I Need More Olympics....

....so I can finish this other project I started a few weeks ago when the games began:

I'm calling it ROYAL PAVILLION, because I was thinking about the drama of pomp and circumstance, with plenty of regal flags and banners flying, and lots of gold trims for sparkle and pizazz.  I wanted royal/jewel colors, so went for something that had purples and golds in the variegated skein.  I'm using Watercolours 184, "Shererezade" for the foundation thread, then a family of purples (light, medium and dark) with two gold metallics (one thick ribbon, one fine braid). It's fast and fun, and I'm seein' lots of places to add some gold beads down the road....

The purple and gold striped borders are totally over the top - as is the gold and purple "flags" bracketing the corners, but BOY, are they fun to stitch and they definitely add extra regalness (is that a word?) to the piece.  Anyway, if I push on with it, I might actually have this ready to release by the end of the month... depends on whatever comes up and how quickly I can get the pattern done.

 In the meantime, I'm going back to ye old Netflix to watch some of my favorite British programs while I stitch (have you ever watched KINGDOM?  ROSEMARY & THYME? MIDSOMER MURDERS? INSPECTOR LEWIS??) That's what I'll be doing this week to continue my Olympic fever stitching marathon!

In the meantime, KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON . . . . STITCHING, of course.

Olympic Stitching

Have you been working on special projects while watching the Olympics these last two weeks? I have....

Here's one I started a few weeks ago; it's my ACE OF DIAMONDS done in an entirely different color palette:

[The original design was stitched in blues and purples, and has a wintry feel, as shown below:]

I got the idea to change the colors on this design after spending my days printing lots of patterns that I'm sending to stores in the Philadelphia, PA area for the ANG Seminar later this month.... but I digress...When I was printing the ACE OF DIAMONDS pattern, I wondered how it would look in soft, pastel colors...so in the midst of printing, I quickly pulled this basic thread palette:

I chose Watercolours 053, "Coral Blush" with DMC #5 pearl cottons 3348, 761, 225 and 819. I am also using two metallic ribbons: Ribbon Floss 148-026 (ecru/opal) and Neon Rays+ NP04 (pink).   Frankly, I think these colors are SOOO YUMMY and remind me of petit fours, or maybe a wedding cake!  Again, here's the center of the pink version, where I decided to use more of the ecru ribbon instead of the pink:

Just this morning I put in the fan-stitched middle diamond, using 1 ply of the variegated Watercolours.  Then in the upper right portion I've added some of the pink Ribbon Floss.  I couldn't decide on which ribbon to use - the darker or the lighter - but went with the darker pink.  And I'm planning to work the whole diamond area in pink, instead of using two colors, as shown in the blue & purple version.

As I am stitching this, it occurred to me that this might make a great anniversary or wedding sampler project... and you know how hard it is to find geometric wedding samplers, right?!?  Anyway, I awkwardly sketched this out to give you some idea of the possibilities of where you might add text:

And with these wedding-cakey colors, it's a good fit, don't you think?  Anyway, can you see this done in other colors besides soft pink?  How about pale lavenders?  or soft periwinkle blues?  

And see the light-colored lacy background areas? That was supposed to be a medium-to-dark color, but I wanted to make it look lacier, so I am using 3 ply of DMC floss 819.  That's one of the fun things about this design: it's balanced enough in the stitch patterns, so you can experiment and play around with the colors and still have a really satisfying piece when you're done - not to mention making it uniquely your own.

So that's one of the projects that's keeping me in my seat during the Olympic Games.  I hope it gives you some ideas and inspiration for your own stitching games!

A Little Flag Waving

I've been inspired by Coni (SPINSTER STITCHER) who is starting a new project that she will be stitching during the Beijing Olympics. She's going to stitch a lovely American Flag project called "Patchwork of Peace." How appropriate!

After watching the opening ceremonies last night, I've decided to jump in to the Olympic Stitching Event by stitching up a little flag canvas I created from the photograph above. (I've been itching to have an excuse to start stitching on it, and now I have one! Isn't it amazing how eager we are to find ANY EXCUSE to start a new project? ....Never mind how many other projects we have ALREADY started in our project pile?....)

And of course, I'm off to the local stitchery store to get my threads...I'm thinking Splendor silks for the red, white and blues...to be blended with a simple basketweave stitch thruout (and maybe some discreetly padded borders!)

Well, I'm off to shop....Talk to ya later!