Mulberry (aka Blueberry) & Lime - Updated 5/5/21

May 5, 2021--Won 2nd Place Ribbon in the Canvaswork-Multistitch category at Woodlawn's 58th Annual Needlework Exhibition in Alexandria, VA.

July 28, 2020--Ta da....this project is now framed.  Michaels Arts & Crafts did a good job on this.  The simple metal frame and matting look great with the fancy stitches and beading.  Very pleased.

Mulberry (aka Blueberry) & Lime Framed

July 9, 2020--The stitching on this beautiful project is now done and ready for the framer.  Below are photos of my project done in blues and lime along with the designer's project photo stitched in mulberry and lime (I think both are equally beautiful)

There were many challenges to this piece, most involving thread selection which I wrote about on June 22nd below.  I understand that magazines are limited as to how many pages can be devoted to instructions, so happily there weren't many issues in that regard.  In fact, there was only one instruction missing that I found--the placement of a Smyrna cross stitch in Step 21 needed to be repeated after stitching the right angled row of backstitches.

Mulberry (aka Blueberry) & Lime Completed

Mulberry & Lime Project Photo

Below is a revised list of threads I used in the project compared to those used by the designer.  This has been saved as a .jpeg so it can be enlarged.

Regarding the beads, my stash is limited, so I only used 2 types instead of 4 as designed.

July 4, 2020--All the bands through Step 19 are stitched.  The next steps involve the beautiful lacey looking stitches in the corners and centers, then the placement of lots of beads.   I haven't dived into my stash of beads yet, waiting to see what colors I'll end up using for the lacey stitches.  

Once everything is done, I'll repost my thread list which continues to change as I move forward.  This has been one of the most challenging projects I've done to date, but believe it'll be worth it in the end.  

Wishing everyone a Happy July 4th.

Mulberry (aka Blueberry) & Lime Through Step 19

June 22, 2020--This project has been a challenge, to put it mildly.  At one time I considered dumping the whole thing and starting over.  The biggest problems came from the threads in the instructions which are way too big for use on Congress Cloth.  For example, the designer calls for Kreinik #12 for an Oblique Encroaching Gobelin stitch over 1 thread.  Impossible to use Kreinik #12 without stretching out the Congress Cloth.  Kreinik #4 and #8 work much better.   There are other similar examples, such as using DMC Perle 8 when 12 is the better choice.   I'm also unhappy with my congress cloth.  I'm stitching on a cream color cloth with gold weaving through it.  That gold is always in the way when trying to find a hole in a crowded stitching situation (e.g., working up Jessicas).  Then I decided to change out some colors which involved some frogging.  However, I still love the design and like how the designer worked up the Jessica stitches--they came out beautiful.  So it's a love/hate relationship with this thing.  Still have 7 more steps to stitch which will really add "bang" to the project.

Mulberry (aka Blueberry) & Lime Through Step 14

May 31, 2020--I recently picked an old project I had in my stash designed by Jeanne Polzin and published in ANG’s Needlepointers Magazine in 2012, number 3.  This was a project led by Maryrose C-B for Delaware's Seashore Chapter of ANG back in 2014.  Maryrose wrote up wonderful notes on each section and made fantastic suggestions for alternate thread colorways.  I chose blues and am calling my project Blueberry & Lime.

So far I've stitched Steps 1 and 2, waiting for threads to arrive in the mail before going further.  Here's a photo.

Mulberry (Blueberry) & Lime Completed through Section 2