Exactly 16,752 stitches, approximately 66 metres of thread, and four months have gone into this 42cm by 20cm piece of loveliness.

It's very pleasing to have finished a project and actually still like it. Goodness only knows what craziness I'll put myself through next. But for now at least I know that I like this ship. It's exciting!

A wee preview:


( More pics (some very large) behind the cut! )

And as this is the first time I've used my new mood theme I'll take this opportunity to credit: saxa246.

I used to have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this old blogging malarkey, but now I'm getting to quite enjoy it. Mostly because every time I start to post an Enterprise update I feel like I haven't done much of late, but then I check my last post on the subject and see just how much more is filled in. It's quite encouraging. But I still think the last few weeks of any large project is my achilles' heel. The beginning is just so much more fun. Shapes appearing as if from nowhere seems so much more satisfying than filling in the details. However, I am allowing myself to add dark colours now and I've made my feelings on pale colours pretty plain by now (I know, why on earth would I think an almost entirely pale design wouldn't drive me mad? I am a fool to myself, that's why.).

Excitingness of the week comes courtesy of having completely completed the port nacelle. I took out all the guidelines there since I don't need them anymore and I'm rather pleased with how it looks.

Picture time!

Wheee! You can actually tell there's more than one colour in there now. Just barely, but still, it's exciting enough for me.

She's looking real purty. I am a happy stitcher right now.

Still plenty of stitching to go though!

Stitchety, stitch, stitch. Ho hum, few things to say really, other than it's ticking along nicely. Should be finished by October or November at this rate. I'm a little concerned that the colours aren't looking quite as distinct as they should, but maybe colours blending into each other is better than them contrasting too dramatically.

Shortly after I took this picture I started out onto the nacelles, in order to save my sanity and to keep liking this project, so the next update should look quite different.

Brain killed by Torchwood: Children of Earth.

Russell T Davies is an evil genius.

Somehow managed to do some stitching this week between sobbing and yelling at the telly like a crazy person.

I really have neglected the daily picture taking of late so there's just the one picture today, and it makes it look like I've leapt ahead (insert your own lame warp speed pun here, it'll be less terrible than mine) when actually it's over a week's worth of work.

The threat of a new conflict with pale colours seems to have waned somewhat. Either I did actually learn something from the last cross stitch of doom, or this project is easier. Either way, I'm not complaining and feel it's going to turn out great. The shape of the top down view of the saucer section is really starting to come together. It's quite exciting being this positive about one of the bigger projects for a change!

More than one person has commented on the similarity between the guidelines and the design of the holodeck when a programme isn't running. I clearly run with the geekiest of crowds. Tis awesome!

Time to embark on another big-ass project, this time a cross-stitch of the new Enterprise. Lessons have been learnt from the epicness that was my Peter Petrelli cross stitch - no pinks and no beiges, the pattern has been printed on a ginormous scale, and I have put in a ludicrous amount of guide stitches. And I am stitching on black aida instead of even thinking about stitching in the entirety of space. So I should stay saner this time around. Should. Hopefully this one won't take six months.

Pics of the computer-generated simulation of the completed project and day one of stitching (technically day 3 of the project overall as it took me two days to sort the pattern and the guide stitches) below the cut.

( Engage... )