Four years in the making

Okay, no one faint. I hope you're all sitting down. Ready? I stitched!

:: Erin waits while everyone picks themselves up off the floor ::

Actually, you may just want to stay in the floor, since it gets even more amazing. I also finished two projects!

:: Erin passes out smelling salts, certain this information has caused some loss of consciousness ::

The title up there is both true and a bit misleading. Both of the projects I finished were started while I was pregnant. Both of them, sadly, were also *almost* finished when I put them down. I don't really recall why I put them down. I know late in my pregnancy, I had the attention span of a gnat. Concentrating on much of anything was difficult, especially something like stitching. Then after Luke arrived, I didn't have time, and then when I had time, I didn't have interest.

But Heather inspired me by finishing the flower fob she started around the same time (scroll to bottom of that post). I figured if she could do it, then so could I. First I had to hunt down the nearly finished berry, but it was right where I left it four years ago: in my stitching bag in the closet. I had all the beading and backstitching done. All it needed was some fusible fleece for backing, some handmade green cording, and peyote beaded strawberry leaves. Took about 3 days to manage all that (what with that pesky job thing getting in the way) and get it "fobinated" (sewn together and stuffed). So here is my newly completed (for the second time, seeing as I gave away the first one) beaded strawberry fob.



This is "A Strawberry for Emily" by Tomorrow's Antiques (they don't have a website, as far as I know).

But we're not done yet! Oh no. While I was in the closet hunting for the unfinished strawberry, I stumbled on my temari bag. Now, having seen Glenda complete a few temari in the last 4 years, one of them last month, I was already starting to get the temari bug again. Upon peeking into my bag, though, I discovered a temari that I had totally forgotten about, and it was nearly done! See the second picture below? All I had to do was put in the purple triangles with the white outlines (one was complete; had 7 more to do), and it was finished. I know I was working on this during the Myrtle Beach trip (that I never did write up) in February 2004, and again, I have no idea why I put it aside. But it's done now, and I think it looks pretty good. Certainly a lot of imperfections, but hopefully they're only really obvious to me, not anyone else.



Sorry, forgot the credits. Basically this pattern, but I actually figured it out only from a picture (the one at the bottom, in fact). There was no posted pattern at the time I started working on it, and I am thrilled with myself for being able to reconstruct it based only on the photo! Done in DMC floss.

Thanks for looking!

Currently feeling: amazed at myself!