My craft room walls...

...are getting pretty crowded! Last Wednesday I received the first batch of framed Nora Corbett Holiday fairies, and today the last three arrived, so I have spent the last hour hanging and re-hanging pictures. It's difficult to get good pictures, with all of the reflections, but at least they give some idea of what I look at while I'm stitching:

When the first box arrived, I was a bit worried as one of the corners was ripped and bulging out, but Jill's helper did an amazing packing job; I think they could ship anywhere in the world and get it there intact! To give you some idea of the packaging, here is Keishu rustling around in the box full of the packing paper:

And paper from the first box has been well-used this past week by just about all of the kitties!

Gracie:

Tailor:

And Callie:

The white blur on the right side of Tailor's picture is actually Callie's whisker, as she came to me to see what I was doing. She then promptly booted Tailor from the paper tent and got in herself, as if to say that I should take her picture!

No new stitching to share, as I'm still working on a model. I am really hoping to have it done before the stitching retreat in just under two weeks, but I'm not sure if I can do it. Better get back to work!

Couldn't help myself...

...I HAD to finish the Lizzie*Kate piece with a border! The color in the middle just didn't seem to go that well with the two other colors, and the whole thing just didn't look "finished" to me, so I whipped up a border while I devoured season 5 of "Mad Men" on DVD (I still have four episodes left to watch today!).

I used Thread Gatherer's Silk'n Colors "Piccadilly Circus" to stitch the border, as I thought it drew all of the colors together a bit better, and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out:

NOW, I have to get back to the model I'm supposed to be working on!

I also received a picture of my last Holiday fairy from Jill Rensel, which is "Miss Independence" (aka Halloween Fairy color conversion):

I'm kind of glad she was last one to be done, as I think she might be my favorite. The first four pieces are on their way back to me, with an expected arrival of Wednesday; that will be one awesome package to open!

BTW, if you are interested in having the conversion, I have it posted on the Mirabilia Stitchers Yuku board: Miss Independence. 

Happy stitching!

Happy dancing!

Okay, it's a pretty small HD, but happy, nonetheless; I finished up the three bonus designs from Lizzie*Kate's Very Scary last night:

I'm still wishing I had chosen a different color for the middle panel, but I LOVE the two colors on the ends. For those who missed the previous posts, these are 6-strand silk threads from Treenway Silks, from their Montano series. From left to right they are St. Thomas, Eden Valley and Kathmandu.

I'm debating with myself about adding a border of some kind, though it would be at a later date, as I have to get back to Karen's model. Oh well, plenty of time to think about it!

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!

More fun with silks

As an extension to yesterday's post, last night I finished up the bonus design from Very Scary, Part 2, using a color called Eden Valley:

While I like the color, it isn't particularly Halloween-y, so for the third design I'm going to use Kathmandu, which is very Halloween-y! Now that I've come this far, I think I'll just work on that today, and hope to finish tonight or tomorrow.

Speaking of Halloween, last night I received a picture of my Halloween Fairy framed by Jill Rensel, and I LOVE it!

Now she only has Miss Independence left to do, and I am almost feeling sad that I won't get to see anymore after that! As I told Jill, I guess I'll just have to send her some more pieces!

We interrupt this model stitching...

...to bring you a picture of the bonus design from Lizzie*Kate's Very Scary, Part 1:

I recently discovered Treenway Silks, which is a dyeing company that mainly focuses on yarns; however, they do have some 6-strand silks available. In particular I fell in love with their Montano Series, which contains variegated colors, so as soon as I received some in the mail I HAD to play with them! The design above was stitched with 2 strands of a color called St. Thomas on black Belfast; isn't it gorgeous?!

I'm not done playing, yet, either, as I've started the bonus design from Part 2 with a different color of silk. I should be done later today, so stay tuned!

Christmas Elf Fairy framed

Another wonderful picture from Jill; I'm loving the snowflakes she painted on the mat!

I'm almost feeling sad that Jill only has two more to complete; it's been pretty exciting, waiting to she what she comes up with for each piece, then seeing the finished project. I guess I'll just have to look forward to actually seeing them in person, and then figuring out the best way to hang them in my craft room. ;)

Work is continuing on Karen's model, so nothing new to show on that front. It is really a gorgeous design, though, and I'm enjoying working on it.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!

Miss New Year's Eve Fairy is framed!

Here she is, in all her sparkly glory:

This is one of my favorite fairies; the colors and her dress are so pretty, and I love the clock she's holding.

Every time Jill sends an email with a picture, I feel like I'm getting a Christmas present; I even try to scroll down slowly, to savor the "opening"! ;D And I still get to anticipate seeing my Christmas Elf Fairy, Halloween Fairy and Miss Independence Fairy (my patriotic conversion of Halloween Fairy); so much to look forward to!

Judy Odell should be receiving the pieces of "Shelley's Jewelry Box" today; she mentioned that she would like to have the assembly instructions out in time for people to be able to make this as a Christmas gift, so stay tuned to her board and/or blog for further updates.

I decided to skip working on part three of Lizzie*Kate's "Very Scary" until I finish the current model for Karen. I would really like to have it done before the Door County Stitching Retreat, so I can pick out something really awesome to take with me that weekend. I just received the Valdani silks for Rosewood Manor's "Flowers of Rosehall", so that has been tempting me lately... ;)

Stay tuned for more framed fairies; I know I'm on the edge of my (stitchy) seat!

Easter Fairy is Framed!

I just got a picture from Jill Rensel yesterday of my framed Mirabilia Easter Fairy, and I am just thrilled with how it turned out:

Jill said that she was going to be working on New Year's Eve Fairy next, so hopefully I'll have another picture to share soon.

I'm planning on finishing up Judy Odell's "Shelley's Jewelry Box" today, and sending it on its way back to Judy. It's always a feeling of accomplishment to finish up a model, although this time I still have two others waiting to be completed! I do think I'm going to take a few days, though, to stitch part 3 of the Lizzie*Kate Mystery Sampler, as I'm in the mood to stitch something just for myself.  ;)

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!