Designer: Gillian Bowater, from Needlecraft magazine, November 1991
Threads: DMC as charted
Fabric: 14 count aida, white
This is the final design in the set of four, and again was another quick stitch.
I'm not sure how I'm going to finish these. I do have a friend who keeps a couple of mice - Boris and Vasili - perhaps I could make something for her? She's one of the founders of the knitting group I go to (and writes a column in the magazine Let's Knit) so perhaps I could make a knitting bag with them? Then again, she is the step-mum to a little boy, so perhaps something for him? Decisions, decisions...
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!
Designer: Gillian Bowater. From Needlecraft November 1991
Threads: DMC as charted
Fabric: 14 count aida, white
This little mouse rather reminds me of my guinea pigs, and their fondness for snuggling under blankets and duvets. I'm sure Jasper and Rowan would love beds of their own with patchwork quilts and lots of pillows...
This stitched up pretty quickly once I'd frogged the mistake (a couple of stitches) which had caused it to be abandoned in the first place!
Threads: DMC conversion as charted, with one change
Fabric: 28 count jobelan, cream
I told the sad tale of this piece in my Finish or Fling? post and I am pleased to say this was completed without further mishap or thread loss! I really enjoyed stitching this, although filling in that pink background seemed to take a while, but that's possibly because I was so anxious to get it done! The only change I made was to the pale green - the charted conversion didn't show up very well.
This joins the January piece. I don't know how I'm going to finish these, whether to frame them or to make them into some kind of wallhanging or quilt - well, whenever I get round to stitching the rest of the series. Which means I can put off the decision for a while yet!
When I pulled this out of my stash, I thought it was actually finished, and I was about to make it into a birthday card for my dad. It was only when I caught sight of the chart that I realised the poor little bird had nothing to perch on.
It took me longer to pull the two shades of floss and thread my needles than to actually complete the stitching ... and now it is definitely ready for making up into a card!
Fortunately, my parents are not as superstitious as my gran's old neighbour. Mrs Parsons would not allow ornaments or even pictures of perching birds inside the house (so no robins on Christmas cards!) - she claimed they were unlucky. Is that a common superstition? I thought it was quite amusing, given that Mrs P kept a budgie for many years ...
Again, please excuse the grubbiness of this finish - it's now washed and looks fine - but you would be grubby if you'd been hanging around, unloved and incomplete since 1991.
I think this is one of my oldest UFOs and I'm so pleased to have finally finished it. It took hardly any time at all as it was nearly there but - again - I needed to match up the colours as I had lost the threads, the chart had no colour key and no clue as to the brand of threads.
I started this at a difficult time in my life, and in my early days as a stitcher. I'm not going to show you the back, because it's shocking! And if I was going to start this now, I would use one strand for cross stitch on 18 count, not two, as it is a bit chunky looking, probably because my stitches aren't as even as I can make them these days - but I guess that's what practice does! :o) It was put aside because of counting errors - and then I lost the threads. Twenty years later, I had the confidence to sub a thread and to fudge and make allowances for the errors. So, actually, I think this little piece is a symbol of my journey as a stitcher, in a funny sort of way.
I think I will make this into a pincushion, I have some fabric which - although not a Liberty print - is very similar in style and colouring to this.
Excuse the grubby mark on this, I was so excited to have it finished I didn't wash it before I took the photo. The mark did come out, by the way...
I bought this little kit in the mid 1990s, and worked on a bit of it - I don't have a huge tolerance for French/colonial knots. Then it was put away, I worked on it some more when I moved North, and then lost the thread organiser with the threads on it. And Rowandean, although they produce fantastic quality kits, don't identify their threads by brand/colour number. And being basically lazy, I never got round to matching the work I'd done with my DMC collection, until recently. Once I'd done that, it took less than an hour to get this finished, despite even more French/colonial knots ...
As this looks a little like the house on my Spirit of Scotland piece, I will probably frame this and hang it adjacent to it. I'll get a biggish frame and get my framers to cut a suitable mount to show it off - the stitched area is only 3.25" x 2.25"
Although I like this - and Rowandean designs in general - I find the freestyle nature and lack of order hard to deal with sometimes. I must be more of a neat freak than my home would suggest!
This is the third and final piece in a series that - once upon a time - was going to be a Round Robin. The group collapsed, but I was fortunate enough to get this piece back, and I've worked on it sporadically ever since.
This was just waiting for buttons, but it took a while for me to find the "right" red - the charted Poindexter buttons were £0.75 EACH and that just wasn't going to happen ...
You can see all three samplers below - my dilemma is - do I frame them separately, or all as one piece, and have a Christmas tree on display all year round? What do you think, stitching friends?
Embellishments: 2 small brass bee charms, embellished mat (not shown)
This is a companion piece to the one I posted about yesterday. There are now six of these little designs all waiting to be framed. I think I'm going to ask Darren and Jamie - the lovely framers at InFrame Gallery - about framing them as two sets of three. They have very sweet little mounts and I'd like to show those off, but don't want to cram them into a 6" x 4" off the shelf frame as I could damage them if I do them myself.
Embellishments: 2 small brass bee charms, embellished mat (not shown)
This little design only needed the bees sewn on for a "finish". I bought the series on eBay over a period of time, and they helped get me back into stitching after a period away from it when I was very low with clinical depression, which basically took away my ability to concentrate. It was an awful time, but I came through it, and I have these little cheerful pieces to remind me that I don't have to make huge and complex works of art to have fun and to make something I'm happy to share.
This was one of the "Finish or fling" projects from earler this year, and really stitched up in not very much time at all once I got going. The reason it had been abandoned was wha I thought were counting errors on my part, but having spent some cool, calm and collected time with it, I am declaring that it wasn't all my fault! The chart and stitched model differed quite a lot - one complete row missing on the cover photo, and there were some colour difference too. I hate that - I thought the whole point of model stitching was to catch flaws?
Apart from that little gripe, the kit was good quality - Anchor threads were included, and lots of them - probably enough to stitch the design again and the design itself is very cute. I will ask The Tot if she would like it for her bedroom, as the colours are similar to her new room decor!
It feels a bit of a con calling this a happy dance, as to be honest, it only needed the buttons sewing on - but hey, it was in my UFO pile, so I'm counting it!
I loved this design, but I made a few alterations to make it my own, including changing some of the coloured letters in the alphabet to highlight my initials. The buttons came from my stash and although they don't quite match the pink enough for my obsessive little self, they'll do!
I stitched this lovely freebie for the Stitch Red for Your Heart Exchange over on Hooked on Exchanges. My partner was Marie, and she tells me that due to all the bad weather she has been having, it was one of only two valentines she received this year - I'm glad it cheered you up!
The theme was dear to me, as it is to Jill, the exchange organiser. My dad was taken ill in November last year - frighteningly so. Tests have shown that although he is basically very fit, with low cholesterol and such, his blood pressure is way too high and his heart isn't pumping as efficiently as it should be. He has mild Left Ventricular Dysfunction, and possibly has had it since he was a child, when he had rheumatic fever. The good news is that he's reached 68 without it being a problem before - and he was a coal miner when he left school, and then was a builder's mate and spent 27 years in the police force, all fairly hard on one's heart in various ways. The bad news is that he's going to be on medication for life now, and there is a chance of reduced life expectancy. It's been a bit of a shock, but I think we're all getting adjusted now. My ma's biggest complaint about the situation at the moment is that she had to spend a day phoning round and internet searching because their insurer wanted to triple their holiday insurance premiums! (She's found a company that will cover them for pretty much the original premium, so it pays to shop around!)
Anyway, back to stitching! This freebie was a joy to stitch, and I used a discontinued DMC thread (75) to work it. Actually, I think the thread may only be discontinued in the UK ... although 115 is a close substitute. I traced the heart freehand using the chart as a guide - and it doesn't look as uneven as the picture. I used some vintage Laura Ashley fabric to back it, and some bought cord to trim.
The observant among you will have noticed that the fabric has changed colour between the photos. This is because when I mounted the stitching on the board, I used an aerosol glue, and there was a little seepage in one spot. Using solvent didn't remove it, and the Hermit suggested coffee dying the piece! As I couldn't dismantle the piece, I brewed some strong coffee and dabbed it on with a cotton wool ball, so that I wouldn't soak the card - and then used a hairdryer to "set" the dye and to stop any potential buckling... so, if things do go wrong, all I can say is don't panic and think laterally!
The pictures are not of the best, because although it isn't raining or snowing here, the day is very grey and foggy! In your mental picture viewer, brighten the design until the aida is white and you'll get a better idea!
I've stuffed this quite lightly - what's your preferred way? I like a little body, but equally, I want to be able to sew through the middle easily to make the dimple...
This is another of my freebies, and I'm hoping to raise money for the MS Trust through donations. This month has been a little slow - only £4.00 so far, although every little helps and I'm amazingly grateful that people like my patterns enough to make donations! However, I'd love to see that amount increase ;o)
The second in my monthly series. To be honest, I associate February more with snow, as it's my birthday this month, and it always snows on or around my birthday - which is Saturday, for people in the UK who want to be prepared! I was even born in a bad snow storm. Ma had gone into the hospital on the morning of the 19th and the midwives thought it was a false alarm, but because the weather had closed in even more after rounds had been done and ma was technically discharged, they kept her in overnight - which was a good job, as I arrived in time for breakfast! Of course, dads were not encouraged to stay and he'd been sent home earlier, which meant he'd to walk back in. Sixteen inches fell on the 19-20 February, and my parents lived ten miles from the hospital. Dad still says it was worth it! Love you too, dad! (Hmm, never asked my ma if she thought it was worth it... LOL!)
Anyway, to get back to my stitching - this design came out of my Valentine's design, and I wanted something less pink and which reflected the month as a whole. It stitched up pretty quickly, and looked a lot less grey than the colour scheme on the charting software seemed to make it - the blue is actually blue!
I still hear the snares in the square
Colours ablaze in the evening
The air was still
Down the stormy hill
It's good to be young and daring
Beat the drum
Beat the drum
Like a heartbeat
Lonely and strong
Beat the drum
Design: D is for Drum
Designer: Prairie Schooler
Threads: DMC
Fabric: 28 count evenweave, cream
Stitches: Half cross stitch, backstitch
I've finally finished this block! I think I was dithering over it because of the big changes I made. It seems ridiculous, but I wasn't hugely confident that my modifications would work, but now it is complete, I'm pretty pleased.
This block as charted was very patriotically American. I'm not American, and neither is The Hermit. He's not wildly patriotic in a Canadian or British way either (dual national...), and so any modifications I felt had to reflect my own heritage. My father is English, my mother is Scottish, and as it was my mother who taught me needlecrafts, it was fairly obvious what I'd choose (sorry dad!).
The flag was relatively simple (one of the reasons I chose the Scottish flag, not the British Union Jack!). The Bald Eagle became a Golden Eagle, just by subbing one of the existing colours in. There are quite a number of Golden Eagles in Scotland, although I've not been fortunate enough to see them in the wild. The design in the shield of the drum took more thought - I could repeat the flag motif, but I thought that a little dull. And then I thought about the Lion Rampant, the symbol of Scotland. Could I really design something that looks quite complex and make it so small and yet distinguishable? The answer is yes, with the aid of a computer design programme! It took quite a while, but eventually, I came up with something I was happy with.
This is certainly a very individual block now!
And seeing as I've had the song whose lyrics are written above in my head as I've stitched, I thought I'd add a bit of Runrig too. Runrig are one of my favourite Scottish bands, even though the lead singer in the clip below has now been replaced by a Canadian ;o)
Threads: DMC in three shades of pink - I've used the "antique" colourway on the chart
Fabric: 16 count aida, grey but overdyed with tea by me.
My design style seems to have settled into incorporating words with little sampler motifs, and the word on this Valentine biscornu is "amour" ... seems a bit more glamorous ;o)
Again, I used some tea dyed aida to give it an antique feel and chose the colours to go with it. I thought about beading the edge, but it seemed a bit too much, as the borders are quite busy.
The middle is drawn in with just a single bead, which was quite fiddly!
Threads: DMC in three shades of pink - I've used the "antique" colourway on the chart
Fabric: 16 count aida, grey but overdyed with tea by me.
This little fob is stitched from my own design, and I dyed the fabric too. So perhaps I can be excused my little glow of satisfaction :o)
The fabric was some I got in a grab bag, and it was rather a drab grey/blue colour. So I stewed it in some very strong tea and it came out looking suitably aged. Hence my decision to work the "antique" colourway on this.
I was surprised by how much more delicate the 16 count looks to my previous fobs on 14 count.
You can't see it very clearly, but there's a heart shaped charm attached at the top, which says "Made With Love" on it.
"January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow..."
I've adapted my own design here too - firstly by stitching it on white, and secondly by removing the inner border on the reverse. I just can't leave things alone, can I? But that's what I like about stitching - designs are only suggestions!
This was quite simply finished with a whipstitch in the medium blue shade, and 4mm white "pearl" beads in the centre, as the design is quite busy as it stands.
If anyone would like a copy of the chart, follow the link above and leave a comment!
"January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow..."
This design comes from the first of my series of biscornu with matching fobs for 2010 - now there's an ambitious statement - and despite it not being in my favourite colours, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, especially as it was originally charted for dark blue fabric - as I've previous discussed!
I was thinking of finishing it with a beaded edge, but I didn't have anything suitable in my stash (the horror!) and so it has a basic whipstitched finish. I did find a snowflake charm in my stash though, and used that in place of a tassel.
I love the charms - they come in a set of six, three different designs, and are heavyweight. And cheap! £0.99 from the remaindered bookshop or the 99p store. There's lots of different styles of design too, so I've stocked up, because you never know with 99p stores when things are going to go out of stock...- that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
If you would like a copy of the chart, leave a comment on the link page.
I adore fabrics and threads. I love teashops, cakes, chocolate and yarn. I'm also quite keen on books, charity shops and craft fairs. And my partner (have to say that, he knows I blog...) and my guinea pigs (they don't know I blog).
