Finished!

Hallway and flower are done. Next I will review each section to make sure nothing has been left out. I have the frame picked out and will order it tomorrow. Once the frame gets here I will do the finishing touch on the piece - wheat paste, steaming etc. and - mustn't forget - get the blister flowers in shape before I finish the framing.

The next piece I have in mind is a special dye - Lighting bug. Then it is Phase 7, Camellias (realistic effect).
And now I need to do the homework for my EGA class - Design for Needlework - I'm at the final lesson.

Outlines Done

All the outlines for Gracie are done - including fingers and toes, which I free handed. Only things left are the background - flower and hallway.
My initial idea for framing was a plain gold frame with no mats. Now I'm thinking a beige outer mat with a lavender inner mat, in a brown wood frame. Doubtless I will change my mind multiple times between now and ordering the frame.

More Outlines

I have the habit of diving headlong into a technique and THEN read the instructions afterwards. I found that my line-of-held-thread wasn't done correctly. Having stitched almost all the outlines using line-of-held-thread, I realized that I wasn't supposed to stitch it like the metal threads (i.e. using a koma) . However my (wrong) technique turned out pretty good results, so I think this is a technique that I will substitute my own (!)
All the lattice knots are done, plus the outlines for the obi. The blister flowers are misbehaving; the petals kept slipping off the knots. Before the final framing I will push the knots back in and hope that they stay.

The end is in sight - what's remaining are the blue kimono outline and the background, and some final touches for the other colors. I'm beginning to contemplate the framing...

Outlines

I worked on outlines today, and messed up on the outlines for the part of the obi that is around the waist. I was trying to use a 3T to do staggered diagonals and they just turned out awful. So I took them all off and will come back to them later. The outline around the obi knot( what is this piece really called?) was done with 1F staggered diagonals and they were ok. I also did the front of the collar with 1F staggered diagonals, and I will use line of held thread (vein effect) for the sides of the collar - to make it look stiffer.
Lots more outlines left.