Finished

I finally got my pieced washed, and when I took it out of the washer it looked like this but wet:

It was a good reminder as to why one should zig zag their piece first.  Needless to say I was shocked when I saw the condition after it was completely dry.  There were places that the shred was completely to the Buttonhole stitch itself.  It was also a good reminder to always wash your piece first before cutting it.  If, I hadn't washed it first before cutting it out, it would have been ruined in my opinion.  The cut area itself would have shrunk so far back and the shred to the Buttonhole, there would not be any salvaging.  Just to remind you I did this on a good quality Lugana and even then it still did shred.

However, I pulled myself together and carefully started cutting it out.  Surprisingly, the easiest places to cut was where it was shredded to the Buttonhole.  I was able to hold it differently than where it was attached.  I was so happy to completely cut it out without cutting any of the stitching.  The hard part was done.  Then it was a matter of ironing it and now here is the completed piece that was 13 years in the making:

I'm so proud of myself.  I will definitely be doing another bigger piece in the future but I don't think I'll be doing it on Lugana, perhaps something else.  However, I will be following my rules of doing all the stitching first, then washing to clean and shrink the fabrick, and then doing the cutting.

Keep On Stitchin'...

Ready to be completely cut out....

So, I know it's been more than a month since my last post but in that time I was able to finish the weaving completely on my piece.  I am going to throw it into the washer before cutting it completely out.  This will insure that it stays intact, not that the first washing wouldn't and it will be easier to iron while it's still attached to the larger piece of cloth.  Without further ado here are the final pictures.

 

 

There are the pictures.  As you can see I did a close up of each side...well as close as I could get.  A close shot of the center with a partial look at the four completed sides, one of the center satin work, a motif that I like and will be using again.  As well as an overall of the piece.  I'll post again when I've finally cut it out and wow, I can't believe it's finished lol.

 

Keep On Stitchin'...