A Finish and a Start

     Shortly after my last post, I finally completed the stitching of "Flyways." Yay! It feels so good to finish this at last.

     Here it is from another perspective.

     I decided to put it in a Sudberry Small Square Tray and give it to my eldest sister for her birthday, which was July 3.

     So I wrapped the completed canvas still on its stretcher bars, gave it to her, then wrapped it up again and brought it home to put in the tray that I'll be ordering in a day or two. She's used to this kind of gifting from me.

     On Sunday, July 1, my Stella Polaris cyberclass officially started. I refrained from doing anything other than the basting before receiving the first official lesson from Michael Boren and Carole Lake. I thought it would be nice to see what special notes, tips, and suggestions they'd provide before doing any stitching, and I'm so glad I did. These two are a hoot! In addition to providing incredible information and supplemental materials, they make a great comedy team. The back-and-forth banter is perfect, and it makes it seem like you're really in a classroom.

     So here's my first lesson, completed mid-week (I think). (Hey! I'm old. I'm allowed to be a little vague with details. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking with it.)

     I like the way the colors are working, and yes, the variegated thread is supposed to have that stripey look. Carole and Michael said so!

     The next class, which I received yesterday but haven't started yet, uses the accent color that I've been waffling about. After looking at several more alternatives on Tuesday night (I was wrong; I finished it on Monday or Tuesday night), which I had looked at with my stitching peeps the week before, I decided on an entirely different thread and color, Soy Luster in a tealy blue.

     I really like this color and just hope that the Soy Luster isn't too thin a thread to use for the Walneto and Arrow Amadeus stitches that are layered on top of these basketweaved squares. If it's too thin, I may have to see if there's a Presencia #8 pearl cotton that is close to this color.

     It's funny. I really wanted the pink to be the right accent, but when I looked at it on top of this center section, it just looked kind of bland and insipid. (Okay, that's redundant but I think that says it all.) Oh well.

     Kthxbai.