Sunday, September 03, 2006

Medieval Town Mandala is Finished - WHEW!


Medieval Town Mandala

Chatelaine - Martina Weber

Antique White Belfast linen

Caron Waterlilies, Thread Gatherer Silk 'n Colors, Rainbow Gallery Petite Treasure Braid, Needlepoint Inc Silks, Gloriana Silk, Thread Gatherer Silken Perle, Gloriana Luminescence, Delicas beads and Swarovski Crystals

Stitched 9/30/05 - 9/3/06


WHEW! That simply must be said. Oh my gosh, this was a labour of love. What a tremendous amount of work. After all of the many, many hours I spent beading this today, I definitely need time on the treadmill tomorrow. I feel so stagnant and crampy from sitting and finishing this off! But, I just had to finish it tonight because Monday and Tuesday are SAL commitments, and I just wouldn't have felt right having MTM sit around for two days without getting it done! So, here it is, in all of it's glory!!

I've been asked by a few what will take MTM's place now that it is finished. Well, as tempted as I am to start a new project, particularly Bay Sampler by The Workbasket, I really don't think that I should! I have some major WIPS that need some serious attention now: Mermaids of the Deep Blue, Mermaid Heaven, Angel of Love, Convent's Herbal Garden, Women of the Mayflower, Girl with Cat, 17th C Irish Garden, A Christmas Spirit, An Open Heart, Paradigm Lost, An Emblem of Love, Houses of Hawk Run Hollow, Bordeaux Sampler, Blessings Be Thine, Little Wings.... probably others too... plus Katrina and I are due to start Violet and Lace Sampler together.. and I am still plugging away at Mystery IX. That's kind of a lot of WIPS, isn't it?? Yikes. I would say my plate is still full!!!
Daylily: Little Wine Cup

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala

****R.I.P. Steve Irwin - thanks for the memories, you will be missed

48 comments:

Jenn said...

Congrats Carol! It's beautiful!! *hugs*

Running Kiwi said...

Wow! Wow! Wow! That is just gorgeous Carol, and although I know it's been hard work sometimes, sooo worth it - and I've enjoyed watching it grow each month - thanks for sharing your progress, right through to the end :)

Kim said...

Stunning! I can't wait 'till I can say that about my Taj! I will look forward to seeing what you start next

Kitty Couture said...

Congratulations!!!! It is such an amazing piece - one of your masterpieces, I should think! You really can be very proud and I bet you're among the very first ever to have finished that piece!

I guess you'd be getting more gratifications by making your other WIPs move along now - Mermaid Heaven for instance is close to being finished, isn't it? And so are others! I guess you'll be having loads of finishes before the year ends!! Wow!

Unknown said...

Wow, that is surely one extreme labour of love that has turned out absolutely gorgous. I have followed you stitching this piece for all those weeks and months, and to now see it finished is just wonderful.

And all those WIPS..... whew!! Makes me break out in a clod sweat just thinking about them.

Yes, RIP, Steve Irwin. Very sad to hear that this afternoon.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Carol! MTM is stunningly gorgeous!

And I thought my 3 wips were alot ;o)

mainely stitching said...

It's incredible, Carol! WOW!!!!!!!

Margo's Musings said...

Congratulations, Carol! What an accomplishment! Your MTM is just fabulous! You will need to frame it soon and find a place of honor to hand it - too much work to languish in your to be framed pile.

Looking forward to seeing you in Hershey! Margaret C

Melissa said...

MTM is gorgeous! Oh go on and start something new. It is a holiday you know. Bay Sampler is my to do pile too.

Concetta said...

HUGE congratulations, Carol!! I'm so excited that you've finally finished this. I've been following your progress all year, and I know how much hard work this has been. Totally worth it, though - it's stunning!

Unknown said...

Absolutely stunning Carol. I think you should put Mermaids of the deep blue, or the girl with cat in the place of MTM ;)

Sad to hear about Steve Irwin, I only just heard this morning, such a shock.

Me :) said...

It's just stunning!!

Anonymous said...

The pictures look very very good. I am CERTAIN in real life the entire piece is amazing and you can't believe you actually did it!!! What an accomplishment!!! Congratulations on an incredible feat!!!

LivnLaf said...

Carol...you are such a source of inspiration to so many of us. MTM looks spectacular. This is one that should go right to the front of the framing line...it is way too nice to leave in a closet.

Kathy said...

Oh wow Carol, that is stunning now its finally finished. Congratulations hun. Well I am about to start mine, I am doing Pompeji, hopefully I will have some pics by the end of the weekend.

Hugs xxxxxx

Anonymous said...

you did a wonderful job. now that it is finished what will you do with this beautiful piece of art?
margaret

Leah said...

Congratulations, Carol! All of your hard work was worth it--what a beautiful treasure!!

Anonymous said...

Ditto all the lovely things everyone else has already said. I've been enjoying watching your progress on this piece, and the end result only serves to convince me that some day before I die I need to stitch Chatelaine. :)

Anonymous said...

What a work of art. You must be so pleased with how this came out. And you have so many other WIP'S that are great pieces that it will be fun to watch you finish those up. I miss your Mermaids of the Deep Blue, especially since I hope to be starting that some time this fall. Thanks for the email you sent.

AuntSuze said...

It's BEAUTIFUL!!! Congratulations on the finish.

Cathy said...

Wow, Carol, what an impressive finish! I hope you will bring it to CATS so we can see it finished in person. Congratulation, that's a huge accomplishment!

catandturtle said...

MTM is just incredible. I don't think I can find a word to describe it actually. You did a wonderful job and it is just gorgeous. Your stitching is awesome! Ann.

Anonymous said...

Congratulaions Carol - I wanna see it too! Kiwi Jo

Karoline said...

Congratulations Carol, it's stunning

My Life In Stitches said...

Congrats! It is so beautiful. I have enjoyed watching your progress.

Susimac said...

Its stunning Carol and well worth all your hours of stitching. - Congratulations

BeckySC said...

Congratulations Carol, It's awesome!

Chelle said...

Wow, your MTM is stunning! Great finish.

Svenja said...

Congratulations Carol! MTM is beautiful! I really enjoyed watching it grow.

Mary said...

MTM came out awesome!!! Congrats. You really finished it up so quickly this weekend. I have loved watching it grow as you finished each part!

Katrina said...

oh wow! all finished, and its amazing!

I'm ready when you are for our SAL!

Nicki said...

YAY!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! You've done a beautiful job and it was so much work through those middle months. WELL DONE! I really admire you for keeping going - I couldn't do it - I know from experience on Alpine :) It's lovely!!

And very shocking and sad about Steve Irwin.

Annemarie said...

It must have seemed like ages to stitch for you, but to me, as a keen follower of your progress on this masterpiece, it seems as if you whipped this one off on a couple of rainy Sunday afternoons. How long did it take you, exactly? It looks awe-inspiring! Beautiful work.
And as for a project to take its place... If I were you, I'd go for your WIP of the Bay Sampler. One of my all-time favourites!

Unknown said...

WOW!!! Congrats on your big finish :) You mentioned Mermaid Heaven and I was just wondering if I had missed that finish. I think you were close to the end on that one?

Anonymous said...

MTM is fabulous - huge congrats!

And yes...very sad news about Steve Irwin... :(

Von said...

Oh my! It's just sooooo beautiful, Carol! What a huge feeling of satisfaction you must have in completing her!

Rowyn said...

Congratulations on your huge finish, it's simply stunning!

Anonymous said...

Oh Congratulations! It's beautiful! You have so much patience too.

:o( Was so sad to hear about Steve Irwin today. I thought he was great and loved watching his tv programmes. He certainly will be missed.

Karen's Blog said...

Carol, this is just stunning!! All that hard work has certainly paid off. This is one of the most beautiful works I have seen.

All of Australia is still reeling after Steve Irwins death. I feel so sad for his lovely family. He will getainly be missed here "Down Under".

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Carol! Ann.

Anne S said...

Woohoo - you finished MTM ... it's now after midnight after coming home from work late, and I'm waking up the neighbours with a loud and hearty happy dance on your behalf tonight - way to go! All that perseverence definitely paid off - it's stunning! :D

Anonymous said...

Wooooohooooooo! Excellent, excellent work, Carol! I know this was really dragging for you at times, but I hope you agree that it was definitely worth all of the effort! Fabulous!

lena-lou said...

Congratulations Carol on this stunning finish of MTM, I am amazed that you have done alllllll that stitching you should be so proud...thats dedication indeed!

Dianne said...

My exact thoughts...see above! ; )
Wow, ahh...etc. etc!
Congrats!!

Kendra said...

A bit late, but congrats on that finish! I can't even begin to imagine what a project like that would entail...it's enough to make me stay FAR away...LOL! Kudos to you for tackling it!

Kali said...

Congratulations Carol! It looks beautiful :)

Dani - tkdchick said...

Congrats Carol that's amazing... and amazing how you can get so many comments! I'm envious you really have a true following with this blog!

Bine said...

Congratulations, Carol!!!!! You did a fantastic job on this one.