Continuing Progress on my Second Katrianna

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.

I also tend to keep sections of thread that I have used but have finished off "parked" at the top of the canvas, out of the way so that I can easily pick up that thread again when needed. This, however, doesn't work if two threads are very close in color.  On this pattern, I have the background and the lightest peach which are very close in color and I find it very difficult to differentiate the two.  Therefore, I never park the lightest peach when working the pattern, preferring to end the thread and wind it back on the original floss bobbin. When working the first Katrianna, I mixed them up frequently and had to take out the incorrect color many times, so this time I am being more conscious of the two threads to prevent the same mistakes.