New Release: Pearl

Yes, ANOTHER new release - I've been a busy girl this month. :)

This is June's Birthstone, Pearl. It's stitched using Soie D'Alger (with a DMC conversion included), Swarovski Crystal Pearls and Delica beads (conversions included). I love how this one stitched up, there are a lot of eyelets, and while they're not hard, they can be a bit tedious. They really add a great texture though, and the little pearls are so elegant looking - I think I might  like them better than the bicones!

Also... with all the models I've got stacked up to stitch for release over the next year (about 20) and all the stuff I've already got started in Patternmaker (32!!) I've started designing something else new. Depending on how quickly I get it charted, I may sneak this one in this year. It's a companion piece to Twisted Band Sampler. Not sure what I'll be calling it, but I was inspired when I saw Eileen's colour selection for her Twisted Band in her own silk threads.

Seriously, how could I resist? The thread pack is available from Eileen, though I don't yet see it on her website, Thread Pickerz Silkz, you can contact her through the site. :) And of course seeing the photo on black - well you guessed it, I'll be designing the new one for black fabric (though it will look gorgeous one white as well).

And finally, Marjan has already finished her Learning Sampler! She's been working ahead of the rest of the group, and sent me the pictures this morning.

She stitched this on 40ct linen, using the recommended Silk Mill colours (the same ones I'm using for mine). It turned out beautifully. I'm not even finished my own yet, so this is the first I've seen it completed!!

It's been a busy week, printing, packing and shipping last week's new releases, finishing up Pearl and getting colours sorted out for a couple more new designs that will be coming later this year. I've got a big package coming from Dinky Dyes for several of them, and I just know I will want to start ALL of them right away. Still on the hunt for a couple of colours of fabric, one for Shades of Plum and one for Shades of Purple. I had both already but after some dye lot issues with floss, I had to change the floss colours and now they don't match the fabrics anymore. ARGH! Hopefully get that sorted next week. I know I can't start them all right now, but I do like to have the materials ready to go for several - as you've probably read on here before I've had issues before with missing or nearly missing release dates because I was waiting on materials - so now I make sure I have them months ahead of time!! What's funny is that I love the original purple and plum fabrics so much I've started designing stuff to use them for because they're just too pretty NOT to use. :)

And now that I'm all caught up on work stuff for the day, I think I may go stitch for a while. I just started Shades of Rose last night and I'm loving it already - the colours are just yummy! The floss is obviously Dinky Dyes, the fabric is from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie called Elizabeth and it's a lovely pale pink!

One last note today - one of the main reasons I haven't been keeping my blog updated regularly is because it's just not getting any traffic anymore. The only comments I've had in months are the hundreds of spam comments I have to delete every day. I'm debating whether to discontinue it and just continue these updates on Facebook alone. I'm hoping to have time to get my own website set up over the summer, so I may hang onto it until then.