Castles in the Air progress report

Hi all! So far, so good this year on keeping on my rotation! For the last week of March I was working on Papillon's Castles in the Air, adding part 14 along the bottom edge, which consists of two sides of a large blackwork gate covered with flowers. Anyone else stitching this might notice my little boo boo on the top of the gates. The fleur de lis motifs along the top should have all been in gold metallic, but I did not realize that until I had already done them in black, so I just did the larger post top ones in gold and left the smaller ones black. Se la vie...if you know what I mean!

Here is a close up of one side of the gate. The other is a mirror image.

Here is the entire piece so far....

Today I am going to finish up my monthly tiny biscornu and get out my next big project to work on. That is if I don't get caught by my latest new book by Jean Auel! We've waiting a long time for the last book in her series!

Castles progress pic and another small

So far so good in the stitching department this month! I added part 13 to Castles in the Air last week (the round sections at the bottom edge) and got another small done over the long weekend. Here's the progress pic....

And this is the newest of Teresa Wentzler's freebies...Hummingbird! Stitched on 18ct ice blue linen over 2 and over 1 for the hummer....made it into an ornament for spring....which I hope is going to be early this year! I stitched the border and corner motifs again for the back.

Update on Castles again this month...

I have another Castles update this month, trying to catch up before the 15th part is out next month! This is my progress as of pt.12, the half-way point. It has gotten very large and my big floor stand is getting a workout lately! I'm taking a break from this big piece to stitch a card, one of the freebie inserts in World of Cross Stitching magazine, then it's on to another big project, Chatelaine's Holland Landscapes. Tomorrow I'll do some Friday Finishing on Witchy Poo.
The house is so quiet with DD at school now...guess I'd better do some more laundry and go stitch now!

Castles update and a biscornu!

Hi all! I got part 11 of my Castles in the Air completed on the 7th. Part 11 is on the lower left, the next part mirrors it. I hope to get back to this later in the month....I am a couple of parts behind and need to catch up. Of course, that depends on how busy we get, as school starts for DD on the 25th!


Also, I finished off my monthly biscornu last night. This is Summer Breeze by Cat's Whiskers. It uses Dinky-Dyes silk, and the fabric is a solo opalescent from Silkweavers. I subbed a hummingbird bead for the top button. This was the fourth of the seasonal biscornu from Cat's Whiskers and Dinky-Dyes. Pictures of all my biscornu are in my Webshots album.

More Castles progress!

Part 10 of Castles was pretty easy, so I'm back posting more pics. Not much visible change, just the addition of two heart topiary trees on the borders. Here is a close up of one, the other is just done in different colors. Still thinking about beach projects....another biscornu for sure, and maybe some ornies.....hard to decide!

Castles in the Air progress report

Well, I finally got back to Papillon's Castles project, and finished part 9 last week. Now working on part 10. Here is a close up, and the entire piece so far! The pics are clickable.

Still debating what to take to the beach later this month....must be small and portable...and calling my name!

Castles in the Air progress report

Once again I have some progress to post on Castles in the Air by Papillon....part 8 has been added! In April I am going to try and catch up as pts. 9 and 10 have been released. Part 8 included the two vertical elements to the left of the center. Part 9 will be the same for the other side. I have shown a close-up, and this is the whole piece so far. It's quite large so I have been stitching it upside down to make it easier to reach. Easy really, all you do is flip it, and the pattern and the color key too...so the symbols don't confuse you!


I decided after this that I had better get started on Mother's Day gifts, so I pulled out a couple of Hummel pillow kits. I have had them for a while, and Mom and hubby's Mom aren't getting any younger! Started Lily of the Valley for my mom, and will work on Daisy Girl for MIL next month.

Castles in the Air progress report

Finished up part 7 of Castles in the Air! I'm gradually getting caught up, and will do parts 8 and 9 later this month. Part 7 is the two diamond motifs on either side of the peacocks. Click on the picture to see a larger view.

Castles in the Air progress report

I have finally made some more progress on Papillon's Castles in the Air! The fabric fading seems to be equalizing, so pt. 6 has been added. It's getting quite large!

I started a name tree for the newest cousin in the family last night. These things work up fast, so I hope to start block 2 of CaHRH later this week.

All caught up on Castles...Pt.5 added!

I finished adding part 5 to Papillon's Castles in the Air, which catches me up to the present. Here is a close-up of pts. 4 and 5...if you click on it, you will be able to see it better. I wasn't sure about the green plants across the top, so I hope they were stitched correctly!


As a reward, I got a new start...Lizzie Kate's Boo Club Double Flip stack! Needed something smaller (at least at the start) to carry around. Plus, DD is preparing to take her test to get her Learner's Permit (for driving) and we had to round up all the *official documents* to prove her existance....lots of hoops to jump through now a'days! I needed a stress reduction reward!
I think I'll be adding to the stash again soon too, as I've seen some goodies that are due out soon....just what the mom of a 15 year old needs!

Castles in the Air progress report!

I have finished part 4 (the peacocks!) on Papillon's Castles in the Air SAL....my favorite part so far! I am doing the specialty stitch version, and the fabric is Silkweaver's Morning Mist 32ct opalescent lugana. Trying to decide if I should move on to part 5 or start my monthly biscornu....hmmmm.....

Castles in the Air progress report!

I finished adding Part 3 of Papillon's Castles in the Air today! It's already getting large, so next time I may have to add the q-snap extenders....

I also picked up a couple of framed pieces from my framer last Saturday. (Before a nice lunch with my stitching buddies!) This is Ink Circles' Growth Rings.

This is Praiseworthy Stitches' Winter Bird Delight. Blogger insists on rotating it 90 degrees, but you get the idea!

Castles in the Air, pt.2

Here it is, as promised! I have finished adding all of part 2 of Papillon's Castles in the Air, and am looking forward to the next part! After this I will do a biscornu and work on another tote, just for the change of pace from urns and garlands!

Castles in the Air-New Start!

This is my first part of Papillon Creations new 24-part SAL, Castles in the Air. I am loving it already! I did make a couple of minor changes to lighten it up a bit, by using single threads on some specialty stitches calling for two, by leaving off the second step B of Motif 9 Smyrna crosses, and by adding the Light Peacock crystal bicone to the center rather than beads. I'm still not sure about the orange color in the four outside flowers, and may change it later....wait and see!
The fabric is Silkweaver's Morning Mist 32ct opalescent lugana. Threads and beads will be listed on the Gallery on the Papillon website shortly, or you can see them here. Scroll down a bit and you will see this same picture with the threads listed.