The Kiss

Here is "The Kiss" by Mirabilia, finally finished on April 1, 2017, after over 15 years as a UFO:

It is stitched on the called for fabric, 32ct Apple Blossom linen, with the called for fibers, DMC floss and Kreinik metallic braid, and beads.

Here are some detail shots:

And here it is, finally, fully, finished.  I picked it up from the framer a couple of weeks ago:

 I am very much enjoying having this on the wall after all this time.

Resurrecting a UFO

So what have I been up to?  Well, about 2 weeks ago I pulled this piece of needlework out of my stash.  It's a pattern by Mirabilia called "The Kiss."  I can't remember exactly when I began stitching this, but it had to be somewhere around 1999-2002ish.  As you can see, I put in quite a bit of work, but at some point I laid it aside, probably to stitch up another project- a wedding sampler or a birth sampler perhaps.  It became UFO.  This is what it looked like when I picked it up again for the first time 2 weeks ago:

And this is what it looks like now, after two weeks of on and off stitching:

I have filled in all the flowers and foliage, the sky and clouds, and even the gentleman's tunic.  There is still quite a bit to go- the lady's skirt, a small bit of the left urn, and a narrow border.  And then there are the beads- a ton of them, which will embellish her dress, her hair, and the corners where I still need to stitch some little bees.  I am loving this and I have vowed to finish it this year, hopefully very soon.

There hasn't been any garment sewing yet this year, but the February Burda finally arrived this week and I have my eye on dress #109.  I just need to shop for fabric and get started on it.  Maybe this weekend...