Presenting… “Passing Admirers!”
01 November 2005 13:13 happy dances
It has been a little over 12 hours since I attached the last bead to “Passing Admirers” and I am still happy dancing all over the house! I can scarcely believe it, but after 14 months and 158 hours of stitching, I am finally finished with my first “large” project… and it looks GREAT! When I finally went to bed last night, I laid awake for at least half an hour with a big grin on my face.
And now, for story behind the finish…
Over the weekend I mostly worked on the backstitching for “Passing Admirers” and was planning on working on the “Model ‘A’” yesterday. However, before I picked up the “Model ‘A’”, I stole a quick look at “Passing Admirers” and I could see the finish line. I couldn’t resist: I knew I could finish it, so I decided to do so.
While most of the 8 hours that I spent finishing “Passing Admirers” yesterday were backstitching hours, I also took the opportunity to fix a few things that had been bothering me.
First I repaired a couple of confetti areas that I hadn’t really been happy with for a while. I wasn’t content with these particular spots because when I first started “Passing Admirers” I wasn’t yet using the loop-method when starting my floss and the confetti stitches had been secured with knots. I have since learned that using the loop-method I can secure confetti stitches much neater and without knots, so I took the opportunity to redo those stitches. It didn’t take too long and I am much happier with those areas now.
While backstitching, I also noticed a half a dozen stitches where I had forgotten to finish my cross stitches, (I am still asking myself how that happened) so I fixed those stitches too.
Finally all that was left were a bunch of French knots, some long stitches, a half a dozen lazy daisies, and about a dozen beads. The French knots and long stitches were a piece of cake, but I sure did have problems with the lazy daisies! It probably took me close to an hour to do six of them.
I saved the beads for last and when I finally came to them I was a little nervous because I had never added beads to anything before. I wasn’t really sure how to go about it, but ended up adding them with two strands of floss that matched the color of the bead and securing them with a half cross stitch. I am not sure if that is the “right” way to do it, but it seemed to work. However, next time I add beads I will probably try and do it with invisible quilting thread. (I would have done that last night, but I currently don’t have any invisible quilting thread.)
So there you have it: I am finally done with my darling and I can’t wait to get it framed so that I can hang it in its place of honor in the living room!
01 November 2005 at 13:23
Congratulations, Renee! Happy dancing for you too! Huzzah!
01 November 2005 at 14:03
She is beautiful!! I am dancing with you on her finish. I did my beads with one strand of matching floss. I made full x’s on mine. I don’t know if I did it right but it works….lol.
01 November 2005 at 14:11
It’s beautiful! I really love this one, and you did such a great job with it. Congrats!
01 November 2005 at 15:26
Congratulations! It sure looks worth few days of happy dancing.
01 November 2005 at 15:56
woohoo!!!! it’s great and I’m HDing with you!
01 November 2005 at 16:03
Well done! Ann.
01 November 2005 at 16:15
Woot! It looks fantastic, Renee! Speaking of the model A - I found a freebie yesterday and thought of you - it is a 1909 Opel (I think that’s right) - you can check it out at http://www.2busystitching.com/free.htm
01 November 2005 at 18:45
Looks beautiful! Happy dancing with you on your finish!
Happy stitching,
Annette
01 November 2005 at 20:32
It is a beautiful piece. Congratulations !!
01 November 2005 at 21:45
Congratulations!
02 November 2005 at 10:39
Fantastic work!
02 November 2005 at 12:16
Compliments!!It’s wonderful!!!!!
02 November 2005 at 13:37
That’s so pretty, Renée! What an accomplishment. You’re very talented.
02 November 2005 at 15:29
Great work!! I’m joining you in you HD
02 November 2005 at 15:49
It looks great Renee! Congrats on your finish
02 November 2005 at 15:55
Wowee! It’s a stunner! And what a marathon finish (I rarely get more than 2 hours of stitching time in a row, so the concept of 8 hours is mind-boggling!). A great big congratulations to you!
02 November 2005 at 16:09
It looks great! I usually do the beads with x’s so they’ll stay in place.
greatings Jenneke
02 November 2005 at 18:05
Renee! That came out stunning! Congratulations on your MAJOR happy dance!!!!!
02 November 2005 at 21:18
I’d say you are entitled to a large round of applause! That is an impressive project and it looks fantastic!
04 November 2005 at 18:08
Congratulations Renee! Well done on your finish. 14 months of stitching later all I can say is: WOW! Well done.
05 November 2005 at 00:43
Yay Renee! Passing Admirers looks really, really great. I cannot believe how much work it was, but I’m sure it was well worth the effort. I can’t wait to see it framed!