Filed under: A Berlin Work Cardinal with Susan Hoekstra, ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter
The flowers grew fast & I was able to take a finished cardinal to show my ANG Mainline Stitchers & ANG Keystone Garden Chapter (a 2nd area chapter I joined) this week. Everyone loved Susan Hoekstra’s piece which is from a small pilot class our Mainline chapter did for her 2014 Seminar class.
The flowers are a turkey work variation that I really enjoyed doing. Next time you see this it will be ‘finished’ – what to do with it?!?
Filed under: A Berlin Work Cardinal with Susan Hoekstra, ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter
In case you have not seen the previous posts, this is Susan Hoekstra’s piece which is from a small pilot class our chapter did for her 2014 Seminar class. The background is an Irish Stitch Variation. There is only one place where I messed up and unless you look carefully, I doubt you will see it. It ended up being contained to a small area. The outside border frames it nicely. I’m so close now – it is exciting to see it grow!
Instead of studying for my error, please read my previous blog. My sister and her husband need your vote to have a chance at grant for their embroidery business. The deadline is Nov 15. So, please take a moment now! Your vote can get them to the next step. Thanks so much.
Filed under: A Berlin Work Cardinal with Susan Hoekstra, ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter
It took a few shots to get a decent close up of the bark and it is still not as easy to distinguish the pattern as seeing it in person. Darker threads don’t help either. The far right seems looser than the next few & then the pattern changes for half the trunk but then end up more like the right side.
Filed under: A Berlin Work Cardinal with Susan Hoekstra, ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter
Back to Susan Hoekstra’s piece which is from a small pilot class our chapter did for her 2014 Seminar class. It is working up nicely. I am getting practice laying threads with the cardinal. Once I really looked at what I had stitched in class, I saw I had deviated slightly from the pattern. So, I had to rip out and restart his stomach. It was great advice to compensate after doing the main area.
It amazes me but I find stitching in a class environment nearly always produces rework. Apparently, there are too many distractions for me to focus. Do you find this happens?
The tree trunk pattern turned out differently depending on how I stitched it. I doubt I’ll ever know why the differs occurred. The far right seems looser than the next few & then the pattern changes for half the trunk but then end up more like the right side. Odd! But, I like it – it is uniquely mine.
Isn’t the cardinal pretty!
Filed under: A Berlin Work Cardinal with Susan Hoekstra, ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter
Back to Susan Hoekstra’s piece. Remember this is a class to pilot for her 2014 Seminar class. Between the instructions she gave us in class and the written booklet, I am not having any problems. I added some extra satin stitches for better coverage & showed her the difference. Susan said she’ll revise her booklet after we give her feedback as we progress. So, we’re working hard to make this a fantastic class.
The greens grew fast! Where will my needle be flying to next?
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Tootsiebubbles: Pinwheels & Whirligigs
I made quick progress on the pinwheels except when I had to cut out 3 rows on one of the smaller Bargello sections when I discovered that I missed the second dark row. Oh well, cutting out is quick enough. And, those rows aren’t as long as on the other Bargello section.
I found it easier to write down the step pattern for the first row of Bargello as a way to keep track of where I was I stitched. I have not done much Bargello & find the counting fraught with potential mistakes. How do you keep on track?
Getting the lighting right for the picture is very tough. I think this truer to my colors than the first blog posting.
Filed under: A Berlin Work Cardinal with Susan Hoekstra, ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter
Susan Hoekstra came to Lori’s house yesterday for an intimate class to pilot her 2014 Seminar class. Patrick and I rounded out the class participants – that’s individual attention. And, Lori made a delicious lunch. The day just flew by!
Susan finished her piece as a pillow and it really pops in person! My mom sure would have loved this piece and it would have been great on her couch. The vibrant red cardinal was her favorite bird, and the purple in the flowers was her favorite color! Apparently, cardinals are favorites across the country. It is the state bird of seven states, more than any other species.
Susan gave us a history of Berlin Work as we progressed through the key areas and we talked through each page. I remember seeing on the ANG Yahoo discussion list a conversation about the Irish stitch & we’ll use that for the background. Traditional Berlin stitches will be used with Vineyard Merino and Planet Earth Silk – both new threads for me.
I’m looking forward to working through the rest now! And, I promised to get it done by Susan’s 3rd Annual NJ Needle Festival scheduled for April 26, 2014. Susan reminded me that I began Crescent River at last year’s Needle Festival. So, that will be done by April too. Ample time to be ready!
Thanks for landing on my blog today and drop by later for progress (with permission from Susan to post pictures). FYI: I probably got the bird puns out of my system!
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Tootsiebubbles: Pinwheels & Whirligigs
My ANG chapter, Main Line Stitchers, voted to do Brenda Kocher’s Tootsiebubbles: Pinwheels & Whirligigs. Independently, both I and Lori, our chapter President, decided to do this project. And, so we showed it to the rest of the group & everyone liked it.
There are 3 color ways presented. Lori bought the green color way kit but I decided to use my stash (my husband was thrilled). But, I still ended up buying extra Watercolous and Impressions to make sure that I’d have enough. And, I needed Splendor to go with the other threads I selected. I didn’t get my fill of using autumnal colors from the Crescent River (which I am still working on because between the stitch I’m using and the fraying Water n Ice, I needed a break from the water-Thread Zap works best so far).
I selected Petite Very Velvet V609 (dark brown), Watercolours 123 Spice (a minimally over-dyed brown thread) and 223 Rye (has yellow, orange, and brown), DMC Floche 433, 434, 435, 436, and 437 (a range of browns), Impressions 1106 and 1104 (light and medium orange), Accentuate 228 (brassy/brown sparkly filament), and Fyre Werks F9 (brassy/brown sparkly metallic ribbon).
As Projects VP, I wanted to get started to see if there were any tricky areas. And, we’re going to practice the Sprats Heads and Amadeus stitches at a meeting and make them into a small ornament if desired. Since mid-August, I made the 2 ornaments & progressed quite far on this piece. I haven’t done much Bargello before and that is what you start with in this piece. I find you do have to be careful counting. But, I have not had to unstitch much so far.
You’ll see that I am only sharing the start of this piece for now – I want to surprise my chapter members& I know a couple of them read my blog!
I am thrilled that I finally finished the Ort Box! At least 2 others from ANG Main Line Stitchers are mailing ours in for the special exhibit at Seminar.
I must admit I had quite a time with the bottom. I used a suede of some sort but it was fraying & had to turn a small edge. The tough part was connecting it to the sides. The holes seemed to shift out of alignment but I did it! After that, I took a short cut & used felt with adhesive for the triangles. But, the binding stitching has gotten easier with each side edge probably because the lining isn’t sewed in like the bottom. I used 2 threads of Wildflowers, Firecracker (154), an overdyed red,white, and blue thread. And, it took all but 24 inches of the 36 yards! That’s a lot of binding!
Well, I am finally constructing the Ort Box (subject of previous logs). A couple of others in my chapter finished it too. And, we plan on sending them to Seminar in CA. We need to send them out by Aug 22 in order to get there in time. Did you participate? I’m curious to find out how many get sent. I’m sure someone will get a photo (I’m not going to seminar) – it’ll be cool to see them!
This binding stitch is new for me & it took some getting used to but I finally got the hang of it. It shifts slightly and so it is important to keep the proper holes aligned. It took me hours today to get just the bottom attached!
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