A Wedding and a Thesis

I am more than happy to report that my Master's thesis was completed, defended, turned in, and approved last week, and now I am 100% done with school! I guess I have technically graduated as well, although I didn't attend the ceremony. I am anxiously awaiting my diploma though. :)

You may wonder what I have been doing since then, and the answer is studying. This may seem odd, as I just said that I was 100% done with school, which I am. What you probably don't know is that I have chosen a career path that largely consists of studying (at least for the foreseeable future). All of which is to say, I have a job! A real one! Where the word "intern" isn't part of my job title! And that job is as an entry-level actuary for a local company. 

If you are reading this and you are not my family, then there is a 97.4% chance that you are about to google "actuary". Let me save you time. In a nutshell, an actuary is someone who analyzes risk (usually related to insurance or finance) and uses mathematics and statistics to do so. Also, you have to pass a bunch of exams and other education requirements to become an accredited actuary. Which is now what I am on my way to do (hopefully). I have passed two exams already, while I was working on my degree. I will take the third in November. While the exams aren't much fun (in fact, they are quite challenging, even for someone like me who has never had test-taking issues), by working as an actuary, I now have paid study time and the company takes care of all of exam expences  (exam fees, cost of study materials, etc). So yay!

Alright, now that all of the boring stuff is out of the way, let's get to the stitching (more importantly, finished stitching)!

This is the wedding sampler I have been working on for my cousin Jennifer, who got married yesterday. I started this at the beginning of July, fully confident that I would have plenty of time to finish it before the wedding. I was able to do so, but not with plenty of time. Mostly, my thesis got in the way, so I spent the last week rushing to finish it up. 

On Friday night, I finished the last of the stitching around midnight and then spent the next 3 1/2 to 4 hours beading. And there's not even that many beads! Let's just say that I will not be beading anything anytime soon. Although I was sick of working on it by the time it was finished (all that white was starting to drive me crazy), I actually really enjoyed this project. I got to use silks for the first time, do specialty stitches for the first time, do beading for the first time, and frame something for the first time. Basically, a lot of stitching firsts. The frame is a temporary frame, until I can have it custom framed for her. My mom helped me stretch and pin it to some foam board. It would have been a mess without her help!

My slightly wonky beading

I was really pleased with how it turned out, and more importantly, so was my cousin. I stopped by while she was getting ready so I could give it to her in person. It was so sweet to see her reaction when she pulled the frame out of the bag. She really liked the vintage style. And miraculously, it turned out to be in her wedding colors! Her entire color scheme was based around cream and a sort of burlap color. Everything about her wedding had a vintage feel to it, so the sampler went perfectly with everything. She even asked me to display it on her gift table at the reception, which basically made my day. :)

This project was such a great experience. I don't know if I'll ever get the same amount of satisfaction stitching something for myself as I have doing things for other people. 

A New Start

Last night I was able to get going on a new project. One of my cousins is getting married in August, so I had been looking for something to make for her. A lot of the wedding pieces out there are too cutesy or outdated for my tastes (and I believe hers), but when I saw the wedding sampler in the May/June 2013 issue of Just Cross Stitch, it was love at first sight.

This sampler is still fairly conservative, but the fact that it's monochromatic and somewhat more abstract in design makes it seem a bit more modern to me. I was a bit worried about whether or not she would like it, but I'm going with my gut and making it!

The sampler is stitched two over two on 28ct Amber. This is a bit darker than the fabric that the project called for, which was light mocha. I wanted the white to stand out more. It uses only Gloriana in Winter White. So far, I've loved stitching with the silks. They're so ... silky (kind of the best way to describe them).

I haven't decided if I want to post a picture of the what the finished product will look like or not. I think this may be a bit of a mystery, at least for those who don't have a copy of the magazine. :)

One very exciting aspect of this project is that it will be my first time attempting specialty stitches and beading. Hopefully it goes smoothly, as I only have about a month to complete it!

Have you ever made or bought a gift for someone when you weren't sure they would like it? How did it turn out?

P.S. - At the time of posting, I have already completed my first specialty stitch (albeit a very simple one). It's horizontal satin stitch (though it's vertical in the photo). I love cross stitching, but it was a lot of fun to try something new. I can't wait to get to the other specialty stitches. It may also motivate me to try hardanger sooner than I had planned.