Covid has affected a lot of things, including framing supplies and shipping times, so I've been waiting a while for two of my JE pieces to be framed. But finally, I got them both back this Friday, and I'm so happy with how they turned out.
First up, here is my phase 1 piece, Mile High, which I took into the framers about ten weeks ago:
And I absolutely love how it turned out. Honestly, I got a little teary eyed when they first showed it to me. In person, the silk has a luster and a vibrancy that I couldn't quite capture with my phone camera. Whatever mistakes I made, I don't notice them at all now. I just marvel that I created something so lovely. I've hung this on the wall above my work computer so I can look up at it at any time and just enjoy its peaceful serenity.
The second piece I had framed was my step 2 Midori piece, which I took in to be framed six months ago. 😂 The little gold filet took forever to come in, but it finally arrived this week, so the framing could be completed:
This piece is much simpler because it was only my second JE piece, but I think the framing sets it off beautifully. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I've hung this one in my bedroom next to a rose I cross-stitched in similar colors a couple of decades ago.
That does it for my framed pieces, but on a related note, I also got my phase 2 piece ready for framing this week. I did the finishing process on it, removed it from the frame, and then laced and mounted it. Here's the lacing:
This was damn difficult to do (as it always is) and took me hours (as it always does). I used buttonhole thread, which is pretty strong, but even so, you can see from the extra knots that I broke the string about three times while trying to pull it tight enough to get the front perfectly smooth. Unfortunately, it's not quite perfect. There are a couple of very tiny puckers, but I don't think they're particularly noticeable, and certainly not in the photograph:
The photo is a little washed out, but you can see that it's really pretty smooth. I will take this one in for framing as soon as I've shown it to my family. Oh, and as soon as I've saved up a little money for the process. 😂
For the interested, the phase 1 piece, which has museum glass and a frame that is 19.5 inches square, was just under $250. The step 2 piece, which also has museum glass and a frame that measures 11 inches by 13.5 inches, was about $140. With tax, I think it was $410 for both.
That's actually a pretty decent price for custom framing. I could get it done slightly cheaper elsewhere, but I couldn't get it done as well or as safely. (I've been burned before — see here.) And as each JE phase represents hundreds of dollars in materials, tools, and lessons, to say nothing of the hundreds of hours of time I've invested, I really only trust my local needlework shop, The Attic Needlework, to do the framing. I really can't wait to get phase 2 framed, as I'm sure it will set off the piece beautifully. I have a birthday coming up, so hopefully money and gift certificates will be forthcoming. 😂
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