Sunday Craft Update - July 29

Here, finally, is Part 1 of Chatelaine's Taj Mahal. It's taken me about 35 hours to complete this part, so I have ... um ... 200 hours, give or take 10 or 20, to go before I finish the entire thing. No problem! The Chatelaine designs use plenty of silk fibres and Delica beads. I really detest the beading but the beads give a wonderful effect, which isn't captured all that well by the photo. You might notice that there are a large number of empty spaces in the stitched piece. These are reserved for Swavroski crystals that I'll stitch on at the very end. If I put them on too early, then my threads tend to get snagged on them.

Speaking of beads, my friend Chantelle makes gorgeous jewellery from beads and crystals. Today, I met with her and received three pairs of earrings I bought from her Etsy store. You definitely should check out the Web site. The photos are lovely, but the earrings are even more beautiful in real life.