Top-of-the-Waves Tuesday...

...and a progress photo (finally) of the current mermaid cross stitch.

First, a little bit about this mermaid pattern. Before I [re]learned how to knit and before I ever dreamed of spinning and weaving, I did a lot of cross stitch and needlepoint. The most complicated thing I'd done was modify and stitch a Christmas stocking for the Daughter. (You can see a photo here.)

I think it was in the rec.crafts.needlework USENET group that I learned about Mirabilia's first mermaid design, Mermaid of the Pearls, shortly after it was released in January 1997. I fell in love with the pattern and bought it. When I looked at it, I was completely intimidated by the number of pearls and treasures that it needed - I really didn't want to mess it up! I filed it away, thinking that I needed to tackle a less complex pattern first.

Mirabilia's next mermaid was Waiting for Ships in 2/28/1998, followed by Deepest Love 1/26/1999. I bought the patterns and the supplies for both of them. I decided that Deepest Love had the fewest beads and treasures and was a good introduction to Mirabilia's mermaid patterns. I finished it in September 1999.

I looked at Mermaid of the Pearls and decided that I wasn't ready for it. I did Waiting for Ships instead, followed by Queen Mermaid and Mediterranean Mermaid. I didn't feel ready for Mermaid of the Pearls until June of 2014 - 17 years later! I stitched a little bit, but got distracted by Tour de Fleece in July and other projects.

Fast forward to 2017: Mirabilia has designed 19 mermaids (18 of which you can find on her website) and I own many of the patterns. I'm behind!

I resurrected Mermaid of the Pearls last month and I'm determined to finish her this time. This what she looks like as of Sunday:

This is most of her back fin (pink), some seaweed (lighter greens), and the beginning of her tail (metallic green). She is in my rotation for the upcoming long weekend, so I should get more of her tail stitched.

So this last weekend was mostly cross stitch. When my arms and shoulders got tired of stitching, I swapped over to cutting out feature fabrics for my quilt. I also worked a bit on the St. Charles needlepoint piece.
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