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!