Sunday, April 25, 2010

34th & 35th Squares

Drum roll please... Ta~daaaaaa!
My homage to the great outdoors.
Purple mountains majesty, the forest and a river tying it all together.
We love to go camping! The Sierra Mountains of Northern California is our place of choice, it's technically called the El Dorado Nationial Forest.We try to go a few times each summer, but it's never enough. 

In these squares I wanted to play around with the idea of "painting" with thread, and be more free handed. To fill in every square milimeter. I sketched in the shape of the mountains, the river and the tent for spacing and perspective, the rest was added as I went along. I'm really happy with 34 & 35, I wanted to go out with a bang, so I tried to pack in a lot of detail in these two square inches. I think I did all right, what do you think?

Here is my completed 35 square grid...
I wish I would have taken a picture with a quarter or dime lying next to one of the squares. Friends and family who've seen the piece in person all say the same thing "Wow, it's so tiny, it looks so big on the computer." It's true. I think that's why I've been so critical of my own work, because when it gets blown up so big on the computer screen, I can *clearly* see all of my mistakes. It's funny, my eyes definitley see my good & bad days. Days when I felt good and went in with confidence, I produced stitching that I'm happiest with, days when I felt lost or rushed, not so much. Over all I'd have to say that now that the piece is finished, I'm more or less happy with it on the whole, even the squares I didn't like originally (fan, wreath, sunflower). I haven't framed it yet, but when I do, I'll be sure to share a picture or two.

Speaking of pictures, are you ready?!? Here are all 35 squares all in one spot.
SQUARE 1
SQUARE 2
SQUARE 3
SQUARE 4
SQUARE 5
SQUARE 6
SQUARE 7
SQUARE 8
SQUARE 9
SQUARE 10
SQUARE 11
SQUARES 12 & 13
SQUARE 14
SQUARE 15
SQUARE 16
SQUARE 17
SQUARE 18
SQUARE 19
SQUARE 20
SQUARE 21
SQUARE 22
SQUARE 23
SQUARE 24
SQUARE 25
SQUARE 26
SQUARE 27
SQUARE 28
SQUARE 29
SQUARE 30
SQUARE 31
SQUARE 32
SQUARE 33
SQUARES 34 & 35
SQUARES 1~35

Whew! That's a lot of stitchin! Thank you all so much for hanging in there with me, I really don't think I could have done with without all your kind comments, feedback and advice along the way. I love emboirdery, but you bloggy girls made this fun! I enjoyed sharing with you all, and those of you who played along, I have LOVED looking at your squares along this journey too! You stitchy sisters ROCK!

Are you ready for another stitch-a-long?? Check this out!
Here we go again! A slower pace this time, but I'm game! Who else is in??

Humongous hugs to each and every one of you!
~oxo~
Lisa

14 comments:

Jill said...

I'm in! Just signed on yesterday!

OMGosh-- your last two squares just took my breath away!!! Gor.geous. I think I actually gasped (in a good way) when I layed eyes on them. Your sampler is amazing-- it was fun to revisit your squares! I have so many favorites on your sampler, I couldn't narrow it down to just one!
Hugs,
Jill

Anonymous said...

I gasped at your Mountain camping scene!! So so beautiful!!!

beadgirl said...

I'm impressed with those last two squares, Lisa! Well really all of them.

I won't be joining the new stitching along, because I'm quite behind in the old one (stupid grad school finals), but I'll be admiring everybody else's squares.

GardenOfDaisies said...

I love your mountains, river, campfire and tent! :-) Congrats on finishing the sampler! It looks great! So are you doing the next one? I'm still deciding.

Sandi said...

WOW!!! So gorgeous! Especially the last squares, Lisa. A beautiful project!

Ribbonwood Cottage said...

Lovely! I enjoyed seeing every block...so beautiful and so creative. I love the little added special things you put in your blocks. And your great outdoors is wonderful!
Blessings,
Debbie

Anonymous said...

hi lisa! swoon! absolutely beautiful! you have such lovely detailed stitching! i hope to improve mine with time and practice. xoxo

suzitee said...

Wow Lisa...what else can I say? Your finished sampler is just divine. I loved the whole process of stitching along with you, and have loved getting to know you just a little on your blog...you are one awesome chickie!
I'm not "counting my blessings" at this time...LOL...as much as I would love to. Some other projects have taken a back seat while I worked on my squares, and I really need to focus on them for a bit. I hope to pop in here and keep an eye on yours though :)
Thanks for sharing your gorgeous stitching with us xxx

Beedeebabee said...

Lisa...YOU ARE SOOOO GOOD!!! Holy cow, are those two squares amazing!...and yes, I really do have to always remind myself of how small they are! How on earth did you fit all that in there? Such a gorgeous scene too! I just love it! I love your entire sampler, each and every square! I also loved watching it all come about, and I'm so looking forward to watching you stitch your next!...It looks really pretty set up against that pink stripe too! Beautiful job, Sweetie, just beautiful! Love, love, love it! xoxo Paulette ;)

Brynwood Needleworks said...

Stunning, Lisa. Simply stunning!
xoxo
Donna

sweetcakes said...

Absolutely incredible!

FeltLikeStitchin said...

What an incredible piece of work, you must be so proud of yourself! I can't believe the amount of detail you managed to fit into such a small space.

estela castro alves said...

Acabei de TEU blog Conhecer e Trabalhos SEUS ... Posso Dizer Que Tudo AMEI, e adorei Este Sampler, lindo e Muito Diferente MIM e parabéns para ... Até breve.

Margie said...

OMG, I stumbled on this project on Pinterest and made my way over. I could scream over this sampler. It is adorable. I would love to have something like this in a kit to complete. I don't think I could do it without one. Off to see more lovely projects.