So you may have noticed that I haven’t updated the blog for a while. And I have a very good reason for this. I must confess I have been sucked back into the cross stitch cesspool.
For a while I had fallen out of my cross stitch hobby. For some reason my stitchy bug was AWOL. But that all changed when I started my latest HAED piece – the World Travel Bookshelf by Aimee Stewart.
Continue reading “Doing the impossible is kind of fun”
Happy 4th of July to all of you who are celebrating! In the spirit of the red, white and blue here’s a WIP that has a LOT of blue in it!
Today I’d like to share with you the third and final (for now!) HAED that I purchased. The piece is by the artist Brigid Ashwood. Her subjects are diverse and range from fantasy and religious to women and insects! Her art, although quite dark at times (and I mean that literally) is bursting with vibrant color, rich depth and fine detail. Check out these stunning examples.
There were two pieces of hers that grabbed my attention. Oddly enough both were crosses. And although both depict the same subject, they are treated in diametrically opposite ways. While one is dark, metallic and gothic in its color scheme, the other is bright and floral.
I knew I wanted one of the two and I’ll admit it took me a while to decide between them. But in the end there was a clear winner.
From the battered and broken cross bloom the tender, fragrant blossoms that hold an irresistible appeal to life-seeking butterflies near and far.
Need I say more?
Of all the HAED’s I own this is the one I have made the most progress on. This is the piece which gifted me my first page finish on a HAED. This piece also introduced me to my current favorite DMC shade – 597.
The background has hardly any confetti which makes it an easy and quick stitch. I can make pretty good progress when working on this one simply because of the large blocks of color. I am stitching this on 18 count Fiddlers aida, full cross, 2 over 1. I love love LOVE working on this WIP. Here is my current progress.
I’ll admit the stitching turned out much darker than I expected. But I’ve only finished a little over one page so far and that means I’m still in the darker top left corner of the picture. And what with DMC 597 starting to make more prominent appearances (you can see the bright pop of 597 in the bottom right corner) I’m hoping the palette will lighten up soon. So far it definitely looks more greenish to me than blue. Fingers crossed that the finished piece will look like the artwork!
So to those of you celebrating the 4th of July, what are your plans for the day?
A couple of weeks ago I introduced you to the first HAED I ever purchased. Now although Serenity was the first one I purchased, it was not the first one I started stitching. Within 5 days of having bought my first HAED, I was forced (yes, forced! Shame on you HAED for putting out such irresistible baubles!) to purchase 2 more patterns. What sucked me in was one of HAED’s uber generous 50% off sales.
Continue reading “WIP Introduction – HAED #2”
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.
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.
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?
Diyalogues 