Balloons

Y'all, we made it to eight months! Today is the 243rd day of the year, so it's also my 243rd piece for this project. I've kept track of some fun stats about the project (my definition of fun is what it is):

• 243 pieces, including two panel pieces (both in June)
• 14 new stitches over eight months, plus 9 trusty stitches I've known forever
• 22 water/sea themed pieces in the month of July
• 16 unusual or specialty materials used (mostly in August)
• 1 filled notebook
• Ort jar - half full

An ort jar is basically a leftover thread jar. The word ort comes from the 15th century, and was originally used to describe food scraps. At some point, stitchers started using the term for the odd threads left over from embroidery or other sewing projects. Ort jars can be displayed or used again for other projects. I started keeping ort jars last year, and used some of my odd threads to make ornaments for my Christmas tree. I also have one jar labeled with the date range of the projects I completed while keeping it. It's in my studio, and it makes me happy to see what I did. For this project, I keep a small ort jar on the table when I stitch each day, and at the end of the month I add the small jar to a large jar. I intent to use the large jar for next year's 365 project. 

The idea for today's piece came from my friend Caroline. She suggested I use the fabric paint to make balloons to celebrate completing eight months of this projects. I decided to add some sequins for additional sparkle. 

Details:
Stitches: back, stem, and straight stitches
Thread palette: DMC C310 (3 strands), DMC C550, C907, C995 (1, 3 strands)
Other materials: sequins, Fabric Creations fabric paint (African Violet, Sour Apple, Aqua, and Mermaid's Tail)