow of the setting sun, the delicately bowed head, the charming ruffled robe and those strong yet gentle feathers. My heart simply sighs in ecstasy every time I look at this.

I started stitching this on 01 January 2015 as part of a Facebook group SAL for the New Year (This was one of 4 large WIP’s I started that day. I know… worthy of being committed right?). I’m stitching it on a piece of 25 count evenweave I picked up while on holiday in Thailand. Talk about another reason to love this WIP. Every time I work on it I will be reminded of that wonderful trip. I am doing it 2 over 1 tent stitch and so far the coverage seems okay. I might have to increase to 3 strands for the darker colors but we’ll see when I get to those areas.

Once I had put in the required stitches to meet the SAL target I set the piece aside to work on other WIP’s. Here is a picture of where I stopped.

Progress as of 13 June 2015

Just writing this post makes me want to pull it out and put in a few more stitches. I can’t wait until I can get back to this piece again. Do you have any tucked away pieces that are demanding some attention?