Initials & Date are ON

So I Guess That Makes it Official...

 I officially need to get my fingers greased up and get to towne on these sides to finish them this year. I like the larger pearls...yes, REAL pearls~ I wanted them to look chunky and in a 'script' that I have seen in pearls on several period caskets~ the small one millimeter pearls I used on the front were just too small to get the look I wanted

If you look to the left, you will see a bit of the evil Satan's Bush on the Swan side panel....ohhh those bushes. Tip: Test your stitches on a practice piece before commiting on the actual panel

And I have an active practice doodle frame set up for such things....but did I use it this time? Nope. I had studied a casket up close at Colonial Williamsburg, and on it, in 4 different places, I found about 1/2" or smaller(I know why) areas with a very fascinating, microscopic stitch that I really loved the look of. It looks exactly like what I was able to execute in beads...but I still havent figured out the stitch in silk yet~ no its not a bullion stitch of any kind...anyways, I was bound and determined to have that on my casket.

Until.

Hours upon hours upon hours and a zillion beads later....I had like....literally....half inch of space worked...my eyes were killing me, I could no longer retain focus, my neck hurt....it was torture. 

TORTURE!!!!!!!!!

But me being stubborn as I am, I kept going until I filled in every last space of my bushes, and covered over forever the garbled of overwritten mess of 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 of dates I had planned on having there....

I moved them over to the Lions side

So, I better get busy on this~ I have all the background roses finished, all that is left that is drawn on the panels now are the grape clusters, so those will be next, then it will be a never ending sea of leaves leaves and leaves...and then most likely, more leaves

To say I cant wait would be an understatement...but...

I cant wait