The Exemplary 2025
2nd Place, Professional Non-Original without Instruction

Spotting this canvas many years ago, and while realizing it was definitely out of my comfort zone, I purchased it. Trying a somewhat unusual progression of bargello with Fyre Werks Soft Sheen and then moving to the packages, I knew I was out of my comfort zone and accordingly put it away. This past year, I decided it would be a fun item to add to the Christmas decorations and pushed myself to finish it. The words used while stitching with the Fuzzy Stuff to make the cat look like a cat (a red cat?????) would not have been acceptable in mixed company! Forcing my conservative style to incorporate beads, knitting the scarf on miniature needles with Burmilana, incorporating nine additional thread types and finding snowflakes that looked like snowflakes were all Herculean efforts to move the canvas from WIP to FINISHED!