Here's my first needlework finish for 2010, though much like reading Elizabeth Gaskell--I stitched it last year and just got around to finishing it last night. Sorry about the poor quality of photo. The light is really terrible. There's no sunshine today so I used lamplight and it's sort of washed things out a bit--it's not as crisp and clear as it could be. You get the idea anyway. I'm not entirely pleased with it as my finishing is really pretty sloppy. When I stretched it over the matte board I didn't line things up very well and had to push and pull to try to set things right after the fact. Strangely tying the bow took about as long as doing everything else. How does one make a fluffy bow without using staples? I can tell I've gotten out of practice with my needlework and should try and work on it more than last year.
Here's the tiny bit of progress I've made on my Sampler Farm project. Some of the stitching is over one thread of linen, which means the work is really, really tiny. The box on the right will have over one stitching, so you can compare it to the stitches on the left. I'm really slow when it comes to stitching over one. This one may take me a while, but I think it'll be nice in the end (and I won't be doing the finishing on it myself, it'll go to a professional framer). And I'm going to try and stay focused on this one project until I finish rather than going from one to another. I'll let you know how it goes.