Warmer now!

I always was a monogamous stitcher, but this past week I realized why. There's definitely something to be said for stitching one project at a time: you see a heck of a lot more progress that way!

Angel #2 is now more aerodynamically stable with two wings, and she's a lot warmer with her shawl. The latter was stitched in Tiny Knitting with The Thread Gatherer's Sheep's Silk "Light Moss." Sheep's Silk is a thinner silk/wool blend and ideal for this stitch. Tiny Knitting is the Kalem stitch on a smaller scale: over one intersection instead of two. It's great for small areas and also produces a more delicate look. For you knitters out there, think worsted with size 8 needles (Kalem) versus fingering yarn on size 2 needles (Tiny Knitting). The shawl will also get looped turkey work at the bottom edge later on.

Her overskirt is now half done in a framed Scotch stitch. The overall effect of a windowpane plaid is created by first stitching a grid of white floss, at seven stitch intervals both horizontally and vertically, which ties in with the white metallic of the wings. The Scotch stitch is then worked in rows of a floss darker than the shawl, and the final grid is added in the same pink as the ribbons at the hem of her underskirt. Interestingly, using a slightly larger scale stitch--Scotch versus mosaic on Angel #1--and a darker color for the predominant stitch gives an overall appearance of a pattern more contemporary than the one in Angel #1. Polly Flinders meets J. Crew.

Now to finish them both!