Debating, debating...

I keep going back and forth about some beautiful mermaids I recently discovered. They are taken from artwork by Selina Fenech and I call the Elemental Mermaids, although the appropriate title is Art Nouveau Mermaids. Heaven and Earth Designs has them available as charts for stitching. So, some stitching options I came up with are:

1. Stitch as-is on white fabric. This would leave the Nouveau part blank (white) and I'd also be stitching all that beautiful but tedious background.

2. Stitch on fabric made for these mermaids. This would eliminate the need to stitch the background but would also mean I'd have to stitch a lot of white to keep the Nouveau design.

3. Stitch on the special fabric and to heck with the Nouveau part, since I'm not a huge Nouveau fan anyway and just love these mermaids.

Then I went to look at some WIPS of the mermaids and am debating if I really want to stitch them or just buy the prints. Lazy, huh? This is the first time any of these sort of designs have really called to me. When I looked at the WIPs (which are stunning!), I realized that no matter what I choose the stitched version is always going to be a little fuzzy simply because it's a different medium than the original artwork. I've never done any of the computer-generated charts made from artwork because of this reason. I tried one once but the confetti stitches drove me crazy and I didn't get far before I changed my mind and used the fabric for something else. I know, it's probaby heresy for me to say that, but it's the truth :)

So, I THINK I'm just going to buy the 8.5 x 11 prints and get them framed, but I haven't completely decided yet. In the meantime, there are plenty of Mirabilia mermaids and other charts to keep me happy while I make up my mind.