I don't know exactly what called to me to start this piece while
I was already working on Fantasy Triptych, but I ended up starting
this in 1997 and finishing it in January of 1999. I originally
thought to hang it only at Christmas, but after all the hard work,
I decided to hang it year round in the dining room. The piece
is stitched on the recommended 28ct dusty green linen that I personally
hated until I saw how beautiful those reds looked against it.
This was my first conversion of skin tones to over one. I did
not even rechart the face and hands, I just converted as I went.
It took forever and I was so nervous about the outcome, but I
am quite happy with the result. This was the first piece that
I took to Dan Melvin of Matte Ink for framing. He was recommended
by my local stitching shop, The Stitchin' Post. I told him that
I wanted the matte cut around the dress. He did a fabulous job
following the scallops along the bottom. It exceeded my expectations.
