Needlework Rotation: DB progress and Pictorial UFO Introduction

I have been working on Dutch Beauty since I started the new rotation on 1 February.  Here is where I started:

And here is where I ended up when I hit a good stopping point at a little past ten hours.  There was a page finish on Page J/10, I got over the page break to the arbor on Page K/11 and finished the left hand side of it.

I always look at the 'before and after' of the rotation on this project and think, "Ten hours and that's ALL I got done?  I must be the world's slowest stitcher!!!"   I need to remember that each page is the equivalent of a small spot sampler.  Getting one of those done every couple of months isn't a bad pace.

When I pick this up again the next rotation, I'm going to go over to the far right border and finish off Page N/14.  When it was out on the UFO RR a while ago, one of my trade partners filled in the lovely flower bowl motif on the end, but the vine border still needs the 'buds';  they are a bit of a pain since each one is only a few stitches, so you are ending, changing colors, starting every ten stitches or so.   That's slow going, but it will be a very quick page finish since there aren't all that many of them!

And now on to the 'pictorial' slot in the rotation and a piece I haven't mentioned before.   This is Teresa Wentzler's "Millennium" (link to her catalogue).   This project was a request from my late husband.  Walt was an amateur astronomer, telescope and all.   I spent many chilly nights knitting by feel and the very occasional dim light, well shielded.  He was fascinated by the little over one planets in this design and we both had fond memories of Comet Hale-Bopp which is also featured.   Even though this is a Y2K design, it was started a few years later when we found the kit on sale.  When he passed away, I had the upper arch and column tops down to the "torch flames" done, part of the "space" background, the upper planets, and the comet were all finished, and I was working on the "earth and moon" area.

pardon the yellow cast, the background fabric is actually ivory

I put it away after his death, and finally pulled it out again in 2014, a decade later.    I've worked my way through the over one planets (so tiny), all of the 'space' blues and the upper part (including the backstitching) of the left hand Angel - Saint Michael (because of the sword).  Now to get to work on the right hand Angel.   I've waffled over which Archangel the right one is supposed to be.  None of the classic Roman Catholic Archangels has an hourglass as their symbol.   I've settled on Saint Raphael after a lot of deliberation.   He is the patron of the sacrament of penance.  And the sand in the hourglass could be the ashes of Ash Wednesday. 

Teresa Wentzler's designs are legendary (or is that notorious?) for the number of colors and use of blended threads.   There's an entire closely printed page of the pattern just for the color key!  Quite different from the limited palette of Dutch Beauty.   And she uses tons of partial stitches - again totally different.  I may be looking back at DB with nostalgia soon!

I know that St. Raphael looks ready for back stitching, but there are actually three more flesh tones to work in one over one stitching on the face before I get to that point.   Up close, you can see the missing stitches.  Then the back stitching will really make everything spring to life. 

three more colors needed on the face

Stitched on 28 count Jubilee Cotton Evenweave.  I really like the cotton evenweaves for pictorials.  The 'pixels' of the stitches are very even.   Linens, even well woven linens, have slubs; it's the nature of linen.   So I like them best for samplers.   Aida is good for cards and small things (as is perforated paper) and I have a few kits with Aida as the fabric, but I may replace it depending if there are partial stitches.  I really don't like doing partials on Aida.