As I said before, Rachel did all her over one stitching in tent stitch, for which I am eternally grateful. The beast, bird and little flowers/berries are all in over one tent stitch, as are the various over one words in the piece.
I like how the chart identifies the animal as a "beast." Sure is puzzling to figure out what the beast is! A bear? A kangaroo? -- except that kangaroos don't live in America. Hmmmmm....
And here is where I am now on the piece as a whole. Just the repeat of all the flowers and grapes left to do! That's all! lol!
As usual, I'm already thinking about what to tackle next. And I'm not close to finishing Rachel yet! Have to stop doing that!
On the not doing that front, one of the ways I battle the "I want to work on something else" blues is to listen to audiobooks while I'm stitching. Keeps all the distractions away, and makes the stitching go much faster! But one of the sad facts of life is that not all the books one wants to read are on audiobook. I've slowly been reading (as opposed to listening to) "Drood" by Dan Simmons for quite a while now. I love Charles Dickens, and this is one of what seems to be a bunch of books based on Charles Dickens and his last novel or his last years. Pretty weird. It's a pretty good read, and I'm getting there slowly. I've noticed at least two other books in this field or subject. One is "The Last Dickens" by Matthew Pearl -- which I'm glad to say is in audiobook format. The other is one that was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, "Girl in a Blue Dress" by Gaynor Arnold. I'm looking forward to reading them once I finish "Drood." I've been rereading Dickens'novels as well.
I've also been on a Bronte kick, which has been fun. There are various books out or coming out that are about the Brontes as well, including one by Jude Morgan which I want to get. And then a bunch of my favorite authors are coming out with new books: Kazuo Ishiguro, AS Byatt, Sarah Waters, and Kate Grenville, to name a few. Plus a new author for me, Hilary Mantel, who's written a book about Cromwell. And only one of them have I noticed having an audiobook!! Argh!!! What's a stitching girl to do? Spend more time actually reading as opposed to stitching and listening, I guess!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
23 comments:
Rachel is gorgeous!!! I am not a bit sick of her, no! Isn't this one an Illinois sampler? Or perhaps I have her mixed up with another girl? :)
It is really looking beautiful Margaret!
Rachel is just beautiful! I even like the beast! You will be finished in no time. What are you going to start on next?
Oh, I'm glad you said you didn't know what that beast was, too, because I was looking at & trying to guess! It is a very pretty beast, at least. ;) Great progress, Margaret, and I would never get tired of seeing pics! Rachel is a beaut.
I hear you on the 'agh, it's not on Audible' lament. I have been periodically checking audible.co.uk for "The Last Dickens", too, but so far it's not there. I'll keep checking. I did get this wild idea of getting my mom to sign up for audible.com when she's here; I'll pay her and she'll use her credit card to hopefully circumvent the whole 'you're not in the US' thing. Audible.co.uk is missing a bunch of books that I see on the US site. Nothing like being obsessive! You've created a monster with your recommendation of audible books! ;) I wrote down the others you mentioned, too.
Have a great weekend!
Rachel is lovely, Margaret and what you have stitched already? Would have taken me a year!! I know you will be done in no time, and I look forward to seeing it in finished glory! And also seeing what you will pull out of your stash to stitch on next!
I'm thinking the beast is some kind of wild cat. Hmm. Beautiful work indeed.
Anne
Love the beast (maybe he is just Beauty's cohort?). Rachel is really looking so gorgeous - you are cruising along on her. Those audiobooks must be helping. I love AS Byatt too!
Another idea for listening material while stitching - check out the Teaching Company. Many of their lectures are available as audio downloads as well as CD or DVD and they have a very wide selection of interesting topics.
Anne - again :)
Hey Margaret - I think when my dad was stitching Rachel - we decided it must be a big cat like a puma (mountain lion) didn't think they were in RI humm isn't that where dear Rachel was? Remember it took my dad 5 mos to stitch which we thought was amazing - your progress is supernatural I think !
You and Siobhan are tempting me with your audio books - i don't allow myself to read because it would take time away from my hand work but I was perusing Ipods on Amazon last week - bad bad girl - getting me in yet more trouble! Have a wonderful weekend Mel
Margaret!!! Rachel is beautiful! I'm not sick of her at all. You're going so fast with this, I can't believe it! It certainly helps that the over one is tent stitch though, doesn't it. Makes it go so much quicker. And what will your next project be? Flora, perhaps? You will love it if you do stitch that! I think all of us have our mind wanting to stitch all the projects in waiting! It's hard sometimes to resist starting something else! I'm sure you'll be on your next project in no time with those flying needles.
God bless audio book!... a stitcher's best friend. Well, this stitcher's best friend anyway. I'm glad to see I'm not alone in entertaining my ears while my eyes count. :)
Rachel is beautiful and no matter what you pick on her to do nest, it'll be perfect.
Can't wait to hear what you ultimately think of Drood -- I'm excited by it, but I've got too many other books on the pile before it.
I don't think I would ever get tired of looking at Rachel. She is so pretty. My first thought of the beast is wolf. Hmmm to much Twilight? maybe lol! I enjoy visiting your blog.
I have so enjoyed every bit of progress you've made on your RH! It's just beautiful.
Margaret, I am speechless and in awe at your stitching! Rachel is so fabulous! I do love the grapes. Oh..and I saw the newest Kindle the other night and the friend that had it says it reads to you...and demonstrated it. So I immediately told hubby I "needed" that so I could "read" while stitching! LOL! Something to think about anyway...just in case you can't find the book you're looking for on audio.
Don't be silly. How could we get tired of seeing Rachel? She is so pretty!
I've enjoyed reading about your reading list! Did you get to Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book yet? First I listed to the audio book, then happened to find the book at the library so read that too. Both are wonderful. I will go search out some of your books.
Hi Margaret,
Rachel is looking so beautiful. The beast looks a bit like a wild cat. Definately not a kangaroo lol. Looking forward to seeing your next project. Its always good to plan ahead lol.
I love Dickins and the Brontes too. I like stitching to either favourite movies or classical music. - Sandra.
Rachel is gorgeous, great progress.
I'm sure you will enjoy Hilary Mantel, she wrote a fascinating book about the French Revolution - A Place of Greater Safety
Never get tired of looking at your samplers. Love to see your progress! I am reading Little Dorrit right now...or at least trying to. I read in bed...so mostly it hits me in the face as I fall asleep. I didn't get to see all of Little Dorrit on Masterpiece theater so thought I would read the book. Dickens is one of my favorites too!
Margaret, she's beautiful and your stitching is so inspiring - I never, ever get tired of an update! This is a truly beautiful sampler.
Rachel is so beautiful and I love to see how all tese pretty details are added, one by one. And this beast seesm to be a miracle, not identifiable, maybe a new species, lol.
I know Kate Grenville through her book The Secret River which was absolutely gorgeous. Looking forward to her new book.
Margaret, what a beautiful sampler. You've made a lot of progress, my friend. I'm going to have to give the audio books a try. JThat will become just one more obsession, I'm sure, lol.
Margaret, I never tire of RAchel Hyde! It's beautiful and I'm enjoying your progress!
Great selection of books! Drood is on the to read list, and Bronte - you can never go wrong! Villette is one I adore! I'm listening to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell now. You might like it if you like Drood.
Way to go on fighting the new start impulses. I admire you for that!
p.s.
Margaret - what kind of fabric were you using when you had the problem with the DMC shredding?
Great progress on Rachel! What a charming sampler...
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