First Finish of 2014!

May I present to you the Rose of Sharon in periwinkle with yellow roses.

Although this isn't the first conversion that I have done, this is my favorite by a long shot!

I changed the roses from pink to yellow, her hair form blonde to brunet and changed her dress to periwinkle with a yellow sash.

The changes were as follows:

670 to 156

680 to 155

729 to 340

745 to 341

746 to 3747

931 to 729 + 680

932 to 676

3752 to 745

3756 to 746

223 to 725

3721 to 3852

819 to 3078

224 to 744

This is Rose in her original colors:

 

She is my first finish of 2014, and quite possibly my only finish, as I am about to embark upon a 32 page Heaven and Earth "Adrift".  

I hope to post updates per completed page.  But sadly there won't be much to see until I have about 7 pages finished.

Rose of Sharon will be traveling to L.A. to adorn the wall of a much loved cousin who has just bought a house.  Her name is Sharon.  Appropriate, no?

~Rai Rai

Rose of Sharon Update and New Projects Updates

I'm loving the colors!   She is coming along beautifully! 

I had hoped to have her done by the time I leave for vacation, in just a little over a week.  I don't know if I will reach my goal or not, but I'll give it a solid effort. 

I have my next projects kitted up and ready to start.  

My next huge project will be Adrift from Heaven and Earth Designs.  

 30 + pages of solid madness, my friends!   I have the fabric and colors and I'm just bursting at the seams to start this beauty.

However, she is big.  Really big. And as I mentioned before, I am off on a holiday.  So I was left wit a conundrum.  Pace myself with Rose of Sharon, and try to have enough of her left to do to take her with me.  However, the fear that I would finish while on my trip and have nothing at all to stitch filled me with fear, so I looked to my HaED stash.  There is Adrift, but considering how large she is, I felt she would be cumbersome to travel with.  So I dug a little deeper and found THIS!

Winter Owl by Heaven and Earth Designs.   He is a little beauty, and not so large that he would be too, too cumbersome to pack around with me.  So off to the store I went and I now have this little guy kitted up and ready to start as soon as the last stitch of Rose of Sharon is done. 

Normally my rule is to do one at a time, and I stick fast to that rule.  But considering Adrift is so full of dark and moody colors, I think the little owl will be a nice break every now and then so I can inject a little color into my stitching.

In any case, these will very likely be my only projects for the entire year.   Not very exciting when it comes to updating a blog, but I will try to keep things interesting and think of witty things to share with you all.

~Rai Rai

Rose of Sharon Update

So this project seems to be ticking right along.   I did have to change her hair as she was originally supposed to be blonde, however, the yellow hair combined with the yellow roses really didn't stand out, so I changed her to a brunette.

The dress is looking beautiful so far.  I think the periwinkle colors are going to look magnificent, and once I'm all done, I will post the conversion colors. I'm really happy with the conversion so far.

I am fighting the beginning stages of a cold/flu, whatever it is. I feel prickly and very, very run down.
But if I am going to get sick, let it be now, as I have holidays in less than a month and I want this to have run its course by then.

In any case, dear kindred stitchers, Happy Holidays to you all, whatever you may celebrate, and may you be surrounded by family and friends, (and a present, or two).

~Rai Rai

Rose of Sharon - Arbor and Flowers

This project is coming along nicely.  I decided to change the pink flowers to yellow. So far I'm delightfully over the moon with my changes.  I can't wait to start the dress and see how the colors look.

I find the vine and flowers to be arduously slow, and this is coming from someone who has just finished a Heaven and Earth design.  I think that once I get to the lady, then it will be a quick ride to the end, but man, oh man, it seems to be taking me forever to get the arbor done.

~Rai Rai

PS - Dragon stocking has been assembled and I pick it up tomorrow.  Pictures to follow!

Rose of Sharon Update

Well, not much to report so far. I'm 3 days in to the project and I'm making pretty good progress, I guess.  I'm glad I started this one.  I am waiting for Magic Cloth to arrive in the mail, and I thought it would have arrived this week, but so far, nothing. And to be honest, I'm not in a hurry. I'm thoroughly enjoying stitching her.

I am fighting a tight shoulder which usually leads to migraines, so I'm pulling out all the stops from popping anti-inflamatories to applying the heating pad to my shoulder so I can stitch. Because, lets face it, only a migraine can really stop me! 

But I do have to say, after a project which was almost entirely confetti stitches, this one is a real pleasure to do!  Lots and lots of blocks of solid color. I am in heaven!

As mentioned before, I'm doing the dress in periwinkle with a yellow sash.  I'll see how the conversion goes and if it seems to work, I will post the conversion with the final photo.  That way if anyone wants to try it for themselves, they will have the colors to use.

I love seeing conversions!  If you have any conversions that you have done, please respond with the link, I'd love to check out yours!

I won't be able to work much on this for the next few nights, as I will be on night shift, but hopefully I will be able to put in some serious hours next week.  

Hopefully I will have an update for you then.

~Rai Rai