OhSewCrafty Blog

• Pattern: by Mirabilia
• Materials: 32 ct opal lugana “Sparkling Sundown” by vintage Silkweaver, DMC, Kreinik, Mill Hill beads and Preciosa Crystal Flower Beads 
• Size: 11″ x 18″
• Time to stitch: 32 days

Here is my pink fairy princess (Queen of the Fairies, per Shakespeare) in all her glory, my 23rd finish of 2017!

The pattern is fine, the only difficulty I had was with the hair section, which was charted with / \ , and triangles facing both forward & backward, all adjacent, plus tons of confetti (not that you can tell).  I muddled through by highlighting the chart. 

The pattern is quite large, and mostly full coverage within the dimensions.   The wings are stitched with lots of pink kreinik braid on the edges and the interior pattern is cross stitched with 1 strand of silver blending filament.  That wasn’t exactly easy but it does create a lovely dynamic effect.  3 colors of beads are used mostly on the wings.  I subbed 6mm Preciosa Crystal Flower Beads in Light Amethyst AB, for the Mill Hill Margaritas because the Preciosa ones were only 18¢ each.  I am not sure if the color is correct, but they look beautiful on my piece (near the top of her antennae), and the 6 mm Preciosa flowers are exactly like Mill Hill Margaritas, FYI.  

The fabric is a light peach, barely variegated, opalescent lugana from my old Silkweaver fabric of the month club stash.  So, Titania was my old stash/ new start project.  The pattern was from my first Mirabilia haul, a lot of 5 or so I got off Ebay around 2002.  The fabric is of similar vintage and it is beautiful.  When I bought it, I was after the color (lugana dyes lighter than linen), and as for sparkles, why not?  I did not know at the time that belfast linen would become my fave and I’m not very fond of 32 count lugana, it seems rather tight, and the opalescent threads woven throughout don’t help.  I had some counting difficulties and probably frogged more on Titania than any other project in recent memory.  There is another piece of 32 opal lugana in my stash and and it is gorgeous (earmarked for Mirabilia Forest Goddess).  When the time comes, I will probably use it and grumble about it.   Perhaps it would be easier to see under a magnifier.

My favorite parts are her lovely face and pensive pose (I don’t think I’ve ever stitched a Mira with a prettier face!), her majestic shimmering, fluttering wings, and her voluminous pink gown with the beaded triple shoulder straps on each side.  I’m not sure why she has antennae (she’s a fairy, not a bug!), but it’s an excellent place to park the flower beads, so it works. 

I’m quite chuffed to have my 10th full size Mira finish, she will be a perfect companion to the Midsummer Night Fairy, and now I can devote more time in my rotation to Enchanted Mermaid.