She is stunning. The colours are fantastic - my fabric was fantastic. She started so fast out the gate and full of promise and then...........Nothing. Lost her mojo. Couldn't get it back. I would do tiny little pieces at a time. I uploaded songs with the word rhythm in them to listen to as I worked - it just wasn't happening.
So she went away for awhile. Now, I was desperate for a new start and I am not a serial starter by most standards. I had Dressmaker's Daughter on the go. I am working on Farmer's Market, I have my Round Robin's and then Rhythm. I knew I couldn't possibly start another without finishing one. So I set off to finish Rhythm.
I frogged and redid the back stitching 3 times because the colour wasn't working - then the fabric puckered and pulled. When I was finally satisfied I only had beads left to do. That honestly wasn't too bad and I got that done in one sitting.
The piece was stitched on 30 count Weeks Dye Works linen in Tiger Eye - gorgeous. But after all the pulling and frogging - the fabric looked fuzzy and gappy. So I decided to give it a bath.... Yeah, great idea. First time I try to wash something the dye runs like a mo-fo. The water turned immediately orange. Just one more F-up to this pattern.
Bad news, the dye ran and turned my bright vibrant colours to a muted version of itself. Good news, the piece dyed equally so it doesn't really look like anything went wrong. It looks more anitqued version of Nora's vision. I am horribly disappointed to lose the bright vibrant coloured effect of this pattern, but the end result is still quite stunning.
Without further ado, here is my Rhythm.
The pattern called for Mill Hill butterflies - gorgeous - expensive. These little fellas were $.50 a piece and the go great, in my opinion with the pattern.
Very pretty beads! But ready for this - the damage - below is a picture of 162 next to the 162 in the piece after the "dye" job - or antiquing as I like to call it. Huge difference eh?
But all in all....
.... she is a beautiful addition to my Mirabilia family. Even though she really gave me a hard time!
Now that I have her in my back pocket it made way for me to start the pattern I have been longing to have since I got back into stitching - Red Lady Pirate! I can't wait to share her with you.
I love her! You did a wonderful job :) While I liked Rhythm I never thought it was one of those must stitch ones for me. After seeing yours, I MUST STITCH HER! :)
ReplyDeleteI love the colors in this one and I am considering using it in my rr (I am having a terrible time deciding on the designs because I set the bar too high with the topiary garden muses). I do love your stitching on it and I can't tell that there is a single thing wrong with the fabric or the stitching.
ReplyDeleteShe looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteDespite all the grief she gave you she is stunning.
ReplyDeleteDespite all your little troubles, you did a fantastic job! She looks really pretty & I love the charms you've added. Well done, Mii xx
ReplyDeleteI didn't notice anything wrong with the finished piece until I saw the side-by-side comparison. Too bad you had to deal with the "running" issue. In any event, the finished product still looks fantastic. I have my mind set on completing the Muse collection when my current project, January's Garnet Fairy, is completed.
ReplyDeleteIf you get a minute, check out my blog to see what I've been up to.