Stitching a Polar Bear

I was determined to stitch more this week and stress less about work. I'm happy to say I accomplished both! The work load isn't going away anytime soon so it's better to just accept it and move on. On the stitching front, I have tried to work on the background of the Christmas Banner a little every day even if no other projects have been touched. I could stitch those Fly Stitch brackets in my sleep! I think that's what makes it so easy to devote a little time to the banner each evening - it has become mindless stitching. I still feel that I am on track to completely finish the banner by the end of June. Looking forward to that last stitch!

Now, from the Christmas Banner to the Christmas Parade -

The polar bear has a fur coat this week! That's what a Saturday's worth of stitching got me and I'm very pleased with the way he turned out. I just realized that the sunlight shining on the rug behind the canvas is showing through in the photo. That's not the Northern Lights making an appearance on the canvas.

There was additional stitching on the Parade this week but it no longer exists. It was ripped out - very carefully, I might add. I stitched the snow on the branches of the Christmas tree. The snow is stitched with one strand of Soft Sensations on top of the straight stitches of the Chevron and Point pattern on the tree. I really hated the thought of removing that thread from the already stitched tree but leaving the snowy stitches was a worse option. After an email consultation with Amy, I'll try putting the stitches in at a different angle to see if that will be the look I am going for.

My Bestitched "Whimsy" canvas by Melissa Shirley arrived this week. I love the canvas which Melissa designed exclusively for Bestitched. The threads, beads, and sequins are perfect. I have enjoyed watching Margaret Payne's, my stitching friend from the Sunflower & Berries class, progress on Whimsy on Facebook this week. Margaret dove right in to this project as soon as it arrived this week and she has already completed quite a few of the flowers. Her needle has really been flying!

It's a rainy Sunday here in Georgia. A perfect day for stitching but first there's some work at my desk calling my name.

I hope there's no work calling your name today and that there is lots of time for stitching instead! Have a wonderful week ahead!