Teresa Wentzler

I think I have an obsession with Teresa Wentzler patterns. I just received from eBay two more purchases of TW patterns. One is Tea Scene which is a really delicate work of both cross stitch and hardanger (which I have never tried before) and The Best of Teresa Wentzler Fantasy Collection Volume 2. Okay, I will be truthful, what I really wanted was Celestial Dragon, but figured I might as well get the book which also came with 10 other patterns. So that's how I ended up with 12 new patterns.

Seeing as I've been accumulating TW patterns left and right, I figured I should at least try to do one to see if I'd be able to (more like if I have the patience to) start and finish a pattern. For those who know TW's designs they understand what I mean. Her designs are beautiful and very detailed, using a lot of quarter stitches and blended threads. That and they are big. It is not a project you'd want to start unless you are ready to. Anyhow, I went to her site and found that she has a few free patterns up and decided to try one out.

I decided on "Stretch" the Magic Dragon. Here is a picture of the floss toss. I'm using a 32ct Jobelan in Lambswool, it's the same fabric as the one used in Flower Patch. I also bought a mini hoop. Isn't it cute :)

Here is what my progress looks like after stitching all weekend and a few hours everyday this week, approximately 22 hours. A very good progress, although I have slowed down once those quarter stitches started appearing. But I will get better at it. Can't wait to start on the dragon :)

Update: I received other things from eBay, but more on that on another day.

August TUSAL

Here is my August TUSAL. This one is much better than last month. It actually looks like I worked on something. You can see a lot of pinks and fuchsias. There should also be some turquoise. These are from the last 2 parts of Castle in the Air I worked on. 

Castle in the Air Part 7

So a week went by since I posted an update on Castle in the Air. I thought since I had already finished 3/4 of part 7, I should be able to finish the rest fairly quickly. I didn't account for distractions. I got caught up with a reading binge and completely stopped cross stitching (unless you count the 1 hour I spent working on Flower Patch).

So here is part 7. The two diamonds are exactly the same with just the colors being switched around. It was a quick stitch and very cute.

Flower Patch Update

I've been neglecting this project for a while now. Since this project is small, I only work on it when I'm sitting in front of the TV because I can't move my lap stand (It's so wide).

So I sat down yesterday and finally finished stitching the border in gold.

You can see below that I also started stitching the vines in dark green.

Castle in the Air Part 6

I know I was complaining about how bored I was with Castle in the Air last week, but I finally buckled down and finished it on Saturday.

Here's a more detailed image of one side. The left and right are exactly the same, which is why I found this part sooooo boring.

I told myself  I would take a break from this WIP once part 6 is done, but I took a peek at part 7 and saw it was very small so I ended up starting it right away. I'm half-way there so you will probably see an update soon.

I am Crazy

I know I am. That or I have too much time on my hands to surf the Internet.

I was looking around the blogs and found this. As soon as I saw it, I had to google it and found myself on TW's site. I got discouraged when I found out that this is yet another discontinued pattern. So I did a little search online to see if I could find it on eBay and found a site called Cross Stitch Stash. They basically sell discontinued or second hand patterns.

And here it is:

They ship very fast and the price is reasonable considering how rare this pamphlet is. I will definitely go back to them if I'm ever looking for something.

But I really need to stop doing this lol. It's just that I worry that I won't be able to find the pattern later if I don't get it now, which means that my stash is expanding faster than I can stitch.

I'm still working on Castle in the Air part 6 and Flower patch (I call them my upstairs and downstairs projects :P ), and I'm getting bored with them. You might find me posting about a new project very soon.

P.S. 생일축하합니다 두나 !!!!!!!!!!

Japanese Embroidery

I've always been fascinated by different types of embroidery, but the one that has caught my eye the most is Japanese Embroidery. Every once in a while I would do a Google search and see if anything new has popped up and try to decide if I should join the JEC and enroll in classes to learn.

I haven't done it so far because if I do, it would be to enroll in the Phase I class to start on the journey to get certified in it. It would be a HUGE commitment, because the classes and the materials are not cheap. And also, there are no teachers in my area. All the ones in Canada are out West, so my only choice would be to go to the US.

But I'm so tempted. I mean look at these http://www.nuido.org/photo_gallery/Gallery2.htm.

At this moment there are so many things that I would like to learn, that I feel like I don't have time at all for any of it lol. But for now, I got this book:

This book was written by the founder of the JEC. It gives a very good introduction to Japanese Embroidery and has lots of detailed pictures of various techniques used. The book is actually discontinued now, I had to search around online for it, and found it on Alibris. There are still some copies available here if anyone is interested.

One thing is for sure, if I do end up moving away from Montreal, I will make sure that the next place I live in will be more accommodating to my hobbies :P