Stitching A.D.D

Hello all!  I've been in a mood since finishing Buttercup a couple of weeks ago.  I want to stitch but can't decide what to stitch on!  I've promised myself no new starts (except for a couple of exchange ornies) until I finish at least one more project.  Two would be better.  I've been working a bit each night on all of these projects, even if it is only a stitch or two.

I actually have 5 or 6 more wips than this but I decided if I concentrated on a few select ones, I'd get more done.

I've been working on The Husband's Pirate Map the most.  Mainly because it's for him and he's here to bug me about it.

I'm getting close to being done with all of the green in the center of the chart and will be able to move into the large areas of light blue.  This is stitched on a random Jewel by Under the Sea Fabrics.

Now, Merchant Mermaid by Mirabilia.

I'vve gotten some progress done on her skin and tail.  I truly HATE this fabric.  It is Ale by PTP and the weave is extremely loose and the color isn't as rich as I wanted.  It also pills quite a bit.  I want her to have a stained, aged look so I plan to distress her by dipping her in a brownish bronze dye when I've finished the stitching.  I'm not beading as I go with her because of the dye plan and it's a little odd to get used to.

Deep Blue Sea

I really love this piece.  The fabric (Witching Hour Opal Belfast by Under the Sea Fabrics) is perfect and the silks are so vibrant.

I've decided to try to get the borders done before I do anymore filling in.  Here is a close up of the one I'm working on.

I really love this piece and I'm so glad I pulled it back out to work on.

And Lastly, Earth Dancer by Butternut Road.

I'm stitching her on Midnight Mermaid Opal Cashel by Under the Sea Fabrics and I just love her.  It's like she pops off of the fabric!

The fabric is supposed to be water fading up into a midnight blue sky.  But I think with the way I've positioned her, she will look like the Aurora Borealis is behind her in the sky.  I'm leaving off the trees and adjusting the colors of the dream catcher to go with the fabric.  You know I can't leave well enough alone!

TTFN!
~Leslie

Whew! It's Getting Hot Out There!

Hello Everyone!  I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted but I have a good excuse and her name is Tulip.  I've only stitched one Nora Corbett pixie completely, mainly because I prefer her mermaids, but I fell in love with Tulip's color scheme and sassy dress, hair and pose.  I've been stitching on her non-stop for several days and she's been an absolute joy!

You can see I'm almost done with her dress.  Isn't the orange and magenta amazing together?  I dyed the fabric for her myself because I just couldn't find anything I really loved.  It's a very light orange and pink mix that I wanted to look a little like sherbet.  I'm hoping to finish her before next weekend.  Fingers crossed!

I finished Part Five of Deep Blue Sea on May 30th. 

Sorry the pic is kind of blurry.  My camera and I have been at odds lately.  I've printed out part six but I've put it away for awhile.  Not only because I've been obsessed with Tulip, but also because I'm hoping to get some serious work done on Merchant Mermaid after I finish Tulip.  If I can finish her by the end of August, I might be able to get her framed in time for Fair season.  

I've gotten some requests for some of my recipes.  Over the next few weeks, I'm going to create a page with some of them.  I'm still working out the format for them.  If there's any of my recipes you'd like me to share, let me know!  TTFN!

Countdown to Summer... 6 More Days!

Hello Everyone!  It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks for my family and I'm so glad to be home!  We spent a week on the east coast attending my brother's wedding and visiting family!  I was only able to get a little bit of stitching done last week and mainly on my Merchant Mermaid.  I worked on her a lot on the plane because the fabric is light and easy to see.  I've finished the anchor motif on the bottom and I'm excited to finally get to her tail!

I've gotten a bit done on Deep Blue Sea this week.  I've managed to finish all of the border, sea weed, waves and squishies from Part 5.  All I have left is to finish a bit of the pink coral and the fishies.

And a close up of the Squishies!  I love them!  They're so cute!

I took a class last month called The Finer Points of Finishing with Jane Timmers.  Jane designs and finished amazing ornaments (she has one published in the JCS Ornament issue every year) and her finishing techniques are invaluable.  If you ever have the chance to take her class, it is well worth the expense.  I stitched a tiny snowflake freebie I found online and I just beaded the whole thing.  Here is my finished product from the class:

And lastly, here is a pic of The Husband and I at the wedding last week!  We had a lot of fun!







Thanks for reading!  TTFN!

Whirlwind!

Hello Everyone!  It has been a busy couple of weeks for this girl!  Last weekend I took a finishing class with the lovely Jane Timmers and this weekend we had a massive Cinco de Mayo party.  I've gotten a little stitching done, but not too much.  I started my Merchant Mermaid a few days after I finished Mermaid of the Pearls.  So far, I've only stitched about 1/3 of the anchor motif at the bottom.

I'm changing the "MH" in the anchor to "SS".  The "SS" stands for "Siren's Song" which is what is replacing the "Mill Hill" at the top.  Amanda has helped me by recharting the words to say "Siren's Song Pub and Inn".  I wanted her to look like an old British tavern sign.  She's being stitched on 28 ct. Ale linen by Picture This Plus.

The reason I've only done a little bit of Merchant Mermaid is because Part 5 of Deep Blue Sea has come out and it's a doozy!  It includes a large section at the top.  I'm working on seaweed and border tonight.

I apologize for the pictures.  I managed to screw up the settings on my camera and I'm still trying to figure out how to get them back to normal!  Also, I want to announce Karen as the winner of my giveaway!  I'll be emailing you soon!  I have some dental work this week and a wedding to attend next week so I will probably not post for a couple of weeks.  Hoping by then to have most if not all of Part 5 to show you!  TTFN!

Fabrics and Floss Tosses :)

Hello Everyone!  I'm super excited to show my progress on Persephone!  I've spent a lot of time with her this week!

I'm so close to being done I'm considering my next Mirabilia!  Floss Tosses aplenty today!  First, Merchant Mermaid.  I really want her to look like a vintage pub sign so I'm planning to stitch her on Ale by Picture this Plus.  Thanks to Amanda for recharting the words for me!

The next one I'm considering is Villa Mirabilia.  I love her dress!  I plan to stitch her on Fairy Forest Opalescent by the Crafty Kitten because I think the fabric and the very faint mottling won't detract from her very detailed dress.  It's also the only piece of fabric I have big enough for her!





The next one I'm considering is Enchanted Mermaid.  I'm stuck between Crystal Mirage and Crystal Meditation by Picture This Plus.  The colors shown are from the purple conversion I'm planning for her.  First, Crystal Meditation:

And this next one is Crystal Mirage:



I'm just not sure which one of those I want to stitch first! 

I spent some time this week dyeing fabrics!  I had a ton of fun!  Two of them are spoken for, but if you'd like to buy one of the top three, please let me know.  I'm selling them for $16 plus $2 shipping in the US.  For other countries, I'll charge shipping based on what the post office tells me.

This one is for my friend Vicki :

And this one is for my friend Cassie:

Thanks for sticking around for another long post, everyone!  TTFN!!!!



Mermaid of the Pearls...Finally.

I'm finally ready to post a WIP pic of Mermaid of the Pearls.  I've named her Persephone as an homage to Rick Riordan.  Rick Riordan wrote a series of books called Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.  Percy Jackson is a demi-god who needs to rescue his mother from Hades, god of the Underworld.  Persephone is the wife of Hades but she hates him.  In the Percy Jackson books, Persephone sneaks her lovers in and out of the Underworld with enchanted pearls.  In actual Greek mythology, there is no mention of Persephone having pearls (at least none that I've read) but I still like the name Persephone for my Mermaid of the Pearls and I love the Rick Riordan books.  I'm hoping to start book two of The Lost Hero series, a sequal to the Percy Jackson books.  Anyway... here is my Persephone so far:

It's not the best picture.  I was hoping the sunlight would give a fairly accurate portrayal of the fabric color.  In actuality, the preview picture on my lapstand in the previous post is a better picture.  It is a dusty rose 32 ct. Silkweavers solo with some splotches of gray.  I intend to convert her tail to wine red tones and here are the threads I plan to use:

Hopefully, there are enough pinks mixed in so her tail looks wine-colored and not a bloody mess.  As you can see from the picture, I've also decided to replace the Mill Hill pebble beads with Swarovski Pearls. 

I wanted to also let everyone in on a really great Amazon seller.  They are called Blue Ridge Needlework and while they have a very limited selection, they were the only seller on Amazon who actually sold silks through Amazon.  Several needlework sites "advertise" through Amazon which means while their products show up in a search, when you click on the item to buy it, Amazon tells you that you have to purchase it through an external website.  It was infuriating trying to buy silks on Amazon until I found Blue Ridge Needlework.  I ordered my Caron Waterlilies on Monday evening around 11 pm CST, got the shipping notice at 6 am Tuesday, and  received them in the mail this afternoon.  I'd say that was pretty fast service!  I will definitely order from them again if they carry the Waterlilies I need.  I found the shipping a little pricey ($3.99 for 3 skeins) but I understand that Amazon standardizes the shipping rates by price of the item you are buying.  Also, they arrived super fast so no complaints here!

The green is Honeydew and it will be used on Deep Blue Sea and Merchant Mermaid.  The blue is Blue Lavendar and will be used on Merchant Mermaid.  The orange is called Tangerine and will be used for Red Skies at Night. 

As I write this, I see that I have 21 followers!  Yay!  Thank you all so much for joining me!  I promised that when I reached 25 followers I would do a little give away.  I have picked out three skeins of silk from my stash and three lucky people will win one.  I will post a picture when I reach 25 and ask everyone to comment with the color they like best.  I will then print the comments, cut them into lots, and choose one person from the hat for each color.  TTFN!!