Fruit Bellpull by Teresa Wentzler ~ A Bit of Work Done

Fruit Bellpull Progress
Designer: Teresa Wentzler

Lately I've had more time to stitch, and it sure has been great to see some progress. First, I worked a bit on Paula Vaughan's Wedding Ring Bouquet.  I'm stitching this on 22 count hardanger fabric, and I started it back in 2002 or so on a whim.  Here are a few photos of it. The first one shows how it looked awhile ago, and the second one shows how it looked when I tucked it away to 'rest' a week ago. At this point I have a lot of backstitching to do, as well as stitching the white curtain that's in the background.  I hope to FINALLY  finish this piece this year.

I worked some on my Fruit Bellpull. I also started this one back in 2002 or so.  Can you believe it? I am not even 1/3 done with this.  It has so many colors and blends, as do all of Teresa Wentzler's beautiful patterns.  I love working on it, but progress is slow due to the amazing color changes and shading of them.  Here are some photos, and they show progress going back in time and not just my most recent progress.


Here are the colors for this project:

This is how I store the blends for the project. I created this little box back in 2002 or so when I started this one. I bet that folks do it in a much cuter manner now, or perhaps in a more efficient way. This works fine for me. 

These are the peaches that I finished years ago. The peaches are in the top square of the design, and there are six fruits total in the design. Each depicted fruit is surrounded by a border of satin stitched flowers on vines. The leaves' colors are blended threads in the border, too.  The blends are gorgeous, but for me it makes the whole process much slower.   

If you have tips on how to make it go faster with the blends, please do leave a comment and explain it to me. :)  I would really appreciate it!

Here's a photo of the grapes that I took long ago. There are so many blends and colors that I found this bunch of grapes to be very challenging. 

Here you'll see a bit of progress in the grapes and leaves.

Last but not least, here is the project's appearance when I tucked it away for a well-deserved rest. I just can't work on this one exclusively.   I have finished all the backstitching of the grapes and its leaves, but I next need to work on that border that surrounds the grapes. Then I will move on to the apples. 

Here's a photo of the finished project. Instead of finishing mine as a bellpull, I plan on having it framed. I've seen a few framed online, and they look fantastic.  At this time due to its complexity of design I am toying with the idea of just doing three squares instead of six squares. I wonder how that would look? Well, knowing me I will do all six squares. Each square is so lovely, and I hate to skip three of them.  Here is the design, finished as a bellpull:

New Project News

I have never just had two projects going, so I had to start a new one.  Besides the low number of WIPs I had, they were both started so long, long ago. I haven't had a new start since 2012, so I figured it was time, right? We all need to look at some fresh work. 

I could have used a pattern I already owned, but instead I went out and purchased a leaflet by Blackbird Designs.  I have just started that project, and will share that with you next time.  I am finding it to be a joy to stitch. Instead of using DMC threads, I am stitching with the called for overdyed threads. That has been fun, too. 

Thanks for stopping by today.