Loretta Spears: Christmas Heirlooms called Threads, finished as ornament

Photo after having stitched and finished a little Loretta Spears oranment.

Christmas Heirlooms called "Threads" all stitched

Just finished stitching "Threads". All that remains now is to finish it.

Christmas Heirlooms called "Threads": Loretta Spears, designer

This is the little Christmas ornament that I have just started working on. Photo that came with the instructions.

Winter Reflections, Loretta Spears' Mystery #2: Framed

It took a little bit longer to get my Winter Reflections back from the framer as this beautiful frame had to be ordered from Canada. I have just took a close-up photo of it for you all.

If you look at the frame and some of the stitches in this piece, you will see that it goes so well with them.

It is interesting how the colors of those threads reflect differently and give a different shade to them depending on their orientation. We tried to take other photos with much more lighting of the framed one and they turned out to have some brownish colors to them to our amazement, so we had to discard them all except the one just posted.

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I am looking at it as I write this entry on my blog and this is just such a peaceful piece to look at, nothing to jump right up in your face, but a more quiet kind of beauty that calms you down after a long day.

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I will also be thinking about Sharon's generosity in giving me Winter Reflections after she had already stitched approximately half of it, making it a joint collaboration/venture between the two of us. Looking at this piece, you really can't tell what she stitched and what I stitched, but I will remember her participation in it whenever my eyes happen to look at it.

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Sharon, a big thank you for giving me the opportunity to stitch this lovely project and I will be sending you a photograph by email right after this :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

Superstition framed

On Saturday I got my Superstition back from the framer but it was just too dark inside to take a photoas it has been raining a lot lately.
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The frame above has been taken under normal lights and the same frame under lots of light where it is going to live from now on. I chose this place as when the lights are on, Superstition sparkles so much that you can't not look at it even if you wanted to as it draws you to it. I had the framer put a piece of silver lame, which I provided her with and you can see all the sparkle come through each little holes as there are quite a bit of pulled thread in this piece.

"Superstition" as I have mentioned before in my numerous posts is a Loretta Spears' design, her mystery #13 and the material needed to stitch this lovely piece is a piece of congress cloth, white, 8" x 8" with the following threads: Waterlilies by Caron in Flamingo (pink/peach color), Crystal Bay (kind of white blueish color), Opal (white shade) and Opalescent #300 (transparent white silvery color) which is a thread not produced anymore and could probably be replaced by Accentuate. I had purchased this design with its own kit so did not have to bother with tracking down the threads. Oh, I have almost forgotten about the beads, Mill Hill Petite Beads #40161.

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I am still working on Terry Dresden's Flower Diamonds, the pilot class project and I am slowly making progress though not as much as I would like as I have had plenty of distractions lately and gardening is one of them. We are changing things in our backyard garden and though my husband does most of the heavy lifting, there are still plenty of other things to do like going to garden centers buying stuff, giving orders (oups, I meant suggestions) as to where plant this and that (big grin). I have been doing a bit of trimming too. There is just so much to do.

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I will be doing a bit of stitching and gardening again today. It is a nice day so we will take full advantage of it.

See you all soon!

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Pierrette =^..^=

Winter Reflections, Mystery #2: Loretta Spears, designer, all stitched

Here is the completed Winter Reflections, Loretta Spears' Mystery #2.

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While I was stitching this beautiful design, a thought kept creeping up in my head. Does this design has to be vertical or can it also be horizontal and at the same time respecting the designer's concept? I got my answer from Loretta herself. In her last lesson she says "I told you in my description of the design it could be used either vertical or horizontal ..." I can't remember reading that in her first four lessons, so perhaps it was in something else like when she was promoting her desig or something. With Loretta's blessing, my husband and I tried it both directions and we both agree that we like it better this way (big big grin).

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Loretta says in lesson 3: "Do you see the light play? This is why I named this Winter Reflections. Living in the snow area you see so many shades of white when you have the sun shining on the snow. The mountain peaks are magnificent with their snow topping and the sun shining on them." Don't you just love it when the designer takes the time to tell you a bit about where she got her inspiration for a particular design?

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Pat and Cynthia have commented on the speedy stitching of this piece. I fully agree, I have never done something that quickly before, but I have never find myself in a joint venture before either. With Sharon stitching a big section of it, I was able to stitch the rest rapidly. It is also true that I have only concentrated on this project instead of doing a bit of this and a bit of that. It sure has its advantages to work on a single project at a time :-)
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I think that I will also provide a piece of silver lame to my framer to go under the stitched design, just like I did for Superstition, which is still at the framer since April 22.

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To you, Sharon D. from South Carolina, a big big thank you for giving me the opportunity to stitch another Loretta Spears design. I will always be grateful :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

Winter Reflections: First 4 lessons completed

My joint venture with Sharon D. continues and I have now completed lesson 4. Only one more lesson remains to be stitched and it is the border around Winter Reflections and I will get to it right away. Next and last photo of this project will be posted sometimes tomorrow morning.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Winter Reflections: First three lessons completed

I have been doing a little bit of stitching since I received Winter Reflections from Sharon D (see previous blog entry).
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The photo above shows the three first lessons completed in full.

I have taken a second photograph here so that you can see a little better the work that has been completed, both by Sharon and myself.

And even took a third one for good measure (grinning). On this one you can see even better what has been done so far.

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Two more lessons remain on this project as I need to square both extremities and add a border all around it.
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Pierrette =^..^=

Winter Reflections, Mystery #2: Loretta Spears, designer

I am a bit at a loss for words here and not entirely sure how to start this blog entry this morning and it has all to do with this lovely design called Winter Reflections, Loretta Spears' Mystery #2.

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You see, the photo above has not been stitched by myself, but by another stitcher named Sharon D. from South Carolina. At this point, you may be wondering why the photo is on my blog since I am not the stitcher and here goes the story, at least a bit of it.

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It all happened when I was working on another Loretta Spears' mystery called Superstition a week ago or so. I was almost done with stitching it when I received a message from Sharon D. saying in a nutshell that she had Winter Reflections partially stitched and that since she could not continue working on it for personal reasons, she was looking for a good home for it and that if I was interested it was mine to have.

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Yesterday afternoon, Winter Reflections arrived in all its glory with the remaining threads so that I can finish stitching it myself. I immediately had a good look at the charts and will be having a good read this morning of the included instructions and you can be sure that I will start work on it immediately.

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I have also learned from Sharon that Winter Reflections has actually been purchased directly from Loretta Spears herself somewhere in Colorado while Sharon was traveling there. Sharon had the pleasure to meet her in person. Isn't that nice? I always wonder who is the person behind the designer.

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So today I find myself in a situation I have never been before as a stitcher, having two different stitchers working on the same piece, sort of a joint venture, and I find it quite exciting and having Loretta in the shadows is also a nice feeling.

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In a little while I will start reading Loretta's instructions to see what has been stitched by Sharon and what has not and will take it from there. What fun this will be.

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Pat has already stitched Winter Reflections in August of last year, I think it was, and I will for sure go there and have a peek from times to times, just to make sure I do not err. My philosophy is why reinvent the wheel all the time when it is already there for us to use.

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I would like again to thank Sharon D. for her kindness and generosity towards me. This was totally unexpected and I find myself so very grateful to her for this beautiful gift.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Superstition: Mystery #13 by Loretta Spears, designer

Just finished adding the last beads this morning at 7:30. I know what you are thinking but I am an early riser (grinning).
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As far as I know Loretta Spears has designed 14 mysteries in her series and this one is Mystery #13, also called Superstition. Been wondering why Loretta called this one Superstition and must confess that I have not been able to come up with any clues, except that perhaps she never thought that she would get that far in her series, but that is all speculation from my part.
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This was an absolutely fantastic experience to stitch this gorgeous project, which had in addition to needlepoint which of course was to be expected, pulled thread and beading.
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The project measures 5 inches square, so it would probably go nicely in a box cover, but I will have this little jewel framed. Loretta suggests to put some silver lame under the piece before finishing. That will add even more sparkles than it already has.
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I have also added a photograph of the only other piece I have stitched from Loretta this far. This one has not been blogged as it was stitched before my blogging days.

This is Loretta Spears' Mystery #8 also called Bargello Symphony. This is a much bigger piece and was also an absolute joy to stitch
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I have been lucky enough to get both kits with original threads.

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I am still on a "high" from having stitched Superstition (smiling). I can't say it enough, this was such a beautiful project, with full of surprises at each steps along the way.

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I can't wait to see what my husband and framer will come up for this piece. They are quite a team at finding just the perfect frame and mat, so I always let them surprise me with it and have not been disappointed yet.

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Pierrette =^..^=

LovetoStitch99@comcast.net

Superstition, Lesson 4, pattern 2, step 1

I am almost done, but not quite. Just completed lesson 4, pattern 2, step 1, which is the border. I still need to do step 2, which is the beading part of the border.
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I have noticed that the colors of Superstition have not always been as exact as they should have been in past photographs, so I making sure that my last photographs are as close to reality as possible and this is pretty close. Noticed that I missed a part of the upper border in my photograph but this was such a good photo otherwise that I decided to use it just the same. I will make sure that my last one shows everything and is as close to true colors as possible.
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I will try to add the beads today and will be back with the FINALE photo sometimes later (grinning).
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Pierrette =^..^=

Superstition, Lesson 4, pattern 1

For lesson 4, pattern 1, the task at hand was to square off the pattern once more by working another pulled thread stitch, the Single Faggot over 2 threads.

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I now can't wait to see what the border and beads will look like so will get to it right now and see if I can finish Superstition today or not.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Superstition, Lesson 3, step 3 & pattern 2

I have now completed lesson 3. Photo below shows step 3, a series of additional double cross stitches and then in the photo above you can see more of the same pattern already used a few times stitched in different colors. The only exception with these last ones was that those were a bit bigger than previously.

One more lesson remains which is lesson 4 and guess what, some more pulled thread to do, but a different design this time around, in order to square the pattern off again and then there will be a border and also some beading added to it, so that should be interesting to see how all this will turn out in the end. No doubt, it will be quite beautiful.
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I will now go and study how to do the next pulled thread pattern and be back later with additional photos when that stitch has been completed.

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See you all a bit later :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

Superstition: Lesson 3, steps 1 & 2

I am so impressed by this gorgeous design that Loretta Spears created.
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At every step of the way, she manages to add something so very special to her mystery #13.
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The photo below shows step 1 of lesson 3, which is a series of double crosses made in Waterlilies Flamingo. The photo above shows step 2 of the same lesson, which is a filling of eyelet stitches done in Waterlilies Opal.

There are still more to come before this little design is all done.

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I have stitched only one Loretta Spears prior to this one and it was Bargello Symphony, her mystery #8, which was stitched before I started blogging so we can only see the finished project.

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Most of us who are Loretta Spears' admirers had seen it on ANG National website. After seeing this wonderful piece, of course I just had to stitch it and it was quite an adventure too. It was a big help to have the ANG website photograph to serve as a guide.

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Superstition is probably much less known, as personally I have not seen any photograph of it anywhere on the web, but it is my belief that it is just as impressive as Bargello Symphony, though smaller in size. My congress cloth is 8" x 8" so I will venture a finish size between 5 and 6 inches squared. I will be able to tell more precisely after lesson 4 has been completed.

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Since I am on a roll here, I will now proceed to step 3 of lesson 3 and then pattern 2 of the same lesson and will be right back with two more photographs for you.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Superstition: Lesson 2, pattern 3

I am sure that Loretta Spears did not intend to throw me a curve here, but she did just the same.

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I must say and repeat that I do not like stitching mystery projects for many reasons, and one being that you have no photo of what it is supposed to look like. In this instance this pattern was a "pulled thread" pattern, for which there was no graphic of how to do the stitch and many times, like it is in this instance, I have been told the same stitch wears many names making one's life more difficult when you try to research it by the name given by the designer.

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I ended up sending an SOS to the stitching world and some generous souls came to my rescue. A big thank you to you all. I especially want to thank Diana Snyder who went beyond the call of duty and stitched me a sample of one of the corner so that I would actually see what it is supposed to look like (remember no photograph and no graphic about this specific stitch in the instructions provided. Loretta did provide written instructions but somehow I found them confusing, having not much experience with this technique.) Diana sent me a total of 5 photographs for the different steps necessary to do the corner pattern. With that in hand, I was able to manage to do a fairly decent job of it, at least I hope so (grinning).

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That pattern squared off the design, but I bet starting with lesson 3, it will not stay squared for long.

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I really do love this project and after Superstition is all done, I really need to add a pulled thread project to my list of current projects as I would love to learn the technique properly as it is quite beautiful.

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Pierrette =^..^=

"Superstition", Loretta Spears' Mystery #13, Lesson 2, Patterns 1 & 2

This project is really turning it out to be quite stunning and since it is a Mystery, it keeps us guessing as to what will come up next.

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Colors used by Loretta Spears are Waterlilies Flamingo, Opal and Crystal Bay with some Opalescent here and there to add some sparkle and also some petite glass beads by Mill Hill #40161 placed at strategic places.

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Yesterday, after working on my credit card case, I stitched lesson 2, patterns 1 & 2, which seems the same pattern in reality. It is just the way that half of them are stitched is different, but the end result really looks the same.

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The sun has just now appeared and it seems that we will have a lovely day today. So much nicer when it is bright and shiny outside.

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Pierrette =^..^=

"Superstition", Loretta Spears' Mystery #13, Lesson 1, Pattern 4

This is such a wonderful design and to think that I have left this one sitting for so long in my stash. Hard to believe, isn't it?
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On this photo you can see pattern 4 of the first lesson. Can you see the little beads? Cute little details on this pattern. I find working with these colors so relaxing too.
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I will now start doing a little bit of stitching on Peacock Chair to move that project along too. It is amazing how much work you can do by working a little bit on this project and then a little bit on that other one and all this often in the same day. It all depends of course how much work there is in each section that I want to work on and if I need a break from it or not ........... and to think that I used to work on one project at a time. These days now seem long ago.
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Pierrette =^..^=

"Superstition", Loretta Spears' Mystery #13, Lesson 1, Pattern 3

Friday the 13! Anyone out there supertitious????

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Hope not as Loretta Spears' Superstition", her mystery 13, seems very innocent to me (grinning).

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Have stitched pattern 3 of lesson 1 and gosh do I love this design so far. Can't wait to see more of it. Bet you can't either (lol). It is a real pleasure to stitch.

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As said in my previous post this morning about "The Peacock Stitching Chair" (I know I am all over the place these days, but ain't it fun?) I had some basting to do and now it has all been done, so I am ready to start stitching on it, section by section.

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I am not forgetting about Hollyhock House either, stitching more bricks.

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Still waiting about my fabric and threads for Tony Minieri's kimono. As soon as that arrives I will start working on that project too. The same thing about finishing the little Christmas ornament, waiting for my backing fabric. Ordered some miniature frames for the two little Gay Ann Rogers' miniature projects I have stitched recently. Looking forward to framing them. I am thinking of getting myself some easels to display them.

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Bad weather outside, so ideal time to stay indoors and stitch :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

"Superstition", Loretta Spears' Mystery #13, Lesson 1, Patterns 1 & 2

This is only my second Loretta Spears' project that I ever had the pleasure so far of working on. Pleasure in this case is a big understatement as her designs sparks excitement, at least for me.
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Loretta has designed a total of 14 projects in what she called her "Mystery" series. The first one that I stitched, which was a few years ago was probably her most beautiful one, her Mystery #8 called Bargello Symphony for which she won some award for it, can't recall which one. That was stitched before I started blogging unfortunately, so there are no progress photos of that piece.
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I remember way back then hearing about Loretta Spears from other stitchers and I had no idea who that lady was until I went to check Bargello Symphony on the ANG website, which I tried to do again this morning to give you the link, but could not find the section in question. Not sure if it is me or them doing web maintenance or having problems.
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I had been talking lately of working on Mystery #13 but I have so much to do that I was not sure that I could make it, but decided that life is too short to postpone doing projects that brings a lot of pleasure.
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Yesterday, I worked on Lesson 1 and stitched pattern 1 (which is the section that uses Waterlilies Flamingo thread) and pattern 2 (the section using Waterlilies Opal thread) with one ply of Opalescent mixed with either the Flamingo or the Opal threads, making it all sparkly. Quite beautiful actually. You can see all that sparkle in my photo.
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I will continue working on this project and also add more bricks on Gay Ann Rogers' Hollyhock House.
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Pierrette =^..^=
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P.S. My friend Terry found the link on the ANG website for Loretta Spears beautiful Bargello Symphony. This is the link Thanks, Terry :-)

"SUPERSTITION": Mystery 13 by Loretta Spears

My second post of the day, stretching myself again (silly grin).

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I just love Loretta Spears' designs and at the end of April 2004 I had the opportunity of purchasing Mystery #13 called "SUPERSTITION" with the whole kit from a fellow stitcher and it has been sitting in my stash ever since.

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I have decided that TODAY is the day to start working on it. Don't you love that name "Superstition"? Colors used in that piece are beautiful too.

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In a couple of minutes I will be putting the canvas on stretcher bars and will take a few moments to read the instructions.

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This is not an especially big project as the white congress cloth used for this is only 8" x 8", so a nice size for someone who has been working on Hollyhock House. My back will thank me for this one (grinning).

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Will post again when I have actually started stitching on it.

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See you all soon!

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Pierrette =^..^=