Our double knock out yellow roses are the first to bloom in our backyard this year. Spring, flowers, and no air conditioning needed. Wonderful. And it makes me happy to get some work done in my Spring Lollipop Garden by Tamara Abdee.
I’ve added the pink Tulip although I need to pay more attention to what part of a marbled ribbon I cut.
The purple Lilac was the most complicated one yet. The three blue Forget Me Knots are quite cute. The two bluefish purple Hyacinths are not supposed to be symmetrical in order for them to be more realistic. I think the right one really nailed it but the left one is fine.
That’s it for the flowers. Next up is the Birch Tree and Nest.
Even with white board relecting the light, there are still shadows. Photographing needlework is tough!
Ta Da! Florentine Fancywork by Toni McKelley is finished. The bottom border was easy enough. I’d saved the sections of Watercolours to match all the other flowers and Rainbow Tweed for the small green stems (done in oblong crosses).
Rather than use the purple Splendor to outline the areas, I went to my favorite stash – Bijoux and found Amethyst MMT412. In order to get the full effect of any Bijoux, long stitches are needed but these were so long that they need to be couched. The construction of the thread creates ridges. I used either 2 or 4 strands laid and 1 to couch with.
From a distance, you don’t see that but the outline is apparent.
Love it!
With this done, I can return to and rotate through Magical Colors by Jennifer Riefenberg, Spring Lollipop Garden by Tamara Abdee, and Razzle Dazzle by Ann Strite-Kurz.
I’ve decided that I don’t care for the feel of Rainbow Gallery’s Rainbow Tweed. It’s 44% Cotton, 39% Wool, and 17% Acrylic. But, this is the end of it for this piece.
Toni McKelley called this area in Florentine Fancywork a God’s Eye Variation based on motifs from the 70s. I vaguely recall them after I googled them but didn’t know that’s what they were called.
Nearing the finish now! Exciting.
Tiny Little Hearts = Huge Headache when you don’t count correctly! I was off and couldn’t figure out why. So, I sent photos to Linda M and in no time she found where it was off.
Initially, I decided to add one extra stitch and quickly found out that didn’t help at all. So, I did what I should have done from the beginning and removed the wrong portion. Then, it moved along until I tried to compensate along the side. I had to wait until all the full motifs were done. Then, it took some effort but I got it!
Day 2 of Spring Lollipop Garden by Tamara Abdee started with the Loop Stitch Flower.
The French Knot Ribbon Rose is Lynn’s variation of the one Tamara teaches. One of the most beautiful, delicate roses I’ve ever seen!
Next to it, I added a flower with rouched Soie Tissee by Silk Road Fibers. It is my own crunchy version of whatever flower you want to call it!
Ali, Lynn’s daughter, was very supportive during class on both days. She even volunteered to iron our ribbons! Such service!! Lunch both days were supplied by Fireside Stitchery. Nothing fancy but plentiful, healthy, and delicious. There’s an extra large table that we were all able to fit around and enjoy lunch away from our work areas.
Right after lunch, we worked on our Daffodils. We used a Tilli Tomas ribbon which creates a lovely effect because the edges are a slightly darker color.
The last of the afternoon was spent finishing whatever we wanted to do. I elected to finish my Blue Hydrangea (with a couple of French Knots and Colonial Knots to fill in the little spaces). Some class members shopped but I will be back on the 25th and 30th for Stitch-ins with ANG Main Line Stitchers and EGA Brandywine.
So, what does the canvas look like by the end of our 2 days? It looks like I’ll be doing 5 more big flowers, several small sequin ones, leaves, stems, a Birch tree, a nest, Robin’s eggs, and some background motifs. This will be fun.
It sounds like Tamara will be returning to Fireside Stitchery at some future date. In the meantime, while we don’t have stitch guides for specific painted canvases, we have been given enough instruction to tackle one.
What a lovely display by Tamara Abdee as we walked into the classroom area at Fireside Stitchery. There were 2 tables all ready for us. I signed up for Spring Lollipop Garden. But, Tamara is teaching 3 different designs for 12 people. She filled two 2-day classes. Four other members from our ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter are there including Lynn (and store owner), Kathy P, Pat K, and Karen P. I think we’ll be getting a new chapter member too!
There are 9 different ribbons, 13 threads, and 10 bags of beads in the kit! The canvas is partially pre-painted by Tamara.
I love my Twisted Spider Web Rose. It is a 9-spoke rose (but was supposed to be 7) because I had 8 when I started weaving the ribbon (but it must be an odd number). So, I squeezed the 9th in on the right which you can tell now that I have told you but had I not, you probably wouldn’t have known. Can’t see it? The right is slightly tighter than the left. I also practiced adding extra on the left side only.
The Crocus used the widest 13 mm ribbon. And, Lynn placed 2 more next to the one which I may do as well.
Varying the length of the stitches in the Anemone was the hardest part.
The Velvet Loop Flower done with Very Velvet was an extra flower I squeezed onto my canvas. Some stitches repeat in each of the 3 designs but in differ in color. This flower is not in mine but she taught it to all of us. I may add beads or a sequin.
The blue Hydrangea is going to be fantastic once it’s done.
I will wait to share my progress on the full canvas until after tomorrow’s class.
Tamara is an excellent teacher and is imparting wonderful tips in addition to sharing her ribbonwork techniques!
Next up were The Wheels in Florentine Fancywork by Toni McKelley. They were fun and easy as Toni said they would be.
In my opinion, the Starburst in Florentine Fancywork by Toni McKelley is the focal point. It’s interesting that the solid purple is adjoining only on two sides.
I had hoped to finish this project in March. So, I am glad that the New York City Skyline in Florentine Fancywork by Toni McKelley worked up quickly.
There was a little blue gray portion of Watercolours next to a light purple already color matched (although I have no idea what piece I used it in and a search in my blog didn’t identify it). I had plenty for this small area.
In between areas, I will work on the Smyrnas in Razzle Dazzle.
Florentine Fancywork by Toni McKelley is progressing nicely despite some discrepancies. They are allowing me to make my individual interpretations here and there which Toni encourages anyway.
Other than making it a little longer, there are no overly evident differences in the Bargello Ribbon. Once you establish the first line, the rest is easy and fun.
I did select the thread portions of the Watercolours. The yellows are on the top and bottom smaller areas while the peach/orange areas are for the center three areas.
The dark areas are a brownish portion of Rainbow Tweed selected for contrast. Toni recommended 1 strand which is a little thin but 2 strands looked too heavy. Since it is on a brown canvas, I stayed with 1 strand.
The horizontal band if Hungarian Diamond or Pavillion stitch is larger than the way it’s diagrammed in The Needlepoint Book by Jo Ippolito Christiansen and so I am calling it a variation.
Since my space is slightly wider (not sure why), I got full units which makes me very happy. Having one side differ from the other was not thrilling me.
Since Toni used a different overdyed thread from mine, I didn’t have enough of a blue portion in either skein of Watercolours 239 Wheat Fields I had and so I used more of the pink/orange portions than the yellow/orange portions used around the border. I’ll use the blue portion elsewhere.
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