I am not sure I like this background.

After frogging, re-frogging, and frogging again, I finally finished the area inside the big D.
The forget-me-nots proved to be challenging because the chart showed the easier choice, rather than the written directions. I decided to follow the  written instructions which were considered a bit more difficult.
The forget-me-not is made up of 3 different parts. In the center, there is a tiny gold eyelet. This is surrounded by 12 tiny cross stitches (one over one). This area is surrounded by satin stitches, of varying lengths using the silk.

The buds on the stem are made with Smyrna stitches.

At the top, there is a dragonfly in the upper left, and a butterfly in the upper right. These are both done in silk with satin stitches. At the ends of their antennae are petite French Knots.

The background stitch is done in a darning stitch. There are 5 colors of cotton floss used here. The top is the darkest, which fades to the lightest color at the bottom. I can't decide if I like this or not, It seems to muddy it up a bit. It is harder to see the small details.

Here is the whole thing so far:

Not sure if I like it, but I don't know how it would be without any background. Maybe it should be lighter?
Just don't know.

On a different note, we had some eggciting news!

Gretchen presented up with a little egg! She is about 2-3 weeks early. I understand that sometimes they do that before the regular egg production begins.

It is a perfect little, light brown egg! It is hard to tell from the picture, but it is much more slender than a normal size egg.

That's all I have for today.
I hope you have all been having a nice summer!

TUSAL, some groaning, and a small finish!

That time again!

Here is my August TUSAL:

You see these guys?

FROGS ! ! !

They love Deep Peace soooo much, that they have decided to live here permanently!

Here is my progress (though you could hardly call it that)!

I have officially spent more time frogging this than I have stitching it! AGGGHH!
You would never know it from this rather innocuous looking picture, but a great deal of drama has played out on this little piece of linen! I was further along. I even had one of the forget-me-nots partially finished, but it all had to go. I had all kinds of problems with the stem. It definitely looks a little different than the picture. Something in there has gone very wrong, but I will be darned if I can find out where it went off the track. Also, I think mine is a little wider than the directions say it should be. Also I don't particularly like the dramatic differences in the green of the stem and leaves. I would prefer it to be a more subtle change in color. I refrained from frogging it though because I have had enough of that!

This was giving me such fits! I was very frustrated. That, combined with my insomnia induced jumpy eyes, I decided to take a break.

I always keep one of my easy little projects nearby for just such a situation.
I pulled out The Most Wasted Day, and finished it!

The Most Wasted Day - Erica Wilson 1972

I know, it's a silly little thing, but I love the crayola colors!

Well, I can't say that I have particularly enjoyed our summer weather this year, but atleast my Clivia has enjoyed the humidity. I was so pleased that it bloomed. Last year it didn't bloom at all. In fact it has been almost 2 years since I got a bloom. When they do bloom however, they are quite spectacular.
I will leave you with this tropical picture:

Happy stitching everyone!

Some progress on Deep Peace

I have finished the outer part of the initial. It was a bit easier once I finished the border.
The blue in the upper, middle and lower parts of the initial are done with Anchor 134, 133, and 132. Although the DMC equivalents were given, I chose to stitch it with the Anchor colors. The blue is graduated from dark to light so subtly, that I decided not to try to match the colors.
This is a somewhat pricey piece. There are many Anchor threads called for, as well as I think, 7 different shades of Silk 'n Colors, plus the metallic threads, gold purl and the gold and silver paillettes.

This is what I have so far:

Most of the initial is stitched one over one, but the border is cross stitched over two threads with Periwinkle Silk 'n Colors. The outermost row is stitched with two threads. The rest is all done with a single thread. In between the last row, there is a stem stitch done all around in Camouflage Silk 'n Colors. It is the dark line going all around. This color ranges from bright green to brown. I wasn't too sure how it would look because I kept getting a lot of dark brown, but I think it turned out ok.

It is hard to see it from the picture, but the lower part of the initial features evergreen trees against the blue, on both sides.

This is a blow-up of the lower left-hand corner. It shows the trees

This pictures also shows the tails (ornamentation) coming off the initial. I am not thrilled with the way they came out, It is very hard to see them.They seem to disappear into the threads. It is supposed to be back-stitched with a single thread, but I think I may try it with two threads to see if it looks better.

That's where I am now. The next step is to fill in the center of the initial, starting with some grass at the bottom.

Hope everyone is managing to stay cool in this weather. I am so done with summer! I am not a fan of the hot weather, and this summer is just relentless with the heat! I am looking forward to fall, my favorite season!