Wedding Announcement - Heart Swirls

So, late Monday night we got word that one of Dorissa's cousins got married, and that a gathering was going to be in two weeks to celebrate it. Dorissa said it would be nice if we could whip up an announcement as a gift. So, after going through the patterns I had on hand as well as scouring the internet for a quick, yet nice, announcement pattern, we found an item in the just Cross Stitch magazine from January/February 2013 (Heart Swirls by Sharon Pope). The pattern is a lot larger and quite ornate than the finished product. However, this is the center of a much larger heart, and seems to have been included as a smaller variation of the pattern. Interestingly, the example of the pattern included the smaller version, framed, done with DMC 127.

I had DMC 127. I also had plenty of white Aida to choose from. So I went with 18 count. I finished the letters with DMC 823.

Here is the finished product. I will take it with me Friday evening to pick out a frame at The Crafty Framer.

Cancer Matters - Completed

I have completed Hinzeit's Cancer Matters pattern. I have not added the charms to it yet, as I want to do that right before pin stretching and framing. Since it is tucked safely away in a paper towel cardboard roller, I figured the charms could wait. The charms go just above the fold in the ribbon, and look like small silver ribbons.

But here is how it looks. I want to use the same frame as I did for Always Kiss Me Goodnight, but I have an idea to make this into three smaller framed pieces connected by chains for wall hanging. Both projects use Cushel Monet 28 count, so I know the frame will look as great with this project as for the other one.

Always Kiss Me Goodnight - Framed Project

This is a project I completed last year, but I finally got it framed. It is completed on Cushel Monet 28 count. The frame is by Rick at The Crafty Framer over in Largo, FL. After looking over frame ideas (I am a matte black kind of frame person), we decided to give this combination a shot, and I am glad we did. The silver lining on the white frame makes the fabric pop. Rick tells me that he showed the framed project to another customer who had purchased the same fabric and was looking for a frame to match it. According to Rick, the customer will be bringing back her completed project to be framed the same way as this one.

Works in Progress

I don't normally run two projects at once, but the ones I am working on are quick hitters and I should be finished with them by the end of the month. Possibly by the end of next week.

One is Hinzeit's Cancer Matters. I am working it on 28 Cushel Monet, and it is over 1/3 complete.

The second is Believe by Sue Hillis Designs. This one is part of our Friends All Stitchin' Together (F.A.S.T.) 28 count Christmas-themed Round Robin project. I am proud to be the third of us to work it, and it will be finished by next week for sure, to be sent back to Peggy at The Crafty Framer, and prepared for the next stitcher. We are also doing a 16 count round robin, and I would like to get a shot at that one, too, once everyone who wants to work the 16 rather than the 28 gets their turns.

I won't post pics of the Christmas round robin because I want each stitcher to be surprised when they get it. I followed two wonderful patterns, one of which was completed as 1 over 1. Mine is over 2, but very light-hearted.

I will include pics of the Cancer Matters project. The person I am making it for wanted the general ribbon colors, which are lavender. She chose the fabric as well.

Weekend Update

I am almost positive I did not stitch anything from Thursday night until this morning. That doesn't mean I wasn't crafty, however. I spent part of a drippy, dreary Saturday at The Crafty Framer in Largo, talking with Peggy and Lexy about getting some things framed. The rest of the day I spent pin stretching items with Lexy.

I have a number of finished projects that are sort of languishing in paper towel rolls, waiting for frames. Obviously the Pelican and Elemental Cosmos are among those. I discovered a 12X12 black frame I picked up a while back as a clearance special at Michael's, so I needed a foam board to use to complete it. Into that went Elemental Cosmos. Still not sure where I will hang it, but it is ready.

I also got quotes for the Pelican, a project called A Room With a View that is a lighthouse cross stitch, and a piece I did called Always Kiss Me Goodnight (pictured below, pin stretched) that I purchased at the 2013 Market Day sale at Crafty Framer. I completed the project just a month or so after the sale, and there it sat, all rolled up, waiting to be remembered.

We also talked about the FAST event that is next Saturday, and called and recruited a fellow stitcher and veteran of FASTs past, to come and join us. Lexy will not be able to make this FAST (boo) but she will be there in spirit.

Pin stretching a 28 ct piece of fabric, as I learned, can be tricky. It does not take a lot to throw the design off center, or pull it out of true. My first attempt was not very successful, so I went home and removed all of the pins. Last night I gave it a second attempt, paying a LOT more attention to detail and trying very hard to keep a straight row of pins. It isn't perfect, but it does look better than it did.

Also, I managed to acquire more Kreinik #4 Very Fine Braid 001 and Kreinik Blending Filament 032. I bought all that Peggy had, just in case. So now I can get back to the mask (I hated knowing I needed colors even though I could do other portions of the project).

Elemental Cosmos - Update 22

Got to stitch yesterday sitting outside at a picnic table under a shady oak tree. if anyone asks you what the best light to stitch on black aida is, tell them it is natural light at dusk. None of my lights create this, and I had no problem seeing the grid on the canvas. Plus, it was beautiful outside.

In addition, I got to give my gift to its recipient yesterday, during a welcome work break of strawberry shortcake and strawberry pizza (fresh Plant City strawberries, too). It was very well received, and she has a place ready for it in her RV.

Finally, big swaths of the same color = lots done quickly.

Elemental Cosmos - Update 16

Great weekend! Page 3 is complete, and Page 4 will be soon to follow. That will leave the bulk of Page 2 to complete. I should not have to move the project in the q-snap again before I complete it. I will probably not do the back stitching - I don't see any value added, though I may change my mind.

Went to the Market Sale at our local/regional cross stitch store, The Crafty Framer. The owners came back with a lot of new and very cool items from their annual buying trip a few weeks ago, and the store was fairly bursting with new items and old friends. I did pick up several items, won a door prize (more stash) and then got even more stash just for purchasing! I will post the items I bought on a separate page.

Finally, the project I took to have framed came back wrong - either it was measured improperly when I ordered it and we all missed it or something else. Anyway, it remains to be framed. I need to get a hold of the person it is for and rearrange a pick up meeting date with them. Next week at the earliest...sigh.

Elemental Cosmos - Update 15

Looking forward to the weekend so I can get in a solid few hours of stitching. Should finish Page 3 this weekend, and hopefully the rest of the bottom part of the circle I am working on. Also going to a market Day at our local (well sort of local, let's go with "regional") craft store Sunday - The Crafty Framer!