Flower Diamonds: Terry Dryden, designer

Project: Flower Diamonds
(Pilot class)

Designer: Terry Dryden

Type of needlework: Needlepoint with Silk ribbon embroidery

Photos: 11

Terry Dryden's website: http://www.terrydryden.com/

Terry Dryden Flower Diamonds class: http://www.terrydryden.com/flower-diamonds-two-day-wkshp/

Comments: This was my very first pilot class project, which I did as a "ghost stitcher", actually it is my one and only pilot class (smiling). Terry had an actual pilot class for this project as well as a few ghost stitchers and our role was to try to find any possible mistakes in order to make things smoother for her 2009 ANG Seminar that was to be held in Milwaukee on August 31st and September 1st as a 2-day class.

I received over 30 different threads and 6 different assorted beads that I could choose from to stitch that project. I must say that many of those threads I had never used before so that was quite exciting. One of Terry's goal was to entice us in making changes, which I did to some extent.

On the very first photo above I am showing you a couple of those threads, but Jan from Thread Medley who also was a ghost stitcher has put a photo on her blog showing everything that she received in our kit, so you may want to pay her a little visit.

Terry Dryden had Flower Diamonds finished by Marlene Custom Pillows. You can see Terry Dryden's lovely neckroll pillow on her website here.

The design size of Flower Diamonds is 6 inches by 15 inches and the stretcher bars used were 12 inches by 20 inches and it took me approximately 3 weeks of stitching to complete this project. Since I had a deadline on this, I stitched exclusively on that project. Flower Diamonds has 3 panels which are yellow, lavender and orchid. Most of the design is the same in each panel except for colors and the central flowers.

My experience as a ghost stitcher with this project has been a fun one and I would not mind at all doing it again if the occasion ever presents itself in the future.

(Photo showing the Yellow panel)

(Photo showing the Orchid panel)

(Photo showing the Lavender panel)

(Lavender panel)

(Orchid panel)

(Yellow panel)

(Orchid panel)

(Lavender panel)

(Yellow panel)

Now, all that remains to do is to order all that I will need to finish Flower Diamonds as a neckroll pillow. I already have found some patterns that I really like, found some fabric that would look good with these colors, so I really need to take the necessary time to do the finishing on this one.

She Stoops to Conquer: Anne Stradal, designer

Project: She Stoops to Conquer

(painted canvas)

Designer: Anne Stradal of ABS Designs

Type of needlework: Needlepoint

Photos: 3

Anne's website: http://www.absdesignsonline.com/

Anne's Website Guest Gallery: http://www.absdesignsonline.com/guest_gallery.htm

Anne's blog: http://thecapestitcher.blogspot.com/

Comments: This is a fun design that Anne created for us. So many of us can say that we have found ourselves in such position, looking down at our scale to tell us how we are doing weightwise.

When I initially saw this design, it made me smiled and I wanted to stitch it. If you go on Anne's website you will see that I have changed the colors I used for mine and changed a few details in the stitching itself.

The framing of the piece, I wanted to do myself so I have made myself a fabric frame following the instructions I had read in the Embroidery Canada, Spring 2007 magazine from an article called "It's time to display" written by Susan Donn.

I have decided against making any cording around the framed piece as I felt it just did not need it BUT I am now reconsidering perhaps adding a piece of cording around the dark fabric frame on the outside of the frame. I need to check this out and try a few options to see how that would look like. With such finishing as I have done on this piece, it is really never too late to add something to it at a later date.

(Upper part of the design stitched)

(Fabric frame for the piece)

Here's My Heart Scissors Sheath: Janet R. Stauffacher, designer

Project: Here's My Heart Scissors Sheath

Designer: Janet R. Stauffacher

Type of needlework: Silk ribbon embroidery and beading

Photos: 2

Janet's website: http://www.vintagevogue.com/

Comments: I have purchased that kit a while back from Vintage Vogue and some time ago I decided it was time for me to tackle this project.

I must say that the instruction pages that came with that kit were extremely well done with plenty of photos. I was really impressed. Janet Stauffacher really makes it easy for us to make this project and I enjoyed myself.

The kit came with a little pair of French scissors which will be great to have around. You can never have too many pairs of scissors.

I have included a photo (above) that shows the little scissors attached to its sheath through a beaded loop and here below when the scissors are tucked in the sheath.

The three-bead edge that goes around the sheath can also be seen here though Janet explains it very nicely in her instructions.

SPECIAL NOTE: Some of you already know this, but most of you do not since I do not normally talk much about myself since I want my blog to be about stitching only.

I live in the state of Tennessee and it feels like almost the whole state has been flooded and most of us have been affected by this catastrophy one way or another. My house has not been flooded, but we had other problems like almost everyone else in this state. It has been and still is pretty awful and it will take a long time for the state to be back to what it used to be before this happened and I don't even want to contemplate how much it will cost.

Where I live, we had approximately 14 to 15 inches of rain in a 36 hour period, which is an awful lot of rain. For a few days we did not see our regular mailman and when we saw him again he told us that he had to take 2 days off because his basement had been flooded. Nashville and so many other places in Tennessee have been heavily hit, some places worst than others. We have to use water only for personal hygiene and cooking as so many water treatment facilities have been under water and needs to be repaired and I have no idea how long this will take. Nashville has one operating water treatment out of two and we almost lost it. That would have been very very bad if we had lost that second one. Similar scenarios for other towns. Many people have died and authorities are still looking for others who have not been seen since the rain started on May 1st.

I could fill pages and pages of all the bad things that have happened in Tennessee, but you can read more about it and also see photos in our local newspaper which is called The Tennessean.

Kaleidoscope Coasters: Brenda Day, designer

Project: Kaleidoscope Coasters

Designer: Brenda Day

Type of needlework: Bargello

Photos: 4

Comments: I just love this book (information below) as it has so many interesting projects in it.

On pages 59 through 63, there are four different kaleidoscope coasters to choose from. I intend to stitch all four of them but so far have only done 2, models B and C.

The threads listed for doing the projects are Anchor stranded cotton ones, so they are very easy to find or they could be substituted for the DMC ones if you have a sustitution table or you may just choose your own color combinations.

I have ordered from England some plastic coasters for them, which are Fabric Flair craft coasters. They can also be seen on UK Amazon here. You can also find other plastic coasters in the USA that are very similar and would also do the job nicely.

The first photo above shows the two Kaleidoscope coasters (models B and C)  in their respective Fabric Flair craft coasters.

(Coaster B)

(Coaster C)

(Projects have been selected out of this book called

Bargello: A Fresh Approach to Florentine Embroidery

by Brenda Day)

Letter "M"

Project: Letter "M"

Designer: Iron-On transfer taken from an "American School of Needlework" book

Type of needlework: Silk ribbon embroidery

Photo: 1

Comments: This is my very first silk ribbon embroidery project. As some of you may know, this letter is not part of my main initials as they are "P" and "P". How boring is that?

Anyway, I was told that there was more learning potential with an initial like "M", so I went with what seems at the time like a very logical recommendation and stitched an "M" for my first silk ribbon embroidery project. Now, when anyone asks me what the "M" represents, I just say that it stands for "Mine" and leave it at that (grinning).

Flag Tag (A Name Tag), Gay Ann Rogers, Designer

Project: Flag Tag (A Name Tag)

Designer: Gay Ann Rogers

Type of needlework: Needlepoint

Photos: 4

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 liked this little name tag for its simplicity and beauty. The finishing was also part of the stitching, so that was something different for me to try.

Once the stitching is done, all I have to do is to put my name tag into a plastic folder and pin it on myself, but instead of having those ugly paper ones, this one is all embroidered.

(Photo showing the two rows of Nun's stitch all around)

(Here we see a section of the flag already stitched)

(Close-up showing the whole flag stithced with name included)

Florentine Pincushion: Brenda Day, designer

Project: Florentine Pincushion

Designer: Brenda Day

Type of needlework: Bargello

Photos: 4

Comments: I absolutely love this project. It was a real pleasure to stitch as bargello normally is for me and those colors were "delicious". Yes, I could almost eat them.

Though Brenda intended this project to be used as a pincushion, I am using mine as a little decorative pillow. I already have many of different sizes, style of embroidery and colors. I just love them.

Both sides, left and right, are exactly the same but upside down and it really makes for an interesting design.

This design asked for DMC Perle cotton #5 and also some stranded DMC cotton threads with one additional requirement, BEADS that were used for the corner tassels, a nice little touch to the finishing.

(Photo showing the border all around with the middle separation)

(Both sides stitched)

Photo of the book where this project came from. We even see the picture of the little pincushion on the left

comfortably sitting on the chair.

Name of book: Bargello, A fresh approach to Florentine emboidery

by Brenda Day

Goldwork Fountain Pen: SharonG, designer

Project: Goldwork fountain Pen

(Painted canvas)

Designer: SharonG

Type of needlework: Goldwork and Needlepoint

Photos: 6

Sharon G. website: http://www.sharong.com/

Sharon G. blog: http://sharongneedlepointdesigner.blogspot.com/

Box purchased here: Sudberry House 

Comments: This is a painted design I purchased ages ago and after leaving it in my pile of unstitched projects with all the others for the longest of time, I finally took the painted canvas out and stitched it.

I had purchased it for a gift. I can't remember if it was for my husband's birthday or Christmas. The only thing I do know is the fact that many Christmasses and birthdays came and went before he finally got it. It happily sits on his desk with all his beautiful pens inside the box, all tucked in.

The photo below shows part of the pen stitched. What is missing is the stitching on the top part of the pen and also the background stitches. For some reason I seem to have forgotten to take photos of that section after it was completed. You can still see it in the other photos fortunately. I changed a few things in SharonG's design as you will be able to see when looking at the very last photograph below.

(photo showing all stiching except the top part of the pen and the background)

(This is another view of the box)

(Still another view)

(...and another view)

(This photo came with SharonG's instructions, the way she stitched hers)

Halloween ID Card

Project: Halloween ID Card for Terry

Designer: I took the witch design from http://cathycreatif.free.fr/index_galerie.php

and added details to make it look like a real Witch ID Card

(if such a beast has ever existed)

Type of needlework: Mixed media and Embroidery

Photo: 1

Comments: Anytime that I get close to Halloween I start feeling the urge of stitching something a bit on the wild side and that was no exception for some past Halloween when I decided that I wanted to make something special for my friend Terry and I thought to myself what could be more personal than giving Terry her own Halloween ID Card, right?

There has been an ongoing joke between the two of us, with her jumping on her broomstick to come visit me in order to save on petrol (she lives in the UK) and I live in the USA and they don't put "gas" in their car overthere like we do here but they rather put "petrol" instead (grinning).

I was real concerned that with all the Halloween sky traffic, some overzealous policeman might stop her and ask her for some identification. She could nott very well show him her driver's permit since she would be flying and not driving, so I thought that with a Witch ID card made especially for her, she might then be ready for all eventualities no matter over which country air traffic space she might happen to be flying over at any given time.
I scanned the photo as the digital camera was not giving me good pictures, but I am afraid that her hair got a bit squeezed in the process. Oh well, we can't win them all.

It was actually a long process to make that little ID card as first I had to decide on some drawings for the witch, then I had to find photos for the ID itself, put the two together in a design, then I added a bit of color with Prismacolor crayons, then scanned it and printed it on fabric. After that I actually started stitching, then added a bit more color this time with some watercolor crayons and a little bit of water, then I found some purple fabric for the back, put a little padding in between and stitched the back with the front.

Of course, I had to write Terry's name with profession and I could not resist the impulse to stitch a little spider too. No Halloween respectable photograph would find itself without either spiderwebs or spiders, so added that last detail. Since I did not want the stitching community to think that Terry is a witch in real  life, I stitched her a plastic nose which is being held with an elastic. I gave her some reddish hair as those are Terry's natural hair color. I did not want to make her clothing too chic either as she is a witch after all and they are not supposed to be well dressed, at least I don't think so.

I had lots of fun with this little project and Terry also had fun with it showing it around.

Rhapsody: Amy Wolfson (Amybear), designer

Project: Rhapsody

Designer: Amy Wolfson of Amybear

Type of needlework: Needlepoint

Photos: 2

Amybear Designs' website: http://www.amybear.com/

Comments: A group of us from the Yahoo group Needlepoint Etc. decided that we would do Rhapsody together using our own choice of colors. We even had our own Yahoo group just for that project.  Looking back at my own color choice, I am not sure what I was thinking back then. I would choose something very different today than I did years ago. 

I think it was Nancy R. from Chicago who had the best choice of colors, at least from my own standpoint. She had perfectly nailed it. I am trying to remember what her color choice was as it has been such a long time since I have seen her piece. I think it had different shades of pink with some green. The graduation of shades and colors was absolutely wonderful, just right. It made me regret my own choices even more, but hey that is life. We learn as we go along, at least I hope we do (grinning).

Most of us used Vikky Clayton's threads, which can be found on her own website called Hand-Dyed Fibers.

(Photo before framing)