Iris Butterfly

No New Year resolutions this year, however woke on on the 9th and felt the time was right to change my eating habits and restart with Sparkpeople.com.  Then yesterday the lady who always said she'd never run also decided to try Couch to 5K so she can join her daughter in the Girls on the Run 5K in May.  You never know if this all has the desired side effect of weight loss a photo of myself may appear on this blog.

Anyway since last year I have finished the fun part of my Sue Spargo Pomegranate runner.  It would have been bound and photographed but my sewing machine decide not to like me yesterday.  The fantasy flower piece is now assembled and also awaiting quilting and binding that may just get some outline quilting around the blocks.

My ANG 2011 SOM ended up in the trash as I just could not get it to speak to me and I ended up making a mess of it.  Such is life!

Now I have started working on the final ANG Cyberstitchers project for 2011 called Iris and Butterfly by Pat Van Cleve.  It has been a long time since I've worked with a line drawn needlepoint project.  This one is a study in shading by blending different shades of DMC on the needle.  Also seems to be a nice quick project.  So far I think I have some good shading in the leaves.  I have tried to make the leaf in the foreground standout by using a lighter shades.

Last week I treated myself to a new needle rest at Peacock Alley.  It is the cat at the top of the canvas.

Alright this is on it's side but you can see the detail in the Brick Stitch.

The Iris stems call for rows of stem outline stitch but I think I will wrap them instead so they have more of a 3D effect.

Then it is onto the background today in Holbien stitch.