Calendar Poodle SAL

Saturday, January 31, 2015

40,182

Friends! Friends! It is finished!!!! WAHOO! 40,182 stitches! The Kazan Mother of God icon was completed last night. This icon took me 2 1/2 months to complete. Considering Thanksgiving, the flu, Christmas and Orthodox Christmas all happened during that time, I am happy.
The pictures are not the best because I am not waiting til daylight to show you! ;) There will be nicer pictures to share when I get this icon framed. Which will be right away! Ha!
This is a needlepoint kit. This was all stitched with Anchor flosses in 32 different colors. I am happy to say I ran out of nothing. This is all in petit point on 24ct mono canvas.

In case you do not remember me telling this back in November, this is a gift for our priest and his wife. When we had gone to a graduation party for Father's oldest son, back in June, I had admired two different cross stitched icons in their home. I asked Father's wife if she made them. No, an old woman back in Ukraine had made these for them. She told me she would love to have a Theotokos also some day. AHA! And so I decided to make one for her. I did give it weeks of thought before purchasing the kit.

A BIG THANK YOU MY DEAR FRIENDS FOR STICKING WITH ME DURING THIS ICON JOURNEY.

The last loaf of bread I baked was Kulich. It just so happens that this Russian bread recipe was in my bread machine cook book. I did a double take when I noticed it. You see, the Orthodox Church that Brian and I joined last Easter, is a Russian Orthodox Church. Many members are Russian immigrants. Kulich is baked every Pascha/Easter. Last year we were gifted a loaf from a friend at church. I knew I wanted to bake my own. Now I did! I tweaked the recipe a bit from the first time I baked it. I used golden raisins in the recipe, as that what the ladies at church seem to be adding. This is a barely sweet loaf made with milk and butter in the recipe.
Now I can allow myself to finish the nice, short read, The Quilt by T. Davis Bunn. I have been devoting all of my time to Theotokos. Well, and reading the Bible daily. I have now finished Genesis and begun Exodus.

Oh and I will be stitching a small shortly. I cannot wait to get back to stitching smalls.♥

I hope that your day is super my friends! I plan on having a great weekend!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

46 comments:

Emma/Itzy said...

Fabulous! You must be so pleased!

Maggee said...

Yay!!!!! So Happy for you!! What a magnificent piece you stitched!! I really really like it!! It is just so beautiful!! Congratulations BIG time!! Enjoy The Quilt! Hugs!

Margaret said...

Congratulations Vickie. What an accomplishment in such a short period of time. It is gorgeous and your priest and his wife will be thrilled to receive it.

Annie said...

Congratulations on a magnificent finish!

CalamityJr said...

You've done an amazing job, Vickie! I think it went very quickly, without even taking into account the holidays and illness - wow! It's so beautiful. I can't wait to hear your priest's and his wife's reactions when you give it to them; they're going to be overwhelmed, I'm sure. It's a wonderfully thoughtful gift.

Cindy's Stitching said...

So pretty Vickie. A special piece.

Katy said...

Beautiful finish! Congratulations!

Vicki said...

It's beautiful, Vickie!

Ele said...

Congratulations! Such a huge project
Well done :)
Enjoy the weekend

Annette-California said...

WooHoo! Congratulations! It's gorgeous Vickie! You made it with pure love and it shows. Oh my I can't wait for your priest's & wife's reaction when you gift it to them. love Annette

marly said...

Beautiful Vickie, beautiful! I can only imagine the look on their faces when you offer this treasure.

Beth said...

Congratulations! The colors glow jst like an icon.

Karen said...

Gorgeous piece! Your priest will be thrilled.

Varla Lee said...

A big heaven yeah girl!!!! Beautiful is a little word for say how awesome is your Teotokos! Well done!! The bread looks so yummii!! Hehehe!

Julie said...

Stunning and fantastic finish, it is going to be so loved when you hand it over.

Annie said...

Great Big Congratulations! You did a beautiful job on it. It surely is worth the effort and love you put into it. And I feel the same way about the Kulich.. I can taste it from here!

Cath said...

Well done . what a super finish x

Margaret said...

Huge congratulations! Theotokis is just gorgeous -- and amazing! Your priest and his wife will be so pleased with their gift! Love the pic of Henry and Mabel. Their faces are so sweet!

Pull the other thread said...

Wow that is an amazing finish and what a wonderful gift. So thoughtful of you. Bread looks delicious.

Honeybee said...

Congratulations on your beautiful finish! It would have taken me waaaaay longer to stitch something that size!

Caitlin D said...

YAY!!! It is absolutely stunning!!! Congratulations on such a lovely finish.

Frances said...

Wow--it is so beautiful! I know that they will be overwhelmed when they receive it!! You did a great job!

Kissy said...

That was amazingly quick! It sure would have taken me a lifetime to finish! Looks wonderful!
And a beautiful pic of the poodles!!

The Knitting Cross Stitcher said...

A beautiful finish Vickie,what a lovely gift this is.
Your bread,as always,looks delicious.

Brigitte said...

Wonderful!!! What a fabulous finish this is. You must be so happy and proud to have finished it in such a short time. But you dedicated nearly all your free time to this project And it was worth the effort. Now you can get back to your smalls stitching :)

butterfly said...


Vickie , it's beautiful well done .
You were so quick lots of stitching it this one.
Love your bread I can smell it from here , It would go lovely with my soup .

Carolien said...

Hello Vickie,

Wow, you stitched it in such a short time! It looks wonderful and what a special gift this will be for them. Hats off!

Have a nice Sunday!

rosey175 said...

Yay you finished it! In record time, too haha. :D I look forward to hearing about their reactions upon receiving such a wonderful gift~

Melissa said...

Congratulations on your awesome finish! That's an amazing amount of stitching!

Anne said...

Stunning finish Vickie! I'm sure that Matushka and Batushka will be pleased with the Blessed Theotokis. When we bake our kulich, we put them in cans so they raise up tall then decorate them with icing and sprinkles. Do the Russians there do the same? Hugs!

Chris said...

Congratulations on this stunning finish. I know that they will treasure this.
The bread looks amazing!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on a wonderful finish!!

Lillie said...

Congrats Vickie, it's amazing and a treasure. So happy for you.

Irmeli said...

Congratulations!
Your stitching looks great, well done and very quickly

Mii Stitch said...

Congratulations Vickie!!! I'm sure your Priest & his wife will treasure your wonderful gift for years to come :)

Ranae said...

Congrats! Vickie. It's beautiful!!

Angela said...

Congrats on your gorgeous finish!

Ann at Beadlework. said...

What an amazing gift Vickie, it truly is a stunning piece and you've done a wonderful job. Well done you.

Melanie said...

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It looks AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Carol said...

Oh, I would love to see the look on the faces of the priest and his wife when they open your gift, Vickie. It truly is incredible--a true labor of love :) Congratulations on a wonderful finish!!!!!

Stitching Noni said...

Congratulations! What an amazing job you have done - it looks fantastic! And your Priest is going to be over the moon when he sees this! Well done!
Hugs xx

Giovanna said...

Congratulations on such a wonderful achievement - it's a true heirloom, and really beautiful.

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

It's been a pleasure to share your stitching journey on this piece. It looks absolutely amazing! I am sure they will be bowled over by it

Jackie's Stitches said...

Congratulations! You are like the mailman - stitching through snow, sleet, flu, holidays....

Your priest and his wife will be thrilled!

DebbieSFL said...

Absolutely gorgeous!!!

Sally said...

Wahoo! Congratulations Vickie on a stunning finish!