I've been busy. I finished up the embroidery on the fairy.
I'm not very good with facial features and hands, it seems. I realized after the first attempt that a single strand of floss woud be enough for the face. I did do the eyeballs and lips in a single strand. The fingers were not outlined as well as they should have been to start with. Even so, this was a lot of embroidery for me. I used a silver thread with the wand and then gold with the star and wings. Sometimes I used size 40 tatting thread and other times I used embroidery floss, 2 strands. It's all ready to sew into a pillowslip now. My biggest stretch was doing the hair in French knots. I stitched the outline but wasn't happy with that so I started with the knots and loved the curly look so I continued.

I sketched the bell pattern shape after seeing one online that I liked. I must have been feeling ambitious since I made 5 of them on this strip! When I turn it upside down, it makes a great flower pot but I'd have to draw the flowers in it too, to use it.

I pricked the guideholes and then couched one bell down. It only takes 8-9 inches of cord!

The filling stitches are done in size 40 DMC cordonnet. I had to change the top part. It's been a long time since I've done an arch and I was pleased to have the strands evenly divided on each side....only to forget that I needed to count the center too. I should have started the strands on each side of the center and not made the center a strand too. I needed an even number for the design I had in mind so I had to improvise and come up with something else.

I'm going to leave this on the pattern until I get the other 4 done. That way I can make sure they are all different at a glance. I always love taking them off the pattern. They look 100% better. Kind of like framing a painting once you're done. It just sets it off. I saw another bell pattern in one of my books and may try that too.

I worked on some other projects but am not far enough along to bother showing yet.