Royal Holiday Completed

The particulars: The pattern is Royal Holiday by Mirabilia; the fabric is 32 count cream belfast, done over 2. Started November 2009 and completed November 2010.

Some notes: I despise using Wisper thread, so I opted to use just plain DMC white as a substitute, something I've done to replace Wisper in previous projects. The only downfall is that there wasn't enough contrast between the white edging on her robe and the cream Belfast that I stitched her on. I fixed that by adding grey backstitching, which does what backstitching is supposed to do and make the edges pop out.

She is my fifth but not final Queen. I plan on doing Queen of Freedom and Queen of Peace in the future, but have no immediate plans to start either of these ladies just yet.

Sorry it's taken me so long to post an update, but I've had some issues with my old camera talking to my new laptop, and what's a blog about needlework without pictures, right? I think it's worked out now so it should be smooth sailing. I have lots of works in progress to update, which I'll do in the coming weeks.

And at last....Sleeping Beauty

And she is, at last, complete.

The particulars:   The design is Sleeping Beauty by Mirabilia;  the fabric is "Fathom" by Picture This Plus, 32 count lugana done over 2.    Started May 2009;  completed September 17, 2010.

Backstory:   Back in the mid-90's, I originally fell in love with this design and decided to try it.  I'd never done any linen or over 2 stitching at all or anything this large.  I made the mistake of starting on the area of the design that I've recently dubbed The Green Monster and predictably, ended up quitting after a couple days.   Put her away.

Re-bought all the supplies in early 2009 (after spending 10+ years exclusively stitching over 2 and on linen, and after having completed several Mirabilias) and got her started again.    She is the first piece that I decided to use hand dyed fabric.

Last winter I was going through about six tubs of assorted crafty things before I moved and found the original Sleeping Beauty...lol..poor thing!  It was quite a mess and I know why I quit.  

The nickname of The Green Monster came about because the pale green draped area of her skirt was a pain to do!   Blends, white, greens, lots of confetti stitching to get the shading effect AND leaving the open swirls for future beading.  I ended up stitching one 10x10 square of the pattern at a time because it was the most effective way to move through the pattern.   And of course...it also ended up delaying the finish by a week because the pattern indicates you only need one packet of the pale blue beads.  Itended up requiring almost four full packets of beads, which I had to order online.

But the Green Monster was eventually tamed - put the last beads on about an hour ago.  

Midsummer Night's Fairy

Done!

The particulars:  The design is "Midsummer Night's Fairy" by Mirabilia and the fabric is Misty Blue 32 count belfast linen.

Midsummer Night's Fairy is one of my "bucket list" Mirabilia's that I started working on in 2008 - old patterns that I have absolutely loved for years and wanted to do but never did.  The list includes finishing off the four queens (done, 2009), Fairy Idyll (done, 2009), Sleeping Beauty (in progress), Rose of Sharon (not close to starting; want to change the colors around), and Middy (done!).  I remember first buying the pattern in the late 90's and I just kept looking at it..looking at it...LOL   Well, now I can look at the piece rather than the pattern.

Lots and lots of beads....she actually convinced me that in the future, heavily beaded pieces need to be done on 28 count linen rather than 32 count - regular Mill Hill beads are just a smidge too large for 32 count over two fabric.

She is my 10th Mirabilia finish....yay!

Mermaid of Atlantis - Finished!!

I had the pictures posted yesterday but was too wiped out to add some commentary.  Thank goodness for the "edit" feature.

The particulars:  The design is "Mermaid of Atlantis" by Mirabilia.   Done on Picture This Plus 32 count Fathom lugana. 

She's a smaller design, especially when compared to Mirabilia's many "grand ladies" - just 7 1/2 inches by 15 3/4 inches.   However, with three Waterlilies, five Kreiniks, and seven packs of beads....there's no lack of detail or bling.   Warning: kitting up was quite pricey with all those extras!   Factor in the hand dyed fabric (even though it was technically a leftover from another project) and she's not-so-little LOL

I'm not sure how well it comes through on the photo of the fish, but the surrounding beads (the ones that look like bubbles) are all one color.  I attached them using Waterlilies Bermuda Reef (which shows up in the tail as well) since there are scattered stitches of that color;  because the beads there are light in color, it gave them a nifty varigated effect that I really like.   I'm still trying to figure out what it is she is holding - the pattern refers to it as "treasure" and it's vaguely seaweedy/floral in nature LOL   Ah well.  It's pretty, nonetheless.