Filed under: Uncategorized
Here’s an adaptation from the wedding card I purchased for another friend/co-worker. No fancy stitches just half cross & cross-stitch. I used a wooden embroidery hoop & found a lace edging & sewed it over the hoop.
Filed under: Love
I did the same basic pattern for a friend/co-worker (& her husband) for their wedding. It’s the same design as mine & not that I didn’t have enough pins or an appropriate one to use, but the design for the O was an original design from their wedding invitations. And, she’s actually the taller figure on the left!! The back of hers was done differently than most.
Filed under: Love
Since June is the wedding theme, I’ll post mine 4 months to the day early. After however many years this has been . . . I have to stop & do the math . . . 23 years!! I knew I was more than 20 but less than 25.
This is a “Pinsations” original design & stitch selection. The pin is added to the piece so that the pin can be removed, worn, & replaced. I made this to see if I could get something to recreate for other folks as wedding gifts. I only had two other weddings worthy of creating a piece of needlework since I did this & one I did differently (you’ll see).
I’m using whipped running stitch for the light blue part of Love & not sure I found this combination of stitches for the dark blue parts or made it up myself. The heart darning stitch for the background.
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: Pieces of Eight
These are the last 4 I’m doing of the Pieces of Eight. Turned out nice. Not sure who’s getting this one yet.
As a reminder, the directions for ‘Pieces of Eight’ by Gayle Bicknell are available at https://www.needlepointnow.com/product/pieces-of-eight-by-gayle-bicknell/. They are reprinted all in one issue for $18.
Octagon X (upper left) is Rhodes Stitch Variations, Octagon Y (upper right) is Walneto Stitch Variation, Octagon T (bottom left) combines Spratshead with center diamond, & Octagon V (bottom right) combines Byzantine & Rhodes Variation. I added Kreinik around the edges in various patterns.
I did the centermost section in what may be a new stitch – if it is, I’m calling it Sunburst. I do not see it in any books of mine. And, if any of you know of a stitch being done this way, do let me know. I placed #16 braid in a small center square & then did needleweaving from the outer portion under the center & back over & out to the same hole. It gets a raised effect at the very center. And, I placed Frosty Rays in the hole left in the center. I’m playing with making a couple of variations.
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).
Filed under: Tudor and Stuart Gold Master Class
Over the past weekend, I enjoyed an afternoon at the Winterthur. The tram took us on a tour of the grounds of the DuPont estate. There are some colors from flowers but the various green plantings are in abundance. The attention to details is amazing. For example, the lights along the walkway (left photo) are functional & ornamental. The reflecting pond (right photo) was originally a pool & the first in the US to be heated. At the far end (right photo), those 3 round grates are covering 3 huge speakers through which the guests could enjoy music as the lounge about the pool!
Moving indoors, nice small groups of 10 were given an hour tour of several rooms in the mansion. Then, we were free to walk the property, through the galleries & browse the Campbell Soup tureen collection. Their textiles are extensive, including samplers, needlepoint wall hangings, quilts, drapes, bathroom towels, chair covers, book covers, table cloths. Tailor-made tours are available at an extra charge.
chair and quilt (above)
sampler and table cloth (above)
And, of course, the Plimoth Jacket. It is stunning in person. Kept behind a plexiglass but in the middle of the floor so you can walk all around it. There is a brief video about the making of the jacket. Quite interesting. They even sewed over the seams – such attention to detail.
FYI: Winterthur didn’t mind pictures being taken of anything.
Filed under: Tea Time
This is a small piece I did for my mother. It is Brazilian Embroidery, an Interwoven Cast-On Stitch using four threads & five needles taught by Mendie Cannon. I took 3 classes in 2 days from her at the Stitching Jubilee a couple of years ago. I still have to finish those class projects. But, I’d wanted to practice this stitch & then decided it would fit this little teapot nicely.
Filed under: Matilda the Moose
It’s been a year already since we went to Alaska. It was beautiful. We did 10 days, including 7 with the Alaskan Railroad. Our last day was spent with the family that owns & operates Indian Valley Mine outside Anchorage. They were so kind & went out of their way for us, making us a wonderful salmon lunch on Memorial Day. The youngest even went around trying to collect more moose turds for my husband. He wanted a jar full because a dozen wasn’t enough! While they are quite hard & don’t smell, I was quite happy when the little girl returned with just 3 more placed in a small gift box such that they looked like 2 eyes & a nose with a smile drawn on a piece of cotton. It was so cute!!
So, when I returned from Alaska, I needlepointed this piece & mailed it to them as a thank you. Yes, what’s what you think it is depicted in brown on the ground behind the moose!! I used the outline of a moose pin my husband bought for me. The moose is done in a Byzantine stitch (I think) with Gold Rush 14 Variegated, 202C. I threw in some background mountain straight stitches & was done.
I used a 14 count vinyl canvas with DMC Perle #5. The canvas is available from www.crafterspride.com (under Fabrics). And, I shouldn’t tell you but this but the frame is a dollar store frame! I paid one dollar for it.
Filed under: Tudor and Stuart Gold Master Class
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