I promised an update last week on this beautiful swiss dot bishop that I unearthed from my sewing room.

I’m happy to report that it’s coming along really nicely. Here’s where I’d gotten it to last week:

As of this morning, here’s what I’ve accomplished:

As you can see, I’ve completed all of the bullions around the neckline (there are 69, plus another 14 on the button band, in case you were wondering) and all of the flowers and french knots on the embroidered centre band.

Now, I’m finishing up the leaves around the roses on the button band. I used two strands for the leaves on the smocking but only one on the medallions.  That’s because the rose medallions on the band are very tiny and with two strands the leaves looked like something that had escaped from Day of the Triffids.  Hardly the look I was going for.

To give you a sense of the scale, each one is smaller than a loonie (or slightly bigger than an American quarter, for my non-Canuck readers!) For their leaves, I only used one strand for the detached chains and I think it’s perfect.

What’s left? Well, I’ve cut the arm bands and the neck binding. I still have to finish the sleeves, attach the front bands, bind the neckline and whip stitch the lace to all three. I’ve got five days, since my SIL arrives Friday. I can do it. It’s just going to be tight.