Is that even a word? To dedecorate? Saying "taking down the decorations" just seems excessive. I like dedecorate, and the auto spell check didn't catch it which clearly means it's an actual word, so I'm using it from here on out. So there.
The Feast of the Epiphany is always a sad day. Not really...I mean, the Wise Men made it to the manger and all...it's about the fact that my Christmas decorations come down after the Ephiphany. {Although, I have been known to keep them up through January...out of pure laziness....} So, so sad.
Now, even though it was very sad to take this lovely piece down -
...this piece goes up in her place --
This, my friends, is Sabrina. Of all of the things I've actually made for myself (which is almost nothing compared to what I've given away), this is my favorite piece. I.love.her. As soon as I saw this in the shop, I knew I had to have her, and begin stitching immediately. Mirabilia designs are one of my absolute favorite, and by looking at this piece, I'm sure you can see why. They're heavily labor intensive, but the work is totally worth it.
I mean, honestly. That dress. I want it. The way the flowers just drop so slightly from her grasp. Stunning.
{sigh} Look at the detail on this dress. For serious. All those flowers & vines are beads. The insides of those flowers are filled in with Kreinik thread (yet another one of my stitching mortal enemies, but sometimes, ya just gotta muscle through it; otherwise, the finished piece doesn't have the right effect), and each have a Mill Hill treasure in the center.
(above) A closer look at those beads.....
Like I said, where it's always sad to take down "A Royal Holiday", putting "Sabrina" up in her place, where she'll remain all year (until I get crazy brave enough to start one of the seasonal queens....maybe after i finally finish my sis's wedding gift....moving on....) is a total bonus. Love her.
Much of the roses, and the leaves are stitched with Caron Waterlilies, which I highly recommend using, rather than doing a DMC conversion. The silk for the leaves is actually a purple to green dyed silk, which is next to impossible to replicate with DMC, unless you want to switch your colors all the time. I'll pass, thankyouverymuch. So, although they're pricier, if you've committed to doing a piece of this magnitude, you should use the silks for the flowers & leaves. That's how I look at it, anyway.
The fabric I chose for this is 32 count French Lace. It's a very, very light green, which complemented the greens and blues of her dress perfectly.
I think the biggest reason why I love this piece is because she reminds me of Grace Kelly. I LOVE Grace Kelly. Since I can't be her or ever meet her, this is the closest thing to imagining what she'd look like in person, with a long, elegant dress on. She actually wears a very similar dress in "To Catch a Thief", which makes me wonder if that was Nora's inspiration for this piece...
Until next time, my lovely friends...stitch and be merry :-)
