Friends Forever: First Post

This is the other HAED that I am working on.  I currently have four, and I'm trying really hard to keep it just to those four.

This artwork is by the same artist that did the artwork for Magical Arrival that I'm working on, Anne Stokes.  What I love the most about this piece is how the dragon sitting her lap reminds me of a dog curling up for a nap.  I wonder if he gets as heavy as my sister's dogs do.  He actually, to me, looks like the grown up version of the dragon from Magical Arrival.  He has the same coloring and same face and head shape.  I wonder if that was by accident or design, or if I choose those two randomly or subconsciously.

I started on this one last year before I started working on Magical Arrival, and it's much larger, 16" x 24".  This is the second HAED I ever started so I thought I'd try something different.  Although I love the way Ophelia looks with two threads, it is not the easiest to stitch.  So this time I'm only using one thread, but still using the same fabric.  I also gridded the entire piece of fabric into 10 stitch squares, it was very time consuming and I thought I'd go mad doing it.

Because of the griding I'm kind of doing the piece by sections which you'll notice below.  This, however, means that I won't really be able to give a percentage or number of stitches done, so you'll just have to see how much is done with your own eyes.

The next few images were taken after each new color was completed.  I've actually done more than this but I haven't taken a picture recently.  I'll take a picture and let you see what I've accomplished soonish.  As for now, here are the photos I do have of my progress:

	On the left: just black (310). On the right: black brown (3371) added in.
	On the left: Coffee Brown-UL DK (938) added. On the right: Garnet-VY DK (902) added.
	On the left: Garnet-DK (814) added. On the right: Garnet-MD (815) added.
	On the left: Coral Red-VY DK (817) added. On the right: Plum-DK (915) added.

The stiches in the rest of the colors in the drapes were a few here... a few there... so I stopped taking pictures.  There's only one color currently missing from the drapes and that was only because I didn't have the color when I needed it.

After I completed most of the drapes, the dragon still has quite a few holes in him, I've continued down the left side of the picture, which is mostly a whole lotta black.  And it's taking me forever.  Each line is 47 or 48 stitches of pure black.  I did three rows one night, then five the next, and I haven't touched it in a while.  However, this is the project that I'm currently focusing on while I'm at home, at least until I feel I've made significant progress on all that black.  Afterwards, I'll either go back and finish page 21 of Transcendence or page 2 of Ophelia, only time will tell.

Project Stats:
Pattern: Friends Forever
Original Artist: Anne Stokes
Pattern by: Heaven and Earth Designs
Started Stitching: July 24, 2011
Fabric: 25ct. White Dublin Linen
Floss: DMC 1 over 1