24th June to 1st July 03

I was on Holiday in Spain during this period. My Holiday report complete with photos is hosted here:http://www.vashq.bravehost.com.

23rd June 03

I just about had time to finish off Lady when all the last minute packing and panicing was over and the waiting to go had started.

20th June 03

Tom Mouse is now finished and framed. I finished him earlier this week, I was just finishing the back-stitching when my friend called in on her way to work, but I made her sit and wait for 5 minutes so I could finish him! LOL!

After Tom Mouse was done, I started immediately on a Quick and Easy Cover Kit: Lady and the Tramp. I have read on some of the online groups that some people were short of the Beige thread - guess what - I'm short too, and I'm going to have to match it up with some of my own supplies - sigh! As it's a Designer Stitches kit they haven't included the thread numbers either so I'm going to have to hunt for the right one. The silly thing with that kit is that they gave you two whole skeins of peach - and the only thing to sew with the peach is Lady's Tongue - but only one skien of Beige, which has to do her face panel and all of her neck.

I've also been working more on Tempest - I finished the dragon off last weekend, and have been sewing the gold knot border since then. I had to re-design this border to fit around Tempest as he is larger than the Legend Dragons that it was designed for. I don't think I've gotten it quite right, it looks ok at first glance, but after I commenced stitching it I noticed that at some corners there are two knots and others one. I also didn't get the dragon dead-centred either - he's two stitches out. I was trying to line up his head with the centre of the border - which I did - but his head is not the dead center of the design.

I'm hoping to get this border completed before I go on holiday next week. I will probably be taking Paradise Island to sew with me - the perfect project for a beach holiday! - and probably something else too. I got the Too Pooped Kit in the mail last month, and I'm supposed to have started it on 1st June as CCS's Stitch-a-long but haven't even opened up the kit yet. Too many projects - too little time.

I'll probably be deluged with email when I get back so this will be my last posting in June's Stitch Diary.

14th June 03

I've done more work on both Tempest and Tom Mouse this week. Both are over 2/3rds done now. I wonder which I'll be finishing first?

I'm really enjoying stitching Tempest. I've stitched his body, cup and finished one of his wings now, just got the other wing, backstitching, and the border.

I've already backstitched the Teacup. I got quite a bit of it done on Tuesday whilst watching Holby City (a UK medical soap opera), and it wasn't
until the next day, in the daylight that the backstitching looked sort of funny because it wasn't showing up - I checked with the copy of Tempest on Teresa's website and it looked totally different: I'd only used 415 instead of the darker 414 hadn't I? Oh well I'll blame that little misstep on the dishy doctors of Holby City. Anyway 415 is all gone and 414 is now in place and he looks a lot better for it.

I love that border design - I'm going to have a go with that Jane Greenoff software to adapt it to fit around the Dragon. I guess it will be a case of
stretching it a little - as it is too small to fit around the design as is, and adding in another repeater pattern will probably make it a bit too large. But I'll have to wait till I've finished him, fiddle and see.

This is my "First" TW design. Piwi thought that this would be such a milestone - but it's not really - although her extensive use of blends is ..... unique.

7th June 03

I've been stitching quite a bit on Piwi's Dragon RR this week. I am stitching Teresa Wentzler's freebie design "Tempest in a Teacup". This dragon seems to contrast quite well - being salmon pink and purple - as the others are a range of colours between green, blue and purple. Two of these dragons, the one on the far left stitched by Piwi herself and center right stitched by Katt, are from the Legends of the Dragons Series. I think I'd like to sew all of these myself at some point too!

I'm a little worried about stitching the gold knot border around him when I'm finished - Tempest is slightly larger than the "Legend" dragons that it is designed to go around so I'm going to have to do some redesign and adjustment when it comes to stitching it. Well, one hurdle at a time.

Also at work this week I've been stitching on the Tom Mouse Country Companions freebie which was on the World of Cross Stitching Magazine. He seems to be progressing OK.

3rd June 03

Snatch is finished and framed.

Katt has now sent on Piwi's outstanding ANN Fantasy 4 dragon piece. I commenced stitching on this yesterday. So Paradise Island is down on the back burner again. Piwi has picked this wonderful piece of sparkly cream (hardanger? I think) to work on. I think I bought a piece of this material at Stitch 2003. It certainly seems the same. Katt found a problem with this material though, if you are stitching it under an artificial light, the metallic threads really shine back at you and dazzle you. The same thing happened to me when I tried working on it late last night.

Piwi has enclosed the Legends of the Dragons charts by Teresa Wentzler and Co as patterns for the RR, but I decided to do TW's Tempest in a Teacup on the material ages ago. I think it will look good as this dragon is red and will contrast really well with the others, who are all blues, greens and mauves.

Speaking of Dragons ... I happened across a copy of this poem by Jack Prelutsky while I was cleaning in the school yesterday.

The Dragon of Death

In a faraway, faraway forest
lies a treasure of infinite worth,
but guarding it closely forever
looms a being as old as the earth.

Its body is big as a boulder
and armoured with shimmering scales,
even the mountaintops tremble
when it thrashes it's seven great tails.

Its eyes tell a story of terror,
they gleam with an angry red flame
as it timelessly watches its riches,
and the dragon of death is it's name.

Its teeth are far sharper than daggers,
they can tear hardest metal to shreads.
It has seven mouths filled with these weapons
for it's neck swells to seven great heads.

Each head is as fierce as the other,
each head breathes a fiery breath,
and any it touches must perish,
set ablaze by the dragon of death.

All who have foolishly stumbled
on the dragon of death's golden cache
remain evermore in that forest,
nothing left of their bodies but ash.

Past Diary Entries:

[February 03] [March 03] [April 03] [May 03] [July 03] [August 03] [September 03] [October 03] [November03] [December03]

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