Monday, October 17, 2005

Mirabilia RR sections



I managed to finish framing out my sections for my latest Round Robin today. I have to admit being a bit obsessed with this piece/round. The idea of having 7 partial Miras all on one piece and getting to stitch 7 Miras (6 for other people) without having to do the whole pattern for each is really exciting. (No - I don't get out much!)

I designed this layout and the shape of the sections myself, although the three in the center were inspired by Chatelaine's Alhambra Garden. The center of that design is the same shape, only much smaller, so I had to rechart the whole thing to get it to be the dimensions I was looking for. I needed something longer and thinner for the four on the sides and came up with what you see. The three in the middle are 80 x 80 at their thickest points, and 70 x 70 across the corners of the box. The four along the sides are 100 stitches high by 60 wide (only 90 stitches high along the edges where it is smaller.

The best part is that it all fit on one fat quarter of 28ct linen and when finished will fit in a 16 x 20 standard size frame. Always the frugal part of me looking to save money on the framing. (Roll your eyes if you must.) Now I can just buy a standard frame and frame it myself. That is also why I sewed fabric around the edges - I lace my pieces myself and there is less pull on the linen if you lace into another fabric.

Now on in my rotation - I want to get in some work on Cottage Garden Fairy and pull out my Hardanger Table runner before any more Round Robins show up. The next one is due to be mailed on Monday so I guess I should get busy.

6 comments:

cathymk said...

Looks great - it will be so lovely when it returns to you. What a good idea to use the shape from alhambra garden.

Autumn said...

Ok, you have to teach me how to get things to fit in standard frames! LOL

Unknown said...

oh! I love the shape of the boxes! Very clever. And I admire your framing frugalness... having a piece framed is ridiculously expensive. Anytime you can get something into a standard frame is a good thing! Your Mirabilia idea is going to look fabulous. Did you pick the pieces that are going in there or are you letting your stitchers pick what parts and pieces to work from? I'm so interested in how this turns out! lol

Jenny said...

Autumn
I'm only good at getting Round Robins to fit in standard frames. Unfortunately, I don't know any good tricks for already charted designs. I just set up the section sizes to fit into the desired dimensions. I multiply the number of inches I want the final dimensions to be by the stitch count of the fabric. Then I know the maximum stitch count the final design can be. You might also figure in an inch (or 14/16 stitches around the margin if you don't want the piece right up to the edge of the frame.) Takes a little figuring with the calculator and drawing it out on paper, but hey, I save money. :)

Bunny, each person stitching will pick their own pattern, but I am asking them to all do a face of a female Mirabilia.

Lelia said...

This should be fantastic! Cannot wait to see progress on the RR. So unique. Enjoy your week-end.

Carol said...

Oh my! That is going to be stunning! I can't wait to see that when it comes home! (Mirabilia RR)