Progress Continues - Can't avoid the braid

Since today is a school holiday, I worked on the Angel for many hours yesterday. The hard part is getting started, then hours pass by and you see how much more there is to do, and finally you reach a threshold when you have to stop.

I started out doing more bead work, then I swallowed hard and took out the Orange Braid. I really don't enjoy working with this thread, but it is in the pattern, so it must be dealt with. Why the dislike? It is too thick for the needles I have and due to the texture, it knots easily. I made the decision to do as much of it as I could yesterday, and I made quite a dent in it. Low and behold, I'm almost out of the thread. I'll have to make a trip to a specialty shop to buy more.

Lastly, I endulged in some old-fashioned embroidery floss. What a joy to just pass a needle back and forth through the thread. No stopping to pick up a miniature bead, no snagging on the fabric. It is almost too much.

Now I really want to finish this project so I can go back to working with materials I really enjoy. This Angel will be a treasure for the rest of my life, but the journey is long and arduous.

Here's a close up picture of the work. You can see the beads, orange braid and floss much better.

Plodding Along - One Bead at a Time

I worked on this in stops and starts yesterday. Kept getting interupted. Bent my beading needle, but it still works. I'm doing all of the beads at the bottom of the skirt, leaving the dreaded gold thread and blending filament until last. I have a feeling this will come back to haunt me.

Next time I will work in floss. It makes it so much easier to bead when there is floss in the holes to guide me. I thought I had a major catastrophe yesterday when some beads weren't lining up. Only had to rip out a couple. Just one thread off can throw the whole design off. !!!

Day Two: Beading Continues

I spent much more than 2 hours working on this today. It's hard to tell, but I am still working on the bottom and up the left side. It is slow going. I also realized I don't have 2 of the bead colors. I just worked around those and will get back to them next week.

Week One: Beading Begins

Well, I'm off to a good start. I spent about 4 hours today working on AOL (Angel of Love).

I have decided to start at the bottom and work my way up. If you look at the very bottom of the skirt, I did all of the beading on that today.

Direct sunlight is a must when doing this. It is so hard to see the threads once the beads start going on.

'Ta for now.

Dusting off the Cobwebs

I am embarrased to say that I am using this blog to 'force' me into completing the cross stitch project from hell.

Let me start at the beginning. I saw this Angel of Love design completed in a shop in New Orleans many years ago. I thought it was gorgeous and resolved to make one for myself.

If I had a time machine, I would go back and erase that thought from my memory. Make no mistake, this design is stunning, I just had no idea what would be involved in completing it.

I can't say for certain, but I'm fairly certain I started this in 1997. How horrifying!

Why haven't I finished this yet???

First, this is done on linen. Never done that before. I've had to purchase multiple magnifying glasses to assist me in seeing the threads. I've learned to do work on it, but I don't enjoy it nearly as much as Aida cloth. (This will be my first and last project on linen).

The main problem with this design is in the Angel's skirt. There are over 4,100 individual beads on it, plus metallic thread and blending filament. What that heck are those, you ask? I had no idea either. They are a pain in the neck to work with. The diameter of the beads are so small, you have to use special needles that I can barely thread a single floss through.

That's all the griping I will do. I've got so much time and effort invested in this project, I WILL COMPLETE THIS ANGEL OR DIE TRYING!

I am making the commitment to spend at least 2 hours every Monday to working on this, until it is finished. I will post pictures of my progress here for all to see.

Wish me luck!