November CQ moving along, and June is beginning

I wanted to show again how great the color palette for September is for my latest "birthday CQ in needlepoint." The piece is actually representative of November - with the topaz - but I had been doing battle with my stash over colors until this was chosen for us this month. (TIF Challenge) The actual colors on my stitched piece are like the illustration - but on the screen, the blue turns almost turquoise. Oh well. This is the heart with the stitching finished and ready for the silk ribbon embellishment - I will, of course, add more colors and accents beginning with the seam treatments tomorrow. The chrysanthemums are not going to be easy, so I stalled a bit today and started work on June - as the colors are pretty, and pearls and roses are easy.

On November, in the dark blue patch, the white spots showing are the stitches left bare for insertion of beads. I wanted some subtle pattern here, so chose to use, once again, my favorite combo of the Sundance #250 clear beads, and this time a light blue floss to stitch them in. I usually don't put the beads on until the SRE is finished - but I had to see what it would look like, so I cheated - you can see them (enlarged) on the upper right curve of the heart.

Already thinking ahead - or back - to August, which is my younger dd's birthday, I sent Jean Krynicki at River Silks a picture of gladiolas, and asked her to choose some ribbon for me - and this is what she sent. Gorgeous! I just wish I could stitch in "double time" or something - like those old Charlie Chaplin silent movies. The images in my head start coming so fast, I have to make quick sketches - as I will forget them in a few hours. I just hope it keeps up before I suffer burn out on the project.