After years of mild pressure from Thud, I’m finally giving in and starting a blog.  So if you find it boring or inane, please direct all complaints to him.

 My main goal is to use this as a stitching blog, though I’m sure I’ll find other topics to write about.  I’ve been cross-stitching since college, but in the last year or so, I’ve gotten much more into (obsessive) about it.   While before I was usually a one-at-a-timer, I’m now working on multiple projects.  Blame the awesome gals, and occassional guy, on the HAED boards for that.  They have helped expand my universe of knowledge about designers you can’t find at Michael’s or AC Moore.

Though I have some other WIPs (Works in Progress), my big upcoming project will be my first Chatelaine Mandala.  These are probably some of the most beautiful patterns available, from an amazing woman in Germany named Martina Weber.  Photos cannot capture the true beauty of her work, which includes varigated colors, metallics, beads, and crystals.  I am very excited to try my hand at one of those, though I’m nervous about all the specialty stitches I’ve never tried before.

I will be doing the “Mystery” project with a Celtic theme.   A mystery (also popular in quilting circles) is a multi-part project in which the participants are not shown what the final design will look like ahead of time.  Each month we are given a section of the pattern to stitch, and we get to see the design build up over the course of a year.

Martina has given us a (spoiler warning!) sneak peak of the final picture.  It is much smaller than the previews for her non-mystery projects, and many of the details are blurry.  So while we have some idea about what we’re stitching, there will still be many surprises.

I have my fabric, but I’m still working on gathering threads.  I can’t afford to buy the lovely silks that the design calls for, so I am converting it all to cottons.  Part of this follows the recommended DMC conversion, but I’ll also be using some other brands to get closer to the original colors.  I will post a picture of the floss toss when I’m done shopping.