Filed under: Early Needlepoint
I can’t believe that I found the kit for the Pansies I did as a young girl on eBay!! And, I must have been at least 15 years old when I did it. A little older that I thought. It is a vintage “Pink Pansy Barrel” needlepoint kit by Needlepointers Sunset Designs dated 1975. It was designed by Randall Elwood. Kit includes printed design on 100% cotton canvas, 100% wool yarns, needle, mounting board, full color print and complete instructions Fits standard 5″ x 5″ frame. The kit has never been used. Bottom of bag has been opened but all contents are intact.
Filed under: A Basket of Flowers for Good Wishes
Our ANG chapter selected this David McCaskill design for a project in 2008. David supplied the handout & we supplied our own threads. So, we had the option to use his colors or our own. I went pretty much with his colors but may have used different thread selections. The yellow flowers manipulated Neon Rays. A very interesting technique.
It is a lovely basket & flowers. There is a nice variety of flowers both in color & type. So, your eye roams around the piece & is entertained. Yet, there is balance. And, if I didn’t know before doing David’s basket, I sure knew afterwards that I had better keep my day job! However, I am sure I learned from the project & so will continue to attempt my own designs. I just have too many things on my plate to attempt another basket right now – but someday I will.
This is one of a series (not all flower baskets) from “The Brides Tree Ornament Series”.

Filed under: Pooh Doing Nothing
“I wonder what Piglet is doing,” thought Pooh. “I wish I were there to be doing it too.”
I see so many nice many pieces by others & have designs in my head, I wish I could do half of all of them! But, this project officially moves to the ‘completed’ list. Bianca at Rittenhouse Needlepoint did a lovely job of finishing the eye glass case. I especially like that bit of stiffness at the opening because my glasses won’t fall out on their own. I’m going to enjoy this for a long time!
Filed under: Sun Flower with David McCaskill at Fireside Stitchery
I had a request from Ann to see the whole piece – happy to oblige. I have 3 & 1/2 petals left to do.
Filed under: Sun Flower with David McCaskill at Fireside Stitchery
David McCaskill is coming into town this weekend for classes at Fireside Stitchery. I’m looking forward to his tips/tricks class on Saturday. I couldn’t attend when he spoke to our chapter in Nov 09 & everyone that went enjoyed it. And, this will be an expanded full-day version!
I am making good progress on the petals & have the first 6 done (the little one on the left counts as the first petal). Once I got into a rhythm, the green began to fill in between the petals quicker. For that area, David recommended using a skip tent stitch so that it would cover the holes from the back. I had hoped to get all the petals done. We’ll see how it goes!
Filed under: Pieces of Eight
As a reminder, the directions for ‘Pieces of Eight’ by Gayle Bicknell are available at http://www.needlepointnow.com/pdf/nn_form_reprint_05_14_09.pdf. They are reprinted all in one issue for $18.
These are 2 of the octagons that’ll I’ll finish for coasters to go with the napkin rings.
Octagon N combines Double Straight Cross (bottom left portion) & Alternating Cashmere (top right portion). I did the centermost row of Double Straight Crosses in Kreinik & filament & added couched filament to accentuate the flow of the Alternating Cashmere.
Octagon R combines Diagonal Mosaic (upper left portion), Diagonal Herringbone (single row with Kreinik & Accentuate), & Slanted Gobelin (bottom right side with added couched filament to accentuate the flow of the columns). When I inserted this photo here, I saw a misplaced stitch but it’s not worth trying to fix it. Can you find it?
Filed under: Pieces of Eight
These are the bottom 2 of the 4 octagons.
Octagon Q is a Waffle and Scotch Stitch Composite. I added a couched thread around the waffle stitch as a border.
Octagon O is a bargello pattern.
I filled in the center (where the 4 join) with a Rhodes stitch & haven’t decided what to do on the sides yet. I have a frame & need to figure out how much wider an area there is after framing to see if a border stitch around all 4 octagons make sense. Generally, I’m not big on open/unstitched areas on a canvas. Of course, it depends on the piece & stitches selected. I’m going to call the group of 4 “Southwestern Quad” until I come up with anything better – any ideas?
Filed under: Pieces of Eight
These are 2 of 4 being done in a southwest color & are being framed as a set. Again, a little filament thread goes a long way to sparkle up a design without overpowering it. I’m going to get a lot of gifts out of this work.
Octagon M is a Waffle Variation & I added a Byzantine to frame it.
Octagon U is a Tied Oblong Cross (same as Octagon G) & I added something like a Byzantine Stitch that I made up to frame it. I do like symmetry & these 2 are going to be the top 2 of 4 framed octagons.
Filed under: Early Embroidery
This piece of embroidery was probably done when I was in my early teens. I recall this was a stamped canvas from a kit now discarded & so, I don’t know the designer. I remember painstakingly covering the stamped lines so that none would show. And, I remember wanting the threads to be smooth. But, I must have used my fingers because I’ve only recently learned about & bought a laying tool. Maybe, I really don’t need one! Types of stitches used in this appear to be straight stitch & chain stitch (maybe french knot).
Filed under: Early Needlepoint
These are 2 pieces of needlepoint that I completed as a young girl with guidance from my grandmother. She (Mae), my mother (Rita), and my older sister (Anita) all are stitchers. In fact, my grandmother hooked rugs, knitted, crocheted, & she even did some beautiful leather tooling.
I believe I was a pre-teen at this point but they are not dated so I can only go on memory. They were from a kit long since discarded & so, I don’t know the designer. Types of stitches include straight stitches, basketweave, french knots, & diagonal mosaic. Very easy stitches. Can you spot the missed stitch in Hooter?
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