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!

Door County Stitching Retreat

My LNS, The Stitching Bee in Green Bay, WI, is having their annual stitching retreat November 9-11, and this year I am definitely going! This will be my second one, as I attended the one in 2010, and I am really looking forward to it.

It will be at the Landmark Resort in Egg Harbor, which provides a free breakfast buffet on Saturday and Sunday. Dinner on Friday and Saturday is at the resort's Carrington Grill, and I can vouch that the food was delicious at the one I attended! You're on your own for lunch, but you can make your own in your room, which has a kitchen, or head into the nearby town. The ladies were talking about a local restaurant that has a model train that brings around menus and such, which I might try out this year. It seems like there might have been a few that went to a local winery for a tasting, as well! ;)

I tend to be a bit of a solitary person, but Kendra (the owner of The Bee) and the other ladies were so welcoming, and so much fun that I felt very much welcomed and included. We have one large room to gather in Friday afternoon and all day Saturday; it's locked when no one is using it, so you can leave your stitching stuff out, if you like. There are also several smaller nooks scattered throughout the resort, if you want to sit and stitch with a smaller group for a while.

If this sounds like something you might be interested in, just let Kendra know; her contact info can be found in the link above. She can email the info to you, and answer any questions you might have.

Sure would be fun to see you there!

So Excited!!

For the past several years I have been seeing framing work done by an extremely talented artist named Jill Rensel. If you haven't checked out her blog, yet, you should definitely do so: Jill Rensel. As an avid stitcher of Mirabilia designs, seeing other peoples' finishes framed by Jill has been an eye-opener; what starts out as an already beautiful piece truly becomes a work of art with her finishing.

So finally, last month, I took the plunge and sent my seven Mirabilia Holiday Fairies to Jill to work her magic on, and today she sent me pictures of the first two that she has completed. I am over the moon!! Here is Miss Valentine:

And Thanksgiving Harvest Fairy:

It feels like Christmas has come three months early this year! Now I can't wait to see what she comes up with for Christmas Elf, New Year, Easter, and Halloween fairies, as well as my Miss Independence conversion.

Stay tuned, as I will update as soon as I get more pictures! ;D

Two Down, Two To Go

I have been working exclusively on Judy Odell's "Shelley's Jewelry Box", and have now completed two of the four pieces that Judy sent to me. The first piece was one of the side panels, of which I shared Judy's completed piece a couple of posts ago. Last night I put the last beads on the top panel:

Again, if you think you'd like to stitch this, it's currently being offered for free on Judy's board: Just a Thought. At some point it will be removed from the board, and then will only be available for purchase.

I'm hoping to have all of the pieces done in the first week of October, then I need to get back to Karen's model. Then I want to finally finish up part three of Lizzie*Kate's Mystery Sampler!

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!