Good morning,
Remember I purchased some frames last week? Well, here's the first frame being used for my four Elemental Dragons by Dragon Dreams Inc. available as free charts here. These were all stitched on 16ct Nebula from The Crafty Kitten as part of Debbie's Crazy January/February 2015 Challenge. I absolutely love these designs and can't believe I waited so long to frame them.
As a reminder, these are the four Dragons of Air, Water, Earth and Fire:
This is the frame I ordered:
Here they are individually mounted:
And this is how they all look together:
I used my usual internet framing service, ezeframe.co.uk, ordering a dark pink top mount, dark grey bottom mount and dark grey frame. The glazing should be anti-reflective acrylic but I received acrylic in error and therefore had a lot of problems taking decent photographs! With hindsight I should have allowed room for more of the lovely fabric to show instead of the mounts being so close to the stitching, but nevermind. Anyway, too much more fabric and the dragons would have looked lost.
I really wanted blue for the bottom mount but, as you can imagine, blue looked awful against the greeny-brown earth and orangey-red fire colours. I then thought about having four different colour bottom mounts to coordinate with each dragon but couldn't be bothered with the detailed measuring! So I finally opted for a dark grey mount as it is the only colour consistent across all four dragons.
What do you think? I'm really pleased with how it's all come together - which is much better in real life than the photograph. Now to hang it with my menagerie of other stitching.
I'll post about the other frames I bought over the next few days. One at a time is enough, especially when I waffle on so much!
Take care everyone,
Rachel x
Why Ten Hour Stitcher? Because I photograph and blog about the progress on my larger projects after each ten hours of stitching. Smaller projects are blogged about on an ad-hoc or end-of-month basis.
Showing posts with label Dragon Dreams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dragon Dreams. Show all posts
Sunday, 13 December 2015
Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Box of Shame Finishes - My Treasure and Playful Puss 1 and 2
Hello all!
Thank you for all of your lovely comments regarding my finishing and framing of Polar Bears. It's nice to know I've done a good job! Now, how about these.....
I have a confession to make - whilst I was visiting the ezeframe.co.uk website the other day to purchase a frame for Polar Bears, I just happened to design two more frames which "accidentally slipped" into my basket. Well, it wasn't worth just ordering one frame was it?
First up was My Treasure, a free chart from Dragon Dreams Inc which was my 27th February Challenge piece. Although only small (3.75" x 3.75") I wanted him out and framed, not scrap-stitched. I had green mounts and a gold frame in mind and found exactly what I was looking for. So my dragon now looks like this:
The frame is 15mm Gold Foil with mounts of Damascus Green (top) and Mid-Green (bottom).
Second up were the first two Playful Puss designs by Lucie Heaton, stitched as the 12th and 30th January Challenge pieces. I knew these were going to be more difficult to frame as I wanted fun mounts to match the fun designs. I dabbled with green, lilac, pink and yellow mounts until satisfied with this combination. As long as you like pink I think this really works:
The frame is 13mm Dark Grey Stain with mounts of Pink and Bright Green.
The other two spaces will remain empty as a reminder that I need to stitch numbers 3 and 4 in the set. Soon.
That's it for framing. Only 18 more pieces in my Box of Shame (at the moment) to frame, scrap-stitch or make into ornaments!
Talking of my "Box of Shame" Tina is adamant that it should be renamed and I sort of agree. I need a phrase that reflects I am shameful I have not "finished" the finishes but also proud that I loving stitched each piece. I've thought of the obvious "Treasure Chest" or "Treasure Trove" but they're not quite right. Any other suggestions would be gratefully received.
Happy stitching everyone!
Rachel x
Thank you for all of your lovely comments regarding my finishing and framing of Polar Bears. It's nice to know I've done a good job! Now, how about these.....
I have a confession to make - whilst I was visiting the ezeframe.co.uk website the other day to purchase a frame for Polar Bears, I just happened to design two more frames which "accidentally slipped" into my basket. Well, it wasn't worth just ordering one frame was it?
First up was My Treasure, a free chart from Dragon Dreams Inc which was my 27th February Challenge piece. Although only small (3.75" x 3.75") I wanted him out and framed, not scrap-stitched. I had green mounts and a gold frame in mind and found exactly what I was looking for. So my dragon now looks like this:
The frame is 15mm Gold Foil with mounts of Damascus Green (top) and Mid-Green (bottom).
Second up were the first two Playful Puss designs by Lucie Heaton, stitched as the 12th and 30th January Challenge pieces. I knew these were going to be more difficult to frame as I wanted fun mounts to match the fun designs. I dabbled with green, lilac, pink and yellow mounts until satisfied with this combination. As long as you like pink I think this really works:
The other two spaces will remain empty as a reminder that I need to stitch numbers 3 and 4 in the set. Soon.
That's it for framing. Only 18 more pieces in my Box of Shame (at the moment) to frame, scrap-stitch or make into ornaments!
Talking of my "Box of Shame" Tina is adamant that it should be renamed and I sort of agree. I need a phrase that reflects I am shameful I have not "finished" the finishes but also proud that I loving stitched each piece. I've thought of the obvious "Treasure Chest" or "Treasure Trove" but they're not quite right. Any other suggestions would be gratefully received.
Happy stitching everyone!
Rachel x
Tuesday, 19 May 2015
Challenge Finish 10
Hello Friends!
I apologise for being absent from blogger for a while. Yet again I'm behind on reading and commenting on blogs but I'm hoping to catch up this week.
In the meantime I have another totally unplanned Challenge finish for you.
This is My Treasure from 27th February. I was actually looking for a different WIP when this one caught my eye. I only had the non-green colours and backstitching left to do so thought I might as well try to complete it. Here it is with all the boring details:
I have to admit I did not really enjoy stitching the Kreinik, although the result does look good. I think Kreinik, like most metallics, is one of those threads you either love or hate. In my case, hate!
Behind the scenes I'm still plodding on with other Challenge pieces. Very slowly my two DSDUCJFC progress bars are being filled in. Time-wise I'm almost 1/4 of the way through January's projects and just over 1/8 through February's. I don't know whether to cheer at the amount done or figuratively cry at the amount remaining!! The former I think as speed was never the most important consideration in this Challenge.
10/59 Challenge pieces down, 49 to go!
TTFN
Rachel x
I apologise for being absent from blogger for a while. Yet again I'm behind on reading and commenting on blogs but I'm hoping to catch up this week.
In the meantime I have another totally unplanned Challenge finish for you.
This is My Treasure from 27th February. I was actually looking for a different WIP when this one caught my eye. I only had the non-green colours and backstitching left to do so thought I might as well try to complete it. Here it is with all the boring details:
My Treasure
Designed by Jennifer Aikman-Smith as a free design from Dragon Dreams Inc,
Stitched on 16ct Gold Lurex Aida by DMC 2 over 1
Stitch count 60 wide by 60 high
Started - 27th February 2015
Finished - 18th May 2015
Started - 27th February 2015
Finished - 18th May 2015
Total stitching time - 20 hours 40 minutes
I have to admit I did not really enjoy stitching the Kreinik, although the result does look good. I think Kreinik, like most metallics, is one of those threads you either love or hate. In my case, hate!
Behind the scenes I'm still plodding on with other Challenge pieces. Very slowly my two DSDUCJFC progress bars are being filled in. Time-wise I'm almost 1/4 of the way through January's projects and just over 1/8 through February's. I don't know whether to cheer at the amount done or figuratively cry at the amount remaining!! The former I think as speed was never the most important consideration in this Challenge.
10/59 Challenge pieces down, 49 to go!
TTFN
Rachel x
Labels:
Completed Project,
Dragon Dreams,
DSDUCJFC 2015,
My Treasure
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
March Progress on DSDUCJFC 2015 Pieces
Good morning everybody!
Although I'm posting my Challenge finishes as they happen, I thought I would also do an end-of-month posting about progress made on other Challenge pieces just to show (1) what I am working on and (2) that they are not being neglected.
So on top of finishing 6 Challenge pieces in March I also made the following progress:
My original plan for the Challenge pieces was to work on one at a time until completed. This sort of worked for the first few as they were small and I was desperate to finish them.
Then I changed my plan to work on one focus piece but stitch on others as my mood took me. That way I would definitely be heading towards one finish whilst working on others.
But now I've decided to just stitch what I want when I want! If that means continuing with a piece until it's finished that's fine. If it means stitching for a bit then moving on that's fine too. I want to enjoy stitching these pieces, not feel bogged down or in a rush to complete them.
With so many Challenge pieces to choose from, goodness knows which ones will make an appearance in April. Will they be the same ones? Will they be different? Or will there be a mixture of both? Watch this space to find out!
Love and hugs
Rachel x
Although I'm posting my Challenge finishes as they happen, I thought I would also do an end-of-month posting about progress made on other Challenge pieces just to show (1) what I am working on and (2) that they are not being neglected.
So on top of finishing 6 Challenge pieces in March I also made the following progress:
continued down and backstitched the petals
and the mouse on the right has a tail!
and the mouse on the right has a tail!
Dreaming of Dolphins from 7th January
finished the first dolphin
absolutely adore this piece!
absolutely adore this piece!
finished the umbrella hood
Cookie and Cream from 16th January
stitched some of Cream and backstitched the window
can't say I've ever seen a cat quite that yellow!
stitched some of Cream and backstitched the window
can't say I've ever seen a cat quite that yellow!
Lickle Ted Flower Power from 18th January
finished the flower (mostly) and started Lickle Ted's head
finished the owl's head as far down as his scarf
finished stitching the dragon
My original plan for the Challenge pieces was to work on one at a time until completed. This sort of worked for the first few as they were small and I was desperate to finish them.
Then I changed my plan to work on one focus piece but stitch on others as my mood took me. That way I would definitely be heading towards one finish whilst working on others.
But now I've decided to just stitch what I want when I want! If that means continuing with a piece until it's finished that's fine. If it means stitching for a bit then moving on that's fine too. I want to enjoy stitching these pieces, not feel bogged down or in a rush to complete them.
With so many Challenge pieces to choose from, goodness knows which ones will make an appearance in April. Will they be the same ones? Will they be different? Or will there be a mixture of both? Watch this space to find out!
Love and hugs
Rachel x
Tuesday, 24 March 2015
Challenge Finishes 5 and 6
Good morning!
I have another two Challenge finishes to proudly show you!
Not being content with finishing the first two dragons in this series, out came Dragon of Earth from 10th January. He didn't call to me as much as the previous two, mainly because of his drab dark colours, but I still felt the urge to finish him and am pleased with the result.
Finished - 22nd March 2015
And not wanting to be left out, Dragon of Air from 3rd January pleaded with me to complete him too. Well, why not? I had intended to use a blending filament in the clouds but decided against it as none of the other dragons had any sparkle. I think I made the right choice.
Finished - 24th March 2015
Once again, the recommended Kreinik was substituted for normal DMC on both dragons and I used a different blue for the darker parts of Dragon of Air's tummy.
I've got a few ideas about how I would like to frame the four Elemental Dragons, with costs ranging from £4 to £30. But until I look into them further these two finishes will join their siblings in my box of shame.
6/59 Challenge pieces down, 53 to go, although I think these will be my last Challenge finishes for a while.
Love and hugs,
Rachel x
I have another two Challenge finishes to proudly show you!
Not being content with finishing the first two dragons in this series, out came Dragon of Earth from 10th January. He didn't call to me as much as the previous two, mainly because of his drab dark colours, but I still felt the urge to finish him and am pleased with the result.
Dragon of Earth
Free chart from Dragon Dreams Inc.
Stitch count 38 wide by 69 high
Stitched on 16ct Nebula hand-dyed Aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1
Started - 10th January 2015Finished - 22nd March 2015
Total stitching time - 14 hours 15 minutes
And not wanting to be left out, Dragon of Air from 3rd January pleaded with me to complete him too. Well, why not? I had intended to use a blending filament in the clouds but decided against it as none of the other dragons had any sparkle. I think I made the right choice.
Dragon of Air
Free chart from Dragon Dreams Inc.
Stitch count 37 wide by 68 high
Stitched on 16ct Nebula hand-dyed Aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1
Started - 3rd January 2015Finished - 24th March 2015
Total stitching time - 11 hours
Once again, the recommended Kreinik was substituted for normal DMC on both dragons and I used a different blue for the darker parts of Dragon of Air's tummy.
I've got a few ideas about how I would like to frame the four Elemental Dragons, with costs ranging from £4 to £30. But until I look into them further these two finishes will join their siblings in my box of shame.
6/59 Challenge pieces down, 53 to go, although I think these will be my last Challenge finishes for a while.
Love and hugs,
Rachel x
Thursday, 12 March 2015
Challenge Finishes 3 and 4
Hello fellow bloggers!
The blogoversary giveaway prizes have been claimed and I am glad to see so many other entrants congratulating the winners. That's how nice stitchers are. On behalf of the winners, thank you.
But..... the main reason for this posting..... I have two more Challenge finishes!
Firstly, sitting majestically on the crest of a wave is Dragon of Water from 24th January. All I had left to do were the tail, the waves and the backstitching. Once I'd picked him up I couldn't put him down so was very naughty and finished him in one stint, stitching well into the early hours. Ooops!
Finished - 4th March 2015
Secondly, Dragon of Fire from 17th January. I love his bright colours and seriously had to force myself to put him down each night instead of staying up to finish him. I might restrict the amount of sleep I have but I do need some!
Finished - 9th March 2015
On both dragons I am glad I substituted the recommended Kreinik for normal DMC. Not only do I avoid Kreinik whenever possible but I also think they look fine without any sparkle.
These two will probably sit in my box of shame until their siblings are finished which will be..... who knows when?! Then I'll decide if I am going to frame them separately or as a quartet.
4/59 Challenge pieces down, 55 to go!
Love and hugs,
Rachel x
The blogoversary giveaway prizes have been claimed and I am glad to see so many other entrants congratulating the winners. That's how nice stitchers are. On behalf of the winners, thank you.
But..... the main reason for this posting..... I have two more Challenge finishes!
Firstly, sitting majestically on the crest of a wave is Dragon of Water from 24th January. All I had left to do were the tail, the waves and the backstitching. Once I'd picked him up I couldn't put him down so was very naughty and finished him in one stint, stitching well into the early hours. Ooops!
Dragon of Water
Free chart from Dragon Dreams Inc.
Stitch count 38 wide by 69 high
Stitched on 16ct Nebula hand-dyed Aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1
Started - 24th January 2015Finished - 4th March 2015
Total stitching time - 10 hours 20 minutes
Secondly, Dragon of Fire from 17th January. I love his bright colours and seriously had to force myself to put him down each night instead of staying up to finish him. I might restrict the amount of sleep I have but I do need some!
Dragon of Fire
Free chart from Dragon Dreams Inc.
Stitch count 38 wide by 69 high
Stitched on 16ct Nebula hand-dyed Aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1
Started - 17th January 2015Finished - 9th March 2015
Total stitching time - 15 hours
On both dragons I am glad I substituted the recommended Kreinik for normal DMC. Not only do I avoid Kreinik whenever possible but I also think they look fine without any sparkle.
These two will probably sit in my box of shame until their siblings are finished which will be..... who knows when?! Then I'll decide if I am going to frame them separately or as a quartet.
4/59 Challenge pieces down, 55 to go!
Love and hugs,
Rachel x
Saturday, 28 February 2015
DSDUCJFC 2015 - Day 58
Hello dear things!
I have been waiting to stitch this chart for so long, deliberately leaving it to nearly last as an incentive to keep going. I usually substitute the recommended Kreinik for standard DMC thread but am going to use the gold and silver this time for the blingy treasure. It should go well with the fabric.
Last new start tomorrow. :(
Happy stitching
Crazy Rachel x
I have been waiting to stitch this chart for so long, deliberately leaving it to nearly last as an incentive to keep going. I usually substitute the recommended Kreinik for standard DMC thread but am going to use the gold and silver this time for the blingy treasure. It should go well with the fabric.
Free design from Dragon Dreams Inc here
Stitched on 16ct Cream aida with Gold Lurex by DMC 2 over 1Last new start tomorrow. :(
Happy stitching
Crazy Rachel x
Sunday, 25 January 2015
DUCJC 2015 - Day 24
Good morning!
Yesterday was the last of the Elemental Dragons, a set which I love and to which I will immediately return once the daily new starts come to an end. As is so often the case at weekends a Top Gear Challenges DVD went on and I had hours of pure uninterrupted stitching in the company of my son.
Stitched on 16ct Nebula hand-dyed Aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1
Us DUCJCers are now entering our final week of new starts. January has simply flown by!
Love and hugs
Rachel x
Yesterday was the last of the Elemental Dragons, a set which I love and to which I will immediately return once the daily new starts come to an end. As is so often the case at weekends a Top Gear Challenges DVD went on and I had hours of pure uninterrupted stitching in the company of my son.

Dragon of Water
Free chart from Dragon Dreams Inc.Stitched on 16ct Nebula hand-dyed Aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1
Us DUCJCers are now entering our final week of new starts. January has simply flown by!
Love and hugs
Rachel x
Sunday, 18 January 2015
DUCJC 2015 - Day 17
Hello All!
I woke up this morning to the harshest frost of the winter and a tiny flurry of snow. Pity anybody who's out in this weather camping - like my daughter! Well, her camp is called "Frost Camp" so if it was warm it would kind of defeat the object!!
These dragon charts are really addictive and my plan of sending the boys out for the day sort of worked in that they stayed indoors but left me alone to stitch for quite a long time. I made a lot of progress and for once thought I would not leave all the backstitching until last!
Stitched on 16ct Nebula hand-dyed Aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1
Love and hugs
Rachel x
I woke up this morning to the harshest frost of the winter and a tiny flurry of snow. Pity anybody who's out in this weather camping - like my daughter! Well, her camp is called "Frost Camp" so if it was warm it would kind of defeat the object!!
These dragon charts are really addictive and my plan of sending the boys out for the day sort of worked in that they stayed indoors but left me alone to stitch for quite a long time. I made a lot of progress and for once thought I would not leave all the backstitching until last!
Dragon of Fire
Free chart from Dragon Dreams Inc.Stitched on 16ct Nebula hand-dyed Aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1
Love and hugs
Rachel x
Sunday, 11 January 2015
DUCJC 2015 - Day 10
Hello everyone!
Here's day 10's start. I did sit and stitch much more than I should have done, but hubby and the children were amusing themselves so I took advantage!
Here's day 10's start. I did sit and stitch much more than I should have done, but hubby and the children were amusing themselves so I took advantage!
Dragon of Earth
Free chart from Dragon Dreams Inc.
Stitched on 16ct Nebula hand-dyed Aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1
To begin with I wasn't too keen on the earthy colours, but seeing as he's an Earth Dragon they make perfect sense so are now growing on me. His green scales should be brighter and in Kreinik but I substituted for an earthy DMC. Goodness knows what the red bits are. His finger and toe nails are in the same red so fangs perhaps?
Back tomorrow with a cutie.
Love and hugs
Rachel x
Sunday, 4 January 2015
DUCJC 2015 - Day 3
Good morning again!
I am very ashamed of myself for yesterday's progress. You see, this is the smallest of my 31 starts and I love it to pieces so I just kept on stitching... and stitching... and stitching! I did a bit early morning, more in the afternoon (whilst my son and I watched a Top Gear Challenges DVD) and even more in the evening, amounting to just over 5 hours in total. Oooops! When it comes to it I'll be stitching the tummy and swirls in DMC rather than the recommended Kreinik but adding some blending filament to the white clouds for a little bit of sparkle.
See you in the morning!
Love and hugs,
Rachel x
I am very ashamed of myself for yesterday's progress. You see, this is the smallest of my 31 starts and I love it to pieces so I just kept on stitching... and stitching... and stitching! I did a bit early morning, more in the afternoon (whilst my son and I watched a Top Gear Challenges DVD) and even more in the evening, amounting to just over 5 hours in total. Oooops! When it comes to it I'll be stitching the tummy and swirls in DMC rather than the recommended Kreinik but adding some blending filament to the white clouds for a little bit of sparkle.
Dragon of Air
Tomorrow's start will definitely not be as productive as we will be taking down the Christmas decorations and preparing for school on Monday.
Free chart from
Dragon Dreams Inc.
Stitched on 16ct Nebula hand-dyed Aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1
See you in the morning!
Love and hugs,
Rachel x
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