SQ Sunset Bar Harbor by Kathy A - 10/18 update—it is DONE!!

[Kathy_A]

Well, since I finished the three-year Scarlet Quince Garden of Delight, I had to dive head first into my next piece by them!

I’m doing “Sunset, Bar Harbor” by Frederic Edwin Church in 1854. I love sunsets, sky studies, and Bar Harbor, which I have visited twice in my life with my mom. So, doing this for her was a given! Here’s the SQ link: https://www.scarletquince.com/pat.php?pat=CHU003

I’m using the SQ Stitch app for the first time, and I am IN LOVE!!! This has sped up my stitching so much, saved me the concern of marking up a paper copy of the pattern with pink highlighter with worrying about the ink getting accidentally onto my stitching, and the only “annoyance” is having to swipe my little iPhone screen over to get more of the pattern. I love being able to track the stats on my stitching as well as see where I am on the picture as well as the chart. Highly recommended!!

Here’s where I am after 19 days of stitching:

[Nicola Main]

Wow Kathy this is special! I could never attempt anything this big! Can't wait to see more

[Steam.Jo]

Wow that is going to be a labour of love.

I am intrigued with this App thingy (I do not own a smart phone only a laptop) so I am still using paper and soft pencil to track my stitching. I do find it necessary to cover the bits of the pattern I have done with a clear sheet of plastic (A4 plastic pocket) to stop it getting on my hand and transferring to my work piece.

Jo

[Kathy_A]

This is my third SQ pattern, and the smallest one so far. The first had over 185,000 stitches, the second 220,000, but this one has just over 92,000, so I am hoping I an finish it in about a year. The app will help speeding me up, as will the apparent fact that there seems to be a LOT less confetti in this pattern. I am loving being able to stitch more than five stitches in a row of the same color!

The app is designed for the web, so you can use your laptop to use it, if you can stitch with the laptop beside you. Since it is relatively new, the program only allows for one-device use (no sharing progress in the cloud between your laptop and your tablet or phone), but that’s ok with me. I use my tablet for entertainment while stitching a lot, so I use my phone for the app. I just have to keep both charged up while using!

If anyone is doing an SQ pattern and is interested in the app, check it out here: https://www.scarletquince.com/aboutsqs.php

[rcperryls]

An amazing beginning to what will definitely be a beautiful piece and fantastic gift for your mother. And that app is really great. I use an app called GoodNotes on my iPad, downloading my patterns to it, but it is not made for stitching like the SQ app. I wish I could use it for other designs, especially love that it highlights any close by symbols that you may have missed. I love not having to worry about highlighting paper charts and worrying about ink getting on my fabric also. I am also impressed by your being able to follow your chart on your phone. I use a fairly large iPad, but then my eyes have aged enough that I do a fair amount of enlarging. The downside is when a chart isn't electronic, though I don't have many of those.

Can't wait for your updates on this beautiful piece!!!

Carole

[Mabel Figworthy]

A great start on what promises to be another beautiful piece!

[Squirrel]

That is a very good start to a lovely design and I look forward to the updates.

[Kathy_A]

I already have two pages done after just one month! There is so little confetti in this pattern that I am just zooming along. I did find one floss color that I missed in my order, so I have to hold off on stitching that color until my next delivery arrives (the bad thing about the small orders is that I end up getting other stuff I really don’t need right now just to fill out the order some—oh, well, at least I now have my mom’s birthday present project available for later this summer).

[Mabel Figworthy]

Well, you have to make the most of the postage
Great progress!

[fccs]

Your progress is impressive, and inspiring. This is going to be gorgeous!!

Are you still liking the SQ stitching app? I used it when I was working on my SQ and the only real complaint I had with it is that I have to be connected to the internet to use it. I wish it was a stand alone. (I have to restart that SQ because I decided to upload the chart to Pattern Keeper and was using that until I realized it misread several of the symbols. It wasn’t worth my time to try to sort it out so I tossed it and will start anew. I should have known better.)

[Squirrel]

You are definitely making progress with this lovely design.

[Kathy_A]

Debby (fccs), I am just loving this app! I can see that not having access to it offline could definitely be a pain in certain circumstances, but for me, it works great. I only do my stitching here at home, where I have wifi unless it goes out. Even then, since I am using my phone to access the app, I could use my cell data instead.

Being able to find all of the stitches in one color without spending minutes to scan the entire page is delighting me to no end. And something as minor as having the color symbol linked with the floss number on the top of the page whenever I highlight a symbol means I don’t have to pull out the symbol-floss number key like I used to, especially at the beginning of a project. Just little things that save anywhere from seconds to minutes is a real improvement to my workflow.

[rcperryls]

Absolutely great progress. I love this one! I wish that that app was available, somehow, for all different patterns, especially my HAEDs. (hint, hint if anyone over there is reading this) and a few other complicated, detailed projects I'm looking ahead at. But with or without the app, you are doing a beautiful job. I am looking forward to your updates.

Carole

[Kathy_A]

Twelve days later, another page finished! Two more pages, and I’ll have the first row done.

[Mabel Figworthy]

That sky is incredible, and you're making great progress! is it very challenging?

[wendywombat]

I've just looked up the SQ site to see this in it's entirety!
Wow! What a fantastic challenge!
You have done amazingly fast with that sky!

[rcperryls]

Beautiful progress and you are moving quickly! This is something your mother will treasure forever!

Carole

[Roland]

This is so lovely.

[Squirrel]

That stormy sky is looking so life like. Well done with it and it will be great to see the next update.

[Kathy_A]

Thanks, everyone! I am really liking this project so far.

Mabel Figworthy, it is really easy! There is very little confetti, especially when compared with my last project (SQ’s Garden of Delight). I was actually worried that the color might look a bit blocky, since there is so much grouping of the same color in sections, but they still make it all flow together and it blends. I just love being able to have lots of the same color and not have to anchor the thread for just four or five stitches, then move onto another color. The back of the last project had a very thick mat of anchor thread, but this one has hardly none.