FINISHED NEEDLEWORK: "Mead Dragon" by Paine Free Crafts

 

Pattern: "Mead Dragon"

Art: Stanley Morrison

Charting: Paine Free Crafts

Fabric: 28 count EZ Grid evenweave by Zweigart

9 inches wide x 12.25 inches high

Threads: DMC as charted - 50 colors

Stitches:  Cross stitch one over one Full Coverage - 94,500 total stitches

 

Started 1/31/2024, needlework completed 3/11/2026

Framed  - pending

Slow Sunday Stitching - March 8, 2026 - It's a DISASTER!

 First of all, everything is OK on the Mead Dragon.  I've been back to doing 100 stitches or so a day, and there are just 600 stitches to go.  I am on the last color!  Should be a finish this coming week, providing I do not have another disaster.

This week, my focus has been on Blackbird Designs "And to All a Good Night".  I had put in about six hours and had gotten to around the 85% mark, BUT.

Yesterday I was in a hurry and left a can of Dr. Pepper near my Blackbird Design piece.   I know better, I do.   I did not get a picture of the mess when the soda got knocked over.   Cue the panic, ripping it off the scroll rods and into a cold-water bath with SOAK needlework and yarn soap.

I knew it was a huge risk as this project has overdyed cotton floss and overdyed linen.   And there was a lot of bleeding.   And worse, a lot of dye migration as it dried. 

It doesn't look so bad in the photo, but there is a halo of red everywhere along the bricks and a swath of blue grey all around the roof.  The Cherry Bark in the door frame and letters ran too - more reds.

So much work ruined by just a second of inattention.  Just due to putting my drink down on the left side of my stitching chair near my workspace instead of over on the right where it would not have spilled down onto my work.  

I'm heartsick.   I'm not sure if I should try to rewash it with color catchers and a vinegar rinse.   Or to just trash it and start it over at some point with new floss and fabric.   Has anyone successfully rescued a project when the floss ran badly?   

If I can't get the disaster fixed, I will eventually restart it.  I do love the design, and I know it's a lot of people's "unicorn chart".  I was hoping to pass it on to someone in a RAK when I got it done, and that's not going to be able to happen now (the soda hit the chart, too.  At least it's still readable for a second attempt, though not in condition to pass on.)

Linking up with the SSS crew for sympathy or solutions - I'll take either!

Slow Sunday Stitching - March 1, 2026 AND 2026 Rotation #1 Slot #4 (Pictorial) Changeover /Full Coverage February Wrap-up

Well, I didn't quite finish the Mead Dragon during February, but I got darn close!  I have only 1,587 stitches left or less than 2%.  This week I completed 1,518 stitches, bringing the total for the month to 5,811, YTD to 9,451 and project total to 92,913 of 94,500 (98.32%).  I finished off four more colors this week, leaving only two colors left!

Filling in all but two background colors means that the entire center section of reflections is complete.

Last week for comparison

And the beginning of the month

I am so tempted to just keep working on this instead of going back to just 100 stitches a day.  But I miss my other projects.  There WILL be a finish on this project in the next couple of weeks, even at the slower pace.  The finish will actually be the next time I post about this project!

So this afternoon, I'm picking up the Blackbird Designs project.  I'll be working on windowsills, so still stitching with grey LOL.

Linking up with the SSS folks (who are probably cheering that they get to see something other than the Mead Dragon for a while)!

Slow Sunday Stitching - February 22, 2026

Hopefully you all aren't totally bored with these monogamous project updates on the Mead Dragon during Full Coverage February. I stitched 1,448 stitches this week, which brings me to 4,293 stitches for the month, 7,933 stitches for the year and 91,395 for the project = 96.71%.

This week, I focused on the area of reflections under the drinking horn and got it filled in pretty well, though there's still a couple of colors missing.   Speaking of colors - I finished color completing seven floss colors and have only six shades remaining.  All but two of them of them are dark colors that occur mostly in the background. I think after I finish the next two colors that are primarily in that center section, I will go back to the typewriter method and complete a row at a time. I did get the background down to the start of row 333 of 350.

Closeup of the area under the drinking horn, just because the reflections are so pretty!

And here's where I was last week

And at the beginning of the month.

Linking up with the SSS crew.

Slow Sunday Stitching - February 15, 2026

 Just a quick update on the Mead Dragon this week for #FullCoverageFebruary.

I put in 1,384 stitches this week and completed 9 colors (total of 37 / 50 colors completed).  That brings me to 89,947 / 94,500 stitches and 95.18% complete.  Just over 4,500 stitches left! 

You can see I mostly worked in the reflections area under the drinking horn, though I did get a few more rows of background done; I'm currently working on Row 328 of 350.  And I finished the bottom curve on her tail.  I'll probably work more on the reflections in the center area next.

Where I was last week

And at the beginning of the month

Linking up with the SSS Crew (this week's roundup).

Slow Sunday Stitching - February 8, 2026

This week the needlework was all about the Mead Dragon.  I put in 1,461 stitches since the first and have less than 6,000 stitches remaining.  I got to the bottom of the chart in a couple of places, and I've also now finished 28 colors, so over half of the 50 colors in this chart.  Only one color has over 1,000 stitches left.   I'm still getting quite a thrill when the new 'zero' count shows up!

Down to Row 222 of 250; most of the work this week was in the band of orange ('copper or brass') around the base of the drinking horn.  Some of the reflections are starting to show up, too.

Here's where I started the month for comparison

On the bag front - it's at the 'bits and pieces' stage.  Interfacing has been fused onto the main parts of the needlework, and I'm working on the side seams.  I'm planning on hand sewing as much as I can on this project, so it's not the fastest progress.  I'll try to post a picture later.

Linking up with the SSS crew.  They keep me motivated!

I've hit the bottom ...

... of the Mead Dragon that is.

Reached on stitch 87,740 of 94,500!

ETA on 2/5:  And I've finished color #25.  That's half the colors in this piece!