Saturday, July 6, 2013

Slowly but surely...

French Country Kitchen Garden is coming along so slowly.   Part 7 was released earlier this month, but I’m still plugging away at Part 1.  I keep reminding myself that stitching is not a race.  Here is my labor of love.






I’m working on back stitching and beading this weekend.  The flowers on the bottom were all  charted yellow (Dinky Dyes 144), but I needed variety, so I mixed it up a little.  I used DMC 4100 for the spiky flowers and DMC 351 for the smaller Jessica stitches.  The larger Jessica stitches I kept yellow (DMC 3820).  And speaking of those dratted Jessica’s… .



By the time figured out what I was doing wrong, I was thoroughly in hate with them.  The trick is to turn the fabric to get the placement correct.  Eventually, I’ll go back and fix the funny looking ones, but for now, they will stay as stitched.

The weather has been holding and my garden has been calling me.  Sitting outdoors with a magnifier, however, is not feasible.  So my Feather Fairy has gotten a bit of attention.  


I've taken most of those sickly greens out and selected these golden yellows as replacement in her feather skirt.  



The chart calls for Krenik #4 Metallic Braid in colors #014 & #198.  I exchanged Krenik #014 with Rainbow Gallery Petite Treasure Braid #250.  PTB glides through fabric so smoothly; each stitch is like cutting through soft butter.  The Krenik, on the other hand, is rough and snags the fabric.  Threading a needle with it is an exercise in patience (three cheers for Thread Heaven).  But the effect can’t be beat.  It looks a little like crushed opals.  I wish I took better pictures. 



That's all for now. Thanks for looking. 

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!





11 comments:

  1. Everything looks great. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the garden.

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    1. Thanks, Jan. Part 2 has a fence line that I am eager to get to.

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  2. Lovely stitching...I'm not good at all at changing things about.

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    1. Hi Wima. I'll admit that I get nervous when making changes. But if my conversion looks funny, I just rip it out and try something else.

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  3. Beautiful stitching! Both designs look amazing and fun to stitch :)

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  4. I applaud you for taking on the French Country Garden piece. Just about the whole piece of material is covered with stitches. It's no wonder that you aren't further ahead! Beautiful work though.
    I think the yellow replacing the green is a great choice. Keep up the great job.

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    1. Thank you for the encouragement! That green was making me so unhappy. It was either replace the color or let the piece go unfinished.

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  5. Hello

    Just found your lovely blog.
    Your stitching is beautiful! I'm a slow stitcher and I like your comment that it is not a race.
    Have a good day (:

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, When I see how quickly some others are stitching things up, I am sometimes amazed. But that's okay, we'll get there. Just enjoy the journey.

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  6. Greetings from London :) I was looking for cross stitch blogs and found yours, you have some wonderful creations here. i've never used beads yet but its on my to do list :) yours a very beautiful.

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