For Cathey

I received an email today from Katie letting me know of our dear friend, Cathey's passing. Thank you, Katie, for taking the time to do so. More information on her blog here.

And so, with a heavy heart, I wrote this poem:

Memories cherished, A life well-lived

Pain left behind, Your soul set free

Living With God, Surrounded by angels

Treasured in our hearts, Forever you will be

Rest in peace, Cathey.

Lady on Fire

After about a week of beading, I finally finished Lady Alexandra yesterday. Coincidentally, I'm currently reading the Hunger Games series so the title is pretty apt ^.^

Here she is, hot off the Q-Snaps.

Design: Lady Alexandra (Red Conversion)

Designer: Mirabilia

Fabric: 28 count Polstitches Taboo opalescent Cashel linen

Fibers: DMC

Embelishment: Mill Hill Beads

Seriously, isn't she pretty?

I know a number of you have been waiting for my conversion and I apologize for the delay. However, before I get to that, I'd like to share with you what I see when I look at her. There are actually very specific reasons I chose to stitch her with the colours I did. So please bear with me and enjoy the close up details :) 

Life doesn't consist purely of black (ribbons) or white (gloves) but many shades of grey in between.

It is also very short. So make the most of it and fill it with colours - the three primary colours - red (dress), blue and yellow (fabric) but above all, fill it with love and passion (red).

Her pose brings to mind of one who dares to follow her heart, in defiance of society's norms...

And her jewelry reminds me to reach for the stars (earring

and ring)

but always stay classy (pearl necklace).

Those are some of the lessons I've learnt in this journey of life, none more sound than just earlier this year... Part of the reason I've been rather quiet.

I gave her brown hair as I aspire to reflect her.

As for the details on her dress, I was aiming for my December birthstone colours -

turquoise (of which the darker version is teal)

and tanzanite,

unwittingly ending up with the vivid jewel tones.

Then there's her pearl and crystal encrusted purse which is probably my most favourite part in the entire design.

How could one not love that? Here, lemme show you another angle. One with a clearer view of her star-shaped ring too.

Anyway, I've made you wait long enough. Here's my long overdue conversion of Lady Alexandra in red. Any floss or beads not listed remains unchanged.

Hair

• DMC 677 - DMC 433
• DMC 680 - DMC 938
• DMC 829 - DMC 3371
• DMC 3371 - DMC 310
• DMC 3822 - DMC 898
• DMC 3823 - DMC 434

Ribbons

• DMC 310 - DMC 310
• DMC 794 - DMC 414
• DMC 3841 - DMC 415
• DMC 3799 - DMC 3799
• DMC Blanc - DMC 762

Dress

• DMC 611 - DMC 816
• DMC 677 - DMC 666
• DMC 834 - DMC 321
• DMC 3787 - DMC 814
• DMC 3799 - DMC 3021
• DMC Blanc - DMC 892

Flowers on Dress

• DMC 156 - DMC 598
• DMC 552 - DMC 333
• DMC 3746 - DMC 3809
• Mill Hill 18826 - Mill Hill 18812

Swirls on Dress

• DMC 552 - DMC 3809
• DMC 3746 - DMC 3809
• Mill Hill 60168 - Toho 11/0 seed beads Ceylon Lt Sea Green Nr. 11-920 Turquoise/Mill Hill 03507*
• Mill Hill 42014 - Mill Hill 42014/Mill Hill 10003 if using Mill Hill 10079*
• Mill Hill 40252 - Toho 15/0 seed beads Silver-Lined Teal Nr. 27BD/Mill Hill 10079*

Sparkles on Dress

• Mill Hill 02017 - Mill Hill 02010

Earring

• Mill Hill 12165

Ring

• Mill Hill 12299

*The first is what I actually used and the later is the substitute option given.

Hope that's clear enough. Feel free to comment or email me if you have additional questions.

Happy Stitching!