Two finishes!

This past week, I received a care package from Needle Nicely in Vero Beach, Florida (www.needlenicely.com).  This year's Christmas stockings have been beautifully finished, each with coordinating velveteen backing and cording.  Needle Nicely also finished the two stockings that I gifted last year, and I can't recommend its services highly enough!

Last year's and this year's stockings, designed by Liz Goodrick-Dillon, were all stitched within 18 months--quite a marathon since I had other stitching projects going at the same time.  I can't honestly recommend cramming that much stitching into such a short period of time, but sometimes you've gotta do what you've gotta do!

Hopping along

What a busy week it's been!  But I managed to get some stitching in on Melissa Shirley's boy bunny, finishing the lower part of his body using a combination of Burmilana and Impressions in an encroaching Gobelin stitch.

The collar and cuffs of his jacket were added with a cream Petite Very Velvet in basketweave, and his shoes were stitched with black Petite Very Velvet.

Now to play catch-up with his backside!

Quite an earful

The boy bunny's head is now stitched, using a combination of threads from my stash.

The primary brown thread is Burmilana, as is the pink on the inside of his ears.  The darker brown and cream-colored threads are Impressions.  Except for the nose, worked in a padded satin stitch, and the mouth, worked in basketweave/tent, the rest of the head used an encroaching Gobelin stitch.  DMC cotton floss in tent stitches formed the eyes.

White DMC floss in basketweave created his short, with a placket formed by encroaching oblong cross stitches.

Stitching out of season

Every other year, the Cape Cod Hospital Auxiliary sponsors a Holly Berry Bazaar fund-raiser, to be held November 12.  A treasure-trove of painted needlepoint canvases was donated for sale at the bazaar, and one of the auxiliary members asked me to help her price the canvases for sale. What fun it was to see such a variety of designs and designers represented!

 I helped the sale get started by purchasing a pair of darling two-sided Melissa Shirley bunnies circa 1989 and wasted no time getting the little boy bunny mounted on stretcher bars.  Finally I have a non-magazine canvas to work on and show my stitching progress here.  Who cares if I stitch an Easter canvas as we creep closer to Halloween?  Certainly not needlepointers!