Melitastitches4fun's Blog


Photo Embroidery Class
June 17, 2011, 8:03 pm
Filed under: Needlework in Progress, Photo Embroidery Class

I’m looking forward to a photo embroidery class with Joetta Maue at Rittenhouse Needlepoint on July 16.  Joetta is an artist (http://www.joettamaue.com/index.html) who loves fiber & embroidery among other things. Stephen talked about her work earlier this year (http://rittenhouseneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2011/01/joetta-maue.html).

We’ll use our own photo, transcribe it into a drawing, & then stitch it. I have a month to look through my photos to decide what to take. It can’t be very complicated – it is only a 2-hour class.  And, I can’t start a huge project anyway. Always fun to learn & get inspired!



Very Dark Green Grass

In the 3 very dark green grassy areas, I wanted to use different but related stitches. So, I selected Criss Cross Hungarian for the left patch because of the denseness of the stitch & the longer length. The Woven Trellis is in the center patch because it is about as long a stitch as the left patch and because they are on about the same distance. And, Serendipity was selected for the right patch because it is farther away than the other 2 areas and is a smaller stitch.

The darker the thread (still using Sampler Threads 7042 Raven) the less of a stitch pattern is evident but up close you can see the differences.

For the top long row, I used the 3 threads layed in the same direction to get a few patches of light green from the overdyed. But, in the smaller 3 areas, I layed 1 in the opposite direction for a more solid dark effect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In case you forget what Monet’s look like by now, here part of it is again.

 



Medium Dark Green Grass

For the large medium dark green grass area, I used one strand each of Weeks Dye Works overdyes named Grasshopper (yellow-green), Collards (dark green), and Moss (medium green).  The stitch, Diane’s Lace from Suzy’s Portable Stitches, was difficult to get the hang of but especially slanting up & to the right (on the left side). The other angle, slanting up & to the left, just clicked for me.  Odd how the brain sees some things better than other.  It’s a good stitch for full coverage & looks somewhat random (especially using overdyed floss).

The little dark blue-green area in the center (with arrow pointed to it) used a portion of the 2 threads with the blue portion and 1 thread with the green portion in an encroaching gobelin stitch.



Monogrammed Purse
May 21, 2011, 4:16 pm
Filed under: Melita's Other Completed Pieces, Monogrammed Purse

Did some spring cleaning today in the closet & found this purse that I did in the 70s for myself. I used it a lot then. It probably was a kit but don’t know from where. I stitched it using continental & that caused the misalignment. I should have used the tent stitch!



Dark green ridge

The far dark green section is done using random straight stitches & Weeks Dye Works (WDW) thread (color named Raven) that is very dark with portions of a slightly lighter green. I like that a little canvas shows through – especially up close as it seems more natural.

And, I removed what green & orange threads I had placed in the upper right area from stitching in class because I found more shades of WDW. I plan on doing a lot of thread blending with what I found (but more of that with my next blog).  http://www.weeksdyeworks.com/index.php (great overdyed floss selection that I was able to get at The Strawberry Sampler in Glen Mills, PA which is southwest of Philadelphia & not too far).



Royal School of Needlepoint
May 1, 2011, 9:57 pm
Filed under: General comments

The Royal School of Needlepoint was on CBS Sunday Morning a couple of week ago. In case you didn’t see the item, here’s the link to a 6-minute video with a little history & shots of some beautiful needlepoint:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7363014n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

And, you can commemorate the royal wedding by stitching a sampler:

http://www.royal-needlework.org.uk/shop/product/343/rsn-royal-wedding-whitework-sampler

No financial interest . . . I just love that the whole country gets the day off for the wedding! Actually they have a 4-day weekend. I’ve been catching up on my TV this weekend, including the Royal Wedding! Beautiful event, the dress was incredible. I heard that the people doing the hand sewing had to wash their hands every 30 minutes! We should probably take note of that practice.



Anita’s Angel
April 23, 2011, 5:23 pm
Filed under: Angel, Melita's Other Completed Pieces

I finished this angel for my sister, Anita, several years ago (before joining ANG).  I meant to post this on her birthday (March 29) but since she was born on Easter, this is still timely!

She had started it & then didn’t have the time (or inclination?) to complete this counted cross stitch piece. How could I say no when she asked if I would do it for her?  It was quite challenging to follow the chart as I recall. There were a lot of shades of blue, white/gray, & gold. And, there are a few deviations – not that anyone would be able to tell.



Calder and Carson framed
April 16, 2011, 1:54 pm
Filed under: Baby pieces, Melita's Other Completed Pieces

Just in time for Calder’s 3rd birthday, I have finished his baby piece. And, I am early for Carson’s first birthday! I’m very happy with how they turned out & hopefully mom & dad will too. Although kids do like seeing their names on stuff, I don’t expect the boys to get too excited. Happy Birthday boys!!



Bracelet class
April 3, 2011, 12:12 am
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter

Lori, our current President from Main Line Stitchers, taught a jewelry beading class to a few of us today. Great class. Lots of fun. It was wonderful to start & finish a project in ONE sitting – that never happens with needlepoint!

We pre-selected either dark indigo, siam red (deep burgundy), or emerald green Swarovski crystals with either silver or gold accents.

This was the base we built first.

Then, we added a criss-cross embellishment that added the glitz & glamor!

Added a clasp & it was done.

Looked good in green with either silver or gold.

A few of the girls showing off our glitz!

 

 



Santacicle is ready for the finisher
April 2, 2011, 11:56 pm
Filed under: ANG Seminar 2010, Santacicle

Ho, Ho, Ho, Santa’s done & ready to go on a trip – not to the North Pole – just to the finisher! That was a fun project & not difficult. More than enough materials were provided. And, the directions were clear.

Thanks to Kelly for telling me to stitch a few rows around the piece before taking to the finisher. I see now Kelly said 2 rows but I did 4-5 – sure hope that isn’t too many. I love the fur on the hat!