Mauve Flame Credit Card Case: Debbee's Designs

Funny things, how things happen sometimes. Yesterday afternoon, after having stitched for a while, went outside and really thought that I had done my stitching for the day, but went I came back inside, there was the stitched credit card case still on stretcher bars, so thought to myself, might as well remove the tacks and so I did. Then, thought that it would really not take all that long to cut the surplus fabric and so I did.
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Checked the finishing instructions a second time and felt that this really would not take that much time to finish so took some thread and needle and proceeded to do the finishing which is very well explained in Debbee's instructions and before I knew it I found myself with a lovely little case.
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Of course what is the use of such lovely case if I do not put anything in it, so rushed to add my driver's licence with a few other cards in it and am now feeling on top of the world (grinning).
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Photo above shows the little case all finished inside the clear plastic card case and folded in half with its precious cargo :-)


Photo above shows the little case all finished laying flat inside the clear credit card case.

Finally in this last photo, you see the credit card case after I have just completed the finishing.

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That was really a fun project to stitch and has the advantage of being very useful instead of just decorative.

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I will soon be starting a lovely checkbook cover, a pattern given to me by a friend when I was investigating around in order to find some lovely charted designs. On its front cover it has a lovely plaid pattern and on the back cover it has multiple blackwork patterns, a wonderful combination. Will tell you more about it when I actually start working on it.

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Received my partial kit yesterday afternoon for the Night Blossom Nugget Box from Stitchartz and will also talk more about that project when we actually start the cyberclass.

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There has been delays about threads needed for Tony's kimono project and I am still waiting for my supplies. This will turn out to have been a very long wait. Why do I get this feeling that every stitcher around is doing this project and using some of the same threads. I know, it is a project just too good to pass up. We all know a good thing when we see it (grinning). I will have a bit of catch up to do when I finally get my supplies but that won't be the first time and will manage just fine.

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Better go do a bit of stitching on ............ something :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

Bargello credit card all stitched

It has been so nice outside during these last few days that I have not stitched as much and spent time outside in the garden enjoying the spring weather.
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The photograph above shows a close-up of the credit card case all stitched up, with eyelets in the center of those diamonds.


This photo above shows the entire credit card case with completed eyelets, half eyelets and even quarter ones in the corners.
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All that remains to do now is a little bit of finishing and I will be able to put my driver's license in my new case. Will add a photo when that last bit has been done. This will probably be tomorrow as I am yearning to spend a bit of time outside while it is still nice and warm.
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Pierrette =^..^=

Bargello credit card case: Third color added

Yesterday, I did more work on my little bargello credit card case by adding a third color, the lightest one.
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After fighting with my camera to take a decent photo (below), I had the idea of taking a real close-up one showing only a section of the stitched case and this is the best one so far. This photo (above) really shows the true colors used in this project, which are different shades of Shell Pink.



The photo above shows you the complete surface of the case. All that remains for me to stitch now are the eyelets inside the diamonds, using a rayon thread this time around compared to Perle #8 used for the rest of the project. I was thinking that a metalic thread would also look great there, something for me to consider when I make my second one.
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I have decided to stitch the eyelets today and complete this project as the finishing should be quick enough and I think that I have more or less decided that I am going to put my driver's licence in this one with a couple of others things, perhaps my car insurance one. We are so often asked for it as ID in stores, so instead of carrying it with my credit cards, it will be in its own little case and easy to just hand over. This may also turn out into a conversation piece (grinning).
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Pierrette =^..^=

"Superstition", Loretta Spears' Mystery #13, Lesson 2, Patterns 1 & 2

This project is really turning it out to be quite stunning and since it is a Mystery, it keeps us guessing as to what will come up next.

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Colors used by Loretta Spears are Waterlilies Flamingo, Opal and Crystal Bay with some Opalescent here and there to add some sparkle and also some petite glass beads by Mill Hill #40161 placed at strategic places.

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Yesterday, after working on my credit card case, I stitched lesson 2, patterns 1 & 2, which seems the same pattern in reality. It is just the way that half of them are stitched is different, but the end result really looks the same.

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The sun has just now appeared and it seems that we will have a lovely day today. So much nicer when it is bright and shiny outside.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Mauve flame credit card case: Debbie Rowley, designer

Yesterday I started working on my credit card case, a Debbie Rowley design. For some reason or other I seem to be stitching a lot of bargello these days. That must be due to those articles with Liz Morrow in Needlepoint Now that we have been having since the beginning of the new year. They have reminded me of how much I have always enjoyed bargello and that I should definitely do more bargello projects.

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While I was stitching Debbie's credit card case, I was thinking of what else I could put in those cases and came up with a few ideas like my driver's licence, membership cards with my stitching guilds, anything really that I want to be able to find quickly. They would also make nice gifts. There are so many wonderful color combination possible so will see what I can come up with, a bit later.

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Loretta's Spears' Superstition is now calling my name so will do a bit more on that project before returning to this one.

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Pierrette =^..^=

The Peacock Stitching Chair: Graph A - Chair Back

I have been slowed down quite a bit those last two days with lots of interruptions and false starts, but with persistence have finally managed to stitch the back of the chair.
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For those who are not sure which project this is, here is the link for it. The one I am working on is the first of the series. Since then there has been a second chair (the green one) and a divan which is also adorable.
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Yesterday I have received my kit for a credit card case and I am just dying to start working on it, so I may decide to start working on it before doing a bit more on Superstition. We are finally having a nice warm and sunny day today after days of rain, so will now take a much needed break, go outside on the patio and enjoy a bit of sun and while there will think about what I feel like working on next. I am starting to really enjoy often switching projects to suit my moods. This rotation business is not that bad after all. I have resisted it for a long time though (grinning).
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See you all later :-)
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Pierrette =^..^=

"Superstition", Loretta Spears' Mystery #13, Lesson 1, Pattern 4

This is such a wonderful design and to think that I have left this one sitting for so long in my stash. Hard to believe, isn't it?
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On this photo you can see pattern 4 of the first lesson. Can you see the little beads? Cute little details on this pattern. I find working with these colors so relaxing too.
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I will now start doing a little bit of stitching on Peacock Chair to move that project along too. It is amazing how much work you can do by working a little bit on this project and then a little bit on that other one and all this often in the same day. It all depends of course how much work there is in each section that I want to work on and if I need a break from it or not ........... and to think that I used to work on one project at a time. These days now seem long ago.
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Pierrette =^..^=

Hollyhock House: All bricks done

I have noticed that whenever I take a photo and that the center of that picture has not been stitched, then I have all those wavy lines. I tried and tried with this one and this is the best one I could take.
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Having now stitched the last brick, this is completing my March assignment with the stitch-along group. Will now put this project aside until April 1st when we get our next assignement for that month. This will give me time to work on my other projects. At that time we will be working on the roof, chimneys, angels, ribbon and not sure what else.
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Pierrette =^..^=

Hibiscus and the butterfly: Stumpwork

This morning is a cold and rainy day but I do have quite a bit of sunshine with this lovely stumpwork project that my very best friend Terry has made for me for my birthday. She sent it early enough so that my husband had time to bring it to the framer where they put their heads together and came up with this perfect frame for it. No mat at all this time around and no glass over it either. It looks stunning and warms my heart with good feelings :-)

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Previous post shows this project before framing. Going back on my blog to retrieve it made me realize that my photo was a bit on the dark side and perhaps my previous photo was a bit on the light side (grinning). Anyway, they all did a wonderful job for me and I am very happy.

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Will be working on adding more bricks today to Hollyhock House. My goal for the day is to finish this month's assignment. I still have approximately half of the right side to complete and then will put it aside until next assignment on April 1st.

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Pierrette =^..^=

"Superstition", Loretta Spears' Mystery #13, Lesson 1, Pattern 3

Friday the 13! Anyone out there supertitious????

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Hope not as Loretta Spears' Superstition", her mystery 13, seems very innocent to me (grinning).

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Have stitched pattern 3 of lesson 1 and gosh do I love this design so far. Can't wait to see more of it. Bet you can't either (lol). It is a real pleasure to stitch.

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As said in my previous post this morning about "The Peacock Stitching Chair" (I know I am all over the place these days, but ain't it fun?) I had some basting to do and now it has all been done, so I am ready to start stitching on it, section by section.

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I am not forgetting about Hollyhock House either, stitching more bricks.

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Still waiting about my fabric and threads for Tony Minieri's kimono. As soon as that arrives I will start working on that project too. The same thing about finishing the little Christmas ornament, waiting for my backing fabric. Ordered some miniature frames for the two little Gay Ann Rogers' miniature projects I have stitched recently. Looking forward to framing them. I am thinking of getting myself some easels to display them.

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Bad weather outside, so ideal time to stay indoors and stitch :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

The Peacock Stitching Chair by the Cat's Whiskers Design Studio

Once in a while I love to do projects with friends and this is one of them. I wish I could do this more often but I just have too much on my plate at any given time to do more.

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We were debating which project to stitch together and have taken the decision to start working on the first of the "Lounge Suite" Series, the Peacock Stitching Chair (photo above).

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I read the instructions yesterday and started basting using the "layout map for chair pieces" provided with the instructions. There are 12 pieces in all. There is not so much stitching in this project as there is a lot of assembling to do in order to construct the little chair.

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I have done part of the basting yesterday and will try to complete the rest sometimes today. It does not take all that long to do but I need to be careful in measuring each different sections. After that the stitching may begin :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

"Superstition", Loretta Spears' Mystery #13, Lesson 1, Patterns 1 & 2

This is only my second Loretta Spears' project that I ever had the pleasure so far of working on. Pleasure in this case is a big understatement as her designs sparks excitement, at least for me.
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Loretta has designed a total of 14 projects in what she called her "Mystery" series. The first one that I stitched, which was a few years ago was probably her most beautiful one, her Mystery #8 called Bargello Symphony for which she won some award for it, can't recall which one. That was stitched before I started blogging unfortunately, so there are no progress photos of that piece.
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I remember way back then hearing about Loretta Spears from other stitchers and I had no idea who that lady was until I went to check Bargello Symphony on the ANG website, which I tried to do again this morning to give you the link, but could not find the section in question. Not sure if it is me or them doing web maintenance or having problems.
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I had been talking lately of working on Mystery #13 but I have so much to do that I was not sure that I could make it, but decided that life is too short to postpone doing projects that brings a lot of pleasure.
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Yesterday, I worked on Lesson 1 and stitched pattern 1 (which is the section that uses Waterlilies Flamingo thread) and pattern 2 (the section using Waterlilies Opal thread) with one ply of Opalescent mixed with either the Flamingo or the Opal threads, making it all sparkly. Quite beautiful actually. You can see all that sparkle in my photo.
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I will continue working on this project and also add more bricks on Gay Ann Rogers' Hollyhock House.
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Pierrette =^..^=
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P.S. My friend Terry found the link on the ANG website for Loretta Spears beautiful Bargello Symphony. This is the link Thanks, Terry :-)

"SUPERSTITION": Mystery 13 by Loretta Spears

My second post of the day, stretching myself again (silly grin).

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I just love Loretta Spears' designs and at the end of April 2004 I had the opportunity of purchasing Mystery #13 called "SUPERSTITION" with the whole kit from a fellow stitcher and it has been sitting in my stash ever since.

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I have decided that TODAY is the day to start working on it. Don't you love that name "Superstition"? Colors used in that piece are beautiful too.

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In a couple of minutes I will be putting the canvas on stretcher bars and will take a few moments to read the instructions.

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This is not an especially big project as the white congress cloth used for this is only 8" x 8", so a nice size for someone who has been working on Hollyhock House. My back will thank me for this one (grinning).

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Will post again when I have actually started stitching on it.

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See you all soon!

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Pierrette =^..^=

Hollyhock House: Facia board & more bricks

Took another photo to show progress made since last post. No sun today and that changes a bit my colors. Yesterday we had almost 80 degrees temperatures, nice enough to have lunch outside on the patio and tomorrow they are telling us to expect some wintery weather. Talk about big weather changes. No wonder trees and plants can't keep up with all this foolishness. I have still not adjusted to our latest daylight saving time as I keep waking up one hour later than my "normal" time. In reality that only means that I keep waking up at the same exact time as before, but the end result is that I am an hour late with the start of my day :-(
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It will take a little bit longer before I do the little Christmas stocking finishing as I have ordered some ultrasuede for the backing, something I just did not have at home. Hopefully it won't take too long to do the finishing once I receive the fabric. At first I entertained the idea of finishing it with some fabric I had, but that would only have made my job more difficult and probably not as nice, so better wait for the fabric than do something that I won't be as happy with.
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The photo above shows the facia board. I still need to complete the bricks on the right side and I believe that will be it for this month's assignment. Need to check about that. Will post another photo when that bit is done. Next month's assignment will be to finish the roof, add two chimneys, work on the two angels, etc. so lots of fun coming up :-)
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Pierrette =^..^=

Florentine bargello little decorative pillow

I have decided earlier today to give my poor back a little break from the big big Hollyhock project and worked on finishing the little florentine bargello pincushion turned miniature pillow in my case. I think this design is way too beautiful to stick needles in it.
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You can read a bit more about this project on Previous posts
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All finishing instructions are included in Brenda Day's book's Bargello; A Fresh Approach to Florentine Embroidery. I really like the bead tassels and it is also so easy to do. That is something that I will probably use in some form or other for other finishing projects. It is wonderful whenever you learn something new, isn't it?
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I have been thinking about my next finishing and I am leaning towards the little Christmas stocking. This project also came with finishing instructions so will use those as I like the way they finished theirs.
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Pierrette =^..^=

Hollyhock House: Bricks all stitched on left side of house

Daylight saving time began this morning and I am still not completely awake and have been dragging my body along all morning. Did not sleep all that well either, so don't think that today will be a very active stitching day. Oh well, I can always read. Have some great detective books waiting for me next to a very comfortable chair. Seems very inviting right this minute :-)

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Anyway, I have managed to snap a quick photo of the left side of Hollyhock house showing all the bricks completed. Done a few additional bricks on the right side too, so slowly moving along with the bricklaying.

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Talk to you all when I am a bit more awaked.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Hollyhock House: More bricks

I am now getting close to finishing the left side of the house, but have been having lots of distractions lately so not stitching as much, but have managed to add a few more bricks.

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We are now having our annual meeting at ANG CyberPointers. It is hard to imagine that this new cyber group has only been in existence since October of 2008 and we are already over 300 members. There are tons of projects for us to work on and there is not a dull moment. They sure keep me on my toes with everything that is going on there. One of the project is a stitch along doing the Tony Minieri kimono that everybody is talking about and we have so many more.

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Next week, we will have our meeting at EGA CyberStitchers. We have lots of interesting National projects that we are taking as a group and also some smaller free projects given to members. We are now deciding on the different classes that we will be taking as groups.

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I am also heavily involved with projects from the Shining Needle Society. One of them is this stitching along doing the Hollyhock House.

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.......... and just in case I did not have any with these three wonderful groups, I will soon be taking another cyberclass, making a little Nugget Box.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Hollyhock House: Bricks

Just took a quick picture to show you the brick laying. We are using 3 different colors for the bricks. Each brick has two layers, the first one going this way \ and the top layer going that way /.

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Upon Ann's suggestion, our stitch-along leader, I have been using either the same colors for the two layers or using one color for the bottom layer, a different one for the top layer and alternating between the bottom and top layers, giving me lots of possible combinations and shading, which looks natural looking.

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I decide on the colors of each individual brick as I go along depending on the colors chosen for previous bricks as I try to get a nice overall look. I am quite happy so far with the results. I love Gay Ann Rogers' designs and this one will also look great once completed, but I am not there yet, far from it, but making slow progress..

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Pierrette =^..^=

Hollyhock House: Slowly building the house

I have been so involved with my stitching that I almost forgot to stop and take photo showing what I have done since the last post.

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As you can see, I have stitched the mortar between the bricks on each side of the house, but before I actually started stitching the bricks themselves, I wanted to put some foundation to my house, which are the grey lines. I still have some more to do and then I want to put the roof and finish it off with the bricks. I have so many classes and stitch-alongs in which I am involved in that I need to focus on one assignment at a time and try to slide the finishing in-between these.

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For those of you who have been wondering if I have started working on the finishing of my little bargello pillow, the answer is yes, but not much as Hollyhock House was screaming at me to work on her :-) I have only one side out of 4 stitched on the little pillow, so nothing to show you as all we can see are both backsides of the fabric, not very interesting I am afraid :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

Hollyhock House: Both vases and flowers stitched

I have finally stitched both sides of Hollyhock House and just in time too for my March assignment, which will be what I wanted to stitch all along, the bricks. We would think that I have been a bricklayer in a previous life for my wanting to do this part so badly (grinning).

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I find myself with a big conflict this morning as I said that I would do the finishing of my little bargello pillow and I really want to do just that, but and a big but, at the same time I want to do some bricklaying so badly too. Life is just so hard, isn't it? Tough choices all the time :-(

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Next post will tell you which one I have decided to work on first ..................

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Pierrette =^..^=