And now my eyes won't focus

...plus it's midnight so I better knock off for the night. I wondered about taking a photo since I hadn't done as much as I had hoped but my friend who I am stitching it for asked for one, so...

I took two. One's with my stitching lamp on and the colours aren't true, but it glows more - the colours in this really do glow and the stark photos don't capture that, and we're not going to have decent sunlight for a daylight picture for AGES. So...




I got seriously stuck into the cloud tonight, adding the second dominant colour to the top section of it. Two shades of white on white! UGH. But the effect is fantastic. I've only got a few more stitches left to do of the bright white now, which is nice, though the other white is used in the lower section of the icon too mixed with a grey. It actually looks fluffy which is really cool! The book Christ is holding is finished now except one confetti stitch of gold and the 'jewel' which is green, and I hope to get stuck into His robes next time I work on this because I want to get this section done, a mini-finish. There's a bunch of thread in three colours put into the border but it's hard to notice as any work in the border blends seamlessly in. As wonderful as that is, its' aggravating! If I didn't mark my work I'd feel like I was never getting anywhere on it. I used up some leftover thread in the places it's called for in the background, and added a second colour to St Nicholas' halo (the arc in the centre) and otherwise did a bit of this and that. I hadn't been able to find the metallics when I've gone looking for them (theres a border of gold around Christ's halo, and two golds mixed braid together in St Nicholas' halo) but upon googling them I found the designer had a conversion page since they are the old DMC metallics colours and there is a conversion to light effects - thankfully, because light effects can be *washed*. I was thinking I'd have to stitch the whole thing, and then wash it if needed, and then add all the metallic at once. Ugh. I couldn't think of better penance, better not suggest it to Father! So I duly ordered them (I'm not going to be near spotlight anytime soon) and I should get them in the mail soon and be able to start adding them :) I don't like working with sparklies much, but they do look good and it's annoying me not to be able to use them especially since the outer part of the Saint's halo is practically all sparkly. Which will look fantastic, I keep telling myself!

Best of all - look at this!



The first picture is from only five weeks ago. I am *very* pleased with how much has happened in the last month!

Doxa to Theo...it is coming together well.

Now I am seriously going to go SLEEP.