And That's a Row, Folks!

Pages 11 and 12 of Adrift are done!  I started page 11 on Oct 24th, and finished page 12 on Nov 9.  Not too shabby!

I even had a large flat table and two friends willing to hold her flat at each end (thank you, Rika and Ashley) and I finally have a decent photo for you! 

I can't believe how beautiful she is so far.  Although I can say that updating my status bar by 8000 stitches, only to see a 3% increase in my status is a bit of an anti-climax.  But 34% is still pretty good.

I'm off to stitch a page of Winter Hat Owl now.  I'd post a photo, but there is literally nothing to see but blue.  But I'm starting a new row after this one, so there might be some hat to show off soon.  I will, of course, keep you posted!

Also, my sister sent me a photo of  an angel I stitched for her a few years ago, before I started this blog.  I believe she is the Peace Angel.  Stitched 3 over 2 on the last bit of navy blue Lugana there was at the shop.  A friend had actually bought the fabric, but she graciously let me have it.  (Thanks Kari).

The blue doesn't really show up in the picture, but she is on a dark blue background and framed beautifully.   She now lives above my sisters bed.




Anyway, that's all I have for you for now.   I will hopefully start posting row 3 shortly.


~Rai Rai

Adrift Page 10 is Complete

I really must apologize for the pictures.  I do try to pull the wrinkles out of the piece, but I don't think I'll truly get a nice photo until it is complete, washed and ironed.

That being said, I do try to take the best photos that I can on an iPhone.

Not that much exciting to see. Just a bit of her torso, and waves.  Endless waves.

Here is the entire piece so far.   As you can see, this wasn't the most exciting of pages, but they too must be done.   One more page and a partial and I am done a second row!  I think I may be a bit ahead of schedule, as it took me a full 6 months to do the first row, but even though I am working a page on Adrift and then a page of Winter Hat Owl, I will be done this next page well before January. (at least I hope to complete it somewhere mid November).   But with the completion of this page, I have now hit the 30% mark on this journey! 

Again, I apologize for the quality of the photo, but you do get an idea of the progress.

Off to work on page 3 of Winter Hat Owl.  Only about 4 more pages and I might have a photo to show off.

I know it's early still, but wishing you a happy and safe Halloween.

~Rai Rai

Adrift, Page 9 is Complete

Started August 23rd and finished Sept 8, this page wasn't nearly as exciting as the last page, but it's another piece of the puzzle.

This is a closeup of the page, which shows more of her torso, a bit of her hair and an outline of breast. One of the things that I liked about this pattern was there was nothing covering her breast, no seaweed, or clam shell, just the waves. 

This is (a very wrinkled) photo of the entire mermaid so far. 

And this is the entire piece to date. 

She has been packed away and I will do page 2 of my Winter Hat Owl, now.  Since there is nothing to see (literally nothing) but a blue background, I won't post any photo's until I actually start on the owl itself, which will be approximately 6 pages in.  But working on a background that only has 3 colors is fast.  It gives me a sense of accomplishment, while giving me a nice, bright blue to stare at, after the gloomy colors of Adrift. 

It will likely be about 6 weeks before you see another update, but I promise I will continue to expose this picture, a pixel at a time.

~Rai Rai

Adrift Page 8 - the Mermaid Edition

We finally have a face!  And what a lovely face it is!

She's so serene as she floats in stormy seas, as if the more angry the storm is, the more content she is to just swim with the current and float away...

This page was arduous for me.  On one hand, I was super anxious to stitch her face and finally meet her, but on the other hand, the colors were driving me a little bit crazy. 

So I think this is a good time to switch over to the Winter Hat Owl and stitch a page of that.

Based on how long it has taken me to stitch her so far, with working on her exclusively, it's going to take me approximately 3 years to finish her, if I work on nothing else, and I'm sure by that time I will be quite mad. 

So I will put her aside and do a page of vivid colors, before returning to her.  But I will return.  I just have to resign myself that if I do a page of another pattern here and there, that it will take me 4 or more years to finish this. 

And strangely, I'm ok with that.

~Rai Rai

Here is the entire piece so far...

(as always, please excuse the wrinkles)

Adrift, Page 7

Page 7 is done! I started it June 17th and finished it July 5th. This was a nice, easy page full of large blocks of color.   As you can see, the ocean has made her appearance.   I've noticed that taking a photo with an iPhone is a bit of a crap-shoot.   The colors on the top photo vs the colors on the bottom photo seem very different.   (And apologies for the wrinkles on the bottom photo.  I pulled and tugged as best as I could.  Not to mention the lighting this time of night is dreadful, but you do get the idea on what she looks like.

The next page is the mermaids face!  We finally get to see her, aside from a tiny bit of her hair, which was stitched on this page.

I will be working a lot over this month, and then away for the first part of August, so I'm not sure how much time I'm going to get to stitch.  I'm hoping I will have an update for you in August, but no promises.  But I can promise that the next photo will be a beauty!

~Rai Rai

Adrift, Pages 5 and 6

Behold! I have finished the first line of pages.  

These are pages 5 and 6.  (Six was a partial page).

It has only taken me 6 months to get this first line done.  Mother of dragons, what the hell have I gotten myself in to?  6 pages .... of 42!   I'm going to be working on this piece for years!

BUT, the next page the mermaid makes her entrance. I'm excited to begin stitching that.

I still have my owl kitted up and ready to start, and I had intended to do a page of it as a break from all of the muted colors, but I'm so excited to start the mermaid that I think I will just soldier on.   I'll maybe take a break at the end of this row of pages.

In any case, enjoy!  I feel like I've accomplished something, even if it is only sky.

~Rai Rai

Adrift Pages 3 and 4 Complete

After absolutely blazing through page 3,  I thought I would keep going and post pages 3 and 4 together.  And then life hit me, and it took me over a month to complete page 4.

Admittedly, this photo isn't the greatest.  The cloth is so large that I have to fold it over and over and that's what gives it this rather messy look.

I have a few closeups that I also took.  You can see a bit of a blending better in this.

Apologies for the big shadows over the right side.  But you can see the blending of the colors of the sky a bit better. Plus there is a little bit of Krenik in there, that gives the sky a hint of a shimmer. It's really pretty and I wish this photo did it justice.

I'm on to page 5 and 6 (6 is little more than a block, so really shouldn't be counted as it's own page) and then I am done the first row of this goliath!   I'm pondering taking a break at the end of each row and just doing a page of something completely different, like the Winter Owl.  I feel like I need a hefty dose of bold color after working on such muted colors.

Anyway, enjoy! Hopefully page 5 won't take me long and I will have an update for you in a couple of weeks.

~Rai Rai