Happy Valentine 2011

H A P P Y   V A L E N T I N E

I was wondering what I could add to my blog for this Valentine as I have not stitched any new hearts lately and thought it could be fun to see the few hearts I have stitched so far all in one place.

I have a couple that are useful to my stitching and a couple that are just decorative.

The pink heart above is called Victorian Heart Pincushion and as his name implies it is a lovely pincushion. I must confessed though that even if it could be something to stitck needles in, I find it too lovely to do so and have so far kept it as a little decoration.

For more information please follow this link.

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This little heart is called  Here's My Heart Scissor Sheath and contains a little pair of scissors.

For more information please follow this link.

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This very special heart is called Windows Into My Heart.

For more information please follow this link.

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The last heart that has been stitched so far is called Patriotic Heart.

For more information, please follow this link.

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I had almost forgotten about this Crazy Quilt Heart I made some time ago.

For more information, please follow this link.

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This little heart, I had completely forgotten until my good friend Terry who actually made it for me for one past Christmas, reminded me of my little omission (big grin).

For more information please follow this link.

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Hope that you all have a lovely day!

Pierrette =^..^= 

Project Update: Orna's needlecase

UPDATE

on initial posting dated 01/15/2011

I have just completed Orna's needlecase project and I have added a couple of additional photos on my original blog post. You can see them here.

Seeds of Love bookmark: An adaptation of a Brenda Ryan design

Project: Seeds of love bookmark

Designer: This is an adaptation of a design by Brenda Ryan

(Inspirations Magazine issue 51 for the design

and issue 50 for the bookmark style)

Type of Needlework: Embroidery

Photos: 2

Comments: When I was looking for something useful and pretty to make for a friend of mine, the idea of a bookmark came to mind since she loves to read when she is not stitching, cooking, gardening, working and so on. Once I had decided on a bookmark for her, my next decision was what to stitch on it. I then remembered a little fabric envelope that I had stitched a while back with the cute little flowers, which seemed perfect.

Here is the link of that project.

For those who may be wondering what is the title of the book below, it is called "Embroideries from an English Garden by Carol Andrews" (projects and techniques in surface embroidery). I have not yet stitched anything from that book, but it is definitely on my list of things that I want to stitch. There is no connection between my little bookmark and the book. It just happened to be close by when I took the bookmark photo and the colors went well together (big grin).

Making this little bookmark gave me additional ideas for adapting Brenda Ryan design to other little projects.

Orna's Needlecase: Orna Willis, designer

 (Just completed Orna's needlecase after receiving

some additional thread on 01/27/2011)

(A different way of tying the ribbon)

UPDATE: January 30, 2011

I have received more thread from Orna Willis on January 27/2011 and I was able to find some time today to finish this needlecase.

I have decided that I will use this needlecase for my current projects. I have divided the inside in 4 sections, so I can put needles for 4 current projects as long as I identified each section correctly, I should be in business. If not, well, I will be in trouble (grinning). 

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(Photo of what has been done so far

but ran out of thread that was included in the kit)

Project: Orna's needlecase

Designer: Orna Willis

Type of needlework: Needlepoint

Photos: 2 so far

Orna Willis website: http://ornadesign.com/

Orna's blog: http://ornadesign.blogspot.com/

Orna's Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ornathologie

Comments: Yesterday I thought that I could do this little project as there is really not a lot of work involved before ending up with a lovely needlecase, but life would not have it this way as that would have been way too easy. I ran out of the yellow/golden thread that was included in the kit, as you can see in the photo. I was stitching and hoping against all hope that somehow the thread would be long enough for me to go around the design. I am sure that lots of you have been there, stitching faster and faster as if by doing that you would have enough thread to complete the project.

I just feel frustrated these days as no matter what I want to do, something happens that makes me stop cold in my tracks.  

An example of that just to show you what has been happening and you can multiply this example many times over.

 Months and months ago I ordered some fabric from a stitching shop - Belfast 32 count, Light Terra Cotta for an EGA CyberPointers project that I was interested in making - A Punto Antico Biscornu pincushion designed by one of our members, Jeanine Robertson of Canada.

Well the shop had to order the fabric from Germany, if my recollections are correct, and through no fault of the shop, it took forever before the company shipped that particular fabric to them and I just got it in the mail two days ago. I almost fainted from shock. I thought, well after waiting all this time for this fabric, I will get the thread and work on it right away.

So, filled with excitement I immediately proceeded to look at my DMC floss color charts in order to find the "perfect" color to go with the fabric. I found it too: DMC 3777, so my next step was to go online to order some  DMC Perle #8 and #12 of that color only to discover that DMC just don't make that color for Perle. Frustration!

I said OK let's go see if I can find a similar color with Anchor Perle, only to end up with the same feeling. Frustration! ...........

and my frustration list goes on and on. There must be some bad Karma surrounding me these days.

Anyway, coming back to Orna's needlecase, I have written to her yesterday afternoon about it, so I should soon hear back from her and the project will eventually be completed and all will be well with the world, or will it????

(Photo borrowed from Orna's site)

I love these colors but they were not available when I purchased my kit.

Looks like the canvas is blue from the photo - gorgeous!

Christmas ornament received from my good friend Rinda

(Photo of Christmas ornament made by Rinda)

Project: Christmas ornament

(2010)

Designer: Margaret Bendig

Type of needlework: Needlepoint

Photos: 2

Comments: My good friend Rinda made this lovely Christmas ornament for me using different red and gold threads and she then finished it with lots and lots of gold and red beads.

I really need to also start finishing some of mine with beads as they really make a beautiful finishing. Seeing one upclose like this one will certainly motivate me in doing so in the future. I just got so used to making a decorative cord for them that I just don't stop and think about beads for some of my finishings. I think that this is about to change.

I rarely post photos on my blog of the back of an ornament, but I thought of making an exception here as I really love the fabric that Rinda used for hers. I think it is just perfect.

I also received some yummy biscottis with my Christmas ornament that Rinda made herself as she loves to cook. I know these biscottis will be wonderful as she also sent me some last year and I can tell you that they did not last too long as both my husband and I found them absolutely delicious. I only had eaten some store bought ones before which did not hold a candle to the ones Rinda made. I am now a biscotti convert (smiling)

(Photo showing the fabric on the back of Rinda's ornament)

Spiderweb Bookmark

(Completed bookmark sitting on Inspiration Magazine, issue 50)

 

Project: Spiderweb bookmark

Designer: Something I created for a friend of mine

Type of Needlework: Embroidery

Photos: 2

Comments: I made this spiderweb bookmark for a good friend of mine as she is just like me, a big reader.

I have used a spiderweb drawing that I found somewhere (can't remember where right now), but we can find such drawing just about everywhere so it does not matter too much where I found mine. I then added a thread hanging down and stitched a little spider there, so she better watch out when she is engrossed  in her reading, forgetting the world around her, as an uninvited visitor may soon be dropping by (grinning).

I have used the shape for the bookmark from one of my Australian Inspiration magazine, issue 50. The instructions for assembling the bookmark are very clear and easy to do.

(Photo showing the drawing all stitched)

Pumpkin Scissor Fob

Project: Pumpkin Scissor Fob

Designer: Something I put together for a friend

Type of needlework: Embroidery

Photos: 3

Where I often get my drawings: Cathy Creatif

Comments: If you have read yesterday's post about the little cat scissor fob, the process with this very smiling pumpkin was exactly the same. Found the drawing on Cathy Creatif here and proceeded as I did for the little cat.

What made me decide for this topic and not something else was bifold. Firstly, we both love Halloween stuff so why not select something with that theme and secondly I remembered her making a watercolour painting a while back with lots of pumpkins having different facial expressions and I remember her saying she had fun painting them and of course one could not help but smile while looking at them. With little projects like these, I feel that I can be as silly as I feel at the moment.

I wanted these little scissor fobs in addition to being very useful to be fun too for her.

Photo showing the pumpkin drawing in a diamond shape square

 

(Photo showing the two little scissor fobs made for a friend of mine)

Cat Scissor Fob that I made for a friend

Project: Cat Scissor Fob

Designer: Something that I put together for a friend

Type of needlework: Embroidery

Wonderful website when looking for free patterns: Cathy Creatif 

Photos: 2

Comments: One of my friends wanted a couple of scissor fobs for her little scissors so that she would be able to spot them easily whenever she misplaced them, which was and is still often, so I put my thinking cap and thought about the things that meant something to her and that would put a smile on her face. She loves cats and through the years had many, so I thought this was a good choice for her.

Once I had decided on the subject matter, I needed a design that would fit in such a little space. A whole cat would have been way too big for this little project so I found this lovely cat on Cathy Creatif website,  and just used the head for my little scissor fob.

 I traced a square on some silk dupioni fabric and then traced the design on the fabric (diamond shape), stitched the little cat and put the back fabric together with the front, put a little amount of stuffing inside, made a little cord and attached it around my diamond shape scissor fob and then made a little tassel to it for further embellishment and I was done.

Tomorrow I will show you the second one I made for  her.

Florentine Fancywork: Toni McKelley, designer

UPDATE 04/22/2011:

Just added a photo showing Florentine Fancywork framed.

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(Florentine Fancywork all stitched)

Project: Florentine Fancywork

Designer: Toni McKelley

Type of needlework: Bargello

Photos: 2

Comments: I have been wanting to stitch this piece for a while now as I love both the design and the colors used in Florentine Fancywork. I do think that this has been my most colorful project so far as I tend to go for more subdued colors in general, but somehow these colors are very pleasant to me.

A few notes about this piece.

The colors in the photo provided on the ANG website (see photo below) seem to me much lighter than mine and I am using exactly the colors listed on the material list so you may get a more accurate idea of the colors of this piece with the photo above. I am actually happy about that as they are, to me anyway, much richer looking. My thoughts on this are that this is just a photo color thing. I should know as sometimes with some projects I have an absolutely terrible time taking good photos and with others it is a breeze, so go figure.

A second point that I need to be making at this juncture is that the master graph is a little different than what we can see on the ANG photo, not by much, just a few details like on the left and right side flower border, I have 9 flowers and on the original piece there is only 8 and some of the flowers are separated by some Dark Periwinkle thread. I could have gone either way with this, but have decided to just go with the actual master graph. I just don't feel like complicating my life in trying to change anything as either way suits me just fine.

Another point is that there are a few errors, at least on my own instructions which a friend let me borrow because I wanted to stitch this project but like others I only needed the instructions, not the class itself. One of the thread listed on the material list is Rainbow Gallery, Mandarin Floss, M843 Straw, but when you actually start using that color, you will find out that it should have been M842 instead which is a lighter shade of the same color, but you want the correct shade as the one listed on the material list is way too dark. Another thing, I would strongly advise anyone stitching this piece is to purchase 2 cards of the Rainbow Gallery, Splendor, S864, Dark Periwinkle, as one would have been insufficient for me.

There are a few mistakes on the charts, but they are mainly on the individual charts for specific sections. I have found that if I checked the master charts with the individual sectional charts, these little mistakes became evident and I could avoid them. Another point to make is that if you are like me, you are used to doing bargello projects that are rather simpler. What I mean by that is that once you have understood the progression of the pattern it more or less remains the same for the entire section, but this project is way different as you have many sections that meets each others and thus have lots of compensations, so if I had to give one word of advise, do not take anything for granted and check, check and check before assuming that if you have done one row one way that the next row will be the same. It may not be the case.

 I have enjoyed this piece tremendously and am quite happy to have had the opportunity to stitch it. It has been a great experience.

Below here is the photograph of the piece that is on the ANG website.

(Photo as shown on the ANG website)

Christmas 2010 Slideshow: Christmas projects

Christmas time has always been very special for me ever since I can remember. When I became a stitcher, instead of just buying Christmas decorations, I could then actually make some myself and I have had a ball doing just that ever since.

Since many of those Christmas projects have ended up in new homes, I thought it would be nice for me, and hopefully for all of you too, to take a few moments and have another quick look at them.

I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I will.

I would also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone who visit my blog some VERY HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

Pierrette =^..^=