Framing finishes and a new start!

I never took a picture of this one in the frame.  This is A Paris Kiss by Vervaco, a kit I bought from The Stitchery catalog years ago.  It was framed by my friend who works at a framing shop, using a frame that I already had and she cut the mats and mounted it for me.  Do you see how the corners are rounded at the top?

A Paris Kiss - framed!

I just got this one back from her, too!  It is the free Hummingbird design by Teresa Wentzler.  I bought this square gold frame at a thrift store for $4.  She cut the mats and mounted it for only $5.

Hummingbird - framed!

Here is another one that she framed for me.  The frame is actually silver metal, but it looks black in this picture.  I love the way she cut the mats!  This is a free design from a French website, Battybat.

Harley-Davidson logo - framed!

My new start is a freebie from Kissy-Cross, Rudolph Wreath.  It will be about 4.5" square on 20 ct Valerie fabric, stitched 2 over 1.  Can you see the gold sparkly thread in the fabric?

Rudolph Wreath

 

One of these days I'm going to get all my little finishes together and actually make them into ornaments using Vonna's tutorials.  Wish me luck!

A Paris Kiss - big birthday smile!

She loved her birthday present! Happy birthday, Christina!

A Paris Kiss - framed!

Ooohhh, I'm so happy with how this turned out, exactly what I wanted! I will give it to my daughter for her birthday when she gets home from work. She is 23 today!

Beth (the framer) suggested rounding the top corners of the mat to match the picture. I used a frame and glass from an old Home Interiors picture that I had. What a bargain!

A Paris Kiss - finished!

Hurray, hurray! I finished it with two days to spare! I'm taking it to the framer tonight. Yippee! I'm so relieved! No more brown sepia colors for awhile. I want color!  The first pic above is from my cell phone, and the second one is from the scanner.  I also have a picture from my camera, but I have a problem with transferring the pics from the camera to the computer.

"A Paris Kiss"
Vervaco
Started 1/6/2011, Finished 8/17/2011

I bought this kit from The Stitchery catalog. It was imported from Belgium. This was my first time stitching on linen (28 ct stitched over 2) and I loved it!

It was based on this painting by Migdalia Arellano:

I'm so glad that you followed me along in my progress on this! Now my next deadline is August 31, my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. I am about one-third done with their cross stitch gift. I am also stitching squares for quilts for World of Charity Stitching. Those pretty little items cheer me up because they are quick to do and I know they will make someone happy!

A Paris Kiss update #12

The woman is all finished! Now all that is left to stitch is the railing. I would have had this done already, but my daughter was home all weekend, so I was working on the 50th anniversary gift and also a new start for WOCS (World of Charity Stitching).

I went to the framer on Friday (a friend of the family) and chose the mats and provided my own frame and glass from an old Home Interiors picture that I had. It looks like this will be my last update, and the next pic you see will be a FINISH, then the framed piece.

Happy Stitching!

A Paris Kiss update #11

Hurray! I finished the woman's dress! Now the only part left to do is her side, her arm, and the railing. I included photos with and without flash. My mom's neighbor works in a framing shop, so maybe I can bring it to her this weekend so we can choose a mat and frame. That's the plan!

I included a pic of the chart, all marked up with my pink highlighter. I didn't even make a working copy. I'm so glad I bought this kit when I had the chance, because it's hard to find now.

Happy Stitching!

A Paris Kiss update #10

I stitched about 6 hours today and just got part of her dress done. Oh boy, this is tedious! I hope my work week is pretty slow so I will have more time to stitch. Forget about housework until this is done!

A Paris Kiss update #9

My deadline is coming up in two weeks, so I hope to have it done by next week so I can get it framed. I'm going to tell my daughter to reenact this pose someday and send me a photo!

A Paris Kiss update #8

Look who's finally kissing! The woman's face is done, and I'll be stitching her hair next. I think I've passed the halfway point. I'm really happy with how it looks!

A Paris Kiss update #7

I'm finally making some good progress! I'm almost done stitching the man, just a little bit in the corner and his hand. Then I'm going back to the top to stitch the woman's head.

You can also see one of the Q-Snap huggies that I bought from Christine. It has cats all over it and is very comfortable to hold. I'm using these on all my projects now!

A Paris Kiss update #6

After a month, I finally picked this up and stitched for several hours today. It doesn't look like much since my last update, but the man's jacket is about 2 inches longer. When I finally get to the bottom, I will start stitching the woman's face so we can see them kissing!

A Paris Kiss update #5

I haven't shared this romantic Frenchman for awhile. The stitching is creeping slowly along!

A Paris Kiss update #4

Just a little more done on the man's clothes since last week. I always hurry and hide this as soon as my daughter comes home from work. She knows I'm stitching something for her birthday, but wants it to be a complete surprise!

A Paris Kiss update #3

I've been stitching the man's clothes. There is so much brown, brown, brown. I think this weekend I will work on something more colorful from the Crazy January Challenge. After all, my daughter's birthday isn't until August, so I think I'm making OK progress on this one. I love how realistic it looks!

A Paris Kiss update #2

The romantic mystery man has a face now! I'm really having a great time stitching on this project. Now I have to decide whether to stitch on his body or start on the woman's face instead.
Thanks for watching this piece come to life!

A Paris Kiss update #1

This is my first experience stitching on 28 ct linen over 2.  I love how easily the needle and floss slide right through!  This is a gift for my daughter, which I don't want her to see until it is finished, so when she is home, I switch over to the Hen on Nest for my mom or the Christmas ornaments.  It has some faint printed background of the Eiffel Tower.  The colors are all in brown and sepia tones.  I am almost done stitching the man's hair.  He is leaning down to kiss a woman.

Day #4 - A Paris Kiss

I got a little behind in the Challenge after I got my cast off, but I was finally able to stitch yesterday.  My next project is "A Paris Kiss" as a gift for my daughter.  She has been to Paris twice and her room is decorated with photos and figurines of the Eiffel Tower.  Hopefully, the next time she goes to Paris, she'll get a kiss just like this!

This is the first time I have stitched on 28-ct linen, stitched over 2 threads, instead of the usual 14-ct Aida.  I am being very careful; no frogging for me!  This is part of the man's head.  The finished size will be 11" x 15".