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Mall Pretzels, a SAL, and a Palace Garden

 

Khushal Shah Lakhnavi on Unsplash

Book SAL
In a post from last August, I mentioned that Cross Stitcher Magazine was running a book-themed SAL. Here’s what I said back then:
“The first part of the SAL is The Secret Garden. (Click this link here to see what it looks like) I love this book! I didn’t read it as a child, but I read it a few years ago after someone recommended it to me. It’s such a great story, and the ending is simply marvellous. This chart is so beautiful. I love how those roses look, and the purple at the bottom complements the green floss so well. It will be very interesting to see what the other books in the SAL are! I’m definitely going to stitch this Secret Garden one, but I think I’ll only stitch the other parts of the series if I like the book. However, since I’m going to be stitching Trick-or-Treat Moon for September and October, I’ll just place this chart in my pile of charts for later (which is starting to become a mountain instead of a pile).
Note: If you’re in the US and you have a public library card, you might be able to check out a digital version of this magazine through Libby.
P.S. This is not a sponsored post!”
Since then, they’ve released the other parts of the SAL, and it’s made me even more determined to stitch it! Naturally, Pride & Prejudice is the first to catch my eye. The Hobbit is a marvellous book, and the designer really captures the colors and whimsy of the Shire and Bag-End. I read Rebecca for Halloween last year. No spoilers, but wow, what a fantastic book. That plot was twisting like crazy! It’s a pretty thick book, but I just couldn’t put it down. Du Maurier had such a beautiful way of writing scenes and describing places. I don’t know how attached I am to Mary Poppins, which makes me wonder how I would approach this SAL. Should I stitch it on one piece of fabric, including the books that aren’t my favorites? Should I exclude them, and hope for symmetry in the design? Should I stitch them individually? I suppose those questions can’t be answered until the last part of the SAL is released. We’ll see! Will you be adding this SAL to your WIP pile? Are you already stitching it? Let me know in the comments!
WIP Update
Fantasy Triptych (Wentzler)
Here’s my progress on Fantasy Triptych: 
Fantasy Triptych by Teresa Wentzler

And just like that, I can start stitching 10 x 10 again! Stitching this Triptych is very pleasant. I hadn’t noticed it before, but I think I can just make out a line of trees in the center!
At first, I was daunted by the amount of blending that it called for, but thanks to the floss system I’m using, it’s made working with blended flosses much easier.

They’re filing cabinet folders that I’ve cut, then penciled in the symbols and corresponding floss colors. I’m so thankful to the person who recommended this system to me! It took some time to set up, but it saves me time in the long run, especially with the amount of blending that this chart calls for.
Fantasy Triptych by Teresa Wentzler
The blended flosses give it a beautiful watercolor effect. The backstitch will give it more definition, but I won’t do that until all the cross stitch and specialty stitches are completed.
Irish Harp (by EmnEllie)
Any goal that I had set myself of finishing this WIP before St. Patrick’s Day is long gone. But you know what? That’s perfectly fine, because I’m enjoying the process. 
Irish Harp by EmnEllie
I’m so very close to finishing this one. I had a bit of a scare when I finished a skein of floss and thought that I didn’t have a refill. Thankfully, I had some in my floss cabinet! I use this green so much that I’m wondering if I should just buy a cone of it, as I did with the white floss. In that case, I should probably buy a cone of DMC 816 as well (Turkey red).
The backstitch motifs look harder to stitch than they actually are. I know they’re a type of Irish knot, but to my amateur eyes, they look like pretzels! As a side note here, there’s nothing like a mall pretzel with that mystery cheese dipping sauce. Perfection.
Nikolai (Russian Hunting by Riolis)
I finished my YouTube update of this year’s progress on Nikolai. He won’t come back into the rotation again until November: 
Odds & Ends

Here’s a video to play in the background while you stitch. I had this playing in the background while I took a power nap, and it was extremely relaxing to hear the birds chirping and imagine myself to be a princess: 

 There are two new charts in my shop! | Sacred Heart Cross Stitch Pattern by EmnEllie on Etsy  | Catholic Cross Stitch Bookmarks by EmnEllie on Etsy

Ancient Egypt is so fascinating! The math involved in calculating this gives me a headache:
“Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of Abu Simbel is not its scale, but its precision. The Great Temple was engineered so that on two specific days each year — February 22 and October 22 — the rising sun aligns perfectly with the temple’s axis, sending a shaft of light deep into the inner sanctuary to illuminate three of the four seated statues inside. Only the statue of Ptah, a god associated with the underworld, is left in permanent darkness.” Abu Simbel: Egypt’s Magnificent Temple | Travel Research Online
 


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