Chinese Garden, part 1 finished

So I just squeaked under wire to finish part one in a month and am very happy with the results.  I did add the smaller beads but not the larger ones that might snag the threads while sititching.  So here are a few pictures for you to peruse.  The first shows all the cross stitch done, then all the decorative stitches and finally the beads.  I decided to turn the beads for the sides though the corners messed with that plan a little.  I also changed the color of about four of them, a little less gold, a little more red.  I'm not happy with the black rhodes stitch in the center of the portal and am thinking about pulling it out.  Maybe a vertical satin stitch?  Any thoughts?  Love to hear some other ideas.




I did start part two and it should go faster, getting me under my one part a month schedule.  Yes, I'm a little obsessive about my jessicas and weave them under so they are uniform with no starting point.  Thanks for noticing!  My husband asked how long each one took, so I tracked it.  Assuming no serious tangles I average 4 minutes per jessica and there are 40 total.  So, not counting cutting threads, weaving tails and threading the needle that's 160 min or 2:40 just to stitch all those little yellow circles.  I might almost wish he hadn't asked! LOL
I'll post again when part two is done.


Sorry the pictures are a little blurry, I've been using my phone to track my progress, it keeps me motivated when I can check to see the last time I stitched.

Cheers, E