#TBT - Mirabilia Holiday Fairies

Way back in the day, when they first started coming out and were really hard to get a hold of, I started collecting (and stitching!) the Holiday Fairies by Nora Corbett (for Hoffman Distributing).  They were Limited Edition (I wonder if that's still true?  I see a number of them for sale new?).  These were kits that came with 32 Zweigart linen, Kreiniks, Crescent Colours threads, and any of the beads you would need.    Initially they seemed to sell out really fast, but I had a local needlework shop (Judy's Stitchery in Harlingen) that ordered them for me, so I managed to snag them all pretty easily.

I tried to stitch them in order of the holidays to start, but burnt out after the third one.

The first one I completed was also #1 in the collection - the Christmas Elf Fairy.   I do love the little Christmas tree that she was carrying.   The only issue I had with it (and I had this issue with all of the kits) is that the Bella Rosa thread used for the skin was super pink.   Because all of the kits came with full skeins of all needed colors, and I didn't need very much, I took the lightest of the skeins and tried to use that for all of the fairies.

I really also like the reds in the dress.  It's just so freakin' sweet.

I finished this one on December 10, 2006, nearly 10 years ago!

Miss Valentine Fairy is probably my least favorite, but I'm not much of a pink person, and I"m not a huge fan of her ratty looking skirt.  I do think it's cute how she's holding what I think of as a giant heart box of chocolates, but so much pink!

I finished her second on February 8, 2007

I love the Easter Fairy because of the adorable robin's egg blue actual egg she's holding.  I think this one is probably the twee-est of the whole series.

She was finished on April 28, 2007

And of course, I actually have already blogged about the others in the series I most recently finished:

• Halloween Fairy, July 28, 2014
• Miss New Year Fairy, October 13, 2014
• Thanksgiving Fairy February 14, 2016

I haven't decided how I want to finish them yet.  Because of their size, I think a simple frame would work, but flat folds would also work.  I'm a little worried about flat folding these, though, because they were a bit costly and I do really like them.   It'll eventually, maybe, end up as framing, but for now they live in a portfolio book, which I can leaf through to look at my finished and unframed pieces:

#TBT - March Sampler

My last #TBT post, I featured my April sampler, from a 1994 Just Cross Stitch issue.   I mentioned that I had done a February and a March sampler for two very good friends (high school friend & college roommate), but I did not have pictures.

Well, I spent last weekend in MD/DC for the birthday hootenanny of the March recipient, and since she has it hanging in her craft room/polish palace, I thought I'd grab a quick shot.   Nothing Earth shatteringly good about the photo.  The lighting was bad (thanks, snow), and I was supposed to be getting ready for said party.

But, again, apparently, from 1998, I bring you a sampler, this time March's (which was finished with beads 'n stuff).

#TBT - April Sampler

 I really enjoy TBT blogging because it's a chance to show off pieces one didn't necessarily have the capability to do "back in the day" and because when I got back into stitching I used prior entries to figure out a few things, and I'd like to think that I can  keep this online so I can use it as reference again in the future, if needed.

Today is April Sampler, which is from the Just Cross Stitch March/April 1994 issue. I remember working on this, February, and March.   I know I worked on one in 1996, because it was before I went to UT-Austin, because it was the first time I had worked with linen and/or silk.  Boy did that spoil me!

There was a small cross stitch store within walking distance of my grandmother's house in Houston, Idle Hands, and that's where she got me the silks.    I know Carons were part of the design, but I'm not sure what other fibers were used.

I did three from the series - February, for a good friend from college, and March for a good friend from high school.  I still see the March one on display (I framed them myself, no glass, no mat) at my friend's house - I should snap a pic.

The only one I still have is April.    Between the 9 and 8, there's supposed to be a jasper heart, but I didn't like the idea of that one.   There is also supposed to be a small margarita bead on each set of stems, but I didn't like that either ;)  

Basically, I just haven't found the perfect beads that I want to put in there yet, but when I do, I'd like to get it framed for myself.

This one was stitched entirely in 1998, and I use all of the recommended threads.

Here's the whole thing (if I recall correctly, it's only 2 x 5 or so):

The top - I loved learning all of those specialty stitches.

And the bottom, with my "weeds" and empty spot.

One of these days I'll run across what I want for this piece, or I'll actively search out what I want, but until then, I just love it.  I'm thinking of finding the old magazines on Ebay and keeping a set of these, because they are sweet and fun and I think they'd make good gifts.

#TBT (way back) - Leopards

Once upon a time, a very long time ago, I had never cross stitched.

Now, when I was little, my mother had taught me how to needlepoint, because that's what she did.  I could do a decent tent stitch.  But what I really loved was french knots.    My mother would needlepoint these Charles Wysocki kits, and there would be these trees that needed flowers, which were french knots, and I learned them and to this day they're still my favorite stitch.

I digress.

My whole family is crafty.  I was taught to needlepoint as a kid, I was even taught how to crochet and do a basic knit stitch (by my father, actually, because while my mother was the super crafter, she was left handed and I couldn't figure out how to do it the way she did it, as I'm right handed).

In high school my family was big into plastic canvas.  And over Spring Break of my sophomore year, while I was staying with my aunt & uncle, I needed some thicker metallic cord and we stopped by Harbour Stitchery in League City.

And I saw Teresa Wentzler's Castle Sampler, and I used all of the money I had to buy everything I needed right there on the spot (well, everything but the floss, that would come later in the day).  The Lugana, the pattern, any embellishments... and oh yeah, my gold cord.

I started stitching the border.   I realized I was a little bit out of my depth and wanted to try something else so that Castle Sampler would be *perfect* when I did stitch it.

So I went to Michaels with my Grandma (I was living with my grandparents) and I got a kit (I'm pretty sure my grandma bought it for me).  Leopards sitting on a tree branch.  There were blended threads, confetti stitching, and all of the leaves were lazy daisies, so it wasn't very basic.  I taught myself how to stitch with that kit, and I think it's the one time I used a hoop?  I even stitched on it during class in high school (the teachers didn't mind, because hey, I was paying attention, engaged and staying relatively quiet - I was a straight A honors student anyway, so there was no reason to fuss).   The very beginning (the left side of the tree branch) has stitches that aren't all facing the same way - the only piece that has "mistakes" like that.

This is my very first finished cross stitch piece.

Finished 1994ish?

I eventually finished it after high school and I framed it, using the sticky mat and all of the other stuff I could find at craft stores - this was the mid 90s, there wasn't the huge internet full of information on the "proper" way to frame needlework or the supplies at hand, and I certainly couldn't afford to have it done professionally.

I can't remember the actual name of the piece, exactly what company produced it, or the date when I finished it, but it will always be one of my favorite memories.

#TBT - Shroomhilde

Shroomhilde is a design by Terrence "Terry" Nolan of Dimples Designs fame.   While I adore his WeeBeasties (which I should probably get around to posting), he also had a few other small series.    This one was part of the Shrooms, of which I think there were four (Magic of Mother's Love, Mushroom Tabernacle Choir and The Bride and the Shroom).   I thought they were all adorable, but Shroomhilde was the only one that spoke to me enough to stitch.

And if I recall correctly, I really did enjoy stitching her.    There are a lot of silks involved, and more than a few beads, and it was just fun.

A lot of the time I was stitching her, I had Kill the Wabbit running through my head, keeping myself pretty entertained.

The border was stitched in Waterlilies, if I recall correctly, with kreinik back stitching, and was very pleasant to stitch on that 32ct Platinum Linen (not the kreiniks... never the kreiniks!).

The Valkyrie horns on her shoom cap kept cracking me up.  I loved the spear and the shield.  I love the gill ruffles around her neck.  Seriously, the detail on this is just too fun.

A close up of some of the silks and backstitched kreinik.  I do remember not being very enthused about all of that backstitching with metallics.   But it was too pretty to not incorporate.

Confession:  I did not realize that she was wearing armor/a breastplate at first.   To be honest, at first glance I thought her bosom was actually paws.   I had a few people laugh at me pretty well over that, but I still don't feel all that embarrassed about it.

The beads!  So cute. I liked how the beads accented this piece, but did not overwhelm it.  Sometimes they can do that, but this was just right - from the ridges in her stalk to the swirl in the background.   It does go very well with the piece overall.

Hrm.  I think I know what piece I'd like to have framed next now.

She was finished on June 21, 2002.  I know I picked her up at a stitching show, though I can't remember which one. I know I didn't stitch on her there, but in my favorite apartment where I lived in Houston.  She was pretty quick, lots of fun, and I still adore her.

#TBT - Sue Hillis

I thought I'd throw in the three pieces I did when I started stitching again in NC.  I did these in late 2010.   I really liked these and I need to get them displayed.

When I first arrived in NC in 2009, I went to a get together started at the Lazy Daizy, a cross stitch shop in Raleigh.  I met with a few stitchers I had met online through the years (and ones I had met in real life, before hand, too!).  We also went to the French Knot, which was a needlepoint/framing place closer to the Arena.   I picked up a few charts, got a few threads for some pieces I fully intended on stitching, ate some lunch, and had good times.

I picked up a few little Sue Hillis charts - I love her post-stitches series.    One was "Burnt to Perfection", which is part of her pirate series (which I'm in the process of getting all of, because they're so freakin' cute), and the other was Wine a Bit.  I finally got around to them over the holidays in 2010.

Burnt to Perfection - I did this one as charted, and I stitched it on 25 ct ivory evenweave.   It think it was some of the last dregs of the 25ct I initially bought in 1996 when I purchased everything for TW's Castle Sampler (the start went badly, so it's been slowly gobbled up over time).

Finished 1/1/2011 - Happy New Year!

I really want to get this framed (with glass) to hang over the stove.  I know the charm is a little gas grill, but hey, you don't need open flames to make something... toasty.

Wine a Bit was started as a gift, which I then decided to keep for myself (haha!), and it was stitched not-quite-as-charted.  I subbed red and green overdyes from my stash for all of the red & green floss (as in, I used one red overdye instead of the however-many threads called for, ditto for the green).  I'm rather happy with how it came out, especially in the lettering.

12/18/2010

 I have an entire wall decorated with wine labels (and wine labels decorated through out the house in other areas, too), but I was thinking of making this one into a flat-fold to put on my wine rack.   I'm not going to lie - every time I look at this, I get fixated at  how well my initials came out.

Both of these were really fun to stitch, and they always remind me of what a nice welcome I got here in NC.

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Hopefully the next time I post, it will be with the next RR installment!   I had to cancel my plans for tomorrow night (well, rather the event filled up before I could sign up), and I think I need a break from the LadyCave, so stitching to a movie sounds kinda nice - of course, that could turn into playing Assassin's Creed pretty easily.   The LadyCave is coming along and I can't wait to get it a bit more organized to share pictures, I'm pretty close to the end of the second game.  I'm getting closer to finishing LadyCave, but I spent Saturday at a friends' place, helping the wife put in flooring and stuff so we could surprise the hubby with a new office when he came back from an out of town trip (total success!).

For this weekend, other than LadyCave work (driving the 4+ hour round trip to Ikea) and relaxing, I will hopefully have lots of stitching time.  It's getting a bit toasty out there, so I don't really want to do anything strenuous (I think driving to Ikea would be it).   Next weekend I'm at the beach for a wedding, and the following weekend, my best friend is in town for the Mead Festival!   Although, since LadyCave is also the guest bedroom, maybe I should work on that!

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

TBT - Texas!

In "honor" of the upcoming Fourth holiday, I thought I would show off some older patriotic designs.   Because I lived in Texas for so long (long enough that everyone, including myself, considers me a Texan), we'll call these Texas pieces "patriotic."

Hey, if you've ever been in Texas, you'll understand.

These are by Lorraine Koester of Redbird Designs.  I really did like her stuff, and she even had a DMC(?) freebie for a while.  I'm not sure (I don't think?) she's still designing, but I hope I'm wrong.

The first is "Texas"   I did it on a light blue murano.   It actually hung in my favorite stitching shop in Houston (Stitchcraft) for a while.    I did it for that longhorn. I finished it on 5.25.2001

The second is "Texas Monthly Minis"  I went ahead and stitched it as a whole piece instead of individual ornaments (which is how I kept seeing it displayed).  I really like this monthly series and I think it's a lot of fun, and a nice take on the different seasons/holidays.   I think my favorite block is the Thanksgiving Turkey with its cowboy hat, though February was my favorite to stitch.  I would stitch one little block per month and officially finished it on January 7, 2007.   I think this was about the time variegated fibres really started taking off, and I think they worked well in this piece.

So there's another Throwback Thursday.   I'm looking forward to this long weekend (no more holiday work! YAY!)

Throwback Thursday - Blackwork dragon

This week's Throwback Thursday is brought to you courtesy of Jennifer Aikman-Smith and DragonDreams designs.   I've had the privilege to meet Jennifer a couple of times and I can confirm that she's pretty freakin' awesome.

If I recall correctly (and I probably don't), this was the first of the blackwork pieces that she designed.  There were three four in all - a dragon, a unicorn, a princess, and apparently a knight I missed ;).   I had never stitched a large blackwork piece, and I really wanted to try it out.    I also decided to use a darker, more jeweltoned variegated thread for it - a Caron Wildflowers called plum.   It was stitched on a 28 antique white linen (I'm starting to think a majority of my pieces were stitched on an antique white linen) and it took me one month.   I started on December 1, 2002, and finished on December 31, 2002.  Woot!

I really would like to get this one framed, but it's a bit lower in the priority from some of my other pieces.  It was great to learn to work blackwork and I really enjoyed this piece quite a bit.

DragonDreams is still in existence and available wholesale (or at least a good number of the designs are), so getting some of the designs is still possible, though no new big designs have been released in some while.      JAS does offer freebies on FB, so it's still possible to get my hands on cute little ones that she's still designing.

Throwback Thursday- Dogs Leave Pawprints

I'm not sure when I picked up this pattern, but I did stitch it during the very brief period I came out of my stitching slump in late 2010/early 2011 (but not enough to actually blog ;) ).

It's called Dogs Leave Pawprints by Lizzie*Kate.   I'm not a huge fan of L*K's stuff because it is more primitive than my usual tastes run, but they have some really cute designs with even more adorable quotes or sayings.  I think I still have 2 or 3 charts left in my stash.

I stitched it on a ginormous piece of lambswool linen (not even kidding, I think I have 5" borders on this puppy), and I think some day I'll finish it into a flat fold or something fun like that.    I still have some of this lambswool stuff left because it is what I bought for Lily Pond Dreams since it has that lined/hazy look..   I'm not sure I really want to spend the time or effort to stitch it, but having it on display would be nice.

I finished it on 3/21/2011, using whatever threads I had on hand (they're overdyed, but the variegation isn't so strong as to be really noticeable).   I do think it's super cute.

Throwback Thursday - The Sorcerer and Sorceress

I know it's a day late, but yesterday was a snow day, which means uber hard work, because not a lot of employees made it in, so we worked our tails off (I sweat through my clothes - ew!)

But I'm here with my TBT!

Two pieces, because they complement each other; they are oldies, but goodies!.

The first one is The Sorcerer, a small kit by Dimensions that I stitch in 1999.   I framed it using a sticky board (I didn't know how bad they were at the time, but hey, it's not like this is an heirloom piece, so I don't mind!) and a frame from Michaels.   Oddly, it's a non-glare glass, so it is slightly mottled, but it's nice for taking a a face-on picture.

This piece has hung in every place I've lived since 1999.  The apartments, the duplex, the houses, the townhomes.  Every single one.

I used all kit materials, and I had fun with the french knots.   I remember sitting on the floor pillow that my grandma made for me, in my little efficiency apartment in Houston.   I was working my first "adult/real world" job with MD Anderson and spend a lot of time either on my computer with the TWBB, on mIRC, or just sitting on the floor (or in the papasan) stitching.    It was a special (if poor ;) ) time.

A couple of years later, I saw the Sorceress kit at Michaels, too, and decided to finish it as a companion piece for the Sorcerer.    It has always hung above/below/besides the Sorcerer, though I was bummed that I couldn't find the same frame.   I don't feel the need to reframe them to match, though.

Unfortunately, it's nice and shiny glass, so harder to get a direct picture of.   I used all kit materials again, and she was finished 3/6/2001, after I started keeping a diary for my cross stitch pieces.   By this time, I was still at MD Anderson, but in a nicer apartment with an actual hand-me-down couch! I actually used my floss storage system for end tables.

As a total aside,  I was crazy jealous of the framing (SoCal) Debbie did of the finished pieces last year that she was giving to a friend.

So that's this week's TBT.  
Here's a shot of what I was driving through to get to work yesterday - it's a lot better now (except for the ice), but a lot of trees are still snapping and coming down.  I hope my friends get power back today.  I'm in North Carolina - I'm not supposed to be dealing with this! (if the state of the foliage is any indication, we shouldn't have to deal with this very often!)  I'm looking forward to tomorrow - no matter what the state of the roads or weather, I don't have to go anywhere if I don't want to!

Throwback Thursday - Water Dragon

This particular post isn't quite as much of a throwback as the last one.   I actually finished Water Dragon a few years ago - in March of 2011 - but started it when I was in college in the 90s.   It's an older kit from Janlynn, but still pretty widely available.   I remember walking through Michaels and seeing this kit and buying it right away.

I thought it would be a fast and easy stitch (and it would have been), but it's on aida,which I don't like stitching on, and I found the lack of extra width in the fabric rather annoying.   I actually put it away for several years with a needle still in it, and the needle rusted (!).    It's in an unstitched area in the design that actually shows, so when I saw that, I got annoyed with it and put it away for a while longer.  In the finished piece, you can see the faint spots above the trees on the left.

Finally, a few years ago, I got disgusted with myself for not finishing it (even though this is admittedly not quite my style any more) and went ahead and knocked it out.   So it's finished and sitting in an album.   I can still clearly see the two rust spots, and I've heard that I can use a couple of cleaners safely on cross stitch (this is all DMC and aida, so not something I'm terribly worried about), so it's just a matter of actually doing it if I ever want to finish or frame this piece.

Water Dragon by Janlynn:

Started in 1996 or 1997, Finished March 19, 2011

And here's a fun little progression album:

Water Dragon by Janlynn

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!)