My second Katrianna is now finished with the exception of the Tabby weave and fringe, which I will do later, once I have done a bit of stitching on my new project.

I have decided to stitch my Irene rug, which is circular.  The pattern was requested by a loyal customer, so I designed it for her and was also able to place it on my website for sale. I did the original and one color variation for the pattern and have decided to stitch the variation instead of the original colors because the original has the same terra cotta colors that the Katrianna has. I needed a change from stitching with these colors, lol!

Work is progressing well on the Irene, so I will post a photo of my progress soon.

Work is progressing nicely on my second Katrianna and I am enjoying stitching it as much as when I did the first one.  Now that I have completed the border, I am finding the stitching is going faster.

​As it is difficult to count properly when stitching only the background first, I have been stitching flowers and stems first (being careful not to run a dark thread across a blank space). In this way, I can easily fill in the background. If I run into an area where I can't continue with a dark color without running it across a blank part of the canvas, I "park" that thread and stitch some background. When I have that area covered, I go back to the first thread and carry it over to the area I need to stitch.  I do not carry my threads very far though, maybe a maximum of 3-4 stitches, so that there aren't any areas with long threads showing on the back.  This helps keep the back tidier and less cluttered looking.

As well as preparing for the MET show I am also stitching a second Katrianna rug since I enjoyed stitching it so much. I will post a photo of my progress on that tomorrow.
Stitching this rug has been a wonderful stress relief for me in the evenings.

My Katrianna is finally finished!  Here is a photo of it  in all it's glory. This rug will be offered for sale at the MET Miniature Show this coming Saturday, October 14th, 2023.

I have also been working on some other items for sale and finishing odd projects while continuing to unpack in my new house.

Below is a photo of some of the other items that will be offered at the MET Show.

My Katrianna is almost done!  The side hemming is now finished and all I have to do now is trim the fringe and the gauze at the back. Usually, I don't post photos of my rugs at this stage and just skip right on to the finished article. However, I thought you may enjoy seeing the finishing in the in-between stage.

I will be offering this rug for sale at the upcoming M.E.T. show in October.

I am currently working hard getting more things completed to offer for sale and hope to have many new items to display.  At the show, I will also be doing a demonstration of Petit Point stitching and will be stitching my second Katrianna during the demonstration.  I hope to see you there!

The second fringe is now finished and I have removed the rug from the frame.  As you can see, I have quite a bit of gauze left around the edges of the rug to use when blocking it.

In my previous post, I showed the first fringe finished.  When preparing to do the second fringe, I moved the rug on the frame, once again and gave myself enough room to finish the second tabby weave and fringe.

This rug needs very little blocking as the sides are so wonderfully straight.  I was very careful when mounting the gauze, to get it as straight as possible and it paid off.  The photo makes it look like it is off kilter along the bottom edge, but this is not the case.  I find it very hard to take a photo that shows my rugs completely square.

​Now to begin blocking...

Here is my first tabby weave and fringe completed on the Katrianna rug. 

​In order to begin stitching this, I had to move my rug up in the frame.  I carefully tacked it in place along the sides and the bottom of the rug.  The top, I only put tacks in the corners so that I did not put any holes where the fringe would go.

Many people would think this just isn't worth the effort and would make a new frame.  They are not wrong, but I tend to try and re-use things until they have no more life left in them.  This frame was the first one I made and I hadn't allowed for the fact that I may need more length for adding a fringe. I just cut the opening 5" x 7" in order to accommodate a 4" x 6" rug and have a little space around the sides. 

At long last, I have finished the main stitching of the rug.  I am so pleased with how it turned out that I have decided to stitch another right away, while I am in the groove of stitching with these colors.
Now that the main rug is done, I will be adding a tabby weave and fringe to the rug.  You may look at it and think "How on earth is she going to do that? There is no room!"  
 When I first planned this rug, I made sure I had enough gauze at the top and bottom to add the tabby weave and fringe but I used a frame that didn't have the opening cut long enough for the fringe.  I didn't want to make a new frame, so I mounted the gauze with the tacks right at the very top and bottom edge so that there would be no holes in any of the area needed for the tabby weave and fringe.
My next post will show you my process for the fringing of this rug. 

This past weekend, I visited the Chicago International Miniature  show in Chicago, Illinois.  I had every intention of taking my rug with me to work on during my down time in the evenings and forgot it at home!! 

This is what it looks like today and, as you can see, there is not much left to do.  I had thought I could have it finished this weekend, but alas, it was not meant to be.  Hopefully, I will find some time to complete it soon.

I am still in the process of moving and am currently surrounded by boxes. Next Sunday is the OMEGA miniature show in Fergus, Ontario and I will have a table there.  Lots to do between now and then!

​Hope to see your there!

It has been a while since I was able to post a photo of my Katrianna Rug but I have been slowly working on it since my last rug progress post.

In February, we went on holiday to Antigua for 3 weeks.  It was fabulous getting away from the cold temperatures and relaxing in the warmth of the Caribbean.  I did not take this rug with me because I didn't want to run the risk of it getting lost.

When we returned, we kicked into high gear, preparing for our move coming this Friday.  In the evenings, to relax a bit from a full day of renovating and packing, I was able to manage some stitching of this wonderful rug.  I am still enjoying this rug tremendously and love the subtle shading that I have achieved.

​Now, there is only the middle section of flowers and vines before I complete the background and finish.  I will be putting a fringe on it as this rug feels like one that should have one.

​As February begins I have been completing a little more on the rug.  Slowly working my way towards the center of the rug, I find I am enjoying the second half of the rug as much as I did the first half.  Once I complete this side as far as I have the other side, I then get to stitch a different flower and vine section to keep it interesting. I find more and more as I get used to stitching this rug, that I tend to stitch the motifs then the background now.  I always make sure though, that I do not carry any of the dark colors across an area that will be stitched with background.

For the next few months I may not get much stitched because I am moving.  Due to this, I have put all of my "made to order" furniture on hold as I know I won't have time to do any for a while. All of my equipment is getting packed, ready for the move.  I am looking forward to setting up my new workspace!