Patches of Snow: Kaitlyn Marie Designs

Project: Patches of Snow

(Mini Stocking)

(1994)

Designer: Kaitlyn Marie Designs

Type of needlework: Beading and needlepoint

Photos: 7

Comments: I think that mini stockings are such a nice addition in any Christmas tree and the more the merrier.

This is actually my second mini stocking that I have done from Kaitlyn Marie Designs, the first one being called Fancy That: Emerald Gold Mini Stocking and you can see it here on a past blog entry.

Contrary to the Emerald & gold mini stocking which was about half needlepointing and half beading, this one was mainly beading with a tiny fraction needlepointing.

Some sections went pretty quickly and others took a bit more times depending on the size of the beads. There was also 3 Pearl Cabochons included in the kit.

Instructions for finishing the little stocking were included and were easy to follow.

(Photo showing the divided patches)

(On this photo, patches 1, 2, 3 and 4 completed)

(Photo showing patches 5, 6, 7 and 8 completed)

(Photo showing patches 9 and 10 completed)

(Patches 11, 12 and 13 completed)

(Photo showing the cover page for this project)

Florentine Holiday: Susan T. Kerndt, designer

Project: Florentine Holiday

Designer: Susan T. Kerndt

Type of needlework: Bargello

Photos: 3

Designer Spotlight here

Gorgeous Florentine needlecase freebee here

If anyone is interested in this design it can be found here on the Stitchers Paradise website.

Comments: This is one of those projects that when I saw it the first time around I immediately fell in love with it and promised myself that one day I would stitch it.

Bargello is one of the thing I love the most stitching and this project was no exception. It was just a delight. The colors are just so pretty and of course Chrismassy. Unfortunately the photographs do not quite do it justice. We can't really see too well the gold metallic thread used here and there in Florentine Holiday.

I have taken a few close-ups for you all to see some sections better.

(This first close-up shows the garland with the four bows at the top)

(Photo showing a Hungarian Point design)

UPDATE: October 20, 2010

This is my framed Florentine Holiday.



(Framed)

Cottage surrounded by bird, insects and flowers

Project: Cottage surrounded by bird, insects and flowers

Designer: A gift received from my friend Terry

(She says it is probably either a DMC or Anchor kit that she purchased ages ago)

Type of needlework: Embroidery

Photo: 2

Comments: This is a little cottage that my friend Terry said that was either a DMC kit or an Anchor one but she can't be certain as it has been way too long ago that she has stitched it.

I think that this was the very first cottage that she stitched and she used two threads in her needle instead of the one that she has been using afterwards, so she ended up not being as happy with the results as she would have been if she had used only the one thread as it gives a more delicate appearance and this one has a little more bulky appearance than the first one but I love it just the same and I am happy to have it.

After giving me the Ivy Cottage and seeing how much I love it, she decided to give me this one too, one that she had already stitched a while back, but had not yet done anything with it. I had it framed like I did the other one and now I can move from one cottage to the next, at least in imagination.

(Photo showing the stitched cottage still on the hoop)

Little Horse Scene needlecase

Project: Little Horse Scene needlecase

Designer: Drawing taken from "The Crafter's Design Library: Animals" by Sharon Bennett

(photo of the book below)

Type of needlework: Embroidery and Painting

Photos: 4

Comments: I need to start by saying that this little project was so much fun to do.

My goal with this project was to make a little something for my very good friend Terry, something that would have meaning for her. She absolutely loves horses and had many during her lifetime, so I decided to embroider her this little horse scene.

I used some white silk dupioni, traced the design from Sharon Bennett's book and started stitching, chosing colors as I went along. I also wanted to put some color inside the embroidered outlines, so I tried some watercolor paint using Neocolor II, which are basically some water-soluble wax pastels.  I had to order some little brushes and I found some miniature ones from Silver Brush.

Having never done much painting of any kind and certainly not on fabric when I did that project, I had no idea how things would turn out. After using the wax pastels, I added a little water with the tiny brushes and the whole scene turned into a watercolor one in front of my amazed eyes. That was a great learning experience and I promised myself then that I would be using more painting on future projects. One of the thing I love the most is to marry many different techniques on the same project.

When the painted and embroidered little horse scene was completed, I turned it into a needlecase for her.

For the inside of the needlecase I remember trying to find some appropriate fabric in my stash that would match the color of the fence, but of course I could not find any, so I decided to dye some. The fabric was originally all white with little miniature flowers. I did not want the dye to be uniformed all over but with spots darker and others lighter and one of the photo below shows the top of the needlecase with a peek of the inside fabric.

(Photo showing the little horse scene after it has been watercoloured and embroidered)

(Photo showing the dyed fabric inside the needlecase)

(Drawing from this book used for this project)

Ivy Cottage: Di van Niekerk, designer

Project: Ivy cottage

Designer: Di van Niekerk

Type of needlework: Embroidery

Photos: 6

Website: http://www.dicraft.co.za/

Comments: My friend Terry stitched this lovely Ivy Cottage for me for one of my birthday. She knew that I had always admired them so much that she could not go wrong with this gift. As you can see here, there were many cottages to choose from and I love them all. She could have picked anyone of them and I would have been just as happy.

 I often wish that I could actually live in a real one. These cottages just seem so cozy and so beautiful, surrounded by lots of flowers, shrubs and trees. If only I could that would really be a dream come through for me, but for now I can always look at Ivy Cottage and dream, dream, dream (grinning). It is hanging in my stitching room on the wall behind my computer so I can see it while typing this. Isn't life good?

(Photo showing the little Ivy Cottage all stitched before framing)

(Cottage before stitching)

(Beginning of stitching)

(Another photo)

(Coming along)

Elizabethan Pencil box: Barbara Jackson, designer

Project: Elizabethan Pencil box

Designer: Barbara Jackson

Type of needlework: Crewel embroidery

Photos: 6

Tristan Brooks Designs web site: http://www.tristanbrooks.com/

Comments: I had always been a bit nostalgic about old times when I had my own wooden pencil box when going to school and I had been looking for one for a long time when I saw this one on the Tristan Brooks website. The design was a crewel one,  not a cruel one, and since I love crewel, it was an easy sell for them to make. I also thought that the Olde Colonial pencil box was just so pretty. How can anyone possibly resist that? If you go to their website, you will see lots of lovely boxes that you can purchase, if you are so inclined.

(Photo showing the stitched design)

(Empty box)

(Left side section of the design)

(Middle section of design)

(Right side section of design)

Biscornu: Dinky Dyes design

Project: Biscornu

Designer: Dinky Dyes design

Type of needlework: Cross Stitch

Photo: 1

Website: Handcrafts Online http://ehandcrafts.com/BK.php

Mary Kathryn's blog: http://marykathryn.wordpress.com/

Dinky Dyes website: http://www.dinkydyes.iinet.net.au/

Comments: My friend Terry made this lovely biscornu for me, so I have never actually stitched one myself.

For anyone just like myself who still have to make one themselves, there is a complete tutorial/class for this biscornu here, making things much easier for anyone who has never done one before and I think that the pattern might be purchased on the website link above.

Shades of Autumn: Delma Moore, designer

Project: Shades of Autumn

Designer: Delma Moore

Type of needlework: Brazilian embroidery

Photos: 4

Blackberry Lane website: http://www.blackberrylane.com.au/

Comments: I love Autumn and the colors associated with that season, so when I saw this design, I wanted to stitch it. The design came already printed on the fabric with complete instructions. You can also find this design and all the necessary threads at JDR in the USA.

(Close up photo)

(Close up showing the little spider. See if you can spot it now)

(Final photo showing Shades of Autumn all framed up)

"Pinn" cushion doggy: Susa Glenn, designer

Project: "Pinn" Cushion Doggy

Designer: Susa Glenn

Type of needlework:

Photos: 2

Susa Glenn's website: http://www.susaglenndesigns.com/

Comments:  My friend Terry surprised me one day with this lovely pincushion. I love the fact that this little dog carries often used stitching accessories.

Susan has other pincushion designs too for those of you who might prefer something else. You can see them here.

(Photo showing the back with the little stitching accessories)

Quiltwork: Ruth Dilts, designer

Project: Quiltwork

(Rainbow Gallery, 1994)

Designer: Ruth Dilts

Type of needlework: Needlepoint

Photos: 2

Ruth Dilts' website:  http://www.ruthdiltsdesign.com/

Comments: This may have been my second project when I started stitching. Gosh, this seems like a lifetime ago, but it is not really. I guess, it just feels like it is.

This project had 4 different colorways to choose from and I choose the one that used the French Blue canvas.

The photo below shows the one with the Lavendula canvas. Other choices were Rose Blush and Sandstone canvases.

Finished size of the design is approximately 6 1/4 inch by 6 1/4 inch.