Tuesday, February 22, 2011

THE PRINCESS MERMAID

 Both my folks stitch - my mom stitches samplers and seasonals and my dad stitches awesome things - not usually samplers but he did do the beautiful Rachel Hyde for me a couple of years ago.  He enjoys stitching Mirabilia designs and my mom and I love that he loves stitching them.  We have quite a collection of them hanging in our homes.  The last one he did for me was Bluebeards Princess Mermaid and I have so many of them framed - I decided I wanted this one made into a pillow.  I had a very specific idea about what I wanted for this pillow - I did not want a glitzy overwhelming trim or fabric - I wanted something simple but elegant that would leave the Princess as the center attraction.  I debated about sending her to california to Marlene's and I talked to several other finishers about her.  One woman even refused to take it saying that Mirabilia's needed to be framed.  I tried a new finisher here in Florida.
The finishing as far as fabric choice, trim choice and workmanship is great - however I was horrified to see that she practically cut off the top and bottom motifs on this piece.  EGADS - wouldn't you think a professional finisher would not do something like this??????????  Plus it is a 14" pillow and I think a 16" would have been much better - it looks so small on my sofa - sad shame to have this lovely piece so poorly finished - I am sorely disappointed - oh and just so you don't think I properly communicated my wishes - NOT - I sent at least 3 very specific emails saying exactly what I wanted and truth be told - this is a 2nd attempt - she had finished as a box pillow and framed out the mermaid in fabric which I specifically told her I DID NOT WANT !!!!!!!!!!!  Ok - enough with the complaining - I guess my point is - no matter how much info you give someone about what "you" want - problems can still arise.

Lot's of stash has been purchased lately - Nothing from market has arrived yet and I am trying to be good - really I am.  I made another trip to Mt Dora to visit A Stitchers Dream this past Saturday and took a class on basic hardanger by Victorias Sampler.  the shop owner is quite the hardanger expert and a big fan of Thea's designs.  I was a complete failure - had to pull out everything I put in and start over - by that time - we had already taken a luxurious two hour lunch at the Garden Gate tearoom and all I wanted to do was SHOP!  So I'll restart that class piece another time (maybe LOL)

Here is some photos (not all) of a few things that I have gotten lately.  I was so thrilled when I saw on Shakespeares Peddler newsletter that she was stocking Elizabeth Savilles sampler by**** corrected from Fingerwork to Dames of the Needle.  I love Terri's blog face showing this lovely sampler.  Terri was kind enough to share her conversion with me but being the silk snob that I am - I asked Theresa to convert it to silks for me - Here is her conversion which is Gloriana silk floss and Gloriana Florimell - my new favorite overdyed silk - gorgeous huh?
Under the silk is Sugar and Spice linen from Australia in Gravestone - I probably won't use that color for Elizabeth but it was part of the stash haul.

Next is Mary Hannah Gipson from SANQ in the called for threads - the linen I chose I had never seen before - it was WDW Cocoa in 30ct - I would have preferred 35ct but the shop was low on linen.
These little Button Up Birdie ornament charts are soooo darling - I could not resist picking up what had been released so far - I think all in all there will be 12 of them.  The linen is WDW Mocha in 35ct and I'm sure I will use the GAST or whatever they called for.  I did not buy the embellishment pack - I thought it was expensive for what you got.

This is some lucious yarn - too bad you can't see the true color - it is MadelineTosh Pashmina for all you knitters out there. I have become a big fan of MT yarns - this is Norway Spruce and will be a cardi one day. I'm dying to start it but need to do a gauge swatch and so forth.





Hope to be back to visit blogland soon.  thanks for reading and following and commenting - I love to hear from you.

17 comments:

Sandy said...

What a shame that your dad's beautiful work is nearly cut off. I have had finishers do poor quality work for me before, so I try to only do projects that I can finish myself. You'd think that a professional would do better.

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

I'm so sorry you had a poor seamstress finish your pillow. You are right, she needed to be the center of attraction with nothing distracting from her and sadly now she just looks squeezed into a box. Did she not communicate with you prior to cutting, or sewing giving your choices for backing fabric and trims? If not, that is poor business ethic on her part. I wonder if there would be a way to salvage it by getting some material that is very close to the linen color so that it can be made bigger? Surely she left enough seam allowance that it could be dismantled and then made larger....sad indeed.

On a happier note, Your stash is lovely and I look forward to seeing it displayed on your lovely blog :) Take good care!

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

I would be very unhappy had someone cut off stitching like was done on your pillow. She should have known better and I can see why you're upset - it is still pretty, though!

Love your ES threads and will really enjoy watching your progress on her.

All the stash you got is wonderful - the yarn looks luscious!

Margaret said...

I'm so sorry about the mess-up on the pillow. :( How awful! It's such a beautiful piece, it deserves a proper finishing job. I hope that the pillow is acceptable -- it is so gorgeous. Love your new stash -- and the yarn looks so yummy!

Laurie in Iowa said...

How disappointing to be unhappy with the finishing of your pillow. It's such a beautiful piece and it's a shame it wasn't handled better.
Oh... what lovely new stash you've got for yourself. I hope that takes a bit of the sting out of the poor finishing work.

krayolakris said...

So sorry that the pillow turned out that way. The work is still stunning. Perhaps another finisher could rework?

Rugs and Pugs said...

Mel ~
Your Dad does amazing work. Too bad the finisher didn't. How sad!
With all your stash (and I bet we've only ever seen a smidgen of it), you'd better live to be at least a hundred and that's only if you stop buying...lol!
Hugs :)
Lauren

Nancy said...

Your Dad is an amazing stitcher! How awful that the finisher didn't listen to your wants. I'm sure this had a lot of sentimental value to you too since your Dad stitched it.

You have some beautiful recent purchases! The colors of the silk threads are gorgeous. Enjoy!

Kim said...

Mmmmm! Pashmina! LOVE! I've just pet it so far..no knitting of it...but it's so yum! Love what you've got in store for stitching! :o) Such a shame about the finishing. I'd be ticked.

Cari said...

Oh Mel...I'm so sorry about your lovely stitch....she's so beautiful to be handled so poorly. Just try to enjoy the stitch!! I'm looking forward to your ES stitch...I've always loved Terri's. And the yarn.....yummmmmy!! Hugs

Alice said...

It is so cool that your dad stitches! Very very cool that he stitches so beautifully, for you!
I'm sorry your finishing didn't turn out the way you wanted. Great stash haul!

Loraine said...

Hi sweet Mel,
Oh my goodness! I can't believe how sad that story is. Such beautiful work that your dad does. I think you should send it to Vonna. I'm sure with her sewing experience she could make it better than it is now. The worst part is you probably still had to pay her!
You really have my sympathies!
Your stash is fabulous. I love the silk conversion for the one that Terri did. The colors are just beautiful.
Hope you have a better week. Hugs to you friend!

Michelle said...

How disappointing about the finishing on your pillow! If you think it can be salvaged, I would recommend sending it to Vonna. It's so sad when a piece gets so much work put into it only to have a finisher do work you're unhappy with. I too am in love with Terri's Elizabeth Savilles. Would you be able to share the conversion to the silks? Lots of lovely stash!!

Isabelle said...

Oh !!My God, your Dad is an amazing stitcher and how I am so sorry for your unhappy finishing : this mermaid was so gorgeous ! Anyway, believe me, your pillow is beautiful :-))
Fortunately, you have a nice moment with your lovely stash and your yarn looks so luscious !!
I wish you a nice and quiet day,
Isa

Katrina said...

Gorgeous stash!!!! Love Theresa's conversion for Elizabeth :-).

That's terrible about the pillow! I hate that for you. I send all my finishing to Deb at Artistic Needle, it's always wonderful. The pillow is pretty. You could get a bit bigger pillow to set behind it?

Siobhán said...

I was all set to say how gorgeous that pillow is--and it is--but when you pointed out how close the motifs are to being cut off-yikes. It is still incredibly gorgeous, but what a ditzy finisher to have done that!! I can imagine how sick you are over it, but it is still very pretty.

Nice new stash!

Susan said...

I'm with Siobbhan. I was ready to comment on how great the pillow is and didn't notice how close the stitching was to the seams. But I know how it is to be disappointed in finishing and I'm sorry that happened to your Dad's piece.

Great stash!!