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.

Crewel embroidery design: Joanna Reed, designer

Project: Crewel embroidery design

Designer: Joanna Reed

Type of needlework: Crewel embroidery

Photo: 1

Design coming from the magazine called "Victoria", September 1993

Comments: This is the very first crewel embroidery project that I stitched and I discovered that I truly enjoyed stitching on fabric instead of on canvas. I have only stitched a couple of crewel projects, Edwina Gorey, being the other one, so I am thinking that it is high time for me to stitch some more. I just happen to have one waiting for me.

One of my goal these days is to work on my UFOs as I have got way too many of them sitting here and there. I am presently working on one of them called Persian Fantasy and my intention is to stitch exclusively on it until it is completed, then pick another UFO and do the same. Some of them have very little left to do before I can take them off the stretcher bars, so perhaps 2010 will be known as the year of the UFOs in my household.

Scissor fob: Carole Lake, designer

Project: Scissor fob (Glitzy Accessories)

Designer: Carole Lake

Type of needlework: Needlepoint

Photo: 1

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

Comments: This is the 5th of the Glitzy accessories, a little scissor fob. Only one more remains and it is a beautiful name tag. Having chosen my own colors for these accessories made it so much enjoyable to stitch them, as they were all colors that I really love. I just love it when there is some copper tones in the project though that does not stop me from doing projects in a lot of very different colors.

Camelot: Jim Wurth, designer

Project: Camelot

(9th of the series)

Designer: Jim Wurth

Series: Dodecagon ornaments

Type of needlework: Needlepoint

Photo: 1

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

Comments: This is another beautiful design from the Dodecagon series.

Little clown

Project: Little clown

Type of needlework: Embroidery

Designs from http://cathycreatif.free.fr/index_galerie.php

(beautiful drawings that can be adapted to embroidery)

Finishing: Done as an ATC (artistic trading card)

Photo: 1

Comments: I love to try things at least once so when we had some ATC (Artistic Trading Card) exchanges, I signed up for some of them.

This is a little clown I have stitched for which I found a drawing on the website listed above. All that remains after that was to decide how to stitch him, what colors to use, etc.

I decided to do a bit of thread painting for part of his outfit, added a few juggling balls, finished it and it was ready to be mailed. I really like the little fellow and I wish I could have kept it. I have this thing for clowns ever since I made a drawing of one of them in class when I was in eight grade and I surprised myself and my art teacher as it was so well drawn with a very sad expression on his face. I am not normally great at drawing so this was one in a lifetime extra special drawing. Too bad I don't have that one either. I need to stitch myself a clown and keep it this time around.

If I had to redo this clown ATC again, I would probably put a cardboard piece sandwiched between the two pieces of fabric so that it would end up straighter. It looks a bit ragged as it is (grinning).

Gracie: Ganet Burr, designer

Project: Gracie

Designer: Ganet Burr

Type of needlework: Stumpwork

(Intermediate level)

Photos: 12

This is an EGA correspondence course taken through EGA CyberStitchers

Comments: When I stitched this lovely project, I had been wanting to do some stumpwork for a while and after seeing Gracie, I just could not resist anymore and just had to stitch her. It was a lot of hard work, but so worth the time spent on her.

You will find photos showing Gracie at different stages from start to finish.

 I was looking for a very special project to put on my blog today and looking through all the projects that remains to be posted on this blog I felt it just had to be Gracie, as she is such wonderful company to have around. I have very pleasant memories stitching her. It was such a great learning experience for me.

Today Daylight Saving Time begins for us in the USA. I like longer evenings, but that also means that the mornings are going to be dark again, making it so much harder to wake up. Bad start this morning as I woke up an hour later than my usual waking up time. At least I hope that this is a sign that Spring is around the corner as Winter has been so very long and cold this year compared to previous ones.

Left side seaweed leaves

Right side long slender seaweed leaves

Seaweed ferns using Edmar Boucle threads

Tail and fins for Gracie

Sand added

Wired elements: Seaweeds

Wired elements: Large and small fins and the fish body

Adding the fish body over two layers of padding (felt)

Attaching all the wired elements, adding the eyes, mouth and some bubbles

Close-up of Gracie

Gracie all framed up