For saras_girl: Helix embroidery

[birdsofshore]

Happy New Year, everybody! I've been in a bit of a funny mood, so I haven't been around much, but things are definitely getting better. I want to post some recs and stuff later, and hope to be commenting a bit more and generally right in your face again.

However, I read and loved saras_girl's amazing advent fic, Helix. If you haven't caught up with this, it's an utter treat and full of SG's usual lovely mix of humour, hope, heart and hotness. Plus, SNAILS. Harry and Draco have to work together (love that trope) to protect the endangered frost snails, which can breed at Hogwarts only under very delicate conditions. The snails themselves are utterly gorgeous and inspired me to commit embroidery. I started this for SG's birthday, so you can see how long it took me *head desk*. I failed to make the snails as sparkly and magical as SG describes, and it turned out to be beyond my skills to photograph the glitteriness anyway, but I enjoyed taking a break from the kerfuffle of Christmas to try.

Dear saras_girl, thank you for another beautiful advent story. Reading each installment of your fic in bed was sometimes the only calm moment in a rather long day, and I fell for your snails hard. I do hope you like this! I'll send it off to you as soon as I get to the post office. ♥

Grateful thanks to raitala who is my sewing guru!

Comments

[nenne.livejournal.com]

What an amazing gift! Go you! :D

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hannelore/]

Oh my goodness, those are gorgeous snails! You do such lovely work. Glad to see you around more, Happy New Year and take care. ♥

[firethesound]

There would be much flailing. All the flailing.

I keep saying I'm going to do more needlework and then I just haven't... Did I tell you I'm making a porny set of Starfighter dishtowels? But I got sidetracked partway through the first one and they're just sitting in a drawer right now. I am bad at staying focused.

[fantasyfiend09.livejournal.com]

This is so fabulous! I love that you have conveyed Nat's beautiful snails in the form of embroidery. They are so shiny and sparkly and pretty! Lucky Nat! Sweet you!

[birdsofshore]

Oh, god, that's excellent. I don't think my skills are up to NC-17 embroidery. Nor could I get away with drying dishes with something emblazoned with Cain's glorious cock, not without the children needing more therapy than they are already going to...

[birdsofshore]

I'm happy you like it!

[birdsofshore]

Ah, thanks my dear. I'm looking forward to more LJing coming up. Thank you for your enthusiasm about my sparkles :D

[birdsofshore]

Thank you, I'm so pleased you like them! I loved making something for Nat, because she gives us all such pleasure <3

[huldrejenta.livejournal.com]

These are wonderful!

I haven't read the fic yet, but if reading the recs and loving the writer wasn't enough to make me want to read it, this certainy would be :D

[candamira.livejournal.com]

Your snails are too sweer and sparkling snails are FTW anyway! Great gift, and they really look like frost snails, silvery as they are.

I'm looking forward to reading both advent fics of saras_girl and dannyfranx on my Kindle. Somewhere between finishing Erised and starting HBB :-)! Reading all the things I want to read efforts quite an efficient time management ;D!

[saras-girl.livejournal.com]

Oh my goodness, these are amazing! They sparkle! [And let me empathise on trying to sew with anything sparkly, it is a nightmare, and I appreciate the work it must have taken to wrangle it.] THE EYESTALKS THOUGH. They are adorable. Thank you so much. I am so looking forward to seeing them *hugs you tight* ♥

[writcraft]

I love these, Birds <333

They are so cute and sparkly. What a lovely gift!

[anemonen.livejournal.com]

Omg these are so adorable! I'm seriously impressed by your embroidery skills! Still haven't read that fic, though. Looking forward to it when I've got through Erised :)

[smirkingcat.livejournal.com]

wow!
this is really cool and cute at the same time
that is really great handwork
awesome!

[birdsofshore]

Thank you so much! The fic is extremely charming - I know you'll love it.

[birdsofshore]

Whoa, there are so many things to read. I'm amazed at how much some people manage. I set out to read 3 or 4 advent fics but quickly had to give up on all of them except SG's.

I'm happy you think the snails look frosty and sweet!

[birdsofshore]

You're so very welcome. It was a pleasure. And I DID FRENCH KNOTS! They just did what they were meant to and I was so pleased. The silveriness was a foolish thing, really. The fabric I chose was so inappropriate for applique but I was stubborn and made it do my will via mystical bondaweb and all kinds of things. The worst bit was the thread for the trails. I was delighted when I found it, as it is sort of iridescent, but it was soooo hard to stitch with. In the end I decided to just let it be all wayward when it wanted to... snails' trails are not exactly neat and perfect things, so I'm letting myself off the hook there :D

Thank you for writing such fun things to embroider!

[birdsofshore]

I have the emotional age of 4 when it comes to sparkly things, so this was an irresistible project for me. :D I'm very glad you like them.

[birdsofshore]

Oh, thank you! I don't think my skills are up to much, but applique is fun and simple to do. I know you'll love the fic when you get to it!

[birdsofshore]

Thank you very much. That's a lovely compliment.

[birdsofshore]

Thank you very much! I take that as a big compliment. The frost snails were so deliciously magical, I wanted to make them as pretty as I could.

[enchanted-jae.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous!

[meepison.livejournal.com]

These are just lovely! I admire your talent!!

[ilarose4.livejournal.com]

Your Frost Snails are lovely.

[bryoneybrynn.livejournal.com]

Okay, not to be all weird and overly serious but honestly, this represents the very best of fandom. The joy we take in each other's work, how our own creativity gets sparked by the talent and works of others, the delight of playing together in our much beloved sandbox, and the generosity of the fen. Not to mention the talent! This is so awesome! And cute! And just *grabby hands* Everything about it makes me smile. YOU are incredible! :)