Madam Carina was entered in the 2010 ANG Seminar. I was really pleased that she scored just 1 point lower than “Beautiful Ohio” in each area: design, color, workmanship/technique, suitability, and finishing. They were both adaptations but Madam Carina used a variety of stitches. My artist’s statement follows:
This mysterious woman appeared at my hair salon as a stained glass piece (original designer unknown). As I continued to be intrigued by her at my appointments, I decided she’d look striking in needlepoint. So, I took a photo and looked through my collection of pins for one to adorn her hat. But, as soon as I saw the pearl and gold pin, I knew it was ideal for her earring. I’d been designing needlepoint to showcase jewelry, mainly pins (which I call “Pinsations” and is designed so that the pin can be removed and worn).
I enlarged the photo using a xerox/printer until I determined a size appropriate for the pin to work as an earring. Then, I drew the design on the canvas and selected stitches as I progressed. I started with the jacket and chose stitches based on the angle of the particular piece of her jacket. For the collar of the jacket I decided to use the darkest portions of the overdyed thread to help bring that area out and I did some free-style weaving with threads that added some sparkle. Once I decided to couch the outline of the jacket and face, she came to life. If the pin were removed and worn, there is an Octagonal Rhodes stitched underneath the pin which serves to attach the pin and look like an earring.
Naming “MadamCarina” became the hardest part. I finally chose Madam because she is mysterious and Carina, a Danish short form of Catherine which is my sister-in-law’s name and the original owner of the pin!
The parts of the coat include: interlocking gobelin (5×1 and 2×2) & diagonal cashmere. The collar is padded alternating continental & free-style weaving with Accentuate (275) to match Watercolours (090 Ruby). The outline of the coat is couched Petite Very Velvet. The face & lips are tent stitch. The hat is Alicia’s Lace Variation with the outline using threaded back. The earring (under the pin) is octagonal rhodes & the hair is turkey. The background is the palace pattern.
Beautiful Ohio was entered in the 2010 ANG Seminar, my first time submitting any needlepoint to be judged. I was thrilled it took a Second Place ribbon in the Adaptation non-professional category & shocked when it won the Princess Grace Award.
It was the only piece I didn’t ask to be critiqued (I submitted 3 others that I’ll blog about in the days to follow). Apparently, being on 18 count & use of a special technique described by David McCaskill during a class (and explained below in my artist’s statement) made the difference. Considering the state motto of Ohio (“With God, All Things Are Possible”) and not believing I had much of a chance to win a national award, the outcome seems quite ironic.
My Artist’s Statement (required for this category) follows:
I had recently become reacquainted and enjoyed using the tent stitch on a small piece. So, when I saw that one of the competition categories was for the Princess Grace Award using only the tent stitch I decided to design something to pay tribute to our host city, Columbus, Ohio.
I googled Ohio, read many interesting facts, and learned why the cover of ANG Seminar 2010 magazine depicts a cardinal for the state bird, a lady bug for the state insect (who even knew states select bugs!), a scarlet carnation for the state flower, a buckeye for the state tree, and the nearby Scioto River. Before I knew it, I located a variation of the Ohio Star Quilt Block pattern by Janet Wickell (http://quilting.about.com/od/blockofthemonth/ss/ohio_star_var.htm).
Then, the design came easy enough when I considered the Ohio flag. I started the center with the red circle within a white circle (although nobody is certain if the white “O” stands for Ohio) and surrounded it with blue like the flag. And, the eight-pointed star stood out nicely using red surrounded by the white like the stripes in the flag. Normally, the four corners of the Ohio Star Quilt Block are all plain but I like the variation. So, I used a red, white, and blue overdyed thread (Wildflowers) placed within Flair (a tubular ribbon) for the half triangles which was a technique described by David McCaskill during a tips and tricks class.
As I write this in July, I am looking forward to enjoying some tomato juice (the state beverage) especially in the form of a Bloody Mary in October in the Buckeye State (the state nickname). Perhaps, I’ll be sitting on the banks of a river (‘Ohio’ is derived from the Iroquois Indian word meaning ‘good river’ or ‘large river’) listening to ‘Beautiful Ohio’ (the state song).
I don’t know if “Beautiful Ohio” will win an award or not but “With God, All Things Are Possible” (the state motto).
For October, I kept the pumpkins but used an encroaching gobelin stitch & a simple stem stitch. I used a light & dark combination of threads to help create the shading.
September’s flower basket seemed fine in cross-stitch. So, I stuck with the design except for the buttons. Enjoy the rest of the summer & last blooms!
Summer is very busy – like these bees! I stayed with this design and only changed flowers & bees. The flowers are Jessica surrounded by a stem stitch. And, the bees are padded satin. Enjoy the rest of the summer everyone!
I unearthed photos of the flag I did for our Chapter project (ANG Main Line Stitchers in Wayne, PA). I had the 1777 Maryland flag. Marnie sketched them for everyone. Not everyone has finished stitching & funds for the intended museum ran out. So, this is still an ongoing project.
Another flag-waving holiday! What better time than now to remember our soldiers fighting overseas, but also soldiers long gone – may they never be forgotten. Our ANG Chapter (Main Line Stitchers) is working on a project to donate to a museum of a piece with a soldier surrounded by different flags from the Revolutionary War. I forget what State mine was but it was a larger version of the one for my calendar. I used slanted Gobelin for the flag. All of the flags used a star pattern darning stitch for the background. I find darning patterns a difficult stitch to compensate (have to pay less attention to TV!).
Enjoy the holiday & family & friends . . . because soldiers made that possible.
Filed under: American Girl
Speaking of Molly, she had an American Girl doll of a Native American girl. I took a picture of her outfit & I duplicated the necklace so she could dress up like her doll. I had the beads, & button (center), & some large hole plastic canvas. I just had to get the 4 decorative beads (just outside of yellow ring of beads), & a bandana to match.
In case you are wondering, you are looking at our “pet” doberman model the necklace for the picture. He’s really a life-size dog that is a statue & we bought a collar for with his name, Buddha, engraved on it. Repairmen are cautious when they first glance at him!
June is all about weddings, including my parents on June 9. So, I left this design in tact & selected different stitches.
I used:
- Rhodes Heart for top ornament
- Love is done in backstitch in top layer of cake
- Snowflake stitch in middle layer
- cross stitch & a partial Herringbone for bottom layer
- Woven Spider for flowers with leaf stitch in bottom layer
- darning pattern for background
- 6-trip herringbone for outer border
Stitch books used:
- Stitches To Go by Suzanne Howren and Beth Robertson
Filed under: Tinkerbell
I made this Fairy for one of my nieces, Erin, to hang on her wall to hold necklaces. I used the outline of an outdoor wind chime from a friend’s yard.
The threads are Gold Rush 14 Variegated (231C) and Kreinik #16 Braid (057F) using Criss Cross Hungarian (from Stitches To Go by Suzanne Howren and Beth Robertson). The Kreinik is fluorescent. I expected the thread would be cool to glow in the dark but that didn’t pan out. Even when I held the thread under a lamp, the glow was faint & brief. Oh well. I still liked how the piece turned out.
The finisher, working out of Fireside Stitchery, did a lovely job. I left it entirely in their hands & really like the selection of the braided trim. When I provided the hooks (from AC Moore or Michaels), I hadn’t told them how to place them. While I had thought they’d go across the bottom, the random placement is much better!
I used a 14 count vinyl canvas. The canvas is available from www.crafterspride.com (under Fabrics).
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