Parts: Being a Needlework Update

Not been much fun around here lately. Mei Ping the Siberian Husky tore her ACL about three weeks ago. Or more precisely, we tore her ACL by roughhousing with her in the PA woods. She had a ridiculously expensive surgery approximately two weeks ago and contracted an e-coli infection while in surgery. The infection settled in her knee and an abscess formed. By the time the vet realized it, they misdiagnosed her the first time I brought it to their attention, the abscess was draining, leaving a large hole across the front of the knee with bone and the metal screws implanted during the initial surgery sticking out. Yesterday she got the hole closed up and remains one unhappy dog.

Like I said, it hasn't been much fun around here lately.

Whilst trying to keep her still I realized that if I sat still, she would eventually settle down too. Therefore I have been able to do more needlework than normal. I figured that now would be a good time to post some updates.

First up is a 12 part mystery sampler by Amy Mitten Designs. Mystery because one piece is released each month, and you don't know what the finished sampler will look like until it is done. Only this one was last year's mystery, entitled the Garden Plot Thickens, so I do know what the finished piece looks like. Anyway, this is part one:

Here it is from another angle so you can see the stitching better:

And, because they nearly killed me, here is a closer shot of the bullion knots. This remains one of my very not so favorite stitches:

Next up is a 14 part piece by Blackbird Designs. This one is called Anniversaries of the Heart and it is meant to commemorate family and friends. Each block is personalized by the stitcher in honor of someone important. I've done three blocks thus far. Here is the whole piece:

And here is part one, in honor of my revolutionary ancestor, Sgt. Samuel Yetter, who served in the Philadelphia County Militia during the American Revolution. In addition to his name, this block also contains my Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) number and the initials of Samuel's wife, Mariah Yocum.

Part two is in honor of my maternal grandfather, Raymond Kazuo Sakamoto. We visited his grave site a few months back in the Punchbowl cemetery blog entry.

And what is really part five, sitting below part one, is in honor of my paternal great grandmother, Hazel W. Rudduck.

This is proving to be a fun and addicting piece to stitch.

And finally, the updates on those crazy French kiddies, courtesy of Perrette Samouiloff. Eventually the 48 parts are going into a shadow box/printers tray - this one:

And here are the latest parts. I have finished eight and have only 40 to go! Only 40!

Starting with the three winter girls:

Then the boy and girl of spring:

And then the continuation of those somewhat tedious monthly children:

That is all that I have photographed for now. Clearly you can see that I have a long way to go on all these projects. I guess I need to get back to my needle.