Not done yet

At my last Winter Fairy update, I posted that I hoped to have the backstitching done by the end of October.  I should have looked more closely at the pattern!  I've been getting 20-50 minutes of stitching tucked into most days, but still have quite a ways to go.  I didn't realize how involved the wings would be, and hadn't noticed that all the little groupings of green and red on her skirts were joined together by silver backstitching to be holly and berries.  Plus, all the white dots you see on her bodice will be connected by silver backstitch.  And then there is still the beading to do.  Yikes!  So my revised "hope for" date is to be done by Thanksgiving (or over Thanksgiving weekend).  I still really want to have her framed and up before Christmas.  Our dearest friends in the world are flying in from Colorado for Meg's graduation in December, and I want to have this up on the wall by then. 

All that said, I am quite pleased with how she is looking.  I get so caught up in cross-stitching that I forget how much the backstitching adds to the piece.  Take a look and tell me what you think of her.

And now for something completely different

Hubby and I spent the past weekend building a dog.  Yep, you read that right.  Let me explain.  Hubby, our daughter Meg and I are all Whovians, that is, big fans of Doctor Who.  Meg has also gotten her college roomie hooked on the show, so the girls plan to to dress up as two different regenerations of the Doctor for Halloween this year.  Meg chose #4, played by Tom Baker, and one of his companions was a little robotic dog named K-9.  So Hubby and I decided to surprise her with her very own K-9.  We had a lot of fun going up and down the aisles at the hardware stores and finding things to use as components.  It was pretty challenging, but that's also part of the fun.  We spent just about the entire weekend on it.  We're going out to college tonight to hear her sing (she has an amazing voice and sings jazz), and we're taking him so she'll have him for Halloween. 

You can look up pictures of the original K-9 on line - there are plenty of them.  Meanwhile, here is our version, K 9.5:

Cross-Stitching is Done!!

Today I put in the last cross-stitches on my fairy!  Woohoo!  I'm really pleased.  (And I found it interesting that I finished stitching the snow at her feet during the 7th anniversary of the October Storm, which dumped two feet of unexpected snow on us and caused all sorts of havoc.)  I have been working on her for about three and a half years.  I never sewed on her much during the winter months because the light was rarely good enough for me to work on 24 count fabric, so that added considerably to the completion time.

Now I just have to finish all the backstitching and do the beading.  I'd like to have it completed by the end of October, but I'm not really sure how long all that will take.  Meanwhile, my dear readers, here she is:

End of September Update

I'm very excited to announce that I've finished the cross-stitching on the fairy!  I didn't quite complete all the cross-stitching, though; a little bit of the bunny and some snow remain.  But the lady and her dress are done!  With any luck, I will complete the cross-stitching in a week and then I can start on all that backstitching.  I'm glad I've done some of it as I went along, but there is still a lot to do.  Then there will be the beading as well - I'm liking forward to that part!

I generally have the project rolled up except for the area where I am working (it helps to keep it clean and out of my way), so I was amazed again at how beautiful she is when I unrolled it to take pictures.  Let me know what you think!

End of August Update

I hope that all my American readers are enjoying their Labor Day weekend, and I think next weekend is Labor Day in Canada, so I wish the same to you.

Now that I'm sewing again, I want to post progress at the end of each month.  That will help keep me motivated to keep going.  I'm pleased with the amount of work I accomplished since my last post.  I've been stitching 15-20 minutes here and there on weekdays, and for an hour or two on weekends.  The weekend sewing is the best.  I take a chair out in the yard, sit with my feet in the grass, my face to the sun and stitch.  I like the connection to nature while I am out there.

As for other projects, I do have some ideas for more church banners, and I will be doing some rubber stamping for holiday cards.  Right now, though, my craftiness is aimed at finishing the Winter Fairy.  I'd like her to be ready for framing by Thanksgiving.  There isn't all that much cross-stitching left, but then there will be a lot of back-stitching to do.  I'm looking forward to getting to that point!

August 2013 update

We just returned from a lovely vacation visiting Hubby's family in Vermont.  I love our annual trips there.  This time I completed a lot (for me) of stitching on Winter Fairy.  I'm going to try to keep up the pace as best I can now that I'm back at work.  I would be so happy to finish her by this Christmas.  I'm well into the last page of the pattern, so there's hope!  Here's an updated photo:

And to give myself further motivation, I'm going to post updates at least once a month.  I do have some ideas for other church banners, but I don't know when I'll actually get into making them.  When I do, I'll post pictures of them as well.

Long Time, No Post! - May 2013

Yes, yes.  I know I haven't posted for quite some time.  The truth is, I went through a few months of not doing any crafting at all.  Winter seems to drain my crafting "mojo".  I am getting back on track now, though.  I've started working on Winter Fairy again and hope to have a progress picture for you in a little while.  Meanwhile, I've completed two of the four banners for my church for Pentecost (May 19th this year).  I've had the idea in my head for a while, but bringing it to life was a whole different ball of wax. (Where does that phrase come from?  I must check that sometime.)  These are smaller banners - roughly the same size as my Lenten banners - that hang on the sides of the church.  I'll hang these two for this Sunday and add the other two when I finish them.  I have the red part cut; it's "just" a question of cutting and attaching the streamers. 

My inspiration is how the Holy Spirit came down like tongues of flame that first Pentecost.  The liturgical color is red, so that formed the basis for the banners.  I wanted them to be interpretive of the motion and flow of flame, and I always think of the Holy Spirit as swirling like the wind.  All the fabrics are very lightweight and should move and flutter as people walk by.  Here are a couple of pictures: