New Finish & New Floorstand

Finally, a finish for 2010! This is the project I was stitching on so hard last weekend. It is Jardin Prive My Lady's Quaker. It is stitched on 40 ct Hand Dyed Fibers jackalope fabric with Week Dye Works Romance and Mascara threads. I am very pleased with how it turned out! I have seen this design stitched in many different colorways and it always looks good. Even my 5 yr old grandson was impressed with the curly hair on the girl.

This project was stitched 1 over 2 under my handy clip-on, lighted magnifier. These eyes just can't see 4o ct fabric without some help. Did you notice the small s & t on the bottom row are in Romance? They are my initials and instead of trying to insert them somewhere on the design, I just changed the color to stand out. It was not my original idea--I saw it somewhere on the Internet.

Now, how to finish this? A square black frame would look really nice, so, of course, I don't have one. OR a pillow finish with pink/black fabric? I will have to see what is in my stash.

My last post pointed out the top clamp of my new Needlework System 4 floor stand. After waiting (and saving) for almost a year, I got it about 2 weeks ago from Threadneedle Street. Denise gave me instructions on a very quick assembly and voila! my Prairie Schooler ABC project is in it. The stretcher bars on that project are 18" X 22", so it is a good-sized project and so far I am loving every minute of it. :) The head allows me to just swivel the stretcher bars to the back to start or tie-off threads. Then swivel it back. No clamps, just swivel. I stitched on a K's Creation floor stand at a retreat last year and liked it too. So it was a tough decision, but so far, so good.