Dragonfly Mandala - Updated 10/6/22

October 6, 2022--Stitching on this challenging project is now complete, and the piece has been ironed as well as possible.  Now off to the framer (she has her work cut out for her in getting this evenly placed on a mounting board).  I'll have it mounted on top of black paper so the holes made by the pulled stitches will show nicely.

I learned a lot of new pulled thread stitches, e.g., Honeycomb Darning, Faggot Stitch, Double Cable and Pulled Upright Cross.  The paths taken for the lovely blackwork sections were very complex, so much so that I had to check off each stitch taken on the charts so as to not lose my way.

Please see the prior blog posts, below, for more information about this piece.

Dragonfly Mandala Completed

July 17, 2022--One of the classes I'm taking at ANG's Seminar in Tucson, AZ in August is a project called Dragonfly Mandala by Terri Bay (project photo can be found below).  Terry describes this as a blackwork, whitework, and pulled thread sampler.  I've taken other classes from Terri (most recently at the Hardanger University in Myrtle Beach, NC in 2019) and find her instructions to be complete and easy to follow.

For the class at seminar, students are asked to prework the outline, and we received our kits with enough time to get this done.  I did laugh though when I read the prework would take between 6 to 10 hours to complete.  Hah!  With all the miscounting I did which required constant ripping, ripping and more ripping, I probably put in three times the amount of time suggested.  It got so bad at times that I seriously considered calling ANG to tell them I wasn't going to take the class since I forgot how to count.  Of course, this is done on 28 count linen which isn't the easiest to see.  Well, I persevered and below are pictures of the results (one with and one without basting).  So, I'm all set to take this class and hopefully will enjoy it much more than the prework.  

Hope to see you in Tucson.

Dragonfly Mandala Prework (Basting Removed)

Dragonfly Mandala Prework (With Basting)

Dragonfly Mandala Designed by Terri Bay Project Photo

October 5, 2022--Well, this was funny, but sad.  I just read an online article from ALOT (click on title to get to website):

Home Decor That Just Screams "Granny Chic"

Here's what they had to say about needlepoint:

Needlepoint

Sure, needlepoint designs can be fun to create and they are a great way to kill time when you are absolutely bored out of your mind, provided you have the patience. You may even like the way your stuff turns out when you’ve finished it, but that doesn’t mean you should hang it on your wall.

Needlepoint is like the epitome of granny chic because it’s literally what you imagine in your head as a grandma doing all – that is until your mom becomes a grandma and she’s still not sewing. But anyway, your creations are best left stuffed in a box somewhere or maybe attached to a quilt.

Fortunately for me, I am NOT influenced by such nonsense and my walls are covered with needlepointed projects.