It seems to me there are two basic types COVID copers (i.e. those who cope): One has been a productive wonder -- every nook and cranny cleaned, multiple projects completed, tons of stitching complete (and probably framed and hanging on the wall). Alas, this is not me. I'm in the other category -- of folks almost paralyzed by the shut downs -- lots of TV watched, lots of books read, but nothing really accomplished.
I'm not sure why I haven't been itching to stitch, stitch, stitch. But I haven't. So, having confessed, I will begin documenting what very modest progress I have made. Maybe that will get my fingers moving.
I won't have as many pictures as I'd planned as I stitched, since many were lost when my 2-year-old i-Phone died without backup. Drat drat, drat.
So....here's a picture of my pastoral panel from May of 2020:
The most recent additions at this point are the little red and white snake and the frog;
The snake is stitched in straightforward detached button hole (DBH), but compensating for the wavy bottom area was tricky and didn't end up as smooth as I would have liked.
The frog is also basically DBH, but has a tweeded look because it is worked with two different colors threaded in the same needle. He's outlined in yellow, with some additional body detailed also in yellow. Not only does the "tweed" technique create an interesting look, but I find it is somewhat easier to get a nice even thread tension.
I am currently pondering whether to add eyes to both little critters. . . . maybe just little French knots. . . or would a frog have more bulging eyes? The problem with both, or course, is if the test eye(s) aren't very successful, they can be hard to remove without disturbing the underlying DBH base.
