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22 July 2012

Stella

Finally, my July WiPocalypse update. Might as well make it my IHSW update too. I know it's still the weekend but I can no longer wait to share...
Design: The Stargazer
Designer: Mirabilia
Fabric: 32 count Silkweaver Starquest Reflections Belfast linen
Fibers: DMC
Embelishment: Mill Hill Beads
Stella's done. My first Mirabilia. Woohoo! Took me a little over five months. I started her on Valentine's Day. Not too bad considering she wasn't the only project I was working on during that time frame.
Stunning, isn't she? Her skin is stitched one over one. Love the effect.
As usual, this will be a picture heavy post with close up photos so brace yourselves ^.^
Swirls of beads... My absolute favourite part. I made some changes to the huge star, switching the DMC to Kreinik. What can I say? I can't get enough glitter.
My conversion for the star if you're interested:
DMC 3747 - Kreinik #4 9294
DMC 3756 - Kreinik #4 1432
My least favourite part. This particular area gave me a lot of trouble along with a throbbing headache. Not fun but the result sure is though.
More beads. Seriously, this design is so heavily beaded I'll be hard pressed to take a photo without beads.
Which isn't surprising. I estimated over 2000 beads on this baby.
What is surprising is the fact that the swirls on her dress beaded up much quicker than I had anticipated.
Since it's a WiPocalypse and IHSW update post, you don't need to ask what's next. My July TUSAL update too :D I think that should be my trademark from now on.
This month, my ort jar is modeled by the world's cutest bear.
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the Forever Friends bear. This particular one was a birthday gift from my best friend, Adeline, years ago. Note the cupcake he's holding :)
Friday the 13th, a supposedly unlucky day. That was the day I bought my first floor stand. Turned out to be one of the best decision I've ever made. It arrived five (yes, five! Miracle indeed) days later. May I point out that this was shipped from the UK?
This is the Stitchmaster Floorstand made by Daylight Company. Easy to assembled and perfectly well balanced. The Q-Snap you see on it measures 20" x 17".
Along with the floor stand, I also ordered the Stitchmaster Seat Stand. On this one, I've placed a 6" x 6" Q-Snaps but it can easily hold a 11" x 11" Q-Snaps or any scroll frames along that size.
Can you tell I'm in love? I ordered it from Sew and So. Altogether, it cost me £40.16 (US$62.74) excluding shipping. Shipping was £33.00 from UK to Malaysia. Very reasonable. Excellent customer service too, I must say. So if you, like me, have been looking for a stand that does not require any adjustment of knobs to flip your work or more importantly does not break the bank, I highly recommend these.
Happy Stitching!

10 July 2012

Bling

I finally finished my Mirabilia round robin Square last night. Here's my Seasonal Queen in all her finery.
Design: Spring Queen
Designer: Mirabilia
Fabric: 32 count Picture This Plus Crystal Fresco Belfast linen
Fibers: DMC & Kreinik Metallic
Embelishment: Mill Hill Beads
It's astonishing how much bling she has in her hair. Photos I've seen so far have never managed to portray that fact. Hopefully these close-up shots will give you an idea.
Her sleeve is choked full of beads too.
And these are only portions of the design. I wonder how much more blingy the entire design actually is in real life.
Now it's ready to be mailed out. Not a moment too soon either for I have received Jacqueline's round robin. Now comes the hard part of deciding what to stitch for her.
Today, I received the cutest gift in the mail from Melanie. The fabric in the background is Polstitches' Tiger Eyes - July's Limited Edition which also arrived today in case you're wondering.
Back to Melanie's gift, all I did was offer to send her my Voice of the Shepherd chart when she mentioned she would like to stitch it for her mother. Since I no longer need it, why not, right? After all, I've been on the receiving end of other stitchers' kindess many times before.
Well, she reciprocated my offer with this Blue Heart Fairy!
Isn't he adorable? Can you spot his transparent wings? He's now my official stitching sidekick ^.^ He needs a name though. Suggestions?
Melanie has a real talent for making beads. Do visit her Moonraker Lampwerks store to see for yourself.
Until next time, Happy Stitching!