Last Update of 2013

I'm happy to say that Peacock Tapestry is leaving 2013 on a high note. I cannot believe the amount of progress I've made in less than 6 months.

Yesterday I finished stitching the peacock, although there is still back-stitching to do (I'll do those as I go). This part went by so fast and I really enjoyed stitching it. I'm very glad I decided to stitch him in 2 parts. It allowed me to take a break from the blending filament. So when I went back to using it, it wasn't so bad.

Here's a last look at Peacock Tapestry for 2013:

Now as for my other projects. I've been terribly neglectful. And I should feel terrible, but I don't because, one: I only have 2 other projects in pending, and two: who could feel terrible at this amazing progress :)

Here's to hoping that 2014 will be this great =D and inspire excellent stitching mojo (and bring lots of stash!).

The Trees in The Grove

I finished another part of Peacock Tapestry. This part was all half cross-stitches. It was kind of hard finding places to anchor the thread and you do NOT want to see the back.

All in all, Teresa Wentzler is a genius. Stitching this part in half stitches really gives a fare away look for these trees.

Here is what the Tapestry looks like so far. I'm very happy with my progress so far, but I'm starting to get worried about something. When I took it off the frame I noticed a slight warp in the fabric about mid-way through the tapestry. I'll have to do some research to see if there is anything I can do to fix that.

Tiny Fantasy Kingdom Over 1

I actually finished Tiny Fantasy Kingdom a while ago. I was so into stitching it I finished it in a week. I really enjoyed working on this (I love 1 over 1 patterns).

This is one of the patterns from the Creative Festival and is from Dragon Dreams by Jennifer Aikman-Smith. It's mainly DMC, but it also uses Caron Waterlillies which I've never stitched with before. Let me tell you it was a dream stitching with it it's so soft =D

Jennifer was kind enough to give me permission to post pictures. So here it is! It is really small and I'm not sure what to do with it, but it's so cute. The entire time I was stitching it, I kept waiting for a dragon to show.

One thing I love about stitching over 1 is the back. If you stitch it right, it will look exactly like the front.

Even though this pattern was created for the Creative Festival, it will eventually be made available for sale by Dragon Dreams on their site. Jennifer did mention though that she has a few kits left over from the festival that she will put up for sale on eBay (once she has time to do so). I'll post up an update here if I get a link.

Quick Update

I just wanted to post a quick update of my current progress on Peacock Tapestry.

One thing I realized is that I don't like stitching in tent stitch. I don't like how messy it makes the back, especially with popcorn stitches. This means that when I finally to stitch an HAED, it will not be stitched in tent stitches.

December TUSAL

It's the last TUSAL of the year! I'm a little late putting this up. I haven't really stitched on any of my projects for 2 weeks. Most of the thread you see at the top is from a project I had to work on for someone (doesn't the thread look pretty next to the green from Peacock's Tapestry?) Anyways, here is a picture of all of the threads from this year's TUSAL together:

All in all a very productive year. Can't wait to see how much I accumulate next year :)

Huge Milestone

I think so far, the peacock tail felt like it took the longest. I think the reason for it is the constant change of color and having to go over some of the stitches again with Kreinik blending thread. Because I'm looking at my logs and it only took 2 months at about 103 hours, while the border took 177 hours to stitch. But looking at the results now it is well worth it.

Next up is the two trees that are to the left of the peacock.

A First!

So this project represents a lot of firsts for me. It was my first Mirabilia design, my first big finish on this blog and the first thing I've ever framed. Also, it is the first frame we've hung ever in our home. We lived at the apartment for almost 20 years without ever hanging anything and we've been at the house for 2 years and never hung any of the picture frames we've bought or the paintings my sister has made.

So now, my room is the only one with anything hanging. The frame is over my bed, so it's still kind of weird to see it there when I wake up in the morning. But it's looks great in my room.

I ended up getting Stargazer framed at GEMST. They gave me a very good quote and the sales person was great. As soon as I showed him Stargazer, he knew exactly what I needed and picked out different frames that could match. We ended up picking a frame that has a line of "pearls" with an inner frame so that it would lift the glass over the fabric on account of the big 6/0 beads.