Good morning,
It’s SAL update time again. This is how far I’d got for the last update.
Here is the finished picture 🙂
There is one difference in addition to the back stitching. Can you spot it?
I’ve really enjoyed stitching this one. The back stitch on the jacket was a bit of a nightmare but the rest was a dream! The thread colours are so rich in real life and the quality of the kit was first class. I did have to enlarge the chart by 100% so I could work from it but that was easy enough to do. The kit is from the James Herriott Collection. There are lots of others in the set depicting Border Collies and farm animals.
The finished piece has now been gifted to a dear friend who originally gave me the kit as part of her cross stitch clear out. She can no longer see well enough to do cross stitch herself and has admired the progress of my stitching over the last few months. It seemed like the perfect gift to return it to her all finished, particularly as she has a special birthday coming up soon.
One of the best bits about finishing a project is that I can start another one. This time, me and Claire will be stitching the same thing but in different colours. My OH bought me this chart over a year ago from The Crafty Kitten.
This is the third design I’ve stitched by Ink Circles. It’s called Cirques des Triangles. The other two are Cirque des Cercles and Cirque des Coeurs. I’ve chosen to stitch with a turquoise and sea green variegated thread (DMC 4030) on white 16 count aida fabric. I look forward to sharing progress next time.
Please take a look at how everyone else is progressing with their projects. Just click on the names below and you’ll hop over to their blogs. We live all over the world so you may need to allow for time differences but we post local time, every third Sunday.
Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Kate, Jess, Sue, Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Susan, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Catherine, Wendy
Our next updates will be posted on the 19th February 2017. See you then!
About the SAL
This SAL (Stitch Along) is slightly different to other SALs in that we don’t all stitch the same design at the same rate. We choose ONE unfinished project, or ONE new one, and show progress of its completion over a series of three weekly updates. There are no deadlines and no set amount to stitch. The result is that the space in our drawers full of WIPs (works in progress) is gradually being freed up to store lots of new crafty goodness. It’s surprising how much motivation I’ve gained from being in this SAL. If you’d like to finish a project you’ve left unfinished for a while, or start a new one with us, you can join us by leaving a request in the comments below or sending me an email. The address is on the right of this page. I’ll send you a few simple rules to agree.
Sewing Beside the Sea 
Cindy
/ January 29, 2017Wow the backstitching really brings this to life. Well done on your finish. I love Ink Circles but haven’t completed one yet. Someday LOL.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 29, 2017Yes, we’ve all got so many crafty things we want to try haven’t we?
katechiconi
/ January 29, 2017The dog on the right now has a russet patch on his cheek! I do love his nice tweed jacket now; it may have been a nightmare, but it was definitely worth it, as was the definition of his features. It’s a lovely piece, but I expect you’re dying to get on with the new work!
katechiconi
/ January 29, 2017What I meant to say was, the dog HAD a russet patch and now doesn’t… Duh.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 29, 2017I knew what you meant 😉 I had to promise myself a chocolate reward for stitching the back stitch on that jacket for one hour at a time. Then I would stitch something easier for a while.
katechiconi
/ January 29, 2017It was worth the effort! But now you have a lovely new project to start, and best of all, NO backstitching 🙂
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 29, 2017I don’t usually mind the back stitching but this chart was very confusing.
katechiconi
/ January 29, 2017Never mind, it’s all done now.
lucyannluna
/ January 29, 2017Great job, well done. I love the colours of the new project
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 29, 2017Thank you. It’ll be nice to have no thread changes for a while.
claire93
/ January 29, 2017backstitch makes such a difference and really brings this piece to life. Well done!
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 29, 2017It does. I’m really pleased with how it turned out.
Jill
/ January 29, 2017i love this cross stitch and the back stitching really makes it pop! Nice work.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 29, 2017Thanks. Yes, his face looks so flat before the backstitch was done.
Debbierose
/ January 29, 2017Congratulations on a magnificent finish. The backstitch really brings the project to life. I’m sure your friend will adore this picture
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 29, 2017Well, she chose it in the first place with the full intention of stitching it herself. I simply had to send it home 🙂
stitchingranny
/ January 29, 2017A beautiful finish, the bs certainly was worth the hard work as it makes such a difference. I have seen your new stitch challenge, finished in a similar colour and it looked beautiful so I look forward to seeing your new piece grow.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 29, 2017That’s good to know. Anything blue or purple wins my heart.
kathyreeves
/ January 29, 2017That coat is really quite amazing!!! I enjoyed playing I spy; Pupster is looking more like himself now. 😉 Your new project looks a bit tricky, love the color. Isn’t it a great feeling to start something new because you finished something big!!
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 29, 2017Yes, I love the reward of starting something new. It spurs me on to finish things. the Ink Circles design is extremely easy to stitch, much easier than sheepdogs and tweed jackets because there are no thread changes.
kathyreeves
/ January 29, 2017A perfect change of pace, then!
jessicacrafts
/ January 29, 2017Ooh. You’re next project looks really great. I look forward to seeing how it progresses.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 29, 2017I’ve just started it and I love it already.
witchylin
/ January 29, 2017I would like to say that the picture looks so much better in ‘real life’ and I am thrilled to bits to have it. This week it will be at the framers. Finally I have found the perfect place to hang it so it will be seen by lots of people. It is worth having this ancient Birthday to receive such a thoughtful gift. The new SAL is going to be gorgeous with these wonderful colours.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 29, 2017That’s great news. I wasn’t expecting it to be framed so soon. I enjoyed being part of its circular journey and I look forward to seeing it hanging where it belongs. The new project is going to be so much easier to stitch.
rutigt
/ January 29, 2017Congrats on a beautiful embroidery!!!!! What a great work you have done 🙂 The backstitching really made it! Love the colored yarn you have chose for your next project!!
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 29, 2017Thank you. I think it’ll look great all framed up in it’s new home 🙂
Catherine
/ January 29, 2017I love it! I’m always amazed at how much life a simple backstitch can bring. He is one very handsome fellow!
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 29, 2017The jacket tried my patience but I know it was worth it.
Christina
/ January 29, 2017Lots of finishes this time around! Yes, I can definitely see the lovely details that the back stitching provided to the finished piece. What a lovely gesture to gift the finished piece to your friend. This new project looks intriguing and I love the colors you chose. Variegated thread is so much fun to use and it will definitely pop against the white background. I was asking Claire, how long did the last one take to complete?
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 29, 2017It’s difficult to say how long it took because we only did a small section every three weeks. However, I’ve included a link to Cirque des Coeurs above which is similar and I did that one in three weeks while I was on holiday. They are quick and very easy to stitch.
Christina
/ January 29, 2017Very nice!
craftycreeky
/ January 29, 2017The back-stitching lifts it so much, especially the jacket, I’m sure your friend will be thrilled with it.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 30, 2017Thank you. Yes, she loves it 🙂
Carole
/ January 29, 2017Congrats on a beautiful finish. I’m always surprised by how much difference the backstitch makes. It may be a chore sometimes but always worth it.
Love, love, love the colours for the new Ink Circles project.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 30, 2017I agree. The new colours are looking good too 🙂
Maia Tuitele
/ January 29, 2017That is a lovely finish!
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 30, 2017Thank you very much 🙂
wendy
/ January 30, 2017Oh wow, well done Avis!! You stitched this so quickly! It looks great. I love the thread colours you’re going to use for Circle de Triangles.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 30, 2017Thank you Wendy. The new one is going well so far 🙂
Ralph
/ January 30, 2017That is just sooo cool! i’ll have to get Boss Human on to this
R
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 30, 2017Thank you. These two are very well trained 😉
lbick
/ January 30, 2017Your project is beautiful. That was a lot of line work on the jacket, but so worth it.
So much fun to start a new project
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 30, 2017It certainly is fun to start new projects. So far it’s going well.
Denby
/ January 31, 2017Wow!! it looks great. I liked it before but the backstitch certainly brings it all to life. Your patience never ceases to amaze me. Well done.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ February 2, 2017Thank you. It’s kept me out of trouble for a while 🙂
Ginny @ Mytimestitching .com
/ February 1, 2017Congratulations on your finish! It’ beautiful! I did notice that you changed the one puppie’s face to be all black and gray. He looks sweeter 😉 I LOVE your new project. I have not done an Ink Circle before, but I think I may want to try. Your threads are gorgeous for this one and I look forward to seeing you stitch it.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ February 2, 2017You are welcome to join us if you wish. We’ll be stitching it in small stages so there’ll be plenty of time for other projects as well. Compared to the designs you stitch, this is a piece of cake!
Indian Holidays
/ February 3, 2017Awesome occupation, well done. I cherish the shades of the new venture..
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ February 14, 2017Thank you for your kind comment 🙂
Dudhwa Tiger Reserve
/ February 8, 2017Wow the backstitching truly breathes life into this. Well done on your wrap up. I cherish Ink Circles yet haven’t finished one yet….
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ February 14, 2017Thank you. I can definitely recommend Ink Circles designs.
susanpblog
/ February 13, 2017The back stitching is doing a great ‘finishing’ job here! It looks so good, well done!
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ February 14, 2017Thank you. I worked at it one hour at a time as it was tricky to concentrate on the chart for longer than that.
Marcia Strykowski
/ March 2, 2017Nice work–this came out wonderful!
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ March 7, 2017Thank you and welcome to my blog 🙂
Caroline Farrell
/ April 4, 2017You have created a master-piece. I have been trying to source that chart for some time now, its quite “old” now, I love how the James Herriot collection stitch out. Yes the back-stitch can be a nightmare but wow it surely does bring the project to life. Well done on completing this one, Love your work
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ April 5, 2017Thank you and welcome to my blog 🙂 I’ve seen the charts and kits come up on Ebay quite regularly. Set up a “follow” on there and you’ll get an alert when there’s one available.