5 of 24 pages

 

Courtney Collection - Mermaid's Folly (Mirrored).  This is 5 of 24 pages completed.  That bottom row is a third of a whole page.  I have done a few jigsaw puzzles lately.  As of now I am back stitching my two pages for March on the red Winter Kalidoscope design.  Got a couple patterns from market, and the cookbook.  A few flosses, and some cuts of black fabric - so I could do a pattern from market, and one from my stash.  Got all the stitching copies made, they are kitted up.  But I am enjoying the red one, once I finally pick up the needle. 

A new mirror image start...

Modern Folk Embroidery - Winter Kaleidoscope.  Working on the upper right corner.  Doing my two pages for February.  Pages 13 and 14, of 20.  This is still just barely starting the first of the two pages.

This is Mermaid's Folly from Courtney Collection.  A new start for me this year.  The bottom one is finished, and I am doing the mirror image again on the top.  It is 24 pages, and this is three pages completed, and one skein of dmc black used at this point.  I wrote that it took 8.25 skeins doing the first one.  It is PTP 28 count, Brash, one over one.  I finished the first one mid December 2020.  Finished it is 18.75 inches by 7.5 inches.  I did try working on something else that I have already started, but that did not seem to last very long.  I have completed several of the Courtney Collection patterns with both the original, and mirror images.  

Finish #24 for 2020

Courtney Collection - Mermaid's Folly.  Finish #24 for 2020.  On PTP Brash, 28 count lugana, one over one, using dmc 310.  Used 8.25 skeins.  Pattern is 24 pages.   The photo is showing it much lighter more like Doubloon, and it is NOT that at all.  

This was how far 8 skeins completed got me....  just not quite there.  That was another 1/4 skein needed to finish.  And this photo is not color accurate either.  I would say Brash looks like a very soft tan suede.  It is 18.75 x 7.5 inches.  I know I wrote that I counted the weave and it was closer to 30 than 28 count, which would be normal dyeing process shrinkage.  I would still like to do the mirror image of the design yet, there is enough of the floss and fabric to do it.  But not right away.  I'm just happy to get through it once at the moment. 

Getting there....

 Mermaid's Folly from Courtney Collection.  This is 7 skeins of dmc 310 used and 21 of the 24 pages completed.  Finished 3 more pages this skein, leaving me with just 3 more pages to finish.  But I am gonna stop and change to something else for a skein.  I'd like to see this as finished before the year end, but those pages that I have left sure look like a lot of stitches.  

Stitch and Re-Stitch...

 

Courtney Collection - Mermaid's Folly.  Six skeins used at this point maybe.  Six pages left of 24 total.

I tried to make the borders meet, and I actually thought they did, till I realized I was one thread too low.  So put a pin in to show where I skipped a row, and then I removed back to that pin.

This would be the before photo.  Finished the page around her head, and filled in the border so it joined.

I finished the August and September monthly sections on the above pattern.

 

And finished the September monthly section for this one.  That silly tiny treee had to be removed and restitched, I stuck it in the wrong place.

More Than Halfway

Courtney Collection - Mermaid's Folly.
Had 3/4 of a skein of dmc opened, so filled in the bottom partial pages to complete the bottom row. 
Then filled in the mermaid's body page to complete that, leaving me with 7 pages yet to go.
Below is what it looked like when I picked it back up again. 
It's dmc 310 on PTP Brash 28 count lugana, one over one. 

Not stitching every day.  Either I seem to stitch for hours or not at all.  It was nice to work on this again. The top photo is a bit more accurate for color if you are wondering.  Stupid camera. 

All over the Map...

With Thy Needle and Thread - Spring Fling.
This is that Rabbit head with flowers on a suggested pink fabric.
The first thing the instructions say is to dye the pink called for fabric darker with a red wine.
The short version is - I changed fabrics.  Color and Cotton, 28 count in Storm or Steel evenweave.
It's a blue/gray.  As usual, the camera flash makes it nothing like the photo.  White rabbits and pink flowers will pop off the darker gray nicely.  I bought wine and will try dyeing the suggested fabric in future.  But it was such a long story of re-starting this, that I am done for a while.  

Courtney Collection - Mermaid's Folly.
I tried to continue, even up to last night.  But my progress has slowed to almost nothing. 
Went along the bottom 4 pages to get me to the corner.  I finished the corner page. 
So 13 of 24 pages completed.  Planning on a different stash project start next. 

Half the pages - and sorting...

Courtney Collection - Mermaid's Folly.
12 of 24 pages completed.

With a skein of dmc floss to show scale.  I have seen people stitching this and it can be really big.  And it's lovely really big.  But mine isn't big.  Saying I have 12 of 24 pages completed gives no scale.

This year has been my - stitch on the stuff you already started - plan.  This is not a brag or anything like that.  It was MY mess, but I really had no clue the size of the mess.  The photos are after my sorting and organizing.  I would buy a tote bin and put stuff in it.  And then get another bin.  Buy stuff that seemed to be going out of print, or was out of print.  These photos are same stuff, different angles.  I counted my started things, I wanted an approximate number.   That number is 75.  It's not the real number, there are more started things on a sewing room table pile.  In the photo are a bunch of kitted but not started things.  Not 75 more, but I didn't count those.  It is not my other patterns, or finished patterns, or fabric stash.  That is in stackable plastic totes. There are not things with just a hundred stitches, or a dozen stitches.  They are real projects I have multiple stitching days on.  

I was honestly wanting to order some pattern.  A bit like a junkie to be honest.  I was looking at something from market...  The first handful of stuff I grabbed out to sort - had the market pattern I was gonna order.  Meaning I do not know what I already have.  And exactly WHY I needed to sort and organize what I already have.  And I used to have an excel spreadsheet with designer and pattern names and stitch counts of all the patterns I have - but eventually, you don't update that anymore.  Seeing what I already have - I don't need MORE.  I want to stitch the things I have.  In all the patterns I handled while sorting, I did not reconsider a single one.  And I don't want to order more. 

Almost Half...

Back to Courtney Collection - Mermaid's Folly
Above photo is where I picked it back up.
28 count PTP Brash, dmc 310 black.  One over one.
The pattern is 24 pages, my goal was to fill in and to get to the point of half the pages completed. 
I had 9 pages completed.

Filled in the centers of two pages, giving me 11 pages completed now.  Some pages just have longer runs of stitches, and those grind on me.  I am trying to do just a grid block at a time, anything to make sure I don't count wrong.  Those long runs of thirty stitches, skip one, twenty more, skip one....
I just have to take smaller bites.  

Three Skeins Used

Mermaid's Folly - Courtney Collection.
This is three skeins of dmc used. 
What a weird choice of where to stitch.  Around the edges of two pages, and then flipping the pages upside down to stitch from the top down, but to still be stitching up. 
I can tell I'm pushing my limits for stitching on the same project.  But on the flip side, I think I have gotten more done than I expected.  It would be lovely to finish this area before stopping, but I know I'll never get that far.  Expect to see something else from the already started piles of stuff next time. 

Nine Pages Completed

Mermaid's Folly - Courtney Collection.
Nine pages completed.  9 of 24.  Still on the third skein of dmc floss.
This area is 9 inches wide by 7.5 inches high.  You could cover the area with just a single sheet of paper and have room to spare.  The line of stitches up is the common stitches between pages. 

Eight Pages Completed

 Courtney Collection -  Mermaid's Folly.
The cover photo just to show where the heck I am on the pattern.

This is another full page done, so 8 of 24 completed.
With the cover sheet as reference, it will show that I have completed the page under her elbow, and along her side.  And now I have two extra stitches.  I am still gonna just stitch the pages in no specific order.  This is now into the third skein of dmc

Seven Pages Completed

Courtney Collection - Mermaid's Folly. 
7 of 24 pages completed now.  One regular page completed and one more of the bottom pages completed.  Those full pages are gonna take a while.

Starting to Fill In

Mermaid's Folly - Courtney Collection.
Of the 24 pages total, this is 5 pages completed. 
Those bottom row pages are 38 stitches high, other normal pages are 96 stitches high.  So far I have added one extra stitch.  See it?  ha ha ha...
This is the first time I have had to sometimes just take a grid square at a time, or a column at a time.
Otherwise it is skip 1 stitch in 80 going across the page.  Too easy to mess that up, and I would have to count and recount all the time.  This again is like stitching a coffee spill of randomness.  I clearly love the results since I am stitching several of the patterns from this designer and willing to stitch them again in a mirror image.  But I admit I like the fact I get to stretch entertainment I get out a pattern.

And next from the pile of started things...

 And next from the pile of started things...
This is Mermaid's Folly from Courtney Collection. 
On Brash from PTP, and dmc 310.  It's 28 count, but actually it's 30 or 31.
This is where it was when I pulled it back out again.  Actually, I would have gone to this several times before, but it was lost in the stacks.  Seeing it again at all was nice. 

And as of today. 
This is very deceptive.  It's 24 pages, but it's only three rows.  The end pages are 8, 16, and 24. 
The end pages are half width.  I discovered I could get to the upper corner, and have the height, but it's only 7.5 inches.  I tried to stitch the width, I stitched to 18 inches, and I'm clueless if that is right, I did it based on something, probably counted the boxes.  I sure don't remember.  This is just under the first skein of dmc completed. 

After all the talk of flipped or mirroring the other patterns, Knightmare, Pelican, it occurred to me that I could mirror this one too.  The width is basically side to side on a fat half.  Once I had the height, all I had to do was fold it over to see if I had enough to do it twice.  I had remembered it took me time to decide on this fabric - it was ordered big to do this pattern.  And I figure it is gonna fit easy peasy.  Then I notice it's missing a hunk off the corner that I clearly decided to use for something else.  Good grief.  So I fold it and see if I have enough - cause it's not really very tall - and sure enough, I am gonna luck out and have enough.  Proving once again, angels watch over imbeciles and idiots.