I am not as well versed in embroidery as I will be by the time I finish this project, so my efforts in this area frequently require several attempts before I end up with something I find visually pleasing and I have been at a bit of a crafting impasses as I search for my groove.

The past two days, however, I have gotten better at figuring out what might work.

I’ve learned that some stitches work better if I use three of the four plies of Red Heart Super Saver while others do best with with just two, and I’ve learned that chain stitches — while easy to execute — can be a challenge to make look good on a foundation of crochet.

I’ve also learned that color combinations that work well in some situations (like the first and second rounds of a granny square) are not always as effective when those same two colors are used with one as a substantial background and the other as a more delicate foreground.

So part of what makes the work so slow is that the visual references I have come to count on in making my color work decisions don’t translate perfectly to embroidering on crochet.

But as I continue in my efforts, I am finding that there is enough overlap that I am starting to get the hang of it, and today, after several tries (all related to the execution of the bullion at the end of these chain stitches) I managed to get a result that I was please with:

With the shocking pink triangle done to my satisfaction, I then set to work on a real teal piece that had given me fits, and not only did I get to enjoy the warm, dry weather:

I also got an interesting look without much aggravation:

and then, before I put everything away, I reviewed the progress I had made:

and made some notes on future embroidery stitch and color choices.

I am getting a big nervous that I won’t get this project done this year just as I didn’t get it done last year, but this particular panel will not be hurried, so I will continue pushing forward one stitch at a time while keeping my fingers crossed that not quite so many of them need to be removed and redone.