Getting Along Swimmingly

I finished "M is for Mermaid"!  And I love how it came out.

This little design is by Heartstring Samplery, and I stitched it on 40-ct. so it would fit this (perfect!) frame I found at JoAnn Fabric.  The frame opening was only 5 inches, and the pattern, if stitched as charted on 32-ct., fit a 6 inch opening.  I also made some floss substitutions, a few DMC - included with the chart, thankfully- and a few other hand-dyed flosses that I thought worked well.  I love it!

I've also made some progress on Marbek's "Seaside Angel" (or Maiden, in this case, since I plan to omit the wings and halo). 

I didn't realize from the picture just how much metallic there was in this one - all around the dark purple flowers there are "leaves" stitched in #4 Kreinik braid, and one of green swirly segments is actually turquoise blending filament (used alone, 2-ply).  And the sleeve cuff - in the second picture - is sky blue blending filament.  When I stitched the cuff, I actually stripped the polyester carrying thread from the blending filament - it made it MUCH more sparkly and (IMHO) easier to stitch with.  Not that stitching with blending filament is every truly easy....  I left the carrier thread in the turquoise section that I stitched, because I discovered that it was a faint green tint and gave the thread a true turquoise color that was visibly different from the sky blue cuffs.

This one is going to be a long-term project, for sure.  And for now I've tucked it away, since I'm feeling like I want to get back to Modern Folk Embroidery's "Secret Sky" for a bit.  Plus, you never know when a small or 2 might sneak in there!

Still Sweating

I don't know where you all live, dear readers, but the weather here in the Northeast US has been ridiculously steamy.  My Little started school yesterday, and came home a sweaty, sticky mess (her school does not have air conditioning).  So it seems only appropriate that, in an attempt to think about cooler climes, I started stitching Heartstring Samplery's "M is for Mermaid" pattern!  Here it is, along with the frame I'm planning to use when it is finished.

The frame is one that I picked up at JoAnn Fabric, on sale a couple months back.  I'm stitching on 40-ct. so it will fit (the design is charted to be 6" on 32-ct., but the frame opening is only 5").  I also didn't have all the flosses called for, so I've subbed in some DMC and some alternate hand-dyes.