~ Progress ~

Holy Moly 

~ get out your long-janes & warm woolies!

it is C O L D here in VA this morning!

poor chickens are laying ice cubes again, and the donkeys & sheep won't even come out of the barn!

thank goodness for the sun

Last night I was able to pull a few stitches on the "Pin" project, 

as we shall refer to it ;)

I must say that I do love working on my 30ct Ironstone linen!

I like the splotching & staining and how the base linen that I use takes the staining, 

with little halo-ing.

I don't even need a hoop as it has a good 'hand', or is a stiffer linen.

I prefer a coarser linen than a floppy soft one.

I'm working this project 1 over 2

or one strand of DMC floss over two threads of linen.

and I am waxing my threads lightly.

I love the smell of pure beeswax & how sweet and smoky the scent is ~

I cannot wait until Spring this year ~

Peter & I are hoping to begin keeping a hive of honeybees again!

waxing your threads helps keep it from knotting up as you stitch ~

it also helps protect the thread color if you were to stain your finished project…

{which is really good for protecting specialty over dyed threads such as Weeks or Gentle Arts}

for whatever reason, I have always waxed my threads.

I prefer natural pure beeswax to the commercial 'stuff' on the market.

…the old ways are just best for me I guess :)

so below, you can see that I've stitched the border of the project

and have begun the wording.

the finished stitched portion will be approx. 5" x 5" 

… but the finished project will be around 6" x 6" or a hair larger.

I'll share more progress tomorrow ~

keep warm everyone!!

Hoping you all have a honey of a day!!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori