Donna Vermilion Giampa – The Lyf So Short

“A Portrait of Santa” by Donna Vermillion Giampa

It’s finally finished! I can hardly believe it. When I began this project, no one knew who Monica Lewinsky or Britney Spears were or what an iPod did. Although the final result looks great (much better than I expected, actually, if I do say so myself), I must admit that my primary feeling at the moment is one of intense relief. Not only can I cross this project off my perpetual list of “things to stitch,” I have one of my Christmas presents done too!

This is where I was going to show you a close-up picture of the tremendous beating my friend’s pattern has taken over the years, but then I realized that it would be a huge violation of copyright. As a professional wordsmith and semi-professional designer myself, I have a great respect for copyright laws. Everyone has the right to be rewarded for their labors.

And, speaking of rewards for labor, I have to say that getting this Santa monkey off my back is quite a good one. As an added bonus, my friend has given me the pattern in exchange for the final stitched product. If anyone wants a completely beat-up copy of this pattern, let me know — I’ll even pay for the shipping.

So, I’ve been making a lot of progress on “Portrait of Santa” — it’s like I’m possessed with the desire to get this pattern out of my life forever. As you can see, he now has a complete hoodie, eyes, eyebrows, and most of a forehead, as compared to here. He’s starting to look a lot less creepy.

Here’s a close-up of the upper right (Santa’s forehead and wreath) so you can really see the progress:

I almost hate to say it, but this pattern is growing on me. The colors–the deep reds and pinks in particular–are very vibrant and I especially like the contrast between the two–the bright reds and minty greens, with a little of the sage green of the mistletoe thrown in for variety. I’m one of those people who thinks it’s “sad” that the color combination of red and green is reserved for Christmas. Like the other classic “primary color plus secondary” color combinations–yellow and purple, blue and orange–these two colors bring out the best in each other.