Almost time for some reds

I spent most of last week working on the 2006 Mirabilia Christmas Tree, and I'm getting closer to the red skirt at the base of the tree--it will be a welcome change from all the greens!

I'm hoping to have this done by the end of this coming weekend but that might be too ambitious--a finish before the end of next week for sure, though. This will be the second of the six trees I've stitched and now I'll have to decide which one to do next, which will be a fun choice. Someone had asked for a picture of all of the kits so she could see which ones she had/needed, so here's a photo I took of all six:

The other one I've completed is the 2011 tree: 

I'm leaning towards starting the 2007 tree next as I love the little doves nestled in the branches, but I'll decide for sure once the current one is done.

I did take a bit of time to start Hands on Design's new Gather Round club design, Gather Wildflowers. This is going to be a set of four seasonal designs that are finished and can be displayed on the rounds that come with the kits (if I can ever make myself do any actual finishing!). I made a small start on Friday night because Cathy was hosting a Zoom meeting on Saturday morning and I wanted to stitch on the project while I watched. I made pretty good progress through the 3 hour meeting, so here's where I was after that:

I didn't get much more stitching done that day, but enough that I decided to spend a few hours finishing it on Sunday morning before getting back to my tree:

I'm going to finish the tree and then probably get back to these and try to get the next two in this set done before I start anything else. Cathy took a photo of the Zoom meeting while it was going, and while I hate photos of myself I figured this one was small enough that it doesn't bother me--I'm in the blue shirt towards the right side in the second row:

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Lady of Ice is finished!!

Okay, she's really Mirabilia's Lady of Mystery but when I created this conversion for her I thought that anything she touched turned to ice so in my mind she's Lady of Ice. I'm so happy with the way she turned out and I just love how the Kreinik looks on the dark blue fabric (a one-off from HLCFabrics), though for some reason it's hard to get the colors to show accurately in some of the photos; the second and third photos come closest to the actual fabric color, and I adjusted the first photo to try to get closer to the actual:

I've added a page to my blog with the conversion notes, in case anyone is interested. I reached out to Rensel Studio last Friday after I finished her but I haven't heard back yet; really hoping I can send her to them soon. I imagine it will take close to a year to get her back, so the sooner I can send her the sooner she'll come home!

Saturday afternoon I pulled out Mirabilia's 2006 Christmas Tree, which was actually one of the WIPs I posted about planning to finish when I started this blog 11 years ago. I'm not sure when I actually started it, but it's probably been more than 15 years ago now; here it is in the last photo from January 2012:

And here it is as of last night:

There is so much green to stitch! I did some on Saturday, then Sunday I decided to add some of the bling so I'd have something pretty to look at as I worked my way down more layers of green; it took most of the day to add the beads and treasures and I love the way it looks now. This one is also on a fabric from HLCFabrics, but it's been too long and I don't remember the name of it anymore. I'm hoping to stick with this one until it's finished now, but we'll see what comes up...

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Still here and still stitching

I've been stitching steadily since my last post, but I just haven't been in the right mood to blog about it as health concerns are still weighing on me. I'm still waiting for a definitive diagnosis, and the uncertainty gets stressful at times but stitching helps occupy my mind and keeps me from obsessing (for the most part).

I finished the Mirabilia model on January 7, then had to wait for an answer to a question and then had to wait again for final approval and was finally able to send it back last week. If it stays numbered as it currently is it should be released this June. For now, I'm taking a break from models until my health issue is a bit more settled; I'm hoping to take in another one around the beginning of summer.

Once the model was finished I spent a few days completing Mill Hill's Snow Fun ornament that I had started four days after my surgery. I had only gotten the hat and face done, then the counting felt like too much at that time so I put it aside. Now it's done and it's cute as can be--I especially love the little cardinals:

Once that was done I pulled out my conversion of Mirabilia's Lady of Mystery, which I hadn't worked on since January 2022 (can't believe it was that long ago!). Here is where I had left her:

I've been working on her steadily for a few weeks now and I should have her done sometime this week; just last night I finished the third of four skeins of DMC 823, and all of the Kreinik (11 spools) is done as well:

Just have one more skein of 823 left to do, and then fill in the rest of the beads in the skirt; can't wait to have her done! She's definitely going to go to Rensel Studio for framing, and hopefully she'll be ready to come home around the end of the year.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Nightingale released today

I'm excited to share the newest Mirabilia released today, MD185 Nightingale, Nora's tribute to nurses everywhere:

"Florence Nightingale revolutionized nursing with her round blue diagrams called blue roses. Her dress is a myriad of blue patterns that gleam like china. It is said that she gifted a friend a delft blue and white vase. She carried a lantern at night to attend to the sick and wounded. The same light that radiates in all nurses and caregivers everywhere."

Fun fact: Nora's original drawing had her holding a lantern, but she left it out when she created the chart. This is the first finish:

After seeing the photos Nora decided to put the lantern back in, and she called for glow in the dark Kreinik to be used:

It's a truly stunning design, and will bring people a lot of pleasure as they bring her to life.

I've had quite a month!

I have some health news to share, but I'll start with some stitching since that's the purpose of my blog. On the 21st the final part of Cecilia Votta's seasonal SAL was released, and I finished it on Thanksgiving night:

I really love Cecilia's style, and it is kind of amazing to see how a fairly small color palette can be used to create such a varied scene. This is the second year I've done her SAL; this was last year's design:

Now I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with in the new year ahead. For now, I've been making good progress on the model, and am hoping to really get a lot done in the next few weeks.

On the personal front I'm having some health issues, which started back in the spring but which I thought were just being caused by going through menopause and being overweight. I started walking this summer, dropped about 10lbs. and felt better for a while, but around early October the symptoms came back. On October 26th I went to my provider, and things moved pretty quickly from there--I had a CT scan on 11/3 that showed a large pelvic mass, I met with a gynecological oncology surgeon on 11/8 who scheduled surgery to remove the mass and my reproductive organs and then had the surgery on 11/16. So far, the only pathology reports that have come in are the initial ones, which indicated low grade ovarian cancer; I had a follow up appointment yesterday and I had psyched myself up to get further results but then found out they didn't have them yet. It sounds like there will be chemo, but I won't be absolutely sure until the results come back, so for now I wait and worry. Thankfully the surgery itself went well and I am happy to say that I am feeling pretty normal now, and between the mass removal and the absence of solid food for several days I have lost over 15lbs in the last couple of weeks--I haven't been this weight for at least 7 or 8 years!

So, for now I will dive back into the model and try to get as much done as I can before any possible chemo starts (the doctor said it would be two more weeks before it starts if it's needed), and probably put the Christmas tree up a bit early this year. Thank goodness for stitching, which has been and continues to be a source of great comfort to me, allowing me to have control over one small corner of my universe in stressful times.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

A finish!

Last week I did end up figuring out how to finish Tempting Tangles Dragon's Blood Mystery Mandala SAL before the last two parts dropped, so I'm happy to say that another SAL has been completed on (in this case, ahead) of schedule: 

This was done with Caron Waterlilies Arabian Nights (2-over-2 on 36ct linen, three skeins needed), a couple of metallics and Delica beads DB126 on a piece of linen from NicholasFlamelDesigns Egg Collection. I started this back in March, after the loss of my Gracie, and it has offered much solace in that time.

I'm now down to one remaining SAL, Cecilia Votta's seasonal piece, which has one more part that will be released 11/21. For now, I have gotten back into the model and am hoping to make some good progress. Things will probably go quiet here for a bit as I won't have much to share, unless the pieces I dropped off three months ago ever get back from my framer...

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Batty!

After getting the last three charts late I finally finished Amy Bruecken Designs Batty! SAL last week, and it was worth a bit of bother because it's so cute!

The checkerboard pattern at the bases was supposed to be stitched with black and white flosses, which I switched out for a green and a variegated floss; this meant I needed to make some changes to colors in the characters' shoes (and other elements) that wouldn't have shown up with the new base colors. The fabric is one of two pieces of 32ct linen from The Fragrant Lilac Collection by NicholasFlamelDesign on Etsy; I added about four new floss colors (besides the checkerboard colors) and rearranged existing colors and am very happy with the result. I am sorely tempted to get Amy's Lucky 13 charts, but I just can't bring myself to spend $130 (13 charts at $10 each); maybe someday I'll find someone selling their used charts, or, even better, someone who would work out a trade for the Batty charts.

After that was finished I stitched part 11 of Cecilia Votta's SAL, which now has just one part remaining. There is more to the house in this part, but I'm waiting until I have the whole thing to work those areas:

Yesterday I worked on Tempting Tangles Dragon's Blood SAL part 23, which I should finish today:

Now that I'm this close to finishing I'm once again thinking about trying to use the existing parts to complete the rest. I really need to get back to the model now, so if I could spend another couple of days to finish this then I could really focus on that for a while. I'll mess around with it today and see what happens.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Just Nan slides done

Last week I finished the stitching on Christmas Secret on Monday, then did the finishing on it and Feathered Fashion on Tuesday; now all four current needle slides are complete!

These are such sweet little pieces, stitched 1-over-1 on 32ct linen. Feathered Fashion is shown on the chart cover with one of Nan's Charm Garden Pins that is just so perfect for the design that I had to try to find one; luckily, I found a stitcher who was willing to part with hers, so it is now ensconced in the needle tin:

Once these were finished I stitched up a little freebie from Durene Jones while I waited for the last three charts in Amy Bruecken's A Little Batty SAL:

I have to say that I was a bit irked with The Silver Needle when it came to getting the Batty charts; I pre-ordered them in the spring, then sent a question about which threads were used so I could pull them from stash--they thought I wanted to add the floss to the order and that made them send the first two charts late. The second set was mailed in a timely manner, but the last three should have been sent almost three weeks ago. I had emailed an inquiry and she said they would go out around 9/25. No charge on my card over a week later so I sent another inquiry and was told they were waiting for them to come in (which was strange because the first person had said they were in the shop and would go out within a day or two). Another week and still no charge so I sent a third email, and this time the reply said that my card had been declined and they tried to call but I didn't have an answering machine. That really ticked me off because 1) my card showed no declined transaction (so they must have typed the number in incorrectly, 2) I do have an answering machine and 3) if they couldn't leave a message, why didn't they send an email (especially as my second inquiry was after the supposed declined card)? Sorry, bit of a rant there but the whole thing really bugged me!

Anyway, the charts finally arrived this weekend, so I'm going to stitch them and try to get this piece done by the end of the week; here it is as of last night:

In other stitchy news I am very excited to say that I will be attending a Mirabilia retreat in Charlotte, NC in October 2023. I know it's a long time away, but it's been six years now since I've spent a night away from home for something fun so I am really looking forward to it!

And in other Mirabilia news there was a new release on the 15th; it's a bit different from her usual style and I really love it and am looking forward to stitching it. It's called Portrait Queen, and here's a photo of it (not stitched by me) along with the original art (always fun to get a glimpse into Nora's process):

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Still on a Just Nan kick

I was pretty busy with house and yard work last week, so I didn't have as much stitching time as usual, but I did manage to finish the stitching on Feathered Fashion:

I'm thinking this would be fun to stitch again using different colors for the birds, maybe red and/or green and then finish it into a Christmas ornament--but that's a project for the future, since I have more than enough to work on now! 

Once that was done I stitched part 22 of Dragon's Blood Mandala, which now only has three more parts remaining:

Since those pieces took me into Saturday evening, I decided to stitch the final Just Nan needle slide sampler before I go back to the model; I can probably get this done tonight (after more yard work today):

I'll have to see if the finishing bug bites again and I can get these last two slide samplers completed--I'd say there's a good chance because I can already feel my OCD kicking in with the need to have all four done... :D

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week! 

Just Nan needle slides

Just Nan recently released a new needle slide and needle sampler set called Haunted Woods, and this past weekend I decided to take some time to stitch it. I started it late Friday afternoon and finished the stitching Saturday evening; I wasn't going to do the finishing yet, but Sunday I decided to just bite the bullet and get it done and I'm very happy that I made myself do it. Here are the finished photos of the front and back of the little sampler:

Back in 2017 I stitched Keep a Little Secret (which was probably the last time I did any finishing before this!), so I now have two of the four sets completed:

By the time I finished putting it together there wasn't really enough time to pull the model back out, so I made a small start on one of the remaining designs, Feathered Fashion:

The only thing more fun than stitching over-1 on 32ct fabric is stitching over-1 on 32ct opalescent fabric! This is what the other two samplers/slides look like:

I have some cleaning and yard work to do over the next few days, so I'll probably keep this out for now and try to get the stitching done in a couple of evenings; then Thursday the next part of Dragon's Blood will be released and I'll get that done before getting back to the model--that's the current plan anyway...

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!