Oriole ministocking II

First, one of my male stitchers is doing a Christmas stocking for his soon-to-be born first grandchild.  This is by far his biggest project--he's done belts and key fobs.  It is also the first time he is doing pattern stitches.  He started on the background first and gained confidence.  Then he moved on to the Christmas tree.  Now he's working on Santa's suit, but his confidence has taken a hit.  He was to do the mosaic stitch.  I told him that he could turn the canvas upside down to do the return row, but to be sure to keep the stitches lined up.  Well, I'm not sure quite what he did, but it isn't your typical mosaic.  He's stitching in very velvet and the picture is fuzzy.

 Anyway, one row slants to the right and the next to the left.  Actually it is a nice textural effect and I told him to keep doing what he was doing.  He can do the "regular" mosaic somewhere else.

With the Olympics to watch, my stitching has suffered.  I can stitch during the biathlon and the snowboarding, but I want to watch the curlers and the figure skaters.  I did the birds in the encroaching gobelin.  I got so engrossed in one program that after I finished the second bird, I worked on the background for a while and finally realized I had done about a 2x2 section in the encroaching gobelin.  So out it had to come!

EDIT:  I just realized I should mention the birds' eyes.  As the canvas was printed, it was impossible to accomplish the eye with rings of color so I opted to do a smyrna cross.  I like the way it looks and am glad I decided not to agonize over the whole process.

Little mermaid, 4

I just love the way her tail looks in person.  All those smyrna crosses add such texture.  Of course, they also take longer to execute than many other stitches (says Miss Instant Gratification).  I have started stitching the sand in diagonal mosaic.

My reading in the summer is usually nonfiction, heavy on biography and memoirs (such as a biography of Iphigene Sulzburger whose family owns the New York Times).  However, Monday I picked up my paperback copy of Mrs. Frisby and the rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien.  It won the Newbery Award in children's literature and is just delightful.  I reread it every couple of years because it gives me such warm fuzzy feelings.  It has subtle messages (and some not so subtle) about cooperation among different groups,  joining forces against a common adversary, stereotyping, and so much more.  Who would have thought I'd be proud of a rat or a mouse?  If you've never read it, I highly recommend it to you. 

Tassel canvas III finish

The tassel on the far left is stitched in a yellow Balger in alternating slanted gobelin with a row of continental down the middle.  The top of the tassel is done in Smyrna crosses in a bright silver metallic.

French knots form the top bead on the next tassel.  The top of the main part of the tassel is turkey work stitched in candlelight.  The bottom of the tassel is the fern stitch in a hot pink metallic.  Mosaic stitches and smyrna crosses are also used in the top areas of the tassel.

It's satisfying to admire the finished product.  The combination of stitches with metallic and matte lends this purse flap a certain exotic flavor.