A Stitching Post: Valerie

 I am going to devote this post fully to stitching. I will be back with other things later, but here is the name all finished.

I just couldn't love it more. This thing changed so many times in my head as I stitched each letter. After doing this for 3 grandsons, I had to regroup and think all girly things.

I will break down each grouping. The V has the girl. I chose a darker hair choosing to believe my Valerie is going to be the dark haired grandchild. After all I am a former brunette (almost black) and both of kiddos have dark hair. Thus far, I have 3 lighter haired grandsons. We will see if I am correct. 

I had a bouquet at the top right of the V, but after so many people asking me what it was I chose to remove it. The A got some music notes because Mama Katie is hoping she will be musically inclined. I added some cute ballet slippers for possible lessons. Nigel their cat is represented too.

Next up I added books on the L. I am hoping she will be a reader like her mommy and daddy are. I added their dog, Dansby (the Blue Tick hound).

Katie was a cheerleader for a little while, so we have some pom poms and a megaphone. Those shakers were hard. I found some cute little patterns, but all were too big so I had to take my graph paper and draw it and the megaphone. I tried winging the megaphone once and it looked more like an Egyptian pyramid.

Then I did the dolphin and sunset like I had on Tucker's stitch to represent our living in a beach/bay town.

At the top of the I is a tiara because I am calling her a beauty queen.

The E is a nod to her being Daddy's little girl and since Daddy is an avid duck hunter...she needed some ducks like on her brother, Miles's stitch. I added Darcy the other dog to the bottom.

I finished it Wednesday night before leaving for Auburn on Thursday morning. I have since come home and trimmed it up and pressed it good. It is on its way to the frame shop tomorrow.

I stitched this on 28 count Opalescent White Linen. I have used this for Christmas ornaments many times, but wanted Valerie's name to be a little different than the boys' names' stitches. The letters were done in Classic Colorworks Tennessee Red Clay which has some variegation in it. 

My plan is a gold frame to match some sconces in her room.

When it is all framed I am going to put all four of these in one post to compare them. I honestly loved stitching them although they are not the easiest since there is so much personalization. I did save the dogs that I had charted for Miles so I didn't have to recreate the wheel. Sometimes I could find an old pattern that worked like the duck, dolphin and books. Other times I had to draw out something. 

I will be back sooner rather than later with other things.

Sandy