Future's Vision - framed! And a tale of framers.

So first off, I got Future's Vision framed.  It's one of my favorite pieces and it's already up on the wall in the lady cave.   I decided to test out a new framer (more about that later), but here it is...

I totally forgot the non-glare glass, so I had to go with extreme angles because there's a nice big window with a lot of light that was reflecting all over the place.  The mats are the colors from the sky and the star, and the frame has a lot of red which brings out the colors in the bricks.

I definitely loved this frame for this piece.

When we were trying out the colors of the mats, I told the framer that I wanted it over the edge of the design, up to the backstitched outline to the whole frame of the piece.  He said he didn't recommend it, and we looked at mats with more space around the piece, and then he framed it up to the edge anyway.  Which.  Ok, I think the yellow should have been a little brighter then, but whatever, I'm still OK with the color.

I'm mostly happy with it.
And this guy advertised on his website that he frames needlework, and when I was chatting with him, apparently it had been his proverbial bread and butter through the 80s and 90s, tapering off in the last 10 years or so.  So he obviously must know what he's doing right?

Which is why it kinda caught me by surprise to find out that he did most of the pieces dry-mounted.

Wait.  What?  I even asked him about lacing/pinning, etc.  No, he dry-mounts small pieces and tapes larger ones.

So I'll never be back there.

Since Nick (the guy that I had frame my other pieces last year) is retiring/has retired, I figured I'd look into local framers.   This guy, well, he was someone I found while googling, specifically looking for needlework framers, and when a Groupon showed up for his shop, I figured it would be a good time to go ahead and try him out.   So at least I got it at a "discount", but I still think he was pricey for what I got.

I have used two other framers in the area, but not for my needlework.  I have plenty of smaller pieces to try out, and they did a great job with some of my other stuff, but now I'll have to put them to the cross-stitch test.

I've heard several stitchers (online) use one of the local framers.  They're a small chain (SC, NC, VA, I think?) and I've liked the several things of mine they've framed.   They've done two small prints and the photo of my grandparents' wedding.  They were even nice enough to use the original mat that the photo came with:

The other framer is a guy that owns a franchise?  He's really nice, and he's actually an artist, so he's really good with color while letting me express my own ideas if I have something I really want.   He's done two prints (one of them several feet long), and my other grandparents' wedding photo (the original tinted). 

He is REALLY good at preservation work (old letters, photos - he's shown me the stuff he's done), so I kinda want to take my stitching to him, wholesale, but I have to test run him.  I'm sure he'd be more amenable to actually learning the correct way to frame needlework since he's an actual artist.  But, the downside is that he's expensive.  

So, yay for getting something framed.   Boo for having something not framed well (boo to myself for not asking better questions first).  I'm not going to take it apart, it's not like it was the best piece in the world and I doubt it's going to become any sort of heirloom anyway.  I'm happy enough with it for me (I still have a couple of early things framed on sticky mat).

Soon I'll have something test run at the Expensive-but-I-love-him framer.  Maybe even my Immaculate Hart.

Too bad the French Knot is out of business, I really liked the framing they did for me.  They closed before I had a chance to take any needlework to them...

framed by The French Knot

TBT - Celestial Picture (by Bucilla)

This week's TBT is "Celestial Picture" by Bucilla.

I remember picking this kit up from Michaels back when I was in high school (around 1993?), so it was probably 10 years old when I finished it.   I really liked the astrological theme and how pretty it was in the picture, but as I had a time with actually finishing it off.   Several factors conspired:
1.  I lost the original floss, so I had to get new floss (I think in this kit, they actually used DMC numbers, so it could have been much worse!);
2.  I had started stitching more and more on non-aida fabrics (I just find it unbearably stiff and difficult to "feel" my way around the underside);
and 3.  The backstitching.   Sweet baby octopus, the backstitching was killing me.

This is one of the designs I've seen most often out in "the wild."   I even happened up on it in the bedroom belonging to a sister of a guy I used to date (and she was not really a stitcher at all).

The model was finished as a pillow, if I recall correctly, and that always seemed like something to do with the piece, but I've never really gotten around to deciding what to do with this piece.  It just lives in the closet in a portfolio book.

Finished 7.21.2003

Throwback Thursday - Future's Vision

I love the Throwback Thursdays that Mindy is doing over on her blog, and I happened to be reorganizing my finished pieces (again, more on that later).   As I was attempting to google some information on the designs, I (unsurprisingly, really) haven't found a whole lot on them.  I think that some are so old, any popularity they would have had pre-dated our social networking/blogging/camera-phone-picture-takin' days.   I was also thinking of the D.E.S.I.G.N. SAL's goal of introducing people to new designs and designers, and while these might be difficult (or maybe impossible) to find, it might be fun to learn about older designers and pieces or maybe designs/designers that are still available.

For me, it would give me a place for me to store my stories and thoughts about the designs that I haven't put in my spreadsheets or notebook (which has little more than just the dates I stitched on them, if that).   It also gives me a chance to blog these designs that I hadn't before.

So welcome to my first Throwback Thursday.   When organizing, I grabbed this piece first, it's probably one I will get framed shortly, as it's one of my favorites -  Future's Vision by Bestitched (designs by Beverly Haskins).

Future's Vision by Bestitched, designs by Bev
Stitched from 4.28.2003 - 11.17.2003
on 32 count antique white linen

Detail of the sky

I really like this script.

I love the poem by Tennyson and the look of the stained glass sky (that's what really sold me on this particular design).   Even though there was a lot of backstitching, it was fairly easy, and the design definitely popped as I was backstitching (it helps with the motivation).   It's not the biggest piece, so I had done all of the full crosses before BSing.   I wish I had the alphabet graphed out to use the script in other stitchery.

I started stitching this when I was living in Houston, but finished it off when I was living in Brownsville, when I didn't have much else to do.

Many times, when I see people stitching or posting about any of the Bestitched designs, they're the Medieval Miniatures (1 & 2 - I have both still to stitch), and I've seen a number of people who are under the impression that those designs were all that she produced.   She was based in central Texas (Austin or San Antonio?) and produced a lot of Texas designs (along with the Miniatures), I also have a Russian/Cyrillic sampler and remember seeing a medieval angel and some others.   Future's Vision was actually one I'd never seen and happened upon at a small cross stitch shop just outside of my grandmother's neighborhood before they closed in the 90s.

So this is the piece I'd like to frame next.   I am torn between letting someone here frame it (it's pretty small and easy) or just waiting to get it framed the next time I'm near Nick in Arizona ;)  (which, if I play my cards right could be in October!)