HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

I was busy stitching and then I came upon this "party girl" and thought to myself "Hum, she is exactly what I need to celebrate the new year 2009", so I stopped everything that I was working on and stitched her.
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She is nothing like me, as I am more the quiet type, so she will have fun for me while I peacefully sleep, all warm and cozy in my big bed, dreaming about her dancing the night away. I am so glad that I won't have her hang over afterwards. Nope! On January 1st I will be feeling all refreshed after a long night sleep and roaring to go to stitch the day away :-)
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To all of you who will be reading my blog, I am wishing you the best year ever, filled with laughter, good health, love, enough money to add to your stash and everything else that your heart desires :-)
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Pierrette =^..^=

Cross Stitch Horrors

[Cross stitch project that I am working on]


I came across this some time ago and thought it was just so funny until it happens to you that is, that I wanted to share it with you all. I have no idea who the author is, so here it goes:

CROSS STITCH HORRORS

Today I joined a cross stitch class

And though it may sound dumb

Where once my fingers used to be

I now possessed a thumb

I couldn't thread the needle

And this creates a 'hitch'

For without a threaded needle

You can't create a stitch

The instructor had to thread it

And though it sounds kind hearted

She muttered lots of muffled words

And hastily departed

She showed us how to make a stitch

And where we should begin

But the first stitch ended painfully

Beneath my tender skin

Well, I've never been heroic

And I believe one lady said

The screams that issued from my mouth

Would surely wake the dead

The class was in an uproar

As they crammed to take a peek

For my face was now a deathly white

And my legs were feeling weak

My finger was in tatters

I tried hard not to cry

But the gash looked like a canyon

There was a good chance that I'd die

The teacher yelled impatiently

What she said I'll never know

For I fainted in an instant

When the blood began to flow

The teacher phoned the ambulance

For the wound was very deep

But she said the blood-drenched patterns

Could now be mine to keep

As they placed me in the ambulance

She let out such a shriek

When I tried to reassure her

That I'd be back next week!

Lovely Christmas poem by an unknown author

'Twas the night before Christmas, and, oh, I was weary.
My stitching unfinished, my eyes getting bleary.
The stockings weren't finished, the chimney was bare.
And I knew that morning soon would be there.

My children and husband were tucked in their beds,
But visions of backstitches ran through my head.
I'd stitched ornaments and presents and gifts by the ton,
And now, I was finally, almost, almost done.

As I poised my needle for one more backstitch,
I heard something outside that made my hand twitch.
I jumped up from my stitching, and flew to the door,
Pressed my eye to the peephole, tip-toed off the floor.

My stitching forgotten, I peered into the night.
When suddenly, I got a terrible fright.
On my porch appeared Santa, holding his sack.
He knocked softly, and I took a giant step back.

I unlocked the deadbolt, and let Santa in,
He entered and gave a mischievous grin.
"Hope you don't mind if I come in the door?"
"Coming down the chimney can be quite a chore."

He said, "You're up late. Still working I see."
"Do you know how tired you're going to be?"
"I know, Santa," I said, with a sigh,
"But I'm still backstitching the stars in the sky,"

"And the fields on that stocking look blobby you know,
I need to backstitch the drifts in the snow.
I've been stitching and stitching and stitching, no rest.
I just tried to finish stitching too much, I guess."

"I know what you mean," he said with a smile.
"This is my busiest time of the year, by a mile."
He stooped down by the tree, and he opened his sack,
And began to pull presents out of his pack.

"I've got some things here I think you might like,
An oak stitching frame, and a brand new Ott-Light.
A bundle of floss, and a great big mat cutter,"
I smiled and felt my heart go a-flutter.

He put down gifts for us all, then he waved his right hand.
"Go to bed," he said, glancing at my floor stand.
He gave me a wink, and stepped out the door.
I just stood there a moment, glued to the floor.

After he'd left, I turned back to my chair,
Picked up the stockings, and started to stare.
The backstitching was done! The stars lit the sky!
And on my son's stocking angels sung on high.

I ran to thank Santa for this final gift,
And watched as his sleigh started to lift.
I heard him exclaim as he pulled out of sight,
"Merry stitching to all, and to all a good night!"

Author Unknown

MERRY CHRISTMAS: Christmas Projects slideshow

Jim Wurth's Dodecagon Ornament Series completed (all 12 of them)

Fabulous Finale: Dodecagon Ornament Series

Lately, I am always surprised when I go to my blog to post a new entry and see how long ago was the last one. I have been feeling relatively tired lately and just did not feel much like stitching at all and have been spending a relatively good amount of time reading. The book I am reading now is called "The Enchanted April" written by Elizabeth Von Arnim. I have seen the movie twice and I must say it is so much fun to be actually reading the book as it gives me a much better understanding of the plot and I can picture the different charactors acting the parts. I am having a ball :-)

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To get back to Jim Wurth's Dodecagon Ornament Series I had every intention to have all the ornaments all stitched way before Christmas and brought to the framer with the hope that I would get it back for Christmas. Well that won't happen and will now wait until the beginning of next year to bring her all this work. Fit all 12 of them into one or two frames, not decided yet. Will see how she see things first.

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By the way for those of you who are reading this and thinking I would love to stitch that series, you will get another crack at it starting this coming January. These ornaments are not sold individually but as a series and you can find all the necessary information as to whom to contact by checking the files of the group indicated in my previous paragraph.

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I have many Christmas projects which were stitched but unfortunately not finished and a few more that I have started stitching but not finished. I am not going to stress myself over them as they obviously won't be ready for this Christmas.

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Pierrette =^..^=

The Night Before

It has been a while since I have done any work on Anne Stradal's design called "The Night Before", but if I want to have it for Christmas I better get moving :-)

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What I have done today is completing her dress and bonnet and make her nice and pretty by giving her a nice pearl necklace.

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I have a little more work to do on this project before I can start thinking about the finishing, but at least I am slowly getting there :-)

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By the way for those of you who have not yet seen it, Anne has just started a blog called "The Cape Stitcher".

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Will probably be back sometimes tomorrow afternoon with another progress photo, if all goes according to plans (grinning).

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Pierrette =^..^=

Shining Needle Society

Yesterday I have received a Shining Needle Society Certificate of Completion for having stitched both Mystery in a Corner and Challenge Ornament, both designed by Gay Ann Rogers. I don't normally collect Certificates as I never send my pieces for evaluation with either ANG or EGA as I am always concerned that a project of mine on which I would have put lots of hours, efforts and money might get lost in the mail and I would end up with nothing, so I thought it was a wonderful idea to have come up with the idea of giving us a Certificate of Completion.

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When I discovered Shining Needle Society a while back, I was so very happy as it opened the door to lots of new opportunities. There are multiple offerings of classes given by wonderful teachers/designers and of course there is Gay Ann's classroom who is dedicated to teach us about color and design. Before SNS, you had to be able to go to Seminars to get some of those classes, but now we can stay home and work on them in the comfort of our own home.

[Certificate of Completion]

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Pierrette =^..^=

Challenge Ornament ready for finishing

What a relief, having finished my Challenge Ornament before Gay Ann's deadline for the Certificate of Completion, which is only available for those of us who have completed both projects, this Challenge Ornament and Mystery in a Corner which I have completed a while back.
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Many times while stitching Challenge Ornament I wished I had the use of more varieties of threads to work with, but one must work with what she has, so I did. I did not quite follow the progression order that Gay Ann gave us in her written instructions as I wanted to concentrate on certain areas first and then see what color thread would fit in other areas, not an easy task to do, at least in my case, but I am slowly learning.
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I have taken two photos of the completed ornament, the first one above is how the ornament will look like when finished and the second photo below is how I was working it on my stretcher bars.

Now, I need to read Gay Ann's instructions and answer the different questions she is asking us and send to her with my photos and I will be done.

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That was a fun project and looking forward to making the other one using Chrismassy colors.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Challenge Ornament: A little bit more done

Yesterday's stitching went rather well. I had to undo two little sections because they just did not look right to me, so I redid them with different threads and it made a big difference.

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There isn't much left to do with this ornament so I think I can safely say that it should be completed today and a photo sent to Gay Ann for evaluation.

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It is not really the stitching itself that takes a lot of time, but the planning part of it. Sometimes when I am not entirely sure about which thread to use next, I just put the ornament aside for a little while and then comes back to it later and by that time everything seems a lot clearer in my mind.

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Next post will show the completed ornament, not the finishing yet as I am not sure that I have quite enough thread left to do it, but will check to make sure.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Challenge Ornament: Designed by Gay Ann Rogers

On Saturday I rushed to finish stitching a little bookmark so that early Sunday morning I could start working on Challenge Ornament, which is a little end-of-term examination ornament after having stitched Mystery in a Corner, but things did not really start as smoothly as I had expected.
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(Photo showing what I have managed to do so far)

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When Gay Ann started talking about Challenge ornament, I thought I would use the same threads that I had used for MIAC (Mystery in a Corner), then later on as the holidays were coming closer, I thought it might be nice if I used Xmassy colors instead, then thought about it some more and went back to my initial decision to use the same colors as MIAC. Some may think that I have too much time in my hands, but that would not be true :-) The main reason for using the same colors is that it would be easier for me to have some idea of how those colors would look like when deciding where to put each one in my Challenge Ornament, and as this is after all a small ornament, I can make another one after with my Xmassy colors. Seems, reasonable, right!?
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So, yesterday morning I started looking for my MIAC leftover threads as I remembered that they were all in a little baggy. I looked everywhere I could think of (inside my home of course), but just could not find them. I had no choice then, but go to Plan B with my Xmassy colors. I got all my threads out on my working table and selected lots of reds, greens, gold, grey, sparkling white, etc. My desk was literally covered with them, then my eyes looked sideways and what did I see? Yes, you are right, my MIAC leftovers threads in a little baggy and they were exactly where I had put them, imagine that, so now I am back to Plan A. I put all those reds, greens, etc. in a big bag for the second ornament which now of course I absolutely need to do later as I certainly don't want all those efforts to go to waste.
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I then put my canvas on stretcher bars and worked on it on Sunday until I got too tired to be able to think straight anymore, not a good place to be when I had so many "important" decisions to make, so put everything aside for the day and this morning took it out again with a new perspective, at least that is what I am telling myself.
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This ornament is really becoming more and more of a challenge because on top of making all those decisions with the MIAC leftover threads, which are limited in themselves, now I am starting to run out of some. When I wrote a message yesterday in the classroom saying what else could possibly slow me down and somebody wrote back saying "NEVER ask that question", well she was right as running out of threads with an approaching deadline is NOT good at all. I will have to become very creative. Will I manage to rise to the challenge? Next post might give us that answer.
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Be right back!
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Pierrette =^..^=

It's another bad hair day bookmark

Just finished the little bookmark and have temporarily put it on top of the book I am currently reading, which is "The Torn Birds" by Colleen McCullough. I remember reading that book years and years ago in a French translation and I just loved it. This time around I am reading it in its original version (English) and still having a ball.

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Tomorrow I will be working on Gay Ann's Challenge Ornament, but for now I will take a break and perhaps read a little more in my book :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

It's another bad hair day: Added a little border

I love visiting blogs as you just never know what wonderful ideas you will find and not long ago I was visiting Laura Perin's blog and she was talking about adding borders to your projects and I thought it was a wonderful idea as it really makes the project look more finished so when I finished stitching this project, I immediately thought of Laura and her blogging about borders and wanted to add one before I finish this as a bookmark. I only needed a little border so I did a row all around with one strand of black DMC using the backstitch. It really does make a difference, doesn't it? I will leave a little bit of canvas all around before I turn the fabric under and attach to some fabric for the back side, so I now need to go hunting for the fabric in my boxes :-(

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Be right back!

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Pierrette =^..^=

It's another bad hair day

I wanted to make a little something for the son of a friend of mine and wasn't sure what until I saw this lovely dog designed by Claire Crompton and then I knew that I had to make it for him. Not long ago he just acquired the most beautiful dog, a big one who is called Marz. This little design looks a little bit like him, at least overall.

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At first I was thinking of making this as an ornament but after thinking about it, I decided to make a little bookmark for him as it will be so much more useful and hopefully bring a smile on his face whenever he looks at it :-)

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I will be right back with another photo once the bookmark has been done.

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Almost forgot to mention that I found this lovely ornament on this site. They have lots of them, so you may also find something that you like.

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Be right back!

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Pierrette =^..^=

Wintertide ready to send as gift

Wintertide all done and ready to send as Christmas gift, so one done and how many more to go? I don't want to know (grinning).

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Need to clean my working space now before starting on something else.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Wintertide: Almost done

My little Christmas ornament is all stitched. All that remains to do now is cut the fabric around it, press and starch it a little so that it can hang properly and of course add a little piece of thread to hang it :-)

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Will go and do that right away!

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Pierrette =^..^=

Wintertide: Small corner flowers added

Moving along with Wintertide. Just added the four corner flowers with vines. As I am working this project, I have decided to make a second one a bit later using a different fabric and threads as I am not 100% happy about the outcome of this one. It looks good, I think, but it could be so much better. My fabric has uneven threads, which is a no no when you are doing hardanger. Not sure what I was thinking when I selected it (not thinking perhaps!). I had problems with the thread suggested, so switched to DMC Perle, which was not quite the proper size for this piece. I am telling you, big learning curve on this one. I need to use the appropriate fabric and thread for the task at hand next time around. Oh well, I suppose we can't win them all :-(

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I will now "attack" the kloster blocks and hopefully only cut the right threads and weave the bars. Let's see what happens next!

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Pierrette =^..^=

Wintertide, Poinsettia stitched

Working on 28-count linen has been a bit tough on my eyes, mostly in the evening and white on white did not help any, but managed to complete all the klosters and the poinsettia with leaves. Ouf! I am exhausted :-(
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This project was asking for silk mori, but that did not agree with me at all, so ended up using DMC Perle #8 instead. I tried DMC Perle #5, but did not like it as I felt it was too heavy a thread for that particular use and just did not look good. The #8 was a little too thin to my liking, but decided to go with it as it was the best of the two options I had as I just did not have the time to start looking online for something better and then wait for the threads to arrive.
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I still have a bit more decorations to add on all four sides of this ornament and then do a bit of cutting and weave some bars and it will be all done, so see you all soon :-)
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Pierrette =^..^=

Wintertide, A Patricia Andrle design

I have found a lovely free Christmas ornament made in hardanger, another technique that I especially like, on the Kreinik website. It is called Wintertide and has been designed by Patricia Andrle. I have other projects from her, but this is the first one so far that I have been working on, something that I should probably change as I like her style. I have only started working on it last evening so have not done a whole lot so far, but having fun with it.

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Instead of using the Silk Mori white thread, I have switched to DMC Perle, something that I already had in my stash. I am hoping that by the end of today I will have made quite a bit of headway with it.

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The next project that I absolutely need to get started on is the lovely end-of-term examination ornament designed by Gay Ann Rogers, so as soon as Wintertide is all done I will start working on it as the deadline is rapidly approaching. I am thinking of using some Christmassy colors instead of the same colors used on Mystery in a Corner. After that I need to finish Mrs. Santa :-)

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Better go back to it as the clock is ticking.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Angelina's blouse, quilt and stool

All of a sudden this morning, I realized that I am starting to run out of time and thinking that I really need to change gears if I want to complete some of my projects for either Christmas or by the end of this year (panic time).
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The above photograph shows Angelina's blouse, using two different blackwork stitches. I want to do her jumper before I stitch the outline around it. I know that some stitchers start with the outline because they say it makes their job easier to stay within the lines, sort of speak, but myself I prefer to stitch the inside and then do the outline.

This photo above shows Angelina's quilt and the stool she is sitting on. I have been having a bit of problem with the design drawing as it has become rather light and I feel that I am stitching "blind" at this point. Next time that I work on a drawn outline that is pale, I will make sure that I go over the lines that are too pale before starting. I was trying to remember how light it was before I started and I can't :-(

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I really need to sit down and make myself a list of the projects that I absolutely need to finish before Christmas, some which have not even been started yet, like little gifts. I like to make some small ornaments and things like that, so I need to decide on some cute little designs and get my bionic needles out as time is of the essence here. Hopefully they will not take too long to make and finish. Each year I want to start early and each year I end up running like crazy. When will I ever learn?????

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Anyway, better get on with it. See you all soon. I will probably be posting more often as I will be working more feverishly from now on.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Angelina's quilt

Angelina's quilt is almost done. All that remains to be stitched is the outline.

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The quilt motifs are either birds or ducks of different colors stitched Assisi style. Since Angelina's quilt is a work in progress, her quilt shows sections in different stages of completion.

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I thought to add this link from Tanya Berlin' website in case someone is interested in more information about Assisi embroidery. She has a lovely little free project here, which I have also done a while ago. A photo here.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Angelina: Done a bit more on her quilt

Each day, depending on my moods, I decide which piece I feel like working on and today I felt like doing some blackwork, so took out Angelina and have worked on her quilt.

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In case you don't remember how the finished project is supposed to look like, just click here for a photo.

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So far, I have done the quilt layout and then the inside patterns (two different ones). Lots of counting that really kept me on my toes, I can tell you that.

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Now the fun part will start with stitching the inside with ducks and birds of different colors done in Assisi embroidery. When that is all done, I will then stitch the outline of the quilt which will give it definition.

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I kept the best part for the end, working on Angelina herself.

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See you all later :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

Jingle Bells Christmas Tree Farm

While I was searching for something else I found this lovely Victoria Sampler project that I started a while back. It is named Jingle Bells Christmas Tree Farm and you can see a photo of the completed project here.

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I was looking at the picture and there are still quite a bit to do on it, so I will keep it close by so that I can do a stitch here and there and eventually it will be all done. This is mostly cross stitch, something that I don't do very often, so that will be something different to work on.

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Better go back and try to find what I was originally looking for :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

CYBERPOINTERS is now a reality

November 1st 2008, CyberPointers is now a reality! I know many of us have been wondering if it would ever come to be, but this is Happy Times for all of us as ANG now has its own internet chapter, thanks to all the hard work done by the committee members. There were lots of ups and downs during these past two years and I have had the pleasure as part of this committee to see everyone pitch in to make this a reality, but the bulk of the work, and there was a lot of it to be done, has been done by the people who have been selected to be members of the board and they have my greatest gratitude for never giving up and bringing this to reality for all of us.
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I have gone and retrieved my cup and saucer as this will now be the way to go, sitting comfortably at home, enjoying all the advantages that our new cyber chapter will offer us and sipping a good cup of something :-)


To all of you who are interested in joining or thinking about it, just click on CyberPointers and you will find all information needed on how to join us.
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Why should you join? Here is what says Elizabeth, our first Cyberpointers' president:

Ten Reasons to Join CyberPointers.

10. A place on the web to meet stitchers and chat about everything needlepoint.

9. Save gas money and help make the world a little greener by joining in meetings right in your own home via computer.

8. Get extra stitching time by not having to drive to a chapter meeting.

7. Fun fundraising projects that include some original designs for the chapter.

6. Join in a group correspondence course and have some friends to stitch with and motivate you to finish.

5. No longer have to be a MAL just because there aren't any chapters near-by.

4. Global community outreach projects that will give you a chance to make the world a better place just by stitching.

3. Access to the Chapter Project Book projects, just like any other chapter.

2. Jim Wurth is teaching the first workshop starting in March.

1. We've all waited 2 long years for this ... so let's all show National that we really meant it when we said we wanted a cyber chapter!

So come join CyberPointers now!
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Pierrette =^..^=

Halloween Slide Show: A new Experiment for me!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!
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Hope that the day is not tooooooooooooooo scary for you all (grinning sadistically)
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You can see a few other Halloween projects here.
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Pierrette =^..^=

Angelina: An Ilse Altherr design

Gosh, time flies, it has been a while since I made my first post about Angelina and finally here is my first photo of what I have done so far.

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As you can see when checking my previous post and looking at the photo of the stitched project that came with the kit, I made the decision to start working the quilt first.

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I find that I really have to give it my full attention, counting properly and following the chart at all time as it is so easy to loose its place. I don't think that it would be a good time to work on something like this if I had a splitting headache, for example but I do love it though, always have.

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Pierrette =^..^=

The Night Before: A little more done

Well, since the last post about The Night Before, a design by Anne Stradal of ABS Designs, I have frogged her dress and stitched it in a lighter color, decided to stitch her apron using a metallic white thread with a little bit of silver in it. I thought that she might have decided to wear her prettiest apron since we are on the eve of Christmas. I also stitched some little shoe/slipper using a metallic pink to keep her in style :-)
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I have done the lamp base using a gold metallic thread, finished the wallpaper behind her.
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I still have to finish the top of her dress as well as the base of her sleeves (cuffs), finish the pine branches on the wall with a red bow, do the lamp shade stumpwork style, do the scarf knitting also stumpwork style, do the basket, the yarn balls and add the knitting needles, and oh yes also need to stitch her hat. I think that is about it.
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I was thinking of adding a pearl necklace around her neck. Would that be too much? I have made her dress rather plain so I feel that I need something to make it stand out a little bit. Of course the scarf will cover a part of her apron and dress. I was wondering if I were to add some thread over the dress and create some kind of design. Any ideas, anyone?
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Pierrette =^..^=

American flag name tag: All stitched

I just finished the stitching part of Gay Ann's American flag name tag this morning and I think that the design is pretty cute :-)

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With my name, since it is pretty long, I have used Gay Ann's regular alphabet for the "P" and then used what she calls her economy alphabet for the rest of the letters. If I had not done that, then I would not have been able to add any red horizontal lines on each side of my name and I think the design would not have been as lovely.

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I have not quite decided if I am going to finish it like Gay Ann has done with hers, which is to stitch the front with the back and then insert into an Avery plastic folder and pin it on myself or if I am going to finish it differently. Need to think about this one, so will put it aside for now.

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Pierrette =^..^=

American flag name tag

Close-up photo of what I have stitched so far of American flag

That is the beginning of Gay Ann's little American flag name tag. You can see the front and the back of the name tag done in pulled thread (Nun's stitch). I had to do two rows on each one, the front and the back. Not difficult to do but a little time consuming, but not all that much since we are talking name tag here and the size is approximately a little over 3½" by 2".

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After that I have added the white stars using a metallic braid, followed by the blue background using Fyre Werks.

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Remains to do additional horizontal red lines and my name and put the back and the front together.

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I will probably be stitching the last bits of Mrs Santa after that. I also need to start concentrating on doing some finishing as things are piling up higher and higher and I do not like that one bit :-(

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Yesterday I was having a look at all the projects I have waiting for me to get to and either I change gears pretty soon or I will get buried under all of them. Just trying to decide which one to tackle next is a task by itself. I still have quite a few projects already started and not yet completed, some with not too much to do. Oh well, better not think too much about all this and continue putting one stitch after another and maybe I will get there eventually.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Patriotic Heart: All stitched

I knew it was not going to take too long to finish the remaining stitching on my little Patriotic Heart and I was able to find enough time this morning to complete it. Makes me so happy :-)

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Now, I will stitch the Flag Tag (name tag) and will then finish both at the same time. Just imagine a lovely blue, red and white cord all around the little heart. It will look great.

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I love name tags but I have really not that many occasions to wear them unfortunately as I don't go to seminars and I only belong to Cybergroups or long distance groups. Hey, I could always wear them in my house, alternating between them, only when I am stitching though. That would be so funny to see my husband's expression when he notices the name tag on me. God only knows what the man will be thinking, perhaps that I am going "gaga" or worst (grinning).

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Can't wait to see his face, so will try to start working on it today :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

Patriotic Heart: Almost done

Yesterday, I have managed to stitch a little more on my little heart. All the stitches on this project are very easy to do and it is how Gay Ann has put the design together that makes it so pretty.
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As you can see there is only two sections left to stitch, the one at the top (right side) and the one at the bottom, so unless a major catastrophy I can pretty much say that it will be all stitched by the end of today :-)
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I also have a little Patriotic name tag (also from Gay Ann) that I will stitch afterwards. It won't take long and then I can do both finishing at the same time.
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See you all in a little bit!
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Pierrette =^..^=

Patriotic Heart: A little more done

Gosh, I am so happy to be stitching again. It is a real joy. I had not realized how much I was missing it :-)

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Yesterday, I stitched a little more on Gay Ann's Patriotic Heart, working on the right side, adding some red horizontal lines of different thicknesses together with some blue and white edging.

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Very little threads are necessary for this little project: Blue Fyre Werks, White Kreinik Tapestry Braid, Blue Fine Braid, Red Impressions and some Anchor white Perle cotton.

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A little more to do on the right side and I will be all done. It is really a quick project. I bet somebody could do it in one day if they put the right amount of time.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Patriotic Heart

Wow, I had not realized that it had been that long since I posted last (Sept. 17th). I had some personal issues to deal with, which have kept me away from stitching. I have just restarted yesterday and will be playing catch-up with all the numerous projects already started and the new ones that are begging me to start them (grinning).

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I could have continued working on Anne Stradal's Mrs Santa, but decided to ease myself back in with a new project called Patriotic Heart by Gay Ann Rogers. What made me decide to do this one is that we are in the middle of a very intense election period, well, actually finally getting close to the end, about 14 days to go before the November 4th election and what better project than a little Patriotic heart.

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I have completed the left side of the heart with stripes and stars. I was so happy to see that the pattern has some pulled thread in it, something that I adore doing, but rarely have the occasion to do, so that was a big bonus for me. The right side has lots of stripes, blue, white and red with the word America on it. As usual, since it is an ornament, I will do my own finishing with cording.

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Better go back to it now as I have lots and lots of catching up to do. It is good to be back stitching again :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

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P.S. Don't mind what seems to be lines on the left side of the heart, I made an error in my counting when I had to stitch an outline with white thread on white canvas and the holes are still showing, but that will not be visible after the finishing is done. I usually am pretty good with counting, but it has been a rough restarting, but now all is going well (smiling)

The Night Before, an Anne Stradal design

It has been a few weeks since I have posted anything on my blog, the reason being that I have not been feeling that well and have been taking things rather easy, which have given me the opportunity to do a lot of reading, something I love and usually am not able to find enough time for it.
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I have been able to do a little bit of stitching though and have been working on The Night Before which is the accompanying piece to The Day After that I have stitched not long ago.
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The photo below has been stitched by Anne Stradal herself and has been included with her permission.

[Designed and stitched by Anne Stradal of ABS Designs]

Below is a picture showing what I have done up to now.

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So far I have done a bit of the wallpaper, which I intend to do exactly as Anne did. I have done the flooring and the rug using the same color thread for the carpet (Rainbow Tweed RT55) and a DMC #5 perle for the flooring (mine is a shade lighter than Anne). The chair has been done in two shades of Velour Very Petite. I have stitched the table where the lamp is and the legs of the chair using the same DMC Perle #5 brown color.

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Now we are where things are getting a bit more complicated, at least for me :-) I wanted to change Mrs. Claus' dress, using the same color though as Anne did hers. At this point I am not sure if I like it or not. That is the reason I have not stitched yet her slippers as if I have to frog the dress, then I don't want to spoil the slippers. I was thinking of adding a little lace to the colar and bottom of her sleeves. Now, do I go for white or some pink color? I am still wondering what stitch I will be using for the apron and what color? Since she is not a maid, I don't have to leave it white if I don't want to. Oh! you may have noticed that I have stitched over the scarf that she is knitting and will also do the same thing over her apron because I want to add the stitched scarf over (like stumpwork). Still thinking about her needles as to how to make them. Also still debating about her hat, not sure what I will do..

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I have been wondering if I want to cover the shade of the lamp with some fabric instead of thread. Also have not decided how to do the lamp base, stem and finial. I will do the basket the same way as Anne did hers, but will wait for the balls of yarns as I may change some colors. As for the pine branches and bow, I may decide to do exactly as Anne did, unless I make the bow Brazilian embroidery style.

[My photo is a bit dark compared to Anne's but have used the same colors]

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So, lots of decisions still to make before this piece is completed. I will probably start working on the wallpaper while I am thinking about all this. If you have some ideas for any part of it, I would love to hear from you all and also tell me if I should change her dress or leave it as is. I don't mind doing a bit of frogging in order to make her look nicer :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

Peace Tree

I have just this minute completed all the stitching on this latest ornament from Jim Wurth. This one has a Christmas theme and is quite different to the rest of the series which you can see here.

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You can see candles, bows of different sizes and colors, wreaths, etc.

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All the time I was stitching it, I could not decide whether I liked it or not. I like the individual components, just not sure that I like the overall look, if you get my meaning. It is like when you have this feeling that something is not quite right but can't quite put your finger on it.

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It is still a nice ornament as I don't think that Jim could create anything ugly even if he tried, but this one will need some getting used to it. On the other hand some of you may just absolutely love it. I would love to hear from you either here in the comment section or if you prefer just write to me at LovetoStitch99@comcast.net

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Now, I will go back to Angelina who has been sitting very quietly waiting for me to go back to her.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Peace Tree: Gold beads added

Here is a photo showing the gold beads inside the Jessicas that I had forgotten to add yesterday :-) With the beading added like that, it gives it a more finished look.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Peace Tree: Dodecagon Ornament Series by Jim Wurth

Peace Tree is the 11th of the Dodecagon Ornament Series designed by Jim Wurth that I have received so far. The 12th and last one should arrive sometimes in November, ending that lovely series.
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Jim said that he wanted to make at least one ornament that would have a Christmas theme to it and this one is it. The design took me a little by surprise when I saw it first and did not know what to think of it really, but now that I have started working on it, I am slowly changing my mind about it.
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All Jim's ornaments look much better from upclose as he uses a lot of metallic threads, which is so difficult to make all that sparkle stand out when taking photos, at least when I am taking them.
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I was supposed to be working on some other projects, but ever since I got so behind in stitching that series at the beginning and finally managed to catch up after stitching one after another, I promised myself that I would work on each one of them as soon as I would receive them, so temporarily put aside the main project I was working on in order to start working on it, though I have done it at a very slow pace.
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I have added a photo showing a close-up of that first section. Oups, just realized that I have forgotten to add the beads inside the small jessicas :-(

I have started working on Angelina, my latest blackwork project, but I feel that I have not done enough to take a photo. Will do as soon as I have a little more done to make it interesting for you all :-)

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Better go back to my forgotten beads before I continue working on the rest of it.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Angelina, An Ilse Altherr design

As I mentioned in my last post, after doing a lot of needlepoint projects, I needed to work on something else for a little while before returning to it. I did not know exactly what kind of technique it would be as I have so many to choose from.
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I have been thinking of doing a bit of blackwork for a while now so I chose this lovely blackwork project. The lovely stitcher in the photo is called ANGELINA and she has been designed by Ilse Altherr. I am including the picture that came with the instructions as I have just put her on stretcher bars and have not yet started working on her, but that will change after I finish writing this post.
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Blackwork is a technique that I really enjoy working on and both Marion Scoular and Ilse Altherr have such lovely designs. There are other blackwork designers out there, but I am most familiar with them.

(Photograph that came with the instructions)

I am itching to start so will go for now and come back when I have something to show for myself (grinning).
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Pierrette =^..^=