Glorious Spring! Stitching Update and Kitting up Flutter on By

Glorious Spring! is a little more than halfway complete and I'm still enjoying these dancing images. It is hard to get a photo that doesn't wash the teal green fabric out just a bit, but I am glad I chose this color, it gives it the dark forest background I was after.

I've also got everything ready to begin stitching Flutter on By. I've got Sanctuary ready to go as well but will probably do FoB next because of its bright colors. I think I may need them! Next week I'm having some rather extensive surgery that is going to put my foot in a cast and me on crutches for at least 6 weeks.

I'm looking at it as an opportunity to stitch :) and want something especially cheerful to work on and I think this is going to be just that.

I'll be using Zweigart 18 count aida in Beige, though it looks more like it should be called light yellow instead of the tan shades that the name beige suggests.

The floss is almost entirely HDF, Hand-Dyed Fibers silk floss and is as follows -

Green border - Jadeite #2467
Butterflies - Chrysocolla #2253
Bleeding Hearts - Perfect Red #6207
Poppies - Zinnia #4237
Darker green in leaves - Isle Green #3213
Lighter green in leaves, frogs & spots on turtle - Wrasse Green #3315
Turtle and stems on Bleeding Hearts - Bird Feathers #4107
Yellow dots on butterfly and frog background, and strawberry seeds - Ochre #4403

And lastly I'll be using Soie d'Alger #2646 for the strawberries, because I have a good bit on hand. If I were going with an HDF for them it would be a little darker of the Perfect Red line.

Glorious Spring! Progresses

I've been getting a little more time in stitching and I am indeed enjoying this one :)

Get used to lacy borders in my designs, I am loving the effect they are giving.

I'm also enjoying using Vikki's beautiful silk floss, not only do they just glide through the fabric the color choices are so varied that I can almost always find just the right hues, shade, and intensity for what I'm trying to capture.

What do you think of the variegated coppery brown in the tree bark?

Floss & Color Choices for Glorious Spring!

I'm on the last row of One May Night! I hope to have it finished and framed by the end of the weekend, if life doesn't intervene. And while I was going to stitch Sanctuary next, it just has to wait till I can complete Glorious Spring! :)

Spring is exploding like cannons here in the mountains. I look out the kitchen window to the forest which is only a few feet from it and the daffodils are just dancing in the breezes! We've had a raccoon raiding the cat's food and a bear came a couple of nights and raided the seeds and suet in our bird feeding area, so we know spring has indeed arrived!

I did take some time out to select my fabric and floss and wanted to share that with you. I also decided that that top row of daffodils that are bent over as they are rising up and blossoming, should be slightly darker yellow than the bottom with slightly darker leaves. So if you have the charts already you can either keep them as they are or make that change.

The fabric is an 18 count Zweigart aida in a dark teal green, and I'll be stitching it with one thread over one square and will be using all Vikki Clayton's HDF silk floss. Her floss has such a lovely quality to it and stitches so easily. Her prices are VERY good and she is happy to ship internationally so don't hesitate to check her products out.

Colors - (and I'll probably only need one skein of each except for the Cream for the border)

For the border & snow in the center motif, I'll be using - Cream

Violets - flowers will be Ultra Violet #2123 & leaves will be Hemlock #3111

Top Row Daffodils - flowers will be Liquid Gold #4175 & leaves will be Isle Green #3213

Trees, Initials & Date - bark and initials will be Bewitched & leaves and date will be Wrasse Green #3315

Second Row Daffodils - flowers will be Gold Rush #4227 & leaves will be Isle Green #3211

Bluebells - flowers will be Fugue Blue #2241 and leaves will be Hemlock #3113

Butterflies - Outer border will be Terra Firma & inner area will be Yellow Spice #4163

Now, off to try and get One May Night done and start Glorious Spring! while it is still spring.