Candle Christmas ornament

Project: Candle Christmas ornament

Designer: Elsie Ottinger

Type of needlework: Brazilian embroidery

Photo: 1

Website showing Edmar threads used for this project

Comments: I used to belong to a Yahoo group where Elsie was helping stitchers to learn how to do Brazilian embroidery and she created a few designs that she generously shared with us all as members of her group.

This is actually my very first try at Brazilian embroidery. I have stitched others since then which I will be posting later.

I have also two Brazilian embroidery UFOs which I intent to finish in the coming months and I will be adding them to my blog upon their completion.

The Friendly Neighborhood Ghost

Project: The Friendly Neighborhood Ghost

Type of needlework: Embroidery

Designer: A drawing that I use from  http://cathycreatif.free.fr/index_galerie.php

Photos: 2

Comments: I love to stitch fun stuff but for some reason I rarely do, so when Halloween comes I indulge myself in fun stitching. I was trying to find some cute Halloween project and then I saw this charming ghost washing spider webs and I thought what a great idea this is, so I got busy and stitched it.

I wanted to be able to just put it on a shelf for display so I thought that a flat-fold finish would be just perfect.

Judy Odell from "Just a Thought" has a series of books on different kinds of  finishing so I ordered a few of her books. One of the book I purchased is called "The Flat-fold".  Doing the finishing was actually easier than I thought at first as I found her instructions quite easy to follow.

Name tag: Carole Lake, designer

Project: Name tag (Glitzy Accessories)

Designer: Carole Lake

Type of needlework: Needlepoint

Photo: 1

Carole's website: http://www.carolelake.com/

Comments: This is the last design in the Glitzy Accessories project.

Remember? There were six different stitching accessories: Frame Weight, Needlecase, Laying Tool Case, Scissor Case which have all been already posted on this blog and you may have another look at them again if you wish by looking on the side bar on the right side of the screen under "Labels" and then under "Carole Lake", and finally today the Name Tag with photo above.

Since I took this cyberclass with Carole, she has now published a book containing the instructions for all the Glitzy Accessories and you can find a copy of this book at Nordic Needle for those of you who might be interested in stitching them.

Hardanger Ornaments: Karen Buell, designer

Project: Hardanger ornaments

(Project number H17)

(1990)

Designer: Karen R. Buell

Type of needlework: Hardanger

Photo: 1

A Karen Buell free design on Caron website

Lots of interesting designs from Karen at JDR

Comments: It was a surprise for me to discover the different types of designs that Karen Buell has created during the years when I made my little Google search. I thought she was a hardanger designer, but it seems that I was wrong in presuming this and I  must keep her other projects in mind as I love them.

The hardanger ornaments seen in the photo came from a little kit I purchased years ago. I was then starting to do hardanger and needed something easy to get me started and I found those online somewhere. I can't recall where now as it has been so long. The kit number is H17 and the publication date was 1990.

I also learned a new finishing method, new for me, which had been provided with the instructions that came with the kit. I love to learn how to finish projects myself as it gives me an opportunity to do a project from start to finish (excluding the designing part of course). I stay away though from framing any of my projects. A girl needs to draw a line somewhere and that is where I draw mine (grinning)

Pincushion and Count Keepers

Projects: Pincushion and Count keepers

Designer: Something that I did after seeing them elsewhere

Type of needlework: Not entirely sure how to classify these

Photo: 1

Tutorial giving instructions for creating your own pincushion similar to mine above can be found at Whipup.

Comments: I was looking for something practical and cute to make as a gift  and I thought of putting together a simple but cute little pincushion. Then, I got the idea of also making a count keeper to go with it. 

We all need and want stitching accessories so I thought it would be a useful gift, something that she could use on a daily basis. I know that I could never  have too many pincushions and this one was unpretentious, as it was only made with fabric, so she would not hesitate in stitcking needles in it.  I have some pincushions that I would never ever dare stick a needle in them. I just keep those around me in my stitching room as decorations.

I have used the tutorial indicated aboveto make mine and I had seen some count keepers in magazines and they seem simple enough to make so I went ahead and tried it and it worked wonderfully. Just one problem though, I forgot to make at least one for myself, something that I need to remedy as I do lots of counting and that sure would be helpful.

Floral sachet

Project: Floral sachet

Designer: DMC Hardanger Stitchery Kit

(Article T997KU)

Type of needlework: Hardanger

Photo: 1

Comments: This is a cute little hardanger floral sachet that I stitched some time ago. I can't remember much information about it except that I purchased the kit through the internet. I believe that was my first or second hardanger project, when I still did  not  know too much what I was doing (grinning).

Old Country: Jim Wurth, designer

Project: Old Country

(10th of the series)

Designer: Jim Wurth

Series: Dodecagon ornaments

Type of needlework: Needlepoint

Photos: 6

Jim's Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DodecagonSeriesOrnaments/

Comments: This is another one of the Dodecagon Series ornaments that I have truly enjoyed stitching and with this one I took more photographs than I normally did with the previous ones.

Jim gives very good visuals in his instructions for all stitches to be performed, but if you are like me and want to know more about those particular stitches and much much more, there are a few Jean Hilton's books that I would highly recommend. Two of them are listed below with links where they can be purchased. You can also see other books and designs from Jean Hilton on this website. Stitches from the Heart is also a great shop to do business with.

(Mistake stitch which you can read more about in Jean Hilton's Needlepoint Stitches book, pages 10 and 11)

(A little bit more done on the center section - just love those colors)

(Past the mid-way stitching photograph)

(Lots of Jessicas in Jim Wurth's designs)

(Walneto motif - See Jean Hilton's book called Stimulating Stitches)

Hapsburg Lace Sampler: Tanja Berlin, designer

Project: Hapsburg Lace Sampler

Designer: Tanja Berlin

Type of needlework: Hapsburg Lace

Photos: 7

Tanja's web site: http://berlinembroidery.com/

Tanja's personal photo gallery: http://www.berlinembroidery.com/gallery.html

Tanja's guest's gallery: http://www.berlinembroidery.com/customersembroideries.htm

Comments: When I saw this lovely sampler on Tanja's website, I could not resist. It has such a beautiful lacy effect to it and looks so very elegant. It has been done on an 18-count mono canvas with white perle cotton thread and a few ribbons here and there to really make it look like real lace. This sampler has 25 different patterns.

I could have finished it as a bell pull but decided to have it framed instead.

(Patterns 1 through 7)

(Patterns 8 through 14

(Patterns15 through 21)

(Patterns 22 through 25)

All stitched but still need to have a border added all around it

Hapsburg Lace Sampler framed

Here Kitty: Cheryl Schaeffer, designer

Project: Here Kitty

Designer: Cheryl Schaeffer

Type of needlework: Needlepoint 

(painted canvas)

Photos: 2

Cheryl's website: http://www.cherylschaeffer.com/index.html

Comments: One day when I was reading Pat's blog I saw this cat that seems to be playing peek-a-boo and I thought he was so darn cute as he had a playful attitute.

This cat reminded me of my best friend who has always had at least one cat at home ever since her childhood. I then spontaneously decided to purchase this painted canvas for her with the intent of offering her Kitty as a Christmas present. I thought can I possibly go wrong if I stitched her this cat. She just had to love it, right? And it turns out that she did indeed (big grin).

Since I had to mail it to her I left it unframed and she found this frame that just happened to have swirls all around the frame, a bit like the ones that were on Kitty's painted canvas, so she went for it.

Oh yes, I stitched a painted canvas, a rare thing with me, but when I inquired to Cheryl about Kitty, she directed me to Old Town Needlework in Scottsdale in Arizona where Alice Borge helped me grreatly by writing  me a nice little stitch guide explaining the stitches she would use and where and also the threads that would go nicely and she did all that without my having to ask her for one. Either my reputation of not stitching a painted canvas without a stitch guide is well known around the stitching world or Alice just give her customers great service .................... or maybe both :-)

Below is a photo showing the frame that my friend selected for Kitty.

Minuet: Rosalie Wakefield, designer

Project: Minuet

Designer: Rosalie Wakefield

Type of needlework: Brazilian embroidery

Photos: 2

Free projects here

Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery International Guild: http://www.brazilian-dimensional-embroidery.org/

Comments: This is the second of the free projects that I tried at the time and also finished it as a little ornament. Not much I could think of doing with it once stitched as it is rather small but seems ideal as ornaments.

I have a couple of Brazilian embroidery projects in my UFO pile, so if I am consistent with my goal of finishing lots of UFOs, then they should be completed sometimes this year, perhaps sooner than expected as I may even surprise myself.