It's an ornament!

Last Friday I sat down and finished my entry for the Passione Ricamo Winter Whisper contest. Finishing is definitely not one of my better skills, but I'm reasonably happy with the way it turned out (especially from a distance!). This was the finished design, stitched on Twilight Belfast linen from Picture This Plus:

Front of the ornament:

Last Thursday I stitched the border on another piece of fabric, added some personalization, snowflake charms and beads, and used it as the back of the ornament:

I used beads and crystals to make a hanger and the tassels, and finished it off with a trim of GlissenGloss Estaz. Even though the back panel is a bit crooked, I'm pleased with how sparkly and pretty it is. The contest will be judged in December, so now it's just a matter of waiting to see if I win anything!

For those who celebrate it, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!

I have stitching I can share!

Normally when I'm working on a model, I don't stitch on anything else. However, Laura Lattuada of Passione Ricamo is having a contest which runs November 16 through November 30, so I had to take a small break to fit it in. We received the chart, called Winter Whisper, on the 16th, and here is mine at the end of the first day, before and after the back stitching:

Here it is at the end of the second day:

And here is my finish on the evening of day three:

Now for the hard part; it has to be finished as an ornament, which is not my strong suit. However, I plan to have it finished by the end of the weekend, and well before the November 30th deadline. I'll share the finished piece when the end of the contest is near; wish me luck!

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!

Love this finishing idea!

Work continues on the model, so I don't have any new stitching pictures to share. However, I did want to share a neat finishing idea that I've come across. Summer House Stitche Workes has a series of designs called Postcards from the Heart, which feature a cross stitch design that is attached to a burlap canvas along with other "found objects"; it's almost like a mix of stitching and scrapbooking. Here is a picture of one of the finished pieces:

The designer has a great video tutorial for the process in her blog. The burlap canvases that she uses are from Tim Holtz, and can be found at most craft stores. Here's a link to an online store, so you can see what they look like: burlap canvas. Serendipitously, not long after watching the tutorial I came across these canvas panels at my local Target:

These are 12" x 12", and a nice white finish, as I wasn't a big fan of the burlap. When I finally finish the model, I've decided that I'm going to make a collage in remembrance of my trip to Italy this past May. Here is a picture of some of the goodies I stitched and received/bought during the trip:

If I have room, I'd love to add a picture from my trip as well; I'm really excited about this project!

In my last post I had a small contest, which was won by Dima; you can see what her prize was in her blog.

I'll leave you with a new picture of my Gracie acting as chart holder for me:

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!