Top Panel Finished At LAST!

 5 Months of Work....

 It's official! At 12.35 pm this day, I cut the last thread on this panel and called it finished! I seems like it has taken forever to work~ I looked back in my notebook and I started it on the 18th September, so 5 months to the day it took me to start it from start to finish.  After the angels I worked both the large Tudor roses at the bottom...I used gilt milliary for the edge of the petals to give them nice sparkle, and to match the pink and gold colors on the inside of my casket.

  The cartouche came after the roses~ I finally decided to work the entire thing in loupes~ I was thinking perhaps four bow like areas of them, with flat rows of beads in between, but wanted it to look 'lush' so went all out making little beaded wire loupes for eons and eons..... 

  I am getting ready for a needlework seminar at Colonial Williamsburg this next week, so practically no time to stitch for me.... so when the power went out I threw such a fit my husband went and brought me one of his Coleman lanterns~ there was NO WAY I was going to sit in the dark and do nothing.....

 Aside from the great amount of heat it put off....it was enough light for me to work the cartouche....I spent the night hoping it would look as good in the daylight as it did in the dark.

 Once I got the cartouche finished, there was just two things left~ first to attach all the bits and bobs collected in my little box...wings, and angel sashes.... and then to make and attach the garland that goes around it

  I added steel cuts to the wings and like how they sparkle, but no too gaudy....

  Butterflies got their wings~ I like this picture because it shows how dimensional the stumpwork stitching is

This past week I worked on the twilled leaves for the garland, and today got the garland made and attached~ I left this picture big so you can click on it and enjoy all the little details!