So this one is actually on my stand. Right now. I should really be stitching... I really enjoy stitching Mirabilia patterns. They are detailed, and delicate, and sparkley! Its been about two weeks since I took this picture, and her skirt is almost done. From there, its on to the legs and the bottom branches.
And as always, the question "to bead now, or later"...? Now, I think. I hate going back!
It's sad. I was so excited when I started this piece. I was going to do it, and then do 5 more, and then a mystery... it was going to be great!
And then I started it. And it went fine. The centre pond was so nice, and the top corner was going great too. I was even loving the bead work (those Delica beads are fan-freakin-tastic!)...
Then I realized I was going to have to do three more of those corner ponds. And three more of those frond-y things. And I quickly got bored. I'm sure that over the next few years, it will make a re-appearance on my stand, but it will take much longer for me to finish than I thought...
I did this piece for my daughter, Eowyn, who is 3. I gave her a couple of patterns to choose from, and she selected this one. She doesn't have it hanging on her wall yet (its not framed).
Completed Spring 2007, and it took approx 130 hours. Its the first (and so far only) piece that I tracked my time on). Not sure if I will do that any more...
I started this piece on our honeymoon. We went to Ireland, and it just seemed to fit. I didn't get much done (surprise), but I did get it finished. Now I just need to frame it!
Completed Fall 2002.
I did this piece as Trevor (my brother-in-law) and Sarah's wedding present. It was my first Sweetheart tree piece, and I really enjoyed it. It had a great level of difficulty (which I look for), and was very detailed.
The toughest part was the wording for their names and the date. The pattern came with an alphabet in that spot that I didn't like, so I had to create the names etc from another pattern. Challenging, but fun!
Completed January 2007.
I did this piece for my friend Kristi. I love how the frame flowers mimic the flowers in the letters - an amazing match! I also love the suede-y looking matting - very rich.
Completed Spring of 2006.
We gave this piece to Art upon his "retirement" from GLCC. It had been completed for quite a while, waiting for an occasion to give it to him.
This is the original stitched piece from our wedding set. Completed Fall 2001.
This is the first piece I have ever had framed for myself. I did this piece specifically for our powder room. Where else in my house would I put a mermaid, but in the bathroom?! Unfortunately, the window in our bathroom is on her right side. If I had known that when I began the piece, I would have had it flipped, so she was looking out the window. Oh well!
Completed Fall 2005.
I started this piece when I found out I was pregnant with Eowyn (May 2003, and she was born in January 2004). I didn't finish it until October of 2005, once James had made me my stand.
I tell ya, not having to hold the piece while trying to hold beads and needles makes a world of difference!
I did this piece for the basement of the house we hadn't bought yet. Looks like I completed it in early 2003.
Sadly enough, it has yet to be framed.
I did this piece for my mom in 1998. It is a small fairy from a bell pull that had 6 fairies in it.
For our first married Christmas, I made James and I stockings from the Shepherd's Bush collection. I'm not sure if any of the stockings are exactly as the pattern dictated. Some use different colours, and others have a mix of multiple patterns to get the look I wanted for the person.
I finished ours for Christmas 2002, and Eowyn and Kiera's stockings were finished and ready to hang for Christmas 2006.
The patterns themselves were not challenging, but making them into stockings was another matter entirely!
And finally, here is the piece for my Dad.
Funny story. I actually had to do this piece twice. I did the woman first, and then when I did the man, it turned out that I had done it on the wrong size of linen, so they were different overall sizes. So, I did it again on the correct material.
Completed for May 2002.
Another wedding piece. This time for my step-mother, Lynn.
Completed for May 2002.
This piece was done for our MC, Steve. It was from a magazine, but I can't remember which one. The actual pattern had the words "Families are forever", but I changed it as appropriate.
Ironically, we haven't really seen Steve and his partner since our wedding.
Wedding piece 3 of 6. A dreamer for my cousin Amanda, the dreamer. She was my bridesmaid.
Completed for May 2002.
Another wedding piece. This is the piece I did for James' parent, Art and Ruby.
Completed May 2002.
James and I were married in May 2002. As gifts for our parents, my attendants, and our MC, I did a piece for each of them. This is the first piece in the set. I'm not sure what order I did these in, but lets just say they were completed in May 2002.
I did this piece for my maid-of-honour, Krista.
I love how it looks finished, but it wasn't great to do - TONS of beads (the entire moon and the swirls in the sky), and the dress part was a little boring as its only a few colours.
This piece was stitched for my friends Neil and Gioia Buckley, in honour of their wedding on October 6, 2000.
If you are wondering where the pattern came from, it was in For the Love of Cross Stitch magazine, September 1998.
Hmm - this might be one of the in between pieces! I started it and finished the piece in 1999, but it just sat in my "completed" box. Then my friend Robin had a baby, and I added the name and date to the bottom, had it framed, and voila!
So I guess, technically, this was completed in January 2007, but it took eight years to get there...
Ok - I think this is the next piece I have pictures of. I am sure there are some little nonsense pieces in between this and the Summer Fairy, but I have no idea what they are...
I did this piece for my Mom, who is into Noah stuff. From the date on the piece, I'm guessing it was completed in 1999. Yep - I'm a real Sherlock!
The second piece I ever completed. Pretty ambitious for a second piece, but it was so beautiful I couldn't resist.
I made a mistake when I bought the material for this piece, and did it on 22ct Hardanger material - thats 22 stitches per inch. I now do all my stitching on 32ct material - thats only 16 stitches per inch.
I have some close-up pictures posted on Flickr.
Completed 1997.
 | January Ford |
My name is January, and I live in Waterloo, Ontario. I have been stitching since 1997, and I decided to create this blog as a way to keep track of why I did a piece, when I did it, and who I did it for. Think of it as an electronic stitching journal.
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