Stitching for customers--a finish

I think I have previously mentioned that a customer had contacted me earlier this year to see if I could have the stitching on a Dede 2-sided angel on congress cloth (that she purchased from us in 1987) completed and then have it made into a tree-topper.  About one-third of the angel was unfinished in addition to the face, hands and hair.

Congress cloth stitching definitely calls for the amount of illumination present at Needle Nicely, rather than my home stitching area.  I've been working on completing all the unstitched areas of the angel's costume.  Helen, my now retired right-hand, is the best in the world for stitching faces and hands.  So last month when I went to see the National Theatre's HD transmission of Othello, Helen worked for me and stitched the angel's face and hands. The last thing to tackle was the hair--my customer had requested bullion knots.  After my success several months ago with my mermaid's hair, I felt ready to tackle this chore.  May I mention that the 2-ply of DMC floss were definitely not as cooperative as my mermaid's watercolors.  DMC floss has little body and tends to tangle.  However, I completed her hair and mailed her to the finisher this morning.  Here she is:

 I might add that the lightest shade of aqua was a DMC fiber that was like colored monofilament.  UGH!  It was a pain to stitch with and I definitely wouldn't stock it or recommend it to anyone.

Some more canvases have arrived.  These first four are from Associated Talents.

This canvas comes with a choice of background
colors.  It has such a fresh, crisp look.

 The next three canvases are ornaments.  It's hard to resist
stitching one or all of this series!

And this sporty canvas from Needle Crossings just look so Florida, Hawaiian or Caribbean.  Bring on the fun!