Gather The Flowers - Helen Philipps

Design: Gather The Flowers

Designer: Helen Philipps, from the book The New Cross Stitch Sampler Book

Threads: DMC as charted

Fabric: 28 count linen offcut, cream

Embellishments: Mill Hill seed beads

I have heard from Ronel that she has received this piece I stitched for a Friends Through Threads exchange, so I can now share it with you all!

I've always wanted to stitch this little piece, as I thought it was very sweet, and when I read Ronel's likes and dislikes included pansies, I went straight to the book and started pulling the threads! The chart in the book is a colour chart, and looked a bit more restrained than this - I did wonder at first what on earth I was doing, but the palette does work. I did change the lettering from black to the dark green/gray colour though, and cream stitches were replaced by beads (the model had been stitched on darker fabric). I also left off the other backstitch.

The finished piece had to be a pinkeep, so I used some nice bright fabric to back it, and to keep the contemporary feel going.

I really enjoyed working on this, and I'm so pleased Ronel likes it!

Pinkeep Received!

 

On Saturday, this little gem arrived from my near neighbour (in global terms) Hazel! from the Friends Through Threads exchange blog. It's wonderful. The design is from Carriage House Samplings, from their Folk Art Pincushions chart. I loved especially how the lady is wearing a shrug just like *my* favourite one - I think Hazel must have been spying in my wardrobe, even The Hermit noticed the resemblance - mind you, I was wearing it at the time :o) Hazel's stitching and finishing is great - the ribbon is double layered, which must have taken some time and patience to get to work on the bow :o) The backing fabric is a Moda design, and as I told Hazel, I've just bought a fat quarter of the same fabric, so again, she got my tastes spot on!

Thank you again Hazel, for a special gift, and it will be treasured!

Happy Stitching - Elizabeth's Designs

Design: Merry Christmas (Happy Stitching)

Designer: Elizabeth's Designs. Freebie available here

Threads: DMC (my own conversion)

Fabric: 28 count evenweave, cream

Finish: Pinkeep

I stitched this for an exchange on Hooked on Exchanges. I think it's an appropriate design to display today!

Merry Christmas to all my online friends - I wish you all joy, love and peace now and for 2010!

A Merry Tree for Thee - Full Circle Designs

 

I chose this ornament from the JCS 2002 edition for Cathy on the Friends Through Threads Exchange. Cathy does some lovely work and I though she might like this tree as it's not just cross stitch. I used the fabric you can see in the picture to make this into a pinkeep style ornament. The colours in the picture above are a little off because I took it under artificial light.

 

 

This is much more accurate!

Design: A Merry Tree for Thee
Designer: Full Circle Designs
Threads: DMC as charted
Fabric: unknown linen
Finish: Pinkeep

Friends Through Threads Christmas Exchange

Isn't this sweet? Goldie on the Friends Through Threads blog made me this really sweet ornament with some of my favourite motifs - letters - and although it's very festive, it will be appropriate to show it off all year round! Thank you Goldie, it's lovely!

Bird in Tree - Historic Needlework Guild

Design: Bird In Tree

Designer: Historic Needlework Guild

Threads: unknown, came with kit

Fabric: 28 count linen, antique white

Another 2007 finish. I thought that this would make a nice pinkeep and although it might sound like blowing my own trumpet, I was right :o) I think cording is good on these, it lies nicely in the groove between the mounted pieces.

Miniature Sampler - Cathy Bussi

Design: Miniature Sampler

Designer: Cathy Bussi (freebie kit from an old issue of Cross Stitch Collection)

Threads: DMC

Fabric: 18 count aida, antique white

The sharp eyed among my blog readers will have spotted the date on this. For those of you who don't read blogs through a magnifying glass, the shameful secret is that I stitched this in 1996. Yes, thirteen years ago, and only now have I done something with it! Okay, to be fair, it was a little small to frame but still...

It was a trifle fiddly to turn into a pinkeep, but I managed, and I think it looks very cute! Not really 'me' these days, but it's pretty. Perhaps when The Tot can be relied upon not to stab herself with the pins, she can have it for her bedroom, which is very pink!

Hardanger Square - Mary Hickmott

Design: Hardanger Square

Designer: Mary Hickmott (from First Steps in Hardanger)

Threads: Caron Watercolours, Burnt Toast

Fabric: 22 count hardanger, antique white

Backing fabric: Silkweavers quilting cotton

Another old finished piece - this was a practice piece, but I decided to 'finish' it because I wanted to practice backing hardanger. I'm happy with the backing, but I think I should have used more pins to hold the trim, or possibly used a different trim - what do you think?

Thank you everyone who comments - I do appreciate it, and I will do a gathering up of comments that need a reply to very soon!

Home is Best - Lizzie*Kate

Design: Home is Best

Designer: Lizzie*Kate (a very old freebie)

Threads: DMC Color Variations and DMC

Fabric: 28 count evenweave

I stitched this for Lucy on the Hooked on Exchanges blog - the theme was 'Summer House' and as at the time Lucy's blog was all decked out for the Fourth of July, I thought she might like a piece with the Stars and Stripes - it turned out she did :o)

I backed the pinkeep in blue fabric with little cream hearts in it, and the pins pick up the colours of the threads I used.

Spring - Prairie Schooler

Design: From Spring Samplers (out of print)
Designer: Prairie Schooler
Threads: DMC as charted
Fabric: 28 count jobelan, antique white

I stitched this for the Year Round Prairie Schooler Exchange. My recipient was a very special blogger, and I wanted to make a special piece for her. I'm glad to say Barbara seems to have liked it!

The piece is from an old out of print chart, and I stitched a section of one of the samplers. I really enjoyed it, and I can't wait to stitch it for myself - the colours blend beautifully, and the motto reminds us all that in every life, pleasure always comes - even if we have to go through bad stuff first!

I did alter it very slightly - I changed the quilt block section for another from the chart, and I added my initials in the alphabet section. Barbara's were already there :o)

I used the country style fabric you can see here to back the piece and I made it into quite a large pinkeep.

I'm sitting out of the current round of exchanges, but I'm looking forward to joining in again when I get a little more time.

Lizzie*Kate Exchange Received

And what a lovely piece it is - and so appropriate!



Angela chose the Cross Stitcher in Residence chart - surprisingly, one I didn't have :o) - and finished it as a beautiful pinkeep/scissor pouch - you can see a picture of the reverse on her blog. I especially liked the cheerful ribbon on the top.

Angela also crammed in a heap of flosses, both DMC and Six Strand Sweets as well as a new Lizzie*Kate Snippet chart too - Good things come to those who stitch - and they certainly did today!



Thank you Angela!

PS Loved the Canadian Flag parcel tape - and so did my partner - he was a native of Ontario before moving to the UK!

Fall Into Autumn - Rainbow Gallery

Design: Fall into Autumn Designer: Erica Michaels for Rainbow Gallery (freebie available here) Threads: own choice (mainly Anchor stranded cottons) Fabric: 14 count aida, cream Finishing: Pinkeep

Although I'm currently not active on the Crazy Exchange group, I recently completed a birthday exchange for Marlies there - I had already received you see, my birthday being in February. It was really nice to have another exchange to put together and I found lots of nice autumnal themed items to add to the package - it's amazing what one can get in a fairly small padded envelope! LOL

The card is one I made myself, as is the floss tag. Also added to the package were two small charts, a small kit, some backing fabric, beads, rayon floss, metallic floss, multi coloured floss and a small spring hoop!

Marlies told me she felt very spoiled, so I feel my work is done :o)

Prairie Schooler Exchange

Design: From the Pins and Needles Chart, Book 115
Designer: Prairie Schooler
Threads: DMC as charted
Fabric: 28 count evenweave, cream

I've just heard that Ulla has received my HoE Prairie Schooler Exchange. I really loved stitching this - just looking at it brings back memories of the Olympics - which is perhaps why I didn't stop at just one item, I was so immersed in listening to the Games!

All the designs come from Book 115, Pins and Needles. I modified the construction of the scissor keep - it is lined with red felt and backed with the fabric you can see in the photo. It was a bit of 'suck it and see' finish and I nearly didn't send it. The pinkeep is also backed with the printed fabric. The thread fob uses an element from the design and I added Ulla's name to it - the reverse has another fob and my initials and the year. To complete the exchange, I added a PS chart - Welcome Home.

Ontario Heart - Victoria Sampler

Design: Hearts of Canada: Ontario Heart
Designer: The Victoria Sampler (Thea Dueck)
Threads: DMC as charted, Kreinik braid
Fabric: 25 count evenweave, white

I made this design into a pinkeep for The Hermit's birthday as he was born and brought up in Ontario. I'm not completely happy with it, as I think it is a little large and not taut enough, but I've used glue and I don't know whether it will come apart without ruining the stitching. If I do dismantle it, I was thinking of remaking it in a heart shape - would that work, do you think?

The Bees - Eventide Designs

Design: The Bees
Designer: Eventide Designs
Threads: DMC and GAST Clover
Fabric: 28 count linen from Silkweaver

This piece was originally framed, but it dropped off the wall and the frame broke! Rather than re-frame it, as nice small square frames are hard to find, I made it into another pinkeep :o)

Bee Hive - Elizabeth's Designs

Design: Bee Hive
Designer: Elizabeth's Designs
Threads: Gentle Arts Sampler Threads
Fabric: 28(ish) count linen, antique white - but not even!

I hope that you're not fed up of the pin keep finishes yet, as I'm not - it's a great way of finishing small pieces, and they don't then take up my limited wall space - I can pop them on a shelf, in a basket, almost anywhere!

Abigail Adams Sampler - Chartmakers

Design: Abigail Adams
Designer: Chartmakers
Threads: DMC
Fabric: 28 count linen, antique white

This lovely piece has been sat in my 'framing' pile for probably four years (or more) - I know I finished it fairly early in my days in the flat, as I thought it quite fitting for a gravestone angel to go on our walls, as our main window in the flat overlooks an undertakers... yes, I have a black sense of humour at times!

However, not being of standard dimensions (like 4" x 6") I couldn't find a ready made frame cheaply, so it languished undisplayed - until I discovered the wonder of pinkeeps :o)

Tall Trees - Brightneedle

Design: Tall Trees

Designer: Brightneedle
Threads: DMC and Olde Willow
Fabric: 28 count evenweave, cream

This is the co-ordinating pinkeep to Bunny Hop. I decided to make a neat bow to finish the top - not my usual style, but sometimes it's nice to try something a little different :o)

Bunny Hop - Brightneedle

Design: Bunny Hop Freebie
Designer: Brightneedle
Threads: DMC as charted
Fabric: 28 count evenweave, cream

I was going to make this into a scissor fob, but I decided to make it into a mini pinkeep, to co-ordinate with Tall Trees. The fabric you can see is the one I backed the pinkeep with.

Summer Quaker Exchange

Design: Quaker ABC freebie
Designer: Gencat
Threads: House of Embroidery - Grapes
Fabric: 28 count evenweave

This is the piece I stitched for Irmeli (no blog) on the Hooked on Exchange blog

I've noticed quite trend towards Quaker stitching (or perhaps it's just the blogs I read!) but this was my first project in the style. It won't be my last - I loved the simplicity of stitching in one colour, although I chose a varigated thread to add interest and because it said 'summer' to me.

For finishing, I was very brave and 'screwed my courage to the sticking post' and went for an octagon shape - I'm still not sure how exactly I got the right dimensions! But it all worked, even though I think I over did the glue holding the pieces together, as it made sticking the pins in tough - and I think I had a dodgy batch of pins, some of the heads came off and my fingers got pricked ... no blood was shed, but I had to get the pliers out to remove the offending items! LOL

And talking of giveaways - you have until Sunday to comment on the Blogoversary giveaway post if you'd like to try and win the scissor pouch!