Dutch Beauty has returned to me, and I am incredibly happy with her. When I crawled into bed last night, I sat for quite a while just looking up at it and marveling that such a young girl (by today's standards) would have stitched something so astounding. Was it expected of her to do so? Did she start out with the intentions of creating something this large, or did she simply have trouble finding a stopping point? Could she not settle on just one pattern, but wanted to incorporate many? (Yes, they had cross stitch patterns back then!) I'm sure if she knew I copied her masterpiece, she would laugh and say, "Oh, that old thing?" ;)
The barrel distortion of my lens made the frame look bowed in the above photo, but in real life it is not! Thank you, Julie, at Reflections Framing and Stitching for choosing such a gorgeous moulding for it! (Maryann and Julie and Connie are all such sweet ladies. and I'm thrilled that we once again have a lovely cross stitch shop here.)
This sampler is a mirrored pattern, which made the work a bit tedious at times. But in the end, it was worth all of the exasperated sighs and exclamations of, "This again?"
Believe it or not, my bed is king-sized. The way everything fits so snugly into the photo gives it the appearance of being much smaller than it is, but trust me, it's pretty overwhelming when I walk into my bedroom!
I cannot believe it's finished! And now I want to stitch my guts out. :)
And guess what else I got back this week!
Thank you to Jill Rensel for such a lovely job on my (The Primitive Needle) A&E! I loved the original color scheme Lisa designed it in, and when I saw the way Shepherd's Bush had changed the colors, I couldn't believe it was the same sampler! Tina and Teri did a beautiful conversion to their signature soft palette, and as much as I wanted to use it, I knew that it wouldn't quite fit in with this particular wall of color. So I opted for keeping the majority of the primitive colors Lisa used, while switching out a few to more vibrant hues in an effort to keep up with the other Edens. (To the left is Frances Eden, and underneath is Paradise Lost.)(Would you believe that it just now occurred to me that Frances Eden's last name is Eden? Am I the only one who didn't notice the coincidence?)
I'm off to do a little weeding (Mom, quit snickering... okay, a lot of weeding!), and then perhaps take a walk around the lake. But when I get back, I do believe I'll stitch until I can stand it no more. :)
What beautiful framing for your beautiful stitching - congrats!
Posted by: Giovanna | June 06, 2012 at 08:04 AM
Gorgeous!
Posted by: Laurie in Iowa | June 06, 2012 at 08:06 AM
GORGEOUS!!!! I cannot wait to see it in person! Omg..and your A&E is wonderful, too! I love them all, especially with your new walls. LLLLLY
Posted by: Littlebit | June 06, 2012 at 08:16 AM
Just gorgeous, Paulette!!! I'm in awe.
Linda
Posted by: Linda | June 06, 2012 at 08:46 AM
My dear God as beautiful works! It is exceptional to see such beauty! I am under the spell points, but also executives who are beautiful!! Your fan from FRANCE
Posted by: ♥ marylin ♥ | June 06, 2012 at 09:10 AM
WOW!!! It is great!!! Hello from Russia! Nika
Posted by: Nika | June 06, 2012 at 09:25 AM
Gorgeous gorgeous!! Wow! That's a king sized bed?! Wow, DB is a big girl! lol! Love seeing your A&Es too. Love the frame Jill used on your A&E.
Posted by: Margaret | June 06, 2012 at 10:50 AM
WOW! Dutch Beauty is a beauty. I would be spending lots of time in the bedroom just looking at her. What an accomplishment!
Your other finishes and framed pieces are also lovely.
Yes, each time I finish something, I also want to start something else
Posted by: Betty | June 06, 2012 at 11:02 AM
Wow, Paulette! It is stunning! Beautiful stitching and the frame really is perfect for it. Seriously, I'm in awe!
Your SB A&E is beautiful, too, and has another great frame.
So, what next?
Posted by: Dona | June 06, 2012 at 03:02 PM
Stunning!!
Tanya
Posted by: Tanya | June 06, 2012 at 03:17 PM
What an amazing piece! Simply stunning!
Posted by: Elizabeth | June 06, 2012 at 04:08 PM
C'est géant, c'est magnifique !
Posted by: Le rat des fils | June 06, 2012 at 04:28 PM
Dutch Beauty is just stunning! What an accomplishment!
I love how you added just touches of colour to Lisa's A+E!
Posted by: Melissa | June 06, 2012 at 04:49 PM
Beautiful -- -all of them are absolutely beautiful. I bet you are right about the original stitcher -- I bet she'd point out every spot she did "wrong."
I'm curious -- just how long do you have to stitch to reach the point of "standing it no more?" lol
Posted by: Ruth | June 06, 2012 at 05:04 PM
I'm from Holland but I've never seen this before. its beautiful !!
Posted by: Carin | June 06, 2012 at 05:35 PM
What a beautiful piece! Lucky you....
Posted by: karen thomas | June 06, 2012 at 08:36 PM
So, so pretty!!!!! Love them both :-).
Posted by: Katrina | June 07, 2012 at 07:30 AM
Oh Paulette, Dutch Beauty is out of this world beautiful !!!!!! I love it and the frame is just so perfect for it. Thanks for showing it to us. I love all your other framings too.
Posted by: Natalia Canaday | June 07, 2012 at 10:19 AM
Dutch Beauty is absolutely breathtaking and it looks beautiful in your room...
Posted by: Barbara Sturtz | June 07, 2012 at 11:32 AM
Dutch Beauty is ginormous! That was a "Butt Load" (technical stitching term) of stitching. I love the flag peacock.
Posted by: claudia | June 07, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Breathtaking, Paulette. You have so many gifts, it's no wonder you have little time for 'weeding'. ;) Cathryn
Posted by: Cathryn | June 08, 2012 at 09:39 AM
Dutch Beauty is amazing Paulette!! I,too am overwhelmed by what these young girls could accomplish. They've done a beautiful job on the framing. I had no idea that it was as large as it is! Gorgeous!!!
Lovely work on your A&E as well!
Posted by: Lynn Jones | June 08, 2012 at 06:59 PM
Your Dutch Beauty is wicked cool. The A&E wall must be looking fabulous too.
Posted by: Marsha Kruze | June 08, 2012 at 07:57 PM
Amazing Paulette!! It is such a stunning sampler, and the moulding is just perfect. What a masterpiece.
I also just love your A&E, so pretty, and it holds its own quite well with the other two.
Posted by: Sylvia | June 11, 2012 at 12:23 AM
Did you stitch Dutch Beauty in DMC? Or pick other fibers? It's lovely!
Posted by: Erin D. | June 12, 2012 at 09:52 PM