You've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed

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!

( Photos under the cut... )

Title: Tack-tack!
Character: Stanley from All Life is Yours to Miss, by saras_girl
Rating: G
Medium: Embroidery

A/N: Like many others, I am highly enamoured of Stanley, the unforgettable beetle from 'All Life is Yours to Miss'. I made this for vaysh11's birthday and have promised another one for the lovely saras_girl; I had hoped to get them both finished at the same time, but clumsy fingers prevented me.

Thank you very much to raitala who suggested I should attempt this feat of lunacy (trying to embroider a willow pattern onto an applique beetle was not the most sensible task I have ever taken on), and who luckily proved very useful with sewing advice!

( Tack-tack! )