Lily Pad Frog Stitch-a-Long, part 4

Hi everyone! I'm hoping you will join me for a HAPPY DANCE, as I finished Mr. Frog!!!

Here's where I was last time: 

I was nearly done then, and really just had a tiny bit of small stitching and then filling in the lily pad before turning to the background. 

I wanted to choose a stitch that would give some texture without overwhelming the frog. I have some wonderful needlepoint books from the 1970s, one of which had a stitch sampler pattern that featured, among a couple of dozen stitches, a diagonal version of the cashmere stitch. I tried it out and was pleased that it gave a nice, ripply texture... and stitched up really quickly. How quickly?

Even though the stitch is "thicker", it still feels like the frog floats on top of it. 

I really, really love this! 

I'm so happy with this piece, and thrilled that I've done the stitching in time to take it along to the Kaffe Fassett lecture next week. (Just typing that fills me with anxiety, for some reason...)

Now that I've stitched the lovely Mr. Frog, it's time to return to my holly cross stitch. Here's where I'm up to: 

I'm just past the halfway point, but of course that means there's a long, long way to go. I can't imagine wrapping this up in time for Christmas 2023, but, hey, Christmas happens every year. 

I love seeing all the amazing projects my fellow stitchers are working on -- check them out if you need some inspiration! Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Cindy, and Mary Margaret.