Monday, February 13, 2012

Lessons Learned

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!   I had a looooong weekend since I had a few days off from work and was excited to get started on Elizabeth Hancock.  However, it didn't go exactly as I originally planned. 

In my last post I had the bright idea to do Elizabeth over one on 32 ct.   HA! That didn't last long at all!  I started that way and within minutes had an instant headache.  I realized quickly that I was not ready to deal with such a BIG project on an over one with 32 ct, tooooo toooooo small!  (lesson #1)  So I will save that over one plan for some smaller projects for practicing.  So once I got past this point, I was rolling along over two and really enjoying myself......love the verse and the star pattern.

I went with the overdyed floss substitutions which are not that close to the silks as used in the model photos but I am liking the differences...

Then came a problem... after rolling along on the verse I ran out of thread!!, leaving the verse unfinished.  Hmmm?  I continued onto to the next color and kept going and realized I was almost out of the color for the vine now too!   Double Hmmmm??

After going from the pattern, to the list, to the threads, to the pattern, what I did finally realize is that the pattern was originally created with Belle Soie with a conversion for cotton floss.  The problem is that Belle Soie is a 12 ply thread and CC and WDW is only 6 ply so you need double the amount listed in the pattern!! which is unfortunately not what I received in my 'floss pack' from the shop.   I had to order another 12 skeins of floss and will hope the colorations will work with what I already have.  So, from now on I will double check and triple check all my materials BEFORE starting (lesson #2!).

What I did get some belle soie for is Sarah Elizabeth Brooke, which will be next in line :D  I have seen this recently finished by some blogging buddies and fell in LOVE!
And the silks are just so beautiful and soft, these colors have such an amazing sheen to them..... I especially love the poison apple, rosebud, and vanilla pudding!  It is going to be hard to resist starting this one now! 

On Saturday I also got my stitching pouches from Faye.  Love them so much, they will be perfect for carrying around my projects....(it looks like those belle soie colors coordinate SO well :))

Isn't the bird pull the cutest!?!   so Sweet!
  ......be sure to check out her designs on her blog, Carolina Stitcher, she does such beautiful work!

It has been great visiting all of your blogs and seeing all of your WIPs.  Thanks so much for all of your comments and visiting and listening! 

I wish you all a fantastic week! and....


..... filled with love, friendship, CHOCOLATE!, and happy stitchings!  xxxxxxxxxxxxxx



17 comments:

Catherine said...

Great stitchy projects! Glad to know about the need for extra floss in case I ever decide to stitch that particular piece! And those colors for Sarah ~ beautiful! Faye's bags look wonderful!

Margaret said...

Agh! Such a bummer about the floss!!!!! Yikes! I hope the new floss matches with what you have. It's so frustrating when one runs out of floss. Been there done that. Ugh. Looks really pretty though! You will enjoy Sarah Elizabeth -- she's a fun stitch! Aren't the colors wonderful? Love the pouches you chose from Faye too. They're so pretty!

Shirlee said...

Beautiful samplers & I love Faye's bags : ) Blessings, Shirlee

Patty C. said...

Beautiful work -
Faye does a great job with her pouches doesn't she ;)

marly said...

Elizabeth looks wonderful. Sarah is one that I am still considering and I've never seen a close up of silk thread. Wow. Thick looking! I did not know it is 12 ply and I'm so glad you mentioned that! I'll keep it in mind when ordering conversions. I have that pouch fabric intending to make several - such incentive!

Unknown said...

Elizabeth is looking wonderful and what great progress you made with it. Loving the look of Sarah and with those Belle Soie it will be hard to resist :)

Nicola said...

I had never thought of the plies before. Your stitching is beautiful.

Happy Valentine's Day xxx

Siobhán said...

Elizabeth looks great! Nice progress. I don't think I'd ever do a large project over one but admire those who are willing! Love the pouch from Faye.

Chris said...

Happy Valentine's Day Krista! Elizabeth looks great. I hope that you can get some more thread quickly!
The project pouches are lovely.

Poussy Stitches My Love said...

C'est vraiment magnifique !
bisous xxxx de FRANCE

Carol said...

Wonderful progress on Elizabeth, Krista--love the colors :)

Wishing you a delightful Valentine's Day, too!

Joy said...

Your stitching is beautiful...no over one samplers for me. Sorry about your threads. Thanks for stopping by my blog, now I found you:)
Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Julie said...

Hi Krista,found your blog through the Hermits weekend. :)

Elizabeth is looking good.

Beehive Needleworks said...

BEAUTIFUL needlework Krista...I shall look forward to following your progress!
Wishing you a Valentine's Day filled with love and happiness!

Warmly,
Judy

Ranae said...

Beautiful stitching!
I can only do one over one on a small
I sure hope you can sort out the threads
The silks are gorgeous and so are Faye's bags

Debby said...

Wel, you have learned some lessons! I love the silks you will be stitching with! And the bags are nice to!

Greetings from Debby,
www.crossstitchstyle.blogspot.com

Sue said...

Gee, reading your post I'm learning something, too! I wouldn't have thought of looking at the yardage, either. Thank you for sharing that piece of information. Love your stitching, too, and the new piece is a beautiful pattern!