This week's progress on my Nadareh rug has been a lot of fun. Seeing my little horses come to life is quite rewarding. Even though I had stitched them previously to test pattern elements, it feels different to me to see them in the rug itself.
In the beginning I stitched the background far enough that I could stitch a horse in full before filling in the rest of the background around that horse. Once I reached halfway across, I switched for some reason and began stitching the rest of the background all the way across to the right side. I haven't decided which way I like the best but I am leaning towards stitching at least the bottom half of the background so that I can see I have placed each horse correctly using their legs as guidelines.

After a very long hiatus, (starting in June) during which I stitched a life-sized cross stitch, I am finally back to stitching my Nadareh.  I am so thrilled and relieved to be stitching this once again!  I must honestly say that taking such a long break literally sent me into withdrawal. I don't think I have ever put my petit point down for so long before and I had to fight with myself daily to continue the other project and not pick this one up.
Yesterday, I began stitching the horses that march around my rug. It was so fun seeing the first little horse come to life with its trainer by its side. I was even able to begin laying out where the next horse is to go.  As you may have guessed, I am stitching the background color first so that I do not make a mistake in the placement of each little horse. I do not cross the background thread over any open areas where the next color goes, but work in sections instead. The first horse is finished except for some detailing that I will add today.

Traditionally, we have offered our hand-stitched items only at our dollhouse shows to eliminate shipping costs for our customers. This year, due to a wedding in the family on the day of the MET show this fall, we will not be able to attend.  Therefore, we are excited to announce that they will be available for sale for the first time online! We have spent the last little while taking photos and uploading these items into our Miscellaneous Hand-Made Category. You may access this category Here if you wish to browse, or by simply typing Miscellaneous Hand-Made into our search bar.

Last night I finished the little border and began working the background for the next element needed for the rug. 

This next section will take me a while as I will be stitching individual horses and people marching around the rug. I have decided to stitch background color first so that I can place the horse in the correct position and work one at a time. 

It should be interesting seeing each horse and person emerge while I am working them and I look forward to seeing them.

Next border complete! Last night I finished the border I have been working on and am now ready to start working another small border to match the other skinny ones I have already stitched.

This next border shouldn`t take too long and I can then begin my widest border in this rug. So far, touch wood, I haven`t been making as many mistakes as I was doing in the beginning. Hopefully, that trend will continue.

I am happy that with each section I complete, the remaining area is smaller and will feel like it doesn`t take as long to stitch. This rug has lots of design elements with very little background so I never have a chance to get too bored with it. Each new area

Since the last time I posted a photo of the rug I have made a lot of progress. I now am working my way down the last side of this border. It is so fun seeing the border change in look with each color I add.

Once I am completed this border I have one small one to complete and then I start my largest border of the pattern. 

People at the show were very interested to see this "work in progress" rug and were able to understand a bit better the amount of time and effort that went into making one of my petit point creations.

​Thinking ahead, I wonder how long it will eventually take me to finish this one?  Any guesses? I started stitching this one on January 6th, so have 4 months invested in it so far.

Yesterday, we attended the OMEGA Miniature Show and Sale where we had a table to showcase our patterns, one-of-a-kind hand-painted art, room screens and petit point stitched items. While at the show I gave a demonstration on making a petit point pillow. The demonstration was well received and I had a lot of fun doing it. 
It was wonderful to see return customers and meet people who came to enjoy the show.

Another few days and another section of the border is complete. I have now filled in the colors of the bottom section of the next inner border and it is looking great!

It is amazing to think that just that section has 4,240 stitches! Instead of looking like diamond shapes, they now look like a bunch of large X's marching along the bottom. I always love seeing how the addition of some other colors can thoroughly change the look of a pattern.

To stitch this section of the border, I began with the pale yellow and filled in all the way across. Then I stitched the dusty rose and the navy blue after that. In this way, I was able to ensure that I did not accidentally run a dark thread under a lighter one.

My little cat border is finally finished!  I am thrilled to see them marching around the outside of the rug. 

As I have said when I first started stitching this rug, it is the largest one I have worked on so far. I began stitching on January 6th and have worked many hours on it so far. Time has moved so quickly that it is surprising to me that almost 4 months has passed since I placed the first stitch on the gauze. In many cases with the other rugs I have stitched, I would be nearing completion now. Luckily, I am enjoying it so much that I don't mind how long it is taking.

​My next border has already been laid out so it shouldn't take me very long to fill it in. This photo was taken on the 20th of the month and I have already been hard at work 

After many starts and stops, I have finished stitching the background diagonals for the next border. It will be fun seeing the colors as I fill it in. However, I have turned my attention to the Cats border again and am now busy filling in the ones I couldn`t before due to lack of thread.  I purchased several skeins of the background so that I will have it for another project and will take the next several days to complete the cat border.

My folding frame is holding up fairly well but I don`t think it will be suitable for another use after this rug is finished. It has been a godsend for me when traveling though and protects my rug very well. I might try to think of another way to make one another time when I have a large project to complete. Since it is made from foam core, it isn`t very sturdy, but good enough for now.