Guardian Angel for a Friend

Project: Guardian Angel for a Friend

Designer: Something I put together

Type of needlework: Embroidery

Photo: 1

Comments: When a very dear friend of mine got sick a few years ago, I wanted her to have something special with her during that difficult time, something that she could carry with her wherever she went, something that would let her know that she was not alone, that she was loved and that good vibes were coming her way and that all would be allright in the end, which I am happy to report that it did.

The size is a something between an ATC (Artistic Trading Card) and a postcard. It has for background a lovely cigarette silk print of an angel, which I have outlined with threads, couched a little gold thread around the wings and halo and made some roses with silk ribbons.

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UPDATES ON TWO PROJECTS: JUNE 30, 2010

Wild Rose has been framed and a photograph can be seen at the end of the post here.

Winter Frost has also been framed and you can see a photograph at the end of that past too. Here is the link.

Bookmark: Bernice Designs

Project: Bookmark

Designer: Bernice Designs

Type of needlework: Cross Stitch

Photos: 2

Comments: My friend Terry knows how much I love bookmarks so she stitched one for me and send me a second one for me to stitch (grinning).

One interesting aspect of these bookmarks is that once you have stitched the design you slide it inside the card mount and there is even a little envelope in which you can put it in. I guess, all you have to do after that is just address it, put postage and mail it or just hand deliver it.

The photo below show the one that my friend has sent me with mount, envelope, thread and of course instructions.

(Photo showing what the kit contains)

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SPECIAL NOTE: To all of you who are Jean Hilton's fans, ScottLee is now exclusively sold at Stitches from the Heart.

ScottLee is the first design shown on that webpage at present. I have just received my own copy from that shop with all the necessary threads and canvas and I am so looking forward to the first opportunity I get to start working on it. I have always thought it was such a lovely design and I love the colors used.

This special design has been inspired by Jean's stepson Scott's love of Persian rugs.

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Patchwork Christmas ornament

Project: Patchwork Christmas ornament

Designer: Gift received from Mireille (Belgium)

Type of needlework: Patchwork

Photo: 1

Comments: What a lovely surprise when I received this Christmas gift from my friend Mireille all the way from Belgium. I love her choice of colors and how she decorated it. It goes on my Christmas tree yearly with all my lovely hand made decorations.

Spring Bouquet Tissue Holder: Angela Watson, designer

Project: Spring Bouquet Tissue Holder

(Inspirations magazine project)

Designer: Angela Watson of Queensland

Type of needlework: Embroidery

Photos: 2

Comments: Those of you who have been following my blog know how much I love the Australian magazine called Inspirations. I found this absolutely lovely and practical tissue holder envelope in their issue number 28 

Angela said that a travelling pack of tissues fits in the tissue holder and it perfectly does.

The original was done with Damask but I had none at the time and decided to use some Silk Dupioni instead. I have used the threads I had in my stash instead of the Madeira stranded cotton threads that was in the list of material for this project., so I ended up not having to purchase anything at all to make this project.

The instructions were very very good as always and I had no difficulties with either the stitching or the assembly part of it. I have kept this one for myself but this would also make a very nice gift for someone special.

(Photo showing the tissue holder empty and also a different view)

Crazy Quilting Christmas Bell Ornament

Project: Crazy Quilting Christmas Bell Ornament

Designer: Something I put together myself

Type of needlework: Crazy Quilting

Photos: 2

Interesting online magazine about crazy quilting: http://cqmagonline.com/

Leslie Levison's "Crazy Quilt Patchwork Block" Online Class here.

Vintage Vogue where there are lots of links on the left side of the page

Lots of crazy quilting images here.

Article: America's Quilting History,  Crazy Quilt History: A Victorian Craze

Annie's Studio: http://www.loopylace.com/crazyquiltstudio/

Wonderful place to learn Crazy Quilting with Sharon Boggon: http://inaminuteago.com/cq-samplerquilt/quiltindex.html

Needlework tips and techniques for crazy quilting here

Such a fun site here for crazy quilters: http://www.miopupazzo.com/

Good source of information here with lots to see and learn

Comments: First of all, I have added lost of links above for those of you who may want to try doing a bit of crazy quilting.

This little crazy quilting Christmas bell ornament is something that I have just put together. It is easy to either draw or find a bell drawing on the web or  in coloring books and then make a few fabric divisions and just stitch and ornate as you please. This is just a little project that I made when I first started with crazy quilting.

(Close-up photo of my little crazy quilting bell)

Angelina Fibers: Golden Heart Ornament

Project: Angelina Fibers Golden Heart ornament

Designer: My friend Terry

Type of needlework: Mixed media

Photo: 1

Angelina Fibers Tutorial here on the Joggles website 

Article here about Angelina Fibers called

Angelina—Reflected & Refracted Light by Sonja Lee-Austin

 

Interesting project ideas on this blog: http://fembellish.wordpress.com/category/fibers/angelina/

 

Comments: Terry surprised me one year with a little Christmas ornament that she made for me with Angelina fibers. I have never used it myself so far, but I am highly interested in finding out exactly what can be done with this.

I do happen to have a needlepoint project that I will soon start working on that uses Angelina Fibers, so it won't be very long before I actually get some experience with those fibers.

I have included above a few links to get us all started reading about it if we so desire. There are also books on the market about that topic.

Rose Arbour Sampler: Thea Dueck, designer

Project: Rose Arbour Sampler

Designer: Thea Dueck for The Victoria Sampler

Type of needlework: Mixed Media

Photos: 2

Beautiful free projects on The Victoria Sampler website here.

Comments: This pattern from The Victoria Sampler was stitched as a gift for a friend. I mailed it to her unframed and I must say that her framer has done a wonderful job with it. It looks very similar to the one from The Victoria Sampler, which I thought was just perfect for it.

(Photo showing the stitched pattern as mailed to my friend)

Miniature Garden Gate: Gay Ann Rogers, designer

Project: Miniature Garden Gate

Designer: Gay Ann Rogers

Type of needlework: Needlepoint

Photos: 2

Gay Ann's website: http://www.gayannrogers.com/site_2/Home_Page.html

Gay Ann's blog: http://gayannrogers.blogspot.com/

Gay Ann's Classroom at SNS: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SNS_GAR_Classroom/

Shining Needle Society: http://www.shiningneedlesociety.com/

Finishing forms used for this project can be found here.

Comments: After having stitched the lovely miniature Georgian House, I went ahead and stitched the miniature Garden Gate.

The finishing is so easy to do with those metal finishing forms. I don't use them all the time. It really depends on the end result I am striking for. In this case I thought it would work very nicely.

This photo below shows the two little ornaments side by side.

Miniature Georgian house: Gay Ann Rogers, designer

Project: Miniature Georgian House

Designer: Gay Ann Rogers

Type of needlework: Needlepoint

Photo: 1

Gay Ann's website: http://www.gayannrogers.com/site_2/Home_Page.html

Gay Ann's blog: http://gayannrogers.blogspot.com/

Gay Ann's Classroom at SNS: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SNS_GAR_Classroom/

Shining Needle Society: http://www.shiningneedlesociety.com/

Comments: I thought it would be fun to stitch this cute little miniature Georgian House and finish it as an ornament and put on my Christmas tree during the holidays.  This was also really a quick stitch. We all need little projects like this one from time to time to do between bigger and more time consuming ones.

In case you are wondering, there was a bit of green paint applied on the canvas by Gay Ann before I did any stitching. This gave me some ideas for future projects as it seems rather easy to do really.

I am full of ideas. I just wish I had more time to work on them all. I do think that each project teaches me something and better prepare me for the one that follows.

In a following post, you will see the accompanying one which is a miniature garden gate which also had a bit of paint applied on the canvas by Gay Ann. The two of them together  make a nice little set.

Complimentary Cup of Tea, Coffee or Hot Chocolate While Reading "Cross Stitch Horrors"

Project: Complimentary Cup of Tea, Coffee or Hot Chocolate

Designer: Drawing from http://cathycreatif.free.fr/index_galerie.php

Type of needlework: Mixed media

Photo: 1

Comments: After tracing the drawing, I painted the saucer and the cup with watercolor paint and stitched the outline.

I thought this little design was just the thing for when I have something fun and/or interesting for you to read. What could be better than to put our feet up in a comfortable chair holding a good cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate and just relax for a few minutes.

Enjoy the following!

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CROSS STITCH HORRORS

Today I joined a cross stitch class

And though it may sound dumb

Where once my fingers used to be

I now possessed a thumb

I couldn't thread the needle

And this creates a "hitch"

For without a threaded needle

You can't create a stitch

The instructor had to thread it

Amd though it sounds kind hearted

She muttered lots of muffled words

And hastily departed

She showed us how to make a stitch

And where we should begin

But the first stitch ended painfully

Beneath my tender skin

Well, I've never been heroic

And I believe one lady said

The screams that issued from my mouth

Would surely wake the dead

The class was in an uproar

As they crammed to take a peek

For my face was now a deathly white

And my legs were feeling weak

My finger was in tatters

I tried hard not to cry

But the gash looked like a canyon

There was a good chance that I'd die

The teacher yelled impatiently

What she said I'll never know

For I fainted in an instant

When the blood began to flow

The teacher phoned the ambulance

For the wound was very deep

But she said the blood-drenched patterns

Could now be mine to keep

As they placed me in the ambulance

She let out such a shriek

When I tried to reassure her

That I'd be back next week!

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(I unfortunately do not know who is the author of this,

but I just found it so funny and posted on my blog so that I could read it from time to time

when I needed a good hearty laugh)