Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Don't Forget

Tomorrow is Joan Elliott SAL Day!!

Shall we set up either a Passione Ricamo Day and/or a Mirabilia day??

PR Morning Fae

A little more done on her.  Not much stitching this weekend since we had a high school graduation and party this weekend, but hopefully more time in the future.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Happy Memorial Day Everyone

I hope everyone is having a great day.  It is sooo hot here in the midwest.

The Wish, Trade and Sale blog is now open.  Feel Free to post away.  Only members of this blog will be able to post a list, but comments are open to everyone, so someone might see your list and be able to help you out.  Members will have received an invite today...The link is to the right.

My take on Fantasy stitching.  My thinking that anything that could be fairy tale, fantasy, etc is included.  To me that includes:  Fairy tale characters, queens, kings, mermaids, dragon, pirate ladies, gods, goddesses, bizarre and strange creatures.  Most of Mirabilia and a lot of Passione Ricamo fall in these catagories, along with most Joan Elliotts and I am sure there are so many more.  Don't be afraid to post whatever you are doing on here.  We want to see your stitching.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Enabling people to comment on blogs

The wonderful Daffycat has given this advice to bloggers whose followers are having problems commenting:
 
 
"Change your comment form to the pop-up window type.

 
Go to:
Dashboard
Settings
Comments
Comment Form Placement
Choose POP-UP WINDOW
Save"

Terry - If we do this on this Blog then Bernice and I can comment again, and anyone else who has been strangely silent.  Thank you so much.

Meanwhile I have been stitching for babies - Nimue's Baby Swing and a Passione Ricamo freebie fairy.  For progress pics you'll have to check my blog as Blogger won't let me post pics this evening.  Yesterday was fine.  Now not.

Not Feeling It For Now

Have you ever started a project and then a week later you just weren't feeling it.  That is what happened to Morning Fae for me.  I think it is partly due to those wacky floral embellishments on her gown.  Looking at the chart, the backstitching for these lovelies are not corner to corner on the grid but go into the single stitch areas (as if I were stitching over 1).  In other words, you must be stitching over 2 to accomplish this and when you have a backstitch going into an area that a regular stitch is already covering, it is madness...madness I say (a little humor).  Anyway, I keep picturing ways I can change it.  Things like doing the whole bottom section from another chart with a lady or fairy or making her nude (I wouldn't really do that but it would be an interesting piece if I did--and I wouldn't be able to chart that anyhow), but then her gown is so lovely.  Since I can't decide how I will proceed, I have decided to put her away and start another one (Lady Hera from Mirabilia).

I just wanted to share this with the group since I won't be posting any pics of progress for a while but I will still be keeping up with what you all are doing.

If you would like to be included on my progress of Lady Hera I will be glad to share but technically she is not fantasy.  I also still have Fairy Flora which will get some attention eventually and will be shared.  I'm sure I will have some progress within a month.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

My start on Morning Fae by Passione Ricamo


Here is my progress on Morning Fae by Passione Ricamo.  I have been working on it for the past week and this is what I have accomplished so far. I have really enjoyed stitching the wings which are mostly Rainbow Gallery Petite Treasure Braid.  I will not be including the mountain scene in my version.  This is stitched on 32 count Picture this Plus Lugana (Legacy) over 2.

what's wrong

something seems to be wrong with blogger I can't post comments

A Question

Okay, the question of trade or wish lists came up.  I am wondering if we should try listing on the side of blog or making a second blog that we can go to and post wish lists and trades.  Listings would only be open to members of the blog but anyone could see it and comment to make a trade or we could limit it.  We could then update our lists by editing posts and maybe once a month or more often do a new post to update? It is really up to all of you.  What are your thoughts?

JE SAL


here's my before and after shots of the Unicorn & the Maiden

Jo's Rotation

Hey!  This is my post that went AWOL during the Friday 13th outage.  I found it lurking as a draft.  So here belatedly is my take on rotational stitching:

Okay just to be awkward - I do a rotation by the time of day!



Daytime is a simple project I can pick up and put down.  At the moment it's the Dark Alphabet.



Supervising small boy's bathtime I am currently stitching JE's Oriental Waving Cat from the WOCS free booklet.  (finished this now, doing PR Celebration Fairy)



Evening when boys are in bed is a big project.  Currently Mira's Bluebeard's Mermaid for one metric week (10 days) then a "can you tell what it is yet" project which I won't name as it'll spoil the guessing fun!







Have done two more letters since then but can't show a pic yet due to Blogger's temper tantrums.

Comment on the JE SAL

Today's Blogger problem - I can't make comments on certain blogs!  I also can't add photos but I can make posts.  I've had to post links to my WIPS on my blog rather than insert the pictures and now I can't make comments here.  How long is this going to go on for?  It's ridiculous.  At least my blog is for fun not for work or college like some people.

Anyway this is my comment:

"Great start!  I couldn't face making another new start last night.  I'm usually a OAAT stitcher and I currently have 5 WIPS.
I'm going to focus on the Baby Swing until she's finished then alternate between my Mermaid and my 11 project.  The Dark Alphabet and my PR Fairy are daytime projects but I have found I don't like having more than one or two larger evening projects on the go at once."

In Search of ...

I was wondering if it might be a good idea to have a sidebar listing charts we are looking for. I just tried to order The Enchanted Lair's Teatime [a dragon in a teacup] from 123stitch and was informed that it was not available from the distributor ... presumably out-of-print. Maybe we could sell or trade among ourselves or just keep an eagle eye out for charts blog members are searching for. I have already stitched Jenifer Aiken-Smith's and Teresa Wentzler's variations on this theme and would like to add the Enchanted Lair piece to my growing series. Also, if you folks know of any other dragon in a teacup charts out there, I would love to kow about them.

My Joan Elliott Start



She is stitched on 28ct Polstitches Colorful Clouds Jobelan.  Now back to Morning Fae to try to get her finished maybe in the next week  (I hope).



Only the beading is left ...

... on my Teresa Wentzler Autumn Faerie. I had hoped to be a bit further along on this project at this stage. My goal was to have it ready for the framer tomorrow but clearly, that's not happening. But, perhaps by the end of the long Memorial Day weekend, it will be complete.

Next up is Teresa Wentzler's Tracery Dragons.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Good Morning Everyone

What are you stitching on this week?  Post us a picture of your progress..

Also, Are you ready to SAL tomorrow with us?  Dig out that Joan Elliott and lets get stitching..

Have a GREAT TUESDAY.

Monday, May 23, 2011

I usually don't have

tons of trouble with frogs but man this weekend was the pits.  I tore out this dark blue section twice before finally getting it completed.  What a nightmare, and I thought I was being sooo careful too.  I am ready to be done with morning fae I think.  Getting there anyway.  Will start Iris Fairy on Wednesday for the SAL..

Thursday, May 19, 2011

South Seas Mermaid is Framed

South Seas Mermaid by Mirabilia
(For the specifics go to The Mirabilia Stitcher)

Autumn Faerie Progress shot

I have dubbed the fourth day of the week Wentzler Wednesday and devote each Wednesday to my current Wentzler BAP. This will continue even after the Autumn Faerie is fully stitched and at the framers. Coming up in the rotation are Wentzler's Tracery Dragons [for me] and her Woodland Angel Christmas Stocking [for my grandson Liam]. I hope to finish the cross-stitching on Sunday and devote the rest of next week to beading. The goal is to take it to the frame shop on my day-off next Friday. Section IV has been the easiest section to stitch because there is less confetti stitching. Though there have already been 16 color changes in this small area, there are more stitches of any given color as the colors flow down the folds of the skirt. This has made the counting ever so much easier than in the wings and apples.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Joan Elliott SAL

How Does everyone feel about having Joan Elliott SALs on Wedsnesdays, starting on the 25th of May? That will give everyone a week to get all their stuff together.  If that day doesn't work let me know and I will rearrange it..

Here is the one I will be starting.
Iris Fairy by Joan Elliott
on Colorful Clouds by Polstitches Designs Fabric

Okay so

I need to get motivated.  I seriously think I will need to get back in a rotation because I am starting to get bogged down on Morning Fae.  Not sure why, I guess just ready for something different, this blue is driving me a little crazy now.  As much as I love her, I am ready to move on.  I am going to finish her first though and then get on to a rotation. 
Here she is as of May 16th.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Flower Fairy Framed

As Riona was talking about framing I thought I'd share my flower fairy framed:

I photographed her without the glass, when I replaced it I stuck another larger butterfly onto the glass so it's hovering about the picture.  My friend is expecting a baby boy so this will be an "anti-jealousy" present for her older daughter when baby arrives.  I was lucky enough to get the matching Birthday card for her too. Serendipity strikes again!

I need some decision making help over at my blog - Dilemma - please pop over and leave a comment.  I am terrible at making decisions on fabric and threads!

Metallic Threads

Like or dislike?
I love the way they look...I use mostly Kreinik and Petite Treasure Braid.  My favorite is the PTB, but there are so many colors in the Kreinik.  and they add so much especially to Miras, Passione Ricamos and Joan Elliotts.

One thing I did figure out.  It is wise to keep a separate needle for metallic threads and one for the DMC or other cotton you are using (or silk).  The metallic thread can rub a barb on the eye of the needle.  If you use the same needle on cotton, etc, it will shred the fibers.  I try to keep a separate needle for each.

So do you prefer a specific metallic, whatever they say, or skip it all together.

Terry

What do You Think constitutes

a "Fantasy" design?

We know dragons, fairies, unicorns or other magical creatures, wizards, witches, sorcerers and sorceresses.

Do you include knights, kings and queens (medieval type), mythology (of all types), beautiful ladies in fancy medieval type costumes, fairy tales,  angels, etc?  What are some ideas of what you think about the subject?

Riona's Mermaids

My mermaids are a lot funkier than Tracy's beautiful denizens of the deep. These less glamorous creatures are from Workbasket's I Heard The Mermaids Singing. The title of the leaflet comes from T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. I stitched them when I needed some serious color therapy last winter. I was just so tired of the white out of all the snow and even more weary of the gritty grey of day old suburban roadside snow. Both are stitched using the recommended over-dyes and specialty fibers. The pair of mermaids is stitched on Silkweavers' Monster Mash 28ct linen and the single mermaid is stitched on Silkweaver's Marine Blue 28ct linen. I am planning on stitching the single mermaid again without the border on a more muted silvery sage green, Silkweaver's Meadow Mist. I am planning to use this frame on which I have started embellishing. You can see that I have painted a plain wooden frame in a sand with peach undertones and affixed some oyster shell fragments that have been polished by the waters of the Chesapeake Bay till they have a nice mother-of-pearl patina. My next step will be to spray about ten layers of clear acrylic varnish on the frame to give it a high gloss. Then I will carefully paint the quote from T.S. Eliot on the frame, apply morre varnish so that it will look as though the words are floating just below the surface of crystal clear water. Once, I have got that done, I will decide if a few pieces of beach glass should be added to the shell fragments or whether enough is enough. I enjoy putting together mixed media pieces.




And speaking of mixed media, I thought I'd share my current surface embroidery project with you: a piece of my own design called Fertile Circles. I know fertility symbols are more a pagan theme than a fantasy one, but like many here I am fascinated by mythology and ancient cultures with their rich religious symbology. I intend to finish this piece as a needlebook. At the moment I am working on the back with my initial rune. It is hard to see in the photograph but linen shows through between the rows of the flame stitching and I am currently concealing that annoying bit of pale linen while adding a little glitz with a doubled strand of the dreaded Kreinik blending filament in a copper color. After that it will just be a matter of couching the snake's body [a Thread Gatherer woolen fiber] to the front, winding it's way through the nests. Finally, I'll finish it up as a needlebook using some WDW wool for the pages. In case anyone is wondering how I formed the circles: I used plastic rings that you can buy in the notions section of any fabric store and covered them with closely spaced satin stitches and then decorated them by layering more stitching over the satin stitches. I used a wide variety of fibers: metallics, overdyes, silks, wools, perles and blends. I chose to use autumnal colors because harvest time represents the end result of fertility. I know using sun colors rather than moon colors for fertility symbols is somewhat counterintuitive but that was my take on the theme: fertility made ripe.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Fairy Flora's Wings are Completed!

 Fairy Flora by Mirabilia
I am so relieved and happy to have the second wing accomplished!  Although it is hard to tell in the photo, the wings are filled with a metallic blend along with the floss.  The blending filament used in the wings caused this part to be a bear.  Word of advice: find an alternative to kreinik blending filament anytime it is called for in a chart you are stitching.  Almost every strand of blending filament breaks whilst stitching with it, even short strands and threading the needle with it is a test of patience.  Even the beading was a breeze in comparison.  Now that this part is accomplished, the rest is going to be smooth sailing.

The fabric is 32 count Silkweaver Reflections on lugana.  The color is called Enchantment.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

SAL Day - When?

What day of the week will work best for all those who want to have a Joan Elliott SAL?

Also, Are there any other SALS you want us to set up?

Is Everyone Stitching this weekend?

Friday, May 13, 2011

Am I a Rotation Stitcher?

I am mostly a one at a time stitcher but when I have a very large project that will take me 3 months or more I will incorporate 1 or 2 more pieces.  I will usually work on 1 piece for a week or two, maybe more if I am enjoying it, before switching to one of my other pieces.  Currently I just finished South Seas Mermaid by Mirabilia which was a third start for me when I started it.  I have Fairy Flora on the go and am trying to finish a UFO (Enchanted Alphabet by Lavender and Lace).  I also incorporated one of Nora's letters for my niece during that time.  I am also about to start a new one (since I finished South Seas Mermaid) and was actually inspired by Terry, our host.  The piece is Morning Fae by Passione Ricamo which I have loved since the first time I saw it on ABCstich's website.

I don't usually have UFO's.  The exception being recently (the last year or so) I have accumulated a few UFO's.  Usually if it is a UFO, I won't ever finish it but I have finished a couple of them.

The Mirabilia Stitcher
Tracy in AZ

Mostly Mermaids

Hi, my name is Tracy and I have been stitching for over 20 years but have been stitching large (Mirabilia's) projects for only 4 years.  I live in Phoenix, Arizona and it stays quite hot outdoors for about 6 months of the year.  I don't own a pool and I am a stay at home wife so that leaves a lot of time for indoor activities such as stitching.  I currently have so many framed pieces around my home that I don't know how much longer I can keep producing more of these.  The thing is that I fall in love with my finished works and never want to put them away.

So far, I have stitched 5 Mirabilia mermaids and 1 Passione Ricamo mermaid.  It wasn't that I was originally into mermaids but those were the designs that I liked best.  I am now stitching my first fairy, a large one, Fairy Flora also from Mirabilia.  My goal is to inspire and be a positive influence in the world of stitching.  I hope to get to know the members of this board and become good friends.
Emerald Mermaid by Mirabilia

Mermaid of Atlantis by Mirabilia


The Queen Mermaid by Mirabilia

Deepest Love by Mirabilia
Calypso by Passione Ricamo
South Seas Mermaid by Mirabilia
Fairy Flora by Mirabilia
If you would like to see more, visit The Mirabilia Stitcher and TJ's Gallery.

A Little About Terry

Okay, Since Jo started Guess I will be next. 

I started stitching about 34 years ago, ,yep I am noooo teenager. I grew up an Air Force Brat and we moved a lot.  When I was very young we had a set of fiction books that went with an encyclopedia books we had gotten.  One of the volumes was a book of myths, legends and fantasies and I was hooked.  I wanted my very own dragon. Since we seemed to move a lot books became my favorite hobby and fantasy my favorite genre.  While we were living in the UK for awhile I read and fell in love with the Fellowship of the Ring and was lost to the world of fantasy forever. 

My first attempt at small fantasy designs were usually fairy tales, there just weren't that many fantasy charts out there.  Then while looking through a cross stitch magazine, I found an add for the Wizard's Castle by Teresa Wentzler (later renamed to the Castle).  I had to have it, even though I was still a little green in stitching.  Four months later, it was finished and still has a place of honor on my walls (many, many years later).  

My favorite fantasy artists are Mira, PR, Joan Elliott, Teresa Wentzler, Dark Side of the Moon, Fire Wing, just to mention a few.  I have recently found and fallen in love with Polstitches fabric and after a kind of disconnect with stitching am back full force..

I started this blog, with the hope that I would find lots of fellow fantasy stitchers out there that want to share their triumphs and disasters and new and exciting charts!!

Welcome to everyone!

OH great

Blogger ate some of our posts so I guess we will have to try again.  Sorry Everyone!!

Introduction to Jo

My post on rotational stitching seems to have vanished during Blogger's tizzy fit on Friday 13th so I thought I'd do my Introduction instead.

I'm Jo from the East of England.  I've been into the whole fantasy genre since I out-grew Enid Blyton books.  Back in the 70's there wasn't much for the pre-teen market so I started reading Science Fiction instead.  Asimov and Andre Norton to start with then moving onto the Anne McCaffrey Dragonriders of Pern books.  I played D&D as a teenager (my female elf Helena Henna was a pun on Kerrang's Pandora Peroxide!) and drew endless pictures of dragons.  During the late 80s and 90s the Fantasy genre exploded and I read every series going from Marion Zimmer Bradley to Terry Pratchett via the Shannara books and the Belgariad.

So it seemed logicial when I started stitching in 1993 to stitch fantasy designs.  My first large design was Teresa Wentzler The Castle - a rite of passage for any fantasy fan!


If you go into my Picasa photo album you can see all my finished TW's after The Castle (I try to be organised!).

I veer between fantasy and traditional samplers now usually alternating between the two genres.  I now have an 8 year old son who shares my love of dragons and fantasy (cross stitch not so much although he does show an interest in what I'm stitching).  Together we are reading all my favourite books and some new ones.  We have just finished our second reading of the entire How to Train Your Dragon saga by Cressida Cowell.  We read The Hobbit earlier this year and are debating whether to dedicate an entire year to Lord of the Rings (that's how long it took my Dad to read it to us!).  Right now it's Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.  We love Greek Mythology too!

That's enough about me now.  If you want to know more then read my blog - http://www.serendipitousstitching.blogspot.com/

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Riona's Rotation

I am very eclectic in my tastes and have a wide variety of projects started at the moment. But each month this year my rotation includes:


a BAP: my current BAP is Teresa Wentzler's Autumn Faerie ... I just finished Section III yesterday evening.


a Crazy January Challenge project: only one fantasy project remains on this list: Teresa Wentzler's Tracery Dragons and I won't be getting to it until July, probably.


a piece from my 2010 WIPs & UFOs list: nothing fantasy-related in this particular category at this time


a Surface Embroidery Project: my own design, The Fertile Circles Needlebook


Sewing & Framing Finishes: I have a couple of mermaid pieces from Workbasket's I Heard The Mermaids Singing awaiting finishing: the larger piece as a tote and the smaller piece to be framed in a frame I embellished myself with sea-polished oyster shell fragments ... giving it a kind of mother-of-pearl look. I am still working on the frame, adding multiple layers of clear acrylic varnish after which I will paint in the T.S. Eliot quote and add more layers of acrylic. I want it to look as if the words are floating just below the surface of crystal clear water. I am hoping the process will give me the effect I am looking for.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Rotation or Not?

Do you follow a rotation method or are you a one at a time stitcher?

I am currently only stitching Morning Fae but I used to rotate my projects all the time.  I am thinking about going back to that method.  I sometimes get bogged down doing one project and need a change of project to get me rejuvenated and motivated

What about you?

A Few of My Dragons

If I ever get around to fixing the boys' old bedroom up as a sewing/craft/computer room, I will have a Dragon Wall to show off all my dragons ... at least, the ones I haven't already given to my daughter who also has a fondness for the beasts.

As part of the get acquainted process on this new blog, I thought I'd share a few of my dragon finishes with you. The first two are Dragon Dreams pieces: on the left is The Ice Dragon's Kingdom and on the right is Stormbringer. The one at the bottom is
Cross-Eyed Kat's Red Dragon from the Snowball Fight series. I'd love to get the other colors in this series but it was a limited edition series and offered only to certain retailers who attended particular shows, so they are hard to come by. If any of you ladies have any for sale or trade, I would certainly be interested.


I'll post more dragon finishes over the next few weeks. And I look forward to seeing all of your finishes, as well.



Rose Fairy

Hi everyone, my name is Lesley.I was so pleased to find this blog yesterday and see the lovely fantasy stitching posted here:) It is great to be able to join in, thanks Terry. 


I started this project a while ago and was side tracked by a gift that I wanted to stitch, which took longer than I had anticipated. Still, I am stitching it again now as part of a project rotation:) I do not generally go for too much pink, but I love the way all the colours in this rose compliment each other and that is what drew me to it. The design is by Joanne Sanderson and I am stitching it on 14ct aida with DMC threads,two of which are white and pink light effects threads for her wings. 

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Two of In Progress Pics

These are two of my projects in progress. I have quite a few more, but these are the ones I am working on right now. This one is Once Upon a Time (a Fairy secret Love) by Passione Ricamo.
The second one is Unicorn & Maiden by Joan Elliot. I started these earlier this year.

Earth Goddess

At the moment I am stitching Earth Goddess for my grand daughter. so far this is an easy stitch. The fabric is Mummy's Curse from Polstitches.

What a wonderful idea!

I am delighted to join this blogging group since faeries, dragons and mermaids are among my favorite stitching themes.



My current BAP is Teresa Wentzler's Autumn Faerie. This BAP was started in Autumn of 2009 but had been languishing untouched for nearly 18 months until I came up with the notion of Wentzler Wednesday: one day every week devoted to working on my faerie. Once I began to see real progress, I was unable to put it down. Most Wentzler Wednesdays have stretched into Thursday and sometimes, even into Friday. In any case, here is a recent photo.

Starting things off

Here is the current fantasy piece I am working on.  It is Morning Fae from Passione Ricamo.
And My most recent fantasy Finish
Magic Dragon by Joan Elliott

Monday, May 9, 2011

Hello Fantasy Cross stitch Lovers

I wanted to provide a place for all the fantasy cross stitch fans to post their work and share encouragement with others stitching fantasy designs.  Most fantasy designs are tough and we can all use a little rah rah as we work through the design.  Of course, we will all agree that the work is worth it in the end!!

So If you would like to post your work here, email me at sylvyrdragon08 @ yahoo . com (without spaces and I will send you an invitation to post).  I will need your email address and name and what you like to stitch :)..And please send any info you want about sites or information you want put on the blog.
So Everyone, join in let's have some fun!

Terry