Mini Mandala Mystery 02 - finish!

Annnnd it's done! This is Mini Mandala Mystery 02 by Chatelaine, stitched with my own conversion of the suggested threads to DMC and silks from my stash. Beads are also a selection of delicas and bicones that looked close enough to the original beads.

Here are some detailed pictures from a few different angles. Unfortunately the sparkle doesn't come through very well, but at least you can see where the beads are. :)

My next project will be Swan Lake. One of the threads I ordered in hopes that it would work for the light blue was exactly what I wanted! (Waterlilies 233 Glacier, if anyone else is having the same issue!) The colors and transitions match the model photo really well and I'm inspired to work on it more. :)

WIPocalypse 2021 - June post

Oh boy. June was kind of a bust for me in terms of the plans I set out at the end of May, but I still did a lot of stitching - just not on the things I thought I would!

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Chinese Garden Mandala by Chatelaine got most of the spring panel added. As detailed in a previous post, I'm not too happy with it, but I think some distance has helped. I will probably fill in the rest of the sky so it matches the other two panels I've done. Maybe. The summer panel doesn't have a fully stitched sky either so maybe I should leave it...

No progress on Swan Lake or Night this month. However, I did get a thread that looks like it will be a good substitute for the light blue on Swan Lake, so I look forward to trying it out. If it's good, I have a feeling I will be making a lot of progress in July. :)

I did have two new starts, though! First is Busy Bee Sampler by Sweetheart Tree. It's a small chart, so this portion is already about a third of it. I'll finish this up in July.

And here is Mini Mystery Mandala 02 (MMM02) by Chatelaine. This was such a quick pattern, just over two weeks from start until now, with all stitching done. Just beading left to go! I'll probably finish this up today, actually...

And my monthly small was Teenie Bee Skep by Sweetheart Tree. :)

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So, to summarize my goals for July:

- Chinese Garden Mandala: Finish spring panel, fix things I don't like about all 3 seasons so far.

- Swan Lake: Test new thread and restitch if it works. Add a couple of motifs.

- Night: Taking a short break!

- Busy Bee Sampler: Finish!

- MMM02: Finish!

- start and finish one small

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Question of the Month:

Half-year recap:  How are you doing with your goals so far this year?

Let's see. I'll just copy the goals I made here and note how it's going!

WIP goals:

- Chinese Garden Mandala by Chatelaine: finish arches and four seasonal scenes (completed 3 of 4 arches and almost done with 3 of 4 seasons, so going well!)

- Fox by Riolis: finish (done!)

- Mushroom and Fern Mandala by Chatelaine: finish center, 3/4 arches, 3/4 mushroom corners (haven't really touched this one in 2021, oof)

- Night by Teresa Wentzler: stitch at least half (in progress, about halfway through this goal)

- Transcendence by HAED: no goal set (and no progress made, so go me!)

Planned new starts:

- Lilith of Labrador by Mirabilia (not started yet)

- Peacock Band Sampler by NEN (tiny start, got quite frustrated, considering just selling this kit)

- Swan Lake by Owlforest (in progress!)

Not bad but as usual, plans change. :3

Mini Mandala Mystery 02 - Post #3

A truly awful picture, but I've finished all the regular stitching on MMM02. :)

Bead time tomorrow!

Mini Mandala Mystery 02 - Post #2

Lots of progress on Mini Mandala Mystery 02 since last time! I've finished all the stitching in parts one and two, and I replaced the darker variegated thread in the very center with a lighter one. Still very happy with this one and having a great time stitching it!

The fencing and gates are done in a half weight black silk thread to help them look more defined. Regular DMC was too thick for the delicate lines of the fence on Belfast. :)

Still enjoying this one so I'll move on to part three, a final border around the entire piece.

Mini Mandala Mystery 02 - Post #1

Obviously the thing to do when you're frustrated with a Chatelaine is to start another one. :)

This is Mini Mandala Mystery 02 (aka MMM02) which is, as you'd expect from the name, a very small mandala with a handful of thread colors and beads, plus some nice specialty stitches. It was released in three parts and I've completed most of part one (minus backstitch and beads) and made a small start on part two.

I'm using a light grey fabric which looks a bit brown in this picture. In real life it's a cool grey. The threads are mostly DMC with a few variegated cottons from my stash subbed in for the recommended silks. I'm enjoying this so far, except I think I need to change out the varigated thread in the very center for the more muted one I tested out in the upper left section. That one is closer to the recommended thread.

I'll keep on with this one for the rest of the month. It's nice to have a new start!

Chinese Garden Mandala - post #14 (??)

I think this is post #14, going from the last numbered post and then adding all the WIPocalypse posts featuring multiple projects. Close enough, right?

So, I maybe finished the cherry blossom panel on Chinese Garden Mandala. I say maybe because I haven't decided if I want to completely fill the background with sky blue, or only stitch some of it as charted. The two bottom seasonal panels are fully stitched but the top two have some unstitched areas in the sky, and I'm not sure I like them being different.

Here it is so far:

I'm going to be honest: I don't like this panel at all. The other two panels I've completed so far are also not to my liking, but I'm super unhappy with how this one looks.

The grey/brown/green tree branch is almost indistinct among the many green/brown/yellow colors used for the leaves. The bridge is multiple variegated colors that look almost identical. The water (in this panel as well as the other two) has harsh shading with two colors that are far too different. I don't know what the green/brown area in the lower left corner is, or what the blocky dark green lines in the water represent. The black shadow under the bridge is far too harsh and I should have changed it, but I saw several finishes with the black shadow and they looked okay.

I'm stitching with the original threads, purchased as a kit back when this chart was new, including all of the out of production Eterna silks, so it's not a matter of subbing in colors that weren't intended.

I wish I'd made more changes as I worked on this and the other two panels, because I knew I wasn't going to be happy with the results.

Autumn panel: I changed some of the leaf colors and backstitch colors, but I don't like the water contrast or the color of the tree trunk. I can't figure out if the brown/grey area along the bottom is a rock or a huge tree root. I might redo it as grass instead.

Winter panel: Changed the black tree to dark brown (it's lighter than it looks in this picture!) and fully stitched the sky behind the pine needles - it was charted to leave the sky behind the needles blank. I need to take out the two darkest colors in the sky and restitch them with something less harsh. This should be an easy change, thankfully.

I think I'll put this away for a while and come back to it with fresh eyes. Right now I'm feeling too disappointed to think rationally about this project. :(

two tiny finishes!

I haven't posted in a bit but I've been stitching! I took a break from my larger projects to work on some smalls from my "must do" bag and had two quick finishes.

First is Butterfly by Sisters & Best Friends. I stitched the companion piece, Bumblebee, several years ago. There's still one left in my stash, Ladybug, which I'll stitch soon. :)

And a small Sweetheart Tree kit titled Teenie Bee Skep has been in my stash since it was a new release. It only took two days to complete and it's very cute!

I'm working on another Sweetheart Tree design already (no picture yet, sorry!) titled Busy Bee Sampler, which is about the same width but almost three times as long. It has a lot of the same motifs (I swear the bee skep is almost exactly the same on both designs) but more bands and specialty stitches. I find Sweetheart Tree designs to be very repetitive, as in they all have the same handful of motifs used over and over again. It's a little annoying as a consumer who pays money for these things, but it's also cozy in a way because I like them and I know how they'll look when finished.

Anyway, I'll have a pic soon. :)