WIPocalypse redux - June update

Wow. Well, I completely missed the May update - time just really seems to slip away quickly.

But in good news, I do have two completions to show off. So hopefully it was worth the wait.

Topic of the month: Have you ever been to a stitch gathering such as a retreat or a festival? If so, tell us about it!
I haven't gone to any large festivals or retreats, but I have on occasion met up with one or more fellow stitchers for a day or a long weekend. It's a lot of fun, hanging out with others and stitching and chatting, and showing off finishes if you have them....

Which I do right now!


Project: Nativity - shepherd panel
Designer: MarBek
Fabric: 32ct Belfast - Countrystitch "Pansy"
Total hours to date: 111
Progress since last update: 46 hours, over two months.
Notes: Finished on 7 June!! Overall, I changed the metallics to use PTB instead of blending filament, which saved my sanity. The only other change was using Gentle Arts Sampler Thread in "Dried Thyme" for the grass, which also saved time. I'd actually anticipated 150 hours for this and I came in almost 40 under that. We'll see if the magi panel goes as quickly, when I start it after Thanksgiving.


(Click for larger image)


Project: Convent Herbal Garden
Designer:
Fabric: 32ct Lugana - Silkweaver solo
Total hours to date: 194
Progress since last update: 11 hours, all beading.
Notes: Finished on 14 June!! The beading took a while. I only made two minors modification to this piece - I substituted Dinky Dyes "Daydream" for the scrolled area - the skeins of Waterlilies "Celadon" were just too yellow/green for such a prominent part. I think Daydream worked quite well, because the colors fit right in. I also used Waterlilies "Blue Lavender" instead of "Hyacinth" for the flowers in the corner urns, just because I wanted more blue. The beading was a little tight on the urns but I did get them all to fit.

My initial projection was 150 hours, back when I started this in April of 2011. It took almost 200. I guess that more than makes up for the 40 hours I saved on the shepherds, I suppose. For pieces as full of specialty stitches as this one, I didn't really have a good benchmark for estimates. Hopefully my projections will improve in the future.


(Click for larger image)


Project: Music trio (Here Comes Treble, Alto Gether Now, First Bass)
Designer: Ink Circles
Fabric: 32ct Lugana - Countrystitch "Parchment"
Total hours to date: not tracked
Progress since last update: new start
Notes: This is the set of 3 music clef designs from Ink Circles, which I'll be doing as a single vertical piece. It is small enough that I won't bother tracking my hours. I've started with the alto clef as the center - not much of it so far.




I also finished another small purse piece - Mill Hill's "Royal Capri". I finished it during gaming sometime in May - I didn't bother recording its start or finish, but I rarely do with these tiny pieces.






Two large finishes has kept me busy. Life has also been busy - daughter got her learner's permit and a 4.0 GPA for her high school career so far. I've been continuing to treadmill daily now that Kryten has been working again since March. Last weigh-in had me down 5 pounds, so that made me happy.

I'm currently reading A King's Ransom by Sharon Kay Penman - her latest, which follows Richard I's return from the Crusades. I'm about 40% through it. Mostly I've only been reading on the treadmill lately, but with these two finishes, I may read more off the treadmill as well. On the reading queue on my kindle are Jim Butcher's latest Dresden Files book, Skin Game, and Neil Gaiman's latest, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I'll be travelling in the near future, and the Kindle is great for travel reading.