Emerald Mermaid

This piece, Emerald Mermaid, was designed by Nora Corbett of Mirabilia. It was started on April 5th, 2005 and finished January 17th, 2006 (interrupted by other projects). The total stitching time is unknown, as this was the last piece I started before I decided to keep track of times.

This piece was stitched two-over-two with DMC cotton embroidery floss, Kreinik metallic braid, and Mill Hill glass seed beads on Wichelt Imports 32-count Stony Point linen. The finished size is approximately 14" by 8.5".

This was the first piece I stitched on linen, and I fell in love with high-count fabrics. Though I had to mark out gridlines in thread to help with the counting, the stitching was a joy (even the metallic, of which there was not much). This was also the first time since some Mill Hill kits I'd done 10 years ago, that I had stitched with beads; it was not hard and provided a lovely effect.

The back side of this piece can be seen here.

Of everything I've stitched so far, I consider this piece my crowning glory and absolute favorite. I did have it professionally framed and gave it to my parents (more info here).