Finished the Birth Announcement

Well, I finished my great niece's birth announcement...my first finish of 2011. It's actually been the only thing I've stitched on since I started on it which is not my "normal" system. But I really wanted to get it done.

I made a few changes to the pattern - most noticeably in the center part. I didn't like the "fill in the blank" style of the center, I wanted it to look a little more "formal". So I wrote out the date and stuff. The other thing I changed is the original pattern called for the baby's first and last name - I did first and middle, since the last name is down below with her parents' names. And...since she's a girl, I changed the coloring of the lettering to a dark pink rather than blue.

There are a few other less obvious (at least in the picture) changes - the pattern didn't call for stitching the white background on the wallpaper around the clock, the clock face, the stars (nor did it backstitch around the stars) and one part around Mother Goose's apron. But I thought it looked funny to have floating dots on the wallpaper, and also that it looked funny when the rest of the picture area was solidly stitched.

On Monday, it will go to the framer, so I can't wait. I'm thinking of a white frame - I don't know if it will need a mat - I think the blue and pink squares will kind of act like a mat. We'll see once I get there and we play with mats and moldings.....

Thanks for checking it out!