Elizabeth Burrows finish

I chose to skip Santa Sunday stitching so I could finish up Elizabeth Burrows.  She had been so close to a finish for the last week, but I'd either been working on other things, or just not stitching.  I'm sure my current Santa won't mind, since he received attention on Saturday instead.  I chose to add a band at the bottom as my "signature" instead of changing any of the original initials.

I loved learning the Montenegrin stitch, but just tolerated the Italian cross over 3

Satin stitch always looks lush and fabulous, especially with silk, but I had more frogging in the satin stitch bands than the whole rest of the sampler.

Eyelets, lots of eyelets.  I'm rather proud of myself for actually stitching them instead of swapping them out for smyrna crosses like I usually do.  Dare I say, but I actually got to enjoy stitching the eyelets.

I think its time for Jane Rees to come out and play.  The last photo I can find of her is from April 2009.  I know I've worked on her since then, but not a lot.  As you can see, there's a LOT more to be stitched.

Scarlet Letter stitching

If you read Nicole's Scarlet Letter Year blog, you've probably already seen these pics.

Ann Smith had some progress, and I started on some of the over-1 stitching.  The plan to use tent stitch for the over 1 (except the words) didn't work out.  I wasn't getting good enough coverage on the 35 count linen, so all that over 1 is being done with full crosses.  Miss Ann has a lot of over 1.

Mom and I were discussing that deer on the left one night.  I thought it looked like a moose.  She thinks its a donkey with antlers.  I really laughed at that.

The after Christmas illness that hit the household caught up with me.  All 3 of us were on antibiotics for sinus infections, and I still have the lingering crud - cough and congestion.  I'm not complaining too much, since this is what I lived with 90% of my time in Utah.  I loved Utah, my body didn't.  When I was at my worst, I indulged in a couple of new starts, partly because I didn't feel like facing the over 1 on Ann.

Meet Elizabeth Burrows.  She's a small sampler, but requires some mental agility since the stitches are over 2, 3, and 4 threads.  It was my first exposure to the Montenegrin stitch and Italian cross.  I'm in love.  I chose 4 silks from my stash, trying to respect Elizabeth's original choices, but drew the line at pale pink.  Instead I substituted an overdyed cream silk that had some touches of peach and taupe.

Since taking this picture I've gotten down to the alphabet stitched in eyelets.  I usually substitute smyrna crosses for eyelets, but I'm actually going with the more time consuming eyelets.  Its worth it, they look great.

My other new start was CCN's Santa's Village.  This is going to be a huge piece when finished, even stitched on 36 count.  I changed out some of the floss, using overdyed cotton from my stash, but decided to stay with some of the bright colors.  I'm questioning that now, but I'm not going to rip out what's stitched.  Instead I pulled a darker and more muted red, and will bring some of that in, starting with the berries that should be in the bottom border.  My wreath is missing its berries, and Santa his eyes, and of course the star on the top of the tree.  I want to use some seed beeds and the JABCO button, so will wait until the end to attach those.

My goal for this year is to focus more on my "serious" stitching, with just enough "fun" stitching to keep life lively.  I love my "serious" projects, but they tend to get pushed to the side so easily with my love for seasonal stitching.