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| Santa and Reindeer Ornament (Margaret Sherry) Stitched over two on 32 ct. beige evenweave. |
Stay tuned! I'll post a picture when it's all done.
Happy Stitching!
Marilyn
Monday, October 28, 2013
October 2013 IHSW 3
I thought I'd post an update to the Santa and Reindeer ornament I've been stitching for my nephew, William. I finished the front side of the ornament this weekend. I had an absolute blast doing the backstitch for this adorable design. Margaret Sherry designed it using loads of tiny little stitches going in any direction and through any holes she felt the needle should pass through to create the most curved lines I've ever seen in a cross stitch pattern. I think the result is enchanting!
My next steps are to chart and stitch William's name and birth year on another piece of fabric to be used as the back of the 3 1/2-inch ornament. I'll fill it with fiber-fill and add a nice braid to hide the seam from stitching the pieces together.
Stay tuned! I'll post a picture when it's all done.
Happy Stitching!
Marilyn
Stay tuned! I'll post a picture when it's all done.
Happy Stitching!
Marilyn
Monday, October 21, 2013
October 2013 IHSW 2
Despite not starting on my stitching until Saturday afternoon, I had a very productive hermitting and stitching weekend. I got a good deal done on the Santa ornament. I decided to do the background of the Santa in half stitches, which gives it a nice dimensional effect. I can hardly wait to do the backstitch on this, because Santa's face is adorable.
Happy Stitching!
Marilyn
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| Santa and Reindeer Ornament (Margaret Sherry) Stitched over two on 32 ct. beige evenweave. |
Marilyn
Saturday, October 19, 2013
October 2013 IHSW 1
I'm a little late to the picnic, but I am hermitting and stitching this weekend! I'm working on a few Christmas items, as most of my fellow stitchers are. This weekend, I'm stitching on an adorable Margaret Sherry card I found in a magazine. There are 6 cards to the series, and I'm stitching four of them, but finishing them as ornaments. The one I'm currently doing is a whimsical Santa with a reindeer for my nephew, William.
Happy Stitching!
Marilyn
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| Santa and Reindeer Ornament (Margaret Sherry) Stitched over two on 32 ct. beige evenweave. |
Marilyn
Friday, July 19, 2013
July 2013 IHSW
Hi, Everyone.
Well, here I am stitching some more on my long-time stitching project, Sarabande. It is a French-style sampler by Long Dog Samplers. I changed out the original six colors which were browns, gray, and black - a bit drab for my taste. I substituted three shades of purple/lavender. One of them is a very fine braid in sparkly lilac. and three coordinating shades of teal/mint. I'm stitching it on white evenweave (28 ct.) which has strands of teal and lilac sparkles running through it. I am about half-way done with the sampler, and hope to be done with it this year. That means a lot of stitching, and very few distractions by smaller projects! The lavender motif I'm currently working on is also about half-way done.
Happy Stitching!
Marilyn
Well, here I am stitching some more on my long-time stitching project, Sarabande. It is a French-style sampler by Long Dog Samplers. I changed out the original six colors which were browns, gray, and black - a bit drab for my taste. I substituted three shades of purple/lavender. One of them is a very fine braid in sparkly lilac. and three coordinating shades of teal/mint. I'm stitching it on white evenweave (28 ct.) which has strands of teal and lilac sparkles running through it. I am about half-way done with the sampler, and hope to be done with it this year. That means a lot of stitching, and very few distractions by smaller projects! The lavender motif I'm currently working on is also about half-way done.
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| Sarabande Sampler - so far! |
+7-19-2013.JPG) |
| Sarabande Sampler - detail of current work area. |
Marilyn
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Art Abandonment
A few months ago, I was
introduced to Art Abandonment. For those of you who may be new to the
idea, this is basically how it works: 1) create something; 2) write
up a little tag for it that invites someone to take it and enjoy the free art,
making sure to add your e-mail address and a link to the Art Abandonment Group on
Facebook; 3) leave your piece of art somewhere where it will be found and
enjoyed; 4) wait and hope someone will send you a message to let you know
they found your artwork.
I thought that was a wonderful idea and a fun way to share my craft, so I stitched up a few quickies and abandoned them.
The weekend before July 4th, I abandoned this little patriotic star ornament that I finished in a small tartlet tin. I left it on a monument at the Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, MD. The very next day, I got a lovely e-mail from a history teacher from California who was visiting the battlefield with his family. They found my abandoned ornament and were appreciative of the sentiment. He said the battlefield was pretty somber and the ornament cheered them up. He said it'd be displayed on their Christmas tree each year in fond memory of their trip to the Washington, D.C. area.
Happy Stitching!
Marilyn
I thought that was a wonderful idea and a fun way to share my craft, so I stitched up a few quickies and abandoned them.
The weekend before July 4th, I abandoned this little patriotic star ornament that I finished in a small tartlet tin. I left it on a monument at the Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, MD. The very next day, I got a lovely e-mail from a history teacher from California who was visiting the battlefield with his family. They found my abandoned ornament and were appreciative of the sentiment. He said the battlefield was pretty somber and the ornament cheered them up. He said it'd be displayed on their Christmas tree each year in fond memory of their trip to the Washington, D.C. area.
+-+JUN+2013.JPG) |
| Patriotic Star Tartlet Ornament, stitched June 2013 |
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| Patriotic Star Tartlet Ornament abandoned at Antietam National Battlefield, June 29, 2013 |
I abandoned my second item just a couple weeks later. While I was looking for a patriotic design to abandon, I ran across an adorable little teddy bear pattern I knew I also wanted to stitch and give away. I stitched him in just an hour and a half one evening, and I glued the trimmed, stitched piece onto a scrap of suede and added a magnet to the back. I knew immediately where I'd leave the little guy. I popped over to the public library near my work at lunchtime one day. I taped him to the book shelf in the area where the maternity books are shelved. I have not yet heard if he's been found, but I'm looking forward to an e-mail saying I brightened someone's day!
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| Tiny Teddy Magnet, stitched June 2013 |
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| Tiny Teddy Magnet abandoned at MCPL July 5, 2013 |
Marilyn
Saturday, May 18, 2013
May 2013 IHSW 1
I am finally working on something I can post as part of the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend! It's not a gift - it's for ME!
Since July of last year, I've been working on this Teresa Wentzler design published in an old Just CrossStitch Magazine. It is a small piece, but I've put it down to work on other items over the past several months. Then, when I was really rolling along getting it done, I broke my finger in a car accident at the beginning of April and couldn't stitch for about 6 weeks.
Happily, I can stitch again, so here are a few pics of "Delft Flowers". I am nearly done. I just need to backstitch the inside of the basket-weave ring after a few single stitches that I missed on my way around!
To give you more of an idea of the small scale of the work, this was originally designed to decorate a mason jar top! I don't like the idea of it getting all dusty, though after this has been a bit of work, so I plan to frame it in a round frame.
Happy Stitching!
Marilyn
Since July of last year, I've been working on this Teresa Wentzler design published in an old Just CrossStitch Magazine. It is a small piece, but I've put it down to work on other items over the past several months. Then, when I was really rolling along getting it done, I broke my finger in a car accident at the beginning of April and couldn't stitch for about 6 weeks.
Happily, I can stitch again, so here are a few pics of "Delft Flowers". I am nearly done. I just need to backstitch the inside of the basket-weave ring after a few single stitches that I missed on my way around!
To give you more of an idea of the small scale of the work, this was originally designed to decorate a mason jar top! I don't like the idea of it getting all dusty, though after this has been a bit of work, so I plan to frame it in a round frame.
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| Almost done with the center bouquet (October 2012). |
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| All cross stitch done. Ready for backstitching (March 2013). |
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| Almost done (May 2013). |
Marilyn
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Bittersweet Finish
It has been sooo long since I've blogged! I've been busy, though, as you will see.
About 5 years ago, my sister, Diane, married a man who's last name was King. The new Mr. and Mrs. King lived in a beautiful, older home that was furnished and decorated very nicely. One of the rooms had beautiful burgundy walls, and dark furniture in it. I decided I'd stitch an embellished monogramme K for the newlyweds. I finished stitching the K in gold metallic gold and made it a little interesting by using half-stitches, but alternating the direction of the stitches. Then, I began stitching the flourishes around the K in burgundy to match the room. I was about a quarter of the way through the flourishes, when my sister's husband was diagnosed with leukemia. Sadly, he passed away within a month. So, I set the unfinished piece aside.
My sister was lucky enough to meet another wonderful man who she fell in love with and they have now been married for about 2 years. They were the recipients of Frog Happy - from my January blog post.
As time passed, I decided I didn't want to throw away the K, so I began stitching it again, deciding to give it instead, to one of my very best friends, Kathie! I've known Kathie for many years, but I've never stitched anything for her. Well, I finished the K for Kathie and had it framed for her, hoping it'd match the décor somewhere in her house. Turns out she has a burgundy comforter on her bed!
Happy Stitching!
Marilyn
About 5 years ago, my sister, Diane, married a man who's last name was King. The new Mr. and Mrs. King lived in a beautiful, older home that was furnished and decorated very nicely. One of the rooms had beautiful burgundy walls, and dark furniture in it. I decided I'd stitch an embellished monogramme K for the newlyweds. I finished stitching the K in gold metallic gold and made it a little interesting by using half-stitches, but alternating the direction of the stitches. Then, I began stitching the flourishes around the K in burgundy to match the room. I was about a quarter of the way through the flourishes, when my sister's husband was diagnosed with leukemia. Sadly, he passed away within a month. So, I set the unfinished piece aside.
My sister was lucky enough to meet another wonderful man who she fell in love with and they have now been married for about 2 years. They were the recipients of Frog Happy - from my January blog post.
As time passed, I decided I didn't want to throw away the K, so I began stitching it again, deciding to give it instead, to one of my very best friends, Kathie! I've known Kathie for many years, but I've never stitched anything for her. Well, I finished the K for Kathie and had it framed for her, hoping it'd match the décor somewhere in her house. Turns out she has a burgundy comforter on her bed!
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| Monogramme Ornamental - K (Rouge du Rhin), Stitched over two on 28 ct. cream Lugana, Completed May 2013 |
I think I'm done with most of my gift projects, so you will probably be hearing from me more often. Happy Stitching!
Marilyn
Friday, January 4, 2013
Frog Happy
This froggie was a fun one to stitch for a couple of reasons. First, I love to stitch for family and friends. My sister and her husband collect frogs, so when I found this freebie pattern on the Kreinik website, I knew I had to stitch it for them. Next, I love trying something new. As Kreinik is the go-to for specialty threads - especially sparkly ones, the pattern called for several blending filaments and a stand-alone braid to stitch with. I hadn't used blending filaments before, so there was my something new! So here he is:
The plan this year is to finally finish my French sampler, Sarabande! I prefer not to schlep it back and forth to work, where I stitch at lunchtime, so there will be other projects going on there!
Happy Stitching!
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| Frog Happy (Kreinik), Stitched over two on 28 ct. Annabelle ice blue linen. Completed October 2012 |
The plan this year is to finally finish my French sampler, Sarabande! I prefer not to schlep it back and forth to work, where I stitch at lunchtime, so there will be other projects going on there!
Happy Stitching!
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