Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

I'd made some progress this week on Bay Sampler, along with "Witches" (my name for the Quillin cartoon) and Chick Berry.

Not being content with simply forging ahead, however, I dragged something out of my UFO basket and gave it some thought. I don't love it, but it's okay; I bought it because of the yellow chicks. Possibly I should have bought the companion piece, which has a hen and the chicks. Anyway, I misread a symbol, so I have some frogging to do in order to remove the black thread from the top of the rooster. It's not my only project in need of frogging, either; I made a big error on the very first panel of Aesop's fables that will cause me to remove most of the stitching that I did. Sigh--I'll do that soon because I don't want to have it sit there in its project bag at the bottom of the UFO basket since I really like it.


In the meantime, I've been putting a lot of thought into what I want to do next. I contemplated doing an HAED design done by Scott Gustafson--maybe Jack 'n the Beanstalk (and for some amazing stitching on a Gustafson design, "Mad Tea Party," visit Cross YF. It's in Japanese (I think), so I can't read a word, but the pictures are glorious and the needleworker's progress is impressive. Another Japanese needleworker, found at Hiyoko Stitch Diary, is doing an admirable job on Gustafson's "Saint Nick in His Study.") But I think an HAED is a bit much of a commitment with the other stuff I'm doing including school, and in poking around through various websites, I happened upon a new design by Dames of the Needle offered on Elegant Stitch's website. It's called Whale Hunting, and it's just what I was looking for. I called yesterday and ordered it kitted up, and I'm really excited about it. I'm hoping to receive it before I go up to Cape Cod during Labor Day week. WH appeals to me because it's a view from the sea to the shore where there are a colonial style house and church, since I like that architecture in samplers, and lots and lots of blue ocean with breaching whales. I'll take pictures of it when it arrives; the small photo on Elegant Stitch's website does not do it justice, I suspect!