Completed Cross Stitch - Plaid Bucilla's 'So Girly!' series "Forever Friends"

This finished piece is from a kit complete with stitching essentials (micro scissors, 3 needles, a threader and floss organizer - bonus!!).

The finished size is 4" x 7.75" on 14-count Aida cloth (100% cotton).  The original white packaged cloth was hand-dyed by me with my handy dandy RIT dye:  denim.  I ever so lightly bleached out the centre to give it a little brightness in the middle to highlight the subject.  I made the mistake of snapping a Q-Snap frame onto the freshly dyed and iron-dried cloth too quickly...I probably should have waited a day for proper drying.

A girl and her dog...it is a little hard to pinpoint and articulate the special association from the day-to-day interactions that form those bonds; however, if you are an animal lover and your pet has either feathers, scales, chitin or fur, you probably already have experienced that special unspoken connection for yourself. 

But getting back to cross stitch though I noticed that there are few and far between pictures of a girl and her dog with the exception of a female socialite pictured with a pampered pooch here and there.  I know that typically females are associated with cats and males with dogs but hey, what's in a pet stereotype right?

The latest audiobooks that I covered recently (while I was baking and a few extensive walks with my dogs) have been Rick Riordan's "The Lightning Thief", "Sea of Monsters", John Grisham's "The Testament" and what really fueled me during this project was watching AMC's "Breaking Bad" series.  I can see why that show is getting nearly perfect reviews but it is extremely graphic and not for everyone so if you are light-hearted and like gentler programs, you may want to bypass this series.

Completed Cross Stitch - Dimensions' "Butterfly Vignette" - The Gold Collection - Petites

 

 

 

Huzzah huzzah!  Finally finished with a frame now!  It is one thing to finish your cross stitch but to add the final touches of professional framing is such a great feeling of completion and goal reaching.  For those of you who frame or use another end result for your work, you know what I mean.  It is that restful, relaxing feeling of starting something and seeing it through to the end product.

I am so happy with how this looks.  Michael's did a fantastic job and I got this back in less than two weeks.  You know it is so true when you visualize your goal you will reach it sooner than you think!  I completely visualized this piece finished, framed and hung on the wall when I made the decision to restart this abandoned WIP and wanted it done....and here it is folks :0)

Here is a list of the audiobooks that I listened to during this piece: John Grisham's "The Partner", Dan Brown's "Inferno", Cornelia Funke's "Inkheart", J. M. Barrie's "Peter Pan"and a few other various items.