2012 SOTM Finished!

FINALLY!!!!  The 2012 SOTM is finished.
I am very pleased with the background, which I designed myself, but I still don't care much for the heart.

Why did I bother?  I don't know...  I guess there is a flaw in my makeup that requires me to finish what I start.  Eventually.

What will I do with it?  No idea.  It'll go in the closet with the rest of my finished projects that I don't know what to do with! 

We are truly & thoroughly addicted!

2012 SOTM Background

This weekend I worked a lot on the background for SOTM 2012 during our Lord of the Rings marathon.  We watched all 3 of the "extended" DVDs and they are each really long.  So I got in lots of stitching time!
I darkened the detail photo so you could better see the pattern.

The Background is coming along nicely and I expect to finish it this week. 

Here's what the whole piece looks like now.

SOTM 2012 December

It looks like the 2012 SOTM will be my first finish in 2013.  The outlining is done; I'm not thrilled with it, but it is done.  I'm not very good at any kind of outlining unless it is a straight line! 

Next up will be the background.  I don't like the darning pattern we were given for the background, so I'm designing my own.  We'll see how it works out!

 

 

2012 SOTM October & November

Surprise!  I'm caught up on SOTM!  This week I completed the sections for October and November.
October is Double Straight Cross worked in Soy Luster and Wildflowers.  I reversed the way the threads are worked, using the Soy Luster for the little "hearts" and then filling the background with the Wildflowers.  Worked up very quickly.
November is Chottie's Plaid, using Trebizond, #12 Kreinik, and Grandeur.  Now, I have been a needlepoint plaid lover since the 70s or 80s when I first discovered it.  But I did not enjoy stitching this one.  Why?  Because I didn't like the threads.  You can see in the photo that the Trebizond doesn't cover well on the white canvas.  The Grandeur is OK, but the white Kreinik, which is 001HL is too heavy.
I still do not like this project.  I am curious to see what December brings.  If I don't like the background that is called for, I have decided I am going to do the background in Bargello hearts.  I will also outline all the areas and the whole heart, probably with a whipped backstitch.  Here is how it looks now:

2012 SOTM September

Well, this month's SOTM sure went fast!  It only took me a couple of hours to stitch this couched pattern.  Threads are Soy Luster, Panache, Kreinik and Grandeur.
Only 2 sections to go.  I'm very curious to get to the end & find out what is in store for outlining & background!

Menagerie Blocks 9 & 10

Menagerie is caught up again.  Or it was for a couple of days!  Instructions have already been posted for the next steps!  This picture is of the whole thing to date.  I'm still liking the soft monochromatic colors.  Now I am thinking I will use an aqua/tan overdye for the background. 



OK, details: The blocks I just finished are #9 & #10. Block #9 is Bargello and #10 is Round & Square stitches.

I  agonized over this square.  I thought I needed to be very creative since Bargello is "my thing".  Well, that wasn't working out so I decided to just do a simple Rectangular 4-Way.
The round & square stitches didn't really inspire me, so I kept it simple & small.  Smyra border with Daisy eyelets & ray stitches.

2012 SOTM August

August's section of the 2012 SOTM is finished.  It is a circle of Amadeus hearts.  Quick & easy to stitch with Wildflowers,  The background is a T-stitch with Kreinik #8 braid.  Eventually the hearts will have pearly heart beads, but I'll wait on those.  I still don't like this piece, but I will finish it.

2012 SOTM July

Stitch of the Month for July is finished.  The stitch is called Woven Trame.  I do not like it.  The trame was done in Trebizond and then stitched over it with Waterlilies.  Because it is all red, you can't even see what it is in the enlarged photo! 

I didn't help myself by not reading all of the instructions!  It was recommended to do one trame, stitch over it, then do another, etc. 
I put in all the trame rows and then had to push them aside to stitch over them.  A real pain!  I still don't like it.  The different texture doesn't really show up and it just looks messy to me.  I think it might be pretty in 2 colors or a light & dark, or something.  Anyway, here is total project to date.

2012 SOTM June

ANG's Stitch of the Month, June's section is finished.  This is the Victorian Step stitch.  It was supposed to be stitched with Panache, which is a nice shiny rayon perle, but I thought it was much too light weight for this stitch on 18-count canvas.  So I tried a couple of things & ended up with Silk N Ivory #14 Burgundy.  The coverage is still a bit light, but it will do.

Here is a close up of that section: 

2012 SOTM May

This week I completed the May section of this year's SOTM.  It is a pretty pattern, but the compensation was not nice!  This whole project has been a lesson in compensation so far!  I can't help but wonder if the designer's actually stitched this!
I did go ahead and attach the beads.  I hate it when I think I'm finished & then have to go back & add the beads! 
I'm pretty sure I'm going to want to outline the sections.  My basted outline stitches show quite a bit since there is a lot of open canvas.  I am very glad I didn't try to draw this onto the canvas because the pencil or pen lines would all still be evident!
Here is the whole thing so far:

2012 SOTM April

The SOTM for April is called Tortoiseshell Filling.  It is blackwork over a laid grid.  I completed this section in a couple of hours, but I don't really care for it.  And the edges are getting really messy, so I'm pretty sure I'll be adding some sort of border or outline at the end of this project.

2012 SOTM March

The March SOTM is out and I jumped right on it and got it stitched up.  This is a composite pattern by Joyce Lukomski.  It stitched up quite quickly using the overdyed floss and Kreinik #8 braid.  I opted to use the #12 braid for the straight horizontal stitches.  The heart shape sure does create some interesting compensation!

Here is a detail of the March section.

2012 Stitch of the Month, February

The February section of this year's Stitch of the Month (SOTM) is completed.  It is Criss Cross Hungarian stitched with a red overdyed silk and Kreinik braid.  This is one of my favorite stitches and I think it turned out quite pretty!
I wonder what March will bring?

2012 Stitch of the Month, Progress #1

ANG's Stitch of the Month (SOTM) for 2012 has begun and I completed January yesterday.  For once, I have not changed the design or the threads or the colors!  I am using the heart shape and red colorway as first suggested.  Wow, there's a departure! 

Anyway, the only thing I have done differently is that I charted the shapes and basted in all of the outlines, well most of the outlines, a few don't quite connect.  I rarely make any marks on my canvas anymore.  I have had too many instances where the marks end up not being in quite the right place and then there's an issue about how to cover them up!

For the first section in T-stitch, I had to remove the basting threads as I went along as there are open areas due to the nature of the stitch and the basting showed.  We'll see how this ends up.  Depending on what the background turns out to be, I may do a whipped backstitch or something around the outside edge.  But that's nearly a year away so we aren't going to worry about it!