Comic Expo & Sad April SFS2015-A Report

Well... another month, another report.
I have to say that I didn't spend any money this month on stitching (hurrah!)... except I did spend an obscene amount of money at our local Comic Expo... my Harley Quinn obsession is starting to get out of hand according to my DH. (lol)

I have no stitching to report. I know terrible. But Comic Expo has been all consuming since middle of April. And I spent so much money that we are joking that our house is on the "KD budget" for the next month. I suppose at least that means I'll have another zero dollar spending month on stitching!! :)

So, forgive me the rest of this post is going to have nothing to do with stitching. Feel free to wander elsewhere if you're not interested in my fan girl activities.

Comic Expo - Calgary
I have been attending the local Expo here in Calgary (where I live) for the last 7 years. Each year has had lots of great celebs, shopping and sessions; but been plagued with crazy bad organization. I'm so pleased to say that this year, while the celebs were not quite as epic, the organization was bang on. And frankly having a good time is more important than having a million good celebrities (in fact maybe that's why it was better...)

Last minute they announced Neil Patrick Harris!!! It was shocking as NPH has never done any Expo except for San Diego (the largest in the world). So we couldn't believe he was coming to little ol' Calgary, Canada! I got to meet him, get his autograph and hear him speak at a panel. It was a great addition to the Expo and easily the best celebrity guest (but not my favourite moment). To the right is Neil from the autograph line-up.

I was especially excited, prior to NPH being announced, to meet Chad Hardin. He is the current artist of Harley Quinn in her own series of DC comics. Don't know who Harley is? She is the paramour of Joker and often seen by his side. She first appeared in the Batman franchise in the animated Batman from the early 1990's (when I was prime age for cartoons).
To say I was over joyed to meet Chad would be an understatement. He was a super nice, personable and real person. Zero ego to be had. I got to commission him to do my very own, exclusive pencil sketch of Harley Quinn (for a pretty penny) that is absolutely worth every penny I spent on it. We're going to get it framed up and put it on the wall:

The sketch above is currently my pride and joy. It's actually sitting at home (to be framed) right next to my Jeannette Douglass stash from last month!

Here's a rare glimpse of me... in my new Harley Quinn hoody purchased at Expo. I know I look 12, but I swear I'm 32! (wow, two posts with pics of me in two months; I must be loosing it.)

In addition to NPH & Chad I also met; David Morrisey (the Governor from Walking Dead), Kristin Bauer (Pam from True Blood & Malificent in Once Upon a Time), Carl Weathers (Predator plus lots of other movies over the years).
I bought a bunch of comics including a first edition of a series called Gotham City Sirens that stars Harley Quinn (surprised? haha), Poison Ivy & Catwoman. It was a bit of investment but in great shape and the only copy I saw all weekend amongst the dozens of comic booths in the market.

There you have it, a short but sweet update about what I've spent my last little it obsessing about. I've been (of course) reading lots of comics and getting tied up about what Harley Quinn is going to look like for her big screen debut in forthcoming DC Comics "Suicide Squad" movie. (don't ask what I think of her look that we've seen to date as it's a rambling worst than this post).

If you stuck to the end of this good for you! And thanks for caring about part of my non-stitching life. Dragons is going to get picked up by weeks end (finally) and I really do need to pick up the pace to make my end of May deadline... eek!

April SFS2015-A Reporting

This is the place to log-in/report for all participating bloggers in SFS2015-A group.

This link list to report for April (for bloggers) will remain open from April 21 - 29.

Of course we want pictures and more information if you'd like!! This is merely the minimum requirement for reporting. Please ensure you link to the exact SFS post on your blog and not your general blog page.

Email participants please click to send in your report: 

http://rahenna.com/sfs/

Issues, concerns, confused, etc?  

Please feel free to leave a comment here and I will respond via email or comment back if you don't have an email connected to your blogger profile. 

OR 

Email me (Mel) direct at stitchfromstash@gmail.com

Baby Sampler WIP

You probably don't remember... but I was working on a gift baby sampler back in December/January. Well... I'm still working on it. But it's close to being done. I was hoping to finish it on the holiday weekend but alas that didn't happen. Then I decided, ah why not, I'll share it anyways!!

This is a super cute design. I am not a big "baby design" pastel person but love the saying in this and the colors. I made one single change which is to make the hearts a pale pink instead of white (as they were being lost on my fabric, but also cause the sampler is for two little girls so it seemed like some pink was needed). The design is from Cherry Hill Stitchery and it appears the name is just "Birth Sampler". Here it is, almost done. Owl to be finished, and two names being added to the bottom (for the two girls in the family).

I have to say I'm appreciating good old DMC on 32 ct linen. It is a nice simple change for me to work on. No fussy silk, over 1 on 25 or fancy stitches. That said, I'm starting a Jeannette Douglass as soon as this is finished and will be back to my usual 'epic' elements in my stitching.
This is my first Silkweavers fabric that I've ever stitched and OMG I think I'm in love!!! The softness of this fabric is unparalleled. I think I have  cashmere yarn that isn't this soft. And the hand-dyed colours are truly incredible. The photo doesn't do it justice.

Other WIPs: 
I have been working on Dragons and will show a 1/3 or 1/2 page update now that we are in the home stretch!! I think I'm almost afraid to finish this last page, and yet eager to get it finished. It's a weird scenario in my mind right now.
As mentioned above, a new Jeannette piece will be started after the sampler.
My husband has also moved some artwork in our main room around (to accommodate the record player set-up that we bought. Yes genuine 1970's turntable, amp & speakers) and he has asked me to work on the Ink Circles piece that reminds us of our trip to the Netherlands a couple years ago. So that will be getting started (likely after dragons).
And then of course, when dragons is done... a new epic, epic piece will need to be chosen! And I have a lot of options with 50+ HAED designs, plus a few other designs with similar painting style stitching.
Whew, good thing 2015 isn't half over yet as I suddenly feel like I have a lot of goals that aren't set up are going to happen this year! :)