OhSewCrafty Blog

• Pattern by Joan Elliott
• Materials: 32 count “Aerial” belfast by Picture this Plus, threads, etc as charted
• Size: 10″ x 14″
• Time to stitch: About 3 weeks

I’m happy dancing with my first of the elemental goddesses!  I do love a good series.

The pattern is great.  It stitches up quickly with lovely colors.  The design has a wonderful sense of movement; it’s like she’s dancing in the sky.  There is a lot of backstitching, I’m glad I did some as I went along and even so, I nearly got burnt out adding the details on the wrap at the end. But I pushed through; it only took a few more hours to finish.  There are 4 kreiniks used in this piece (seriously sparkly!) and #3240 (opal), which is used for cross stitching all the swirls on the perimeter, has been discontinued and was very stiff, quite difficult to work with compared to the other kreiniks in the design.  2 colors of beads were easy to stitch on, adding more sparkle and lovely dimension.  My only mod was changing some of the backstitching.  I don’t like the stair step method for this sort of project (elegant lady).

The fabric is a very light sky blue, with subtle mottling.  It was lovely to stitch on and I’m planning to use another PTP fabric (highland belfast) for my next elemental goddess, Earth, which I will start soon. Hopefully I can finish Earth this year and stitch Fire and Water next year.

My favorite feature is her elegant pose; she is “en pointe” like a ballet dancer.  Also, the detail in this piece is really extensive- the air icons of the zodiac (Aquarius, Libra, Gemini) are backstitched with the confetti gold krienik on the petticoat.  The Aquarius icon is also backstitched on the wrap around her midriff.  Finally, I love the translucence found throughout the pattern- you can see a hint of her legs through the petticoat and a bit of her arms through the sleeves.  I am really looking forward to stitching the other 3 elemental goddesses.

SAL via Crossed Stitches

Well, this project was not part of my original goal list (in fact, I had yet to start it when I wrote that list), but nonetheless it was my goal to finish Air Goddess by June 30th, and happily she was completed one month early.  The finishing goal for Earth will be December 31.  My No.3 goal (Blitzen) was completed May 17.