A New Belt for Arthur

Years ago, I stitched a needlepoint for my husband, Arthur.  I'm not sure if it were while we were dating or after we married (which was 25 years ago this past August).  Arthur is a minimalist.  I asked him over 10 years ago if he wanted a new belt.  His response was"no, thank you.  This one is still good."  Over the years he has walked an hour each morning and cut down drastically on his intake of adult beverages.  The result has been, he now has a tidy waist and a noticeable chest.  AND a needlepoint belt that he is wearing in the closest hole to the needlepoint.  Not to mention the fact that it is now slightly grubby.  So you can understand my amazement this summer when he requested a new one.  Shock!

The design of his first belt consisted of his 3 initials stitched in groups of 3 shades of a color.  I couldn't photograph the belt in its entirety, so here is a series of photographs.

It has a navy background and is, even today, attractive.

The new belt reflects Arthur's interest in the New York Giants football team.  He loves them, except when he is screaming at them!

Since Needle Nicely has cornered the market on navy medici, that is what I am using to stitch the background.  The elements are going to be stitched in DMC perle cotton.  I took it to stitch on while I was in Dallas for the recent wholesale market.  Pitiful progress!

These segments start from the right side of the canvas and proceed through the middle and then the left side. Arthur has been very understanding in my lack of progress, but I really would like to finish this before January.  We'll see if that happens!

EDIT:  The red APC monogram doesn't show up well in my photograph, but it shows up in person.