"Lilly of the Woods" - Mirabilia

"Lilly of the Woods" - Mirabilia
Originally uploaded by Waterloo Fords

I'm done! I'm done! I'm done!

She took forever to do (after a long hiatus in December and January), but she was well worth the time! She is going to get framed, and I'm going to hang her in my office at work...

Here are my stats for the piece:

Stitch Count: 207h x 222w
Finished Size: 13" x 14"

Date Started: July 17, 2008
Date Finished: March 7, 2009
Elapsed Time: 245 days

Total hours: 144.5
Days of Stitching: 45
Average hours/day: 3.07

Decisions, Decisions

Well, I haven't posted in a while, but I've been working on the "Lilly of the Woods" fairy, and she is coming along very nicely. I've just got the wings, some of the branches, and beading left to do. I think I should be done by the end of March, but probably sooner.

Now that I'm close to being done, though, the mind has turned to what is next...? I can't just stitch a piece for no reason. I have to have a purpose for the piece - a gift, a hanging location (real or imagined), etc. So last night Mom and I brainstormed for the next two pieces, and here is what we came up with:

Christmas Lights 2 - by Michael Powell
Secret Garden 1 - by Michael Powell

The Christmas Lights piece will be a gift, and the Secret Garden is going in our dining room.

Now I'm anxious to get the fairy done, and move on to the new piece!

JEKJ - M Designs

JEKJ - M Designs
Originally uploaded by Waterloo Fords

Finished this one at the end of July 2008 for our front hall. I just wish I could have found a darker purple for the K... Oh well.

Another one bites the dust...!

YIPEE!!! I finished my letters last night! It is so exciting to finish a piece – and I’m actually going to get this one framed!

Next: “Wee Baby” by Heart in Hand Needleart. It’s just tiny, so shouldn’t take too long. After that, it’s on to “Lilly of the Woods” by Mirabilia. THAT will take a bit of time… :)

See more progress on: finish cross stitch projects

"The Tenth Gift" by Jane Johnson

I took this book out of the library yesterday, mainly because I was excited to see a book that centered around embroidery. It is historical fiction, set in both the 17th century and current times. I’m only about 30 pages in, and so far it’s pretty good! The author has done her research on embroidery and materials in ages past… Its very interesting!

See more progress on: finish cross stitch projects

My Stitching Record

In the past I have tried to keep track of the time I spend stitching with pen and paper, but it never worked for me. So, being the geek that I am, I created a mini-spreadsheet for myself in Google Docs. So far I'm tracking how many days stitching on a piece, the elapsed time, the number of hours so far, and the average number of hours per stitching session. Really exciting stuff, I know!

If you are interested in seeing my stats, you can check it out here.

Back at it....

Well, after taking a month long break, I’m back into my stitching. I’ve finished the J and the E, and have started the K. My daughter was quite excited when I finished her E…

I’ve started keeping track of my stitching statistics. I’m not quite sure why I need to know how many hours I’ve spent on the project (69.75), how many days of stitching that is (25), how many elapsed days since I started the project (96), and the average number of hours per stitching session (2.79). Its interesting to me, at least…

Jan