Dawn to Dusk - Brocade

I wasn't planning on sharing an update on this piece until I finished the first row of brocade. However, progress has been very slow as I've been in a slump. It's one part me and one part brocade. I'm sure you'll understand when you see the cheer amount of repetitive stitching and layers involved.

(click on the post to see the animation below)

The brocade is made of up 4 layers: lines in white going vertically and horizontally to form squares, a sort of pop corn stitch in black inside the white squares (you'll have to enlarge the picture to see them), this is then surrounded by stitches in gold thread and finally beads.

I haven't reached the beading yet. I've been stitching each layer on both areas at the same time and I just completed the third layer on one of them. After working on the brocade, I understand why they would be treated as their own row. If you didn't they would never get done. I will have to rethink my strategy if I want to finish this piece before end of year.

Now onto the me part of the slump. I've been thinking about it for a very long time and I think it's directly related to the fact that my stitching area and my "work" area are sharing the same space. It's not very conducive for any relaxation, especially as our work days have been getting longer. I can't move either of them out of my room as I like to have my computer for playing videos while stitching and I need the quiet space for all those meetings we have everyday. What I can do is re-organize the layout of my desk.

I didn't take a before picture to share, but believe me it was a disaster. I forgot how wide my desk is, as I had things piled on both ends of the desk. The screen was also moved from the corner to the center, so all in all it feels like a brand new workspace. There are still a few things that need to find a new home but I already feel much better.