Back from the framer...and bummed!

Back on the 9th I took three finished pieces in to be framed, as I had a couple of gift certificates to the framing gallery. The main piece was Lady Alexandra, and then I also took in Nora Corbett's Floss Fairy and Thea Gouverneur's Pansy. After waiting (rather impatiently) for over two weeks, yesterday I was finally able to go pick them up!

The first one he brought out was Lady A, and immediately I noticed that something was "off", as it looked very long and thin in the frame. It turns out, that even though I had asked for two inches all the way around the design (from the outermost part of the design), on the left side the framer had only left about half an inch. So bummed! We checked the order, and it was very clear what I had asked for; the guy was very apologetic, and said they would put a rush on fixing it, but I am still just disappointed.

Anyway, I did get a couple back; here is my Floss Fairy:

And here is my Pansy:

Today I am off to a stitch-in at my LNS, so hopefully I will get quite a bit done on the piece I'm working on. Hope everyone else has a great stitchy weekend!

Another one bites the dust!

I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I have been ignoring my model stitching, and have spent the last few days working on my Mill Hill "Treats Collage" kit, which is now slain! Here is where I started:

And here it is this morning, minutes after adding the last beads:

It took two days to get all those beads on there, but the bling is what attracts me to these kits. This one had almost as many beads as it did stitches. Here's a different view:

But now, seriously, I HAVE to get back to the model. I may not have many WIP pics for a bit, but stay tuned for some pics of framed pieces that I should be picking up this week.

Last of the WIPs for this year

As promised, here are pics of the last three WIPs that I am "allowed" to work on this year.

The first is "Percy Pig", which is a Jim Shore (Mill Hill) kit:

Next is another Mill Hill kit, called "Treats Collage":

And the last one is Just Nan's "Pretty Wicked" Whimzi:

However, there has already been a bit of a change since these pictures were taken a few days ago; I have since completed Percy Pig. I had forgotten how much I liked this design, so when I pulled it out to photograph I ended up starting back to work on it. Now he's done!

These little kits have so many beads; the paper ends up quite a bit heavier once all the beads are added!

The only problem, now, is that I would love to stitch the cow and sheep kits that are in this series, but they're not on my list; bummer!

So for now, it's back to work on the model for Karen, with maybe a few hours a week spent on a WIP. Two slain, 18 more on the block!

Some more WIPs

Here are the remaining WIPs that I plan to work on this year, absent three that I still need to get pictures of. Hopefully, I have a wide enough range of designs that I won't get bored!

This is Lizzie*Kate "Halloween Rules", stitched on PTP Haunted Edinburgh linen:

This is Wiehenburg's "Rosette's Delight"; it was a 20-part SAL, with which I kept up with for three weeks (snort!):

A small freebie from Papillon Creations called "Moonlight Serenade":

Another Lizzie*Kate, "Dog Lessons for People", stitched on SMF Bewitched Cashel linen (gorgeous fabric!):

One that I would really like to finish this year, Joan Elliott's "Autumn Fairy", stitched on SMF Bling opal lugana:

I started Passione Ricamo's "Over the Rainbow" a  few years ago when Laura had a contest to see who could stitch  it the fastest, but I kind of soured on it when someone claimed they stitched it in 27 hours (as if!). I think I was at about the 70-80 hour mark when I stopped here:

The final two WIPs that I have pictures of at the moment are actually the same design, but stitched with different threads. The design is "My Hearts" by Ute Senkel Weinberg, and is charted for Caron Waterlilies threads (30 different hearts, using 30 different colors):

The second one I started (which is on a smaller piece of fabric, and will therefore have fewer hearts) after I found some gorgeous hand-dyed threads from Artfabrik, owned by Laura Wasilowski. I bought a bunch of colors, and wanted a design that would really show them off:

The three remaining WIPs, which I will post in a few days, are a couple of Mill Hill Buttoned & Beaded kits and a Just Nan Whimzi design; I just wanted a few small projects that I could easily take with me when I have to wait somewhere.

My stitching time right now is mostly taken up with a model for Karen, but I'll try to get a few hours a week to work on a WIP. Right now I'm kind of in the mood for "Halloween Rules". :)

One Down

My first WIP is slain; "Lady Alexandra" is finished!

When I first bought this pattern, one of the things that I really loved was the purple detailing on her skirt; it just seemd so whimsical to use purple on such an elegant dress! So when I chose fabric, I decided on Flapper (on Belfast linen, from Picture This Plus) because I thought it would highlight the detailing. I stayed up until just before midnight last night, finishing the beads, and loved watching them bring the skirt to life!

From the chart picture it is difficult to see how sparkly she is, but IRL she is very blinged-out!

Now that she is done (and off to the framer later today!) I need to take a couple of days to get caught up on the chores that I've ignored for the past few days in my desire to finish her. Then I'll be back with the remaining WIPs that I chose to work on this year (to which I've added three small ones); I'm thinking I'm almost ready to get back to my July Fairy!

Moment of Truth

Or as I call it, the Bucket o'WIPs!

I am pleased to announce that I do not have over 100 WIPs! There were 52 in the bucket, and I know there are a few floating around in drawers and stitching bags, so we'll call it an even 60. After much consideration, I have chosen 17 pieces that I will work from this year. The first is still Mirabilia's "Lady Alexandra", which came along pretty well over the holidays:

Of the 17 pieces I chose, nine of them are by Nora Corbett, who remains my all-time favorite designer. The others of hers that I plan to work on are "Charlotte":

"Titania", who had the misfortune of being started right before I discovered the joy that are hand-dyed fabrics, and has therefore languished in the pile for years on her boring Chestnut linen:

"White Christmas":

"Snow Queen" (see, I do stitch subjects other than beautiful ladies!):

Two more of Nora's reindeer (only seven to go!):

The 2006 Christmas Tree:

Nora's adorable "Pincushion Fairy":

And last, but never least, my ruby conversion of "July's Amethyst Fairy":

I really want to make myself finish this one for sure, as I am looking forward to playing with bead colors after the stitching is finished. Unfortunately it has two strikes against it: first, it is not on a hand-dyed fabric (see Titania, above), and second, I made the brilliant decision to stitch the wings with a blend of floss and blending filament. Have you seen how BIG those wings are?! But I am determined to get her done this year.

I'll post my remaining WIP pics in the next day or so, but for now I will close with a picture of an actual finish, my last for 2011. Nora Corbett's 2011 Christmas Tree: