Five Flower Samplers: Leaves & stems stitched

After putting Rapunzel, my blackwork project, aside, I went and look at my already started projects and felt like doing some brazilian embroidery so picked up my Five Flower Samplers, only to realize that I was still working on the leaves and stems. After complaining in my previous post that I was a bit fed up with all the greeneries, one has to stop and laugh at oneself. Anyway, I have just now finished all the leaves and all the stems, leaving the flowers, the border and the final touches. The photograph is not all that great but as soon as I start working on the flowers I will take some close-up photos and you will all be able to see better.
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Can't help myself from smiling and wondering if I can possibly pick up another project where I need to do more greeneries of some kind :-)
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Pierrette =^..^=

Five Flower Samplers: Leaves and stems

Since my last post about Delma Moore's Five Flower Samplers design, I have completed stitching the leaves, all 29 of them and have started working on the stems. This photo above shows two of the five flower samplers with both the leaves and the stems completed. Still have 3 more flower stems to work on.

Above, a close-up of one corner one.

This last photo shows the work that has been completed so far.

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I have been using the same two Edmar thread colors that I have used for the leaves to stitch the stems. There is a tutorial on the Brazilian Embroidery Guild site that shows how to do the stem stitch. A few notes about the stem stitch. It always goes from left to right, you always keep your thread over and not under and when making stems you work them the same way they would grow in nature, meaning from bottom to top and not the other way around.

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I am learning how to do Brazilian Embroidery as I go along. There is nothing better than when you are take photographs of your work. You can scrutinize your work so much better and you then see things that could have been done better. I usually save those details in my memory bank for the next time around. The more you do, the better you get at it.

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I now need a break from all those stems, so will be switching project. Which one will it be? I have not even thought that far :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

Five Flower Samplers: Brazilian Embroidery: More Leaves

I have not managed to stitch as many leaves as I wanted yesterday but considering how bad my allergies are acting up these days, I am rather pleased that I have managed to stitch as many as I did. The photo above shows what has been stitched so far.

This photo above shows another clutter of leaves.

And finally this last photo shows two leaves stitched on another section. I am thinking that by the time I finish stitching all 27 leaves, I will be pretty good at this. I have been stitching some leaves using Iris thread #053 and others using Iris #099. The needle used is a straw needle #5.
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There is a nice example on how to do the Alternating Satin Stitch on the Brazilian Guild website.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Five Flower Samplers: Brazilian Embroidery: Leaves

After spending quite a bit of time in the last few days in project selections, hunting down the material for them, ordering some supplies, working a bit in the garden yesterday and also having intensified allergy problems the last two days, this morning I have finally started working on my new brazilian embroidery project called Five Flower Sampler, which is a Blackberry Lane project with Delma Moore as designer for this particular one.
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Since I have not done any Brazilian embroidery in a long time and am also rather new at this too, I took some time to read a bit about it to refresh my memory.
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The last BE (Brazilian Embroidery) one I stitched I had used a hoop, but this time I am trying to use stretcher bars and so far just loving it. I love to have both hands free at all time while stitching and I love to be able to control both tension and thread as Edmar threads tend to often want to twist on themselves, which can be quite annoying. With my frame I find that I did not have any problems at all. Normally BE stitchers use a hoop, but I like to experiment with different ways of doing things. If all goes well, I may very well end up using some stretcher bars most of the time. Will report back on that after completing this project.
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I have taken out 3 BE books as I always like to see how things are done before trying them so if I can't find what I am looking for in one book then I go in the other. The three I have on my working table right now are: Leaves: A collection of leaf directions from patterns by JDR Brazilian Elegance, Sunshine's Treasures by Cheryl Schuler and Brazilian Embroidery 101 also by Cheryl Schuler. You can find all these books here at JDR.
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To come back to the 5 leaves I have just stitched, I have been using Iris #053 and #099, two different green colors that graduate from pale to dark. The leaves are stitched in Alternating Satin Stitch. The instructions say to stitch all leaves first. I have just completed the leaves for one flower and now need to do the ones for the other 4 flowers before moving on to the stems, so will be back with a photo when those leaves are completed.
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It is so nice for me to go back to some embroidery and I am having a ball.
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Pierrette =^..^=

Brazilian Embroidery: 2 new projects

I guess it is useless to go against my own nature. Working on only one project at a time is just not working out for me, no matter how beautiful it is, so I have decided to go back to a rotation system that will make me happy.
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I have been giving it a lot of thought the last few days and I think that I may have found the ideal rotation for me. This ideal rotation will include projects of different techniques. I will continue working on my already started needlepoint projects of course and will be adding other techniques to them. The first two I have selected will be about Brazilian Embroidery. I will also be adding along the way pulled thread, silk ribbon, needle painting, stumpwork, blackwork, temari projects to name only a few. That should keep me on my toes :-)

This is a Brazilian project called "A Rose For My Mother" and is a Debbie Kelley design or DK Designs. The design itself is approximately 5" by 7" and only includes a few colors, all Edmar threads of course.

The second brazilian embroidery project that I will be working on is called "Five Flower Sampler", which is a Delma Moore Design for Blackberry Lane. Design size is 20 cm by 21 cm, which for us here in the USA makes it approximately 7.5" by 8".

I always prepare my threads and put them inside their special plastic container. Can't recall the exact name for those. When I start stitching I don't like to have to stop each time I need a new color thread.

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I have not done much Brazilian embroidery in the past, so hopefully this will really get me started on my way as I have other lovely projects waiting in the wings :-)

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As soon as I decide on my other projects, I will take some photos and also get started on them.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Shades of Autumn: Brazilian Embroidery

A couple days ago, I got back from my framer the brazilian embroidery project called "Shades of Autumn" designed by Delma Moore.

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I really love what she has done with it. The mat and the frame brings out the embroidery very nicely and I am very pleased with the result.

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Today Gracie was brought to the same framer (when you have a good one, you don't want to change as she does excellent work) and she should be ready in approximately 3 weeks give or take a few days.

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Normally I have her put a glass over everything that she frames for me, but with Gracie we decided against it. I can't wait to see how the framing will turn out but I need to be patient :-)

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Been working diligently on my needlepoint project called "Terra Rosa" designed by Elsa M. Parrish and it is coming along nicely. I will post photos a bit later when I have a little more done to it.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Shades of Autumn: Where is the Itsy-Bitsy Spider?

Where is the itsy-bitsy spider?????

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Some of you have been telling me that you can't see my little itsy-bitsy spider, so I have encircled her in red for you all. She was made with a little tiny black bead and have used some black threads for her 6 little legs.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Shades of Autumn: Brazilian Embroidery

I have always loved Brazilian embroidery and I have done some small BE projects (4 little ones) before, but a little over a week ago, I decided I was just going to plunge in and try something bigger to see how it would go. The worst that could happen is that I would fall flat on my face and nobody would have been the wiser as it would have remained my own little secret.
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I went online and checked the different designs available and purchased a few. When I received them, I had a good look at them and decided that I would try this one first. It is considered an intermediary level, but I did not like the beginner's. It is a design by Delma Moore from Blackberry Lane (no. 152). I thought the design was interesting and loved the colors.
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I would not say that Brazilian embroidery is as difficult as it appears to be, but at the same time it is not that easy either to do it properly. I do all my embroidery learning with the help of books and when I am lucky enough to find a good video I purchase it as that helps immensely.
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One thing I noticed while working on this project is that the time just flew by without me noticing it, which does not happen all that often, so when it does, I notice it :-) I had done bullions before and there were many on this project. Had the pleasure to do some casting for some flowers and enjoyed that very much. Just loved doing the leaves with an alternating satin stitch. There were some Geron Daisy that seems very easy to do, but I had to hold on to the thread tension while making them as if my life depended on it. Once I got the hang of it, that went well. Doing the spider web and the little spider was so much fun. The spider is done with a little black bead and then you add the little legs.
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Included a close-up photo. For some reason, the shine of the Edmar threads does not show all that well. It would be nice to be a professional photographer and take great pictures as I am never happy with my photos. Perhaps in my next life (big grin).
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I now need to clean up my working space and decide on my next project. Not sure exactly what it will be.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Pincushions

I thought that I might as well unite all the pincushions that I have either made or received under one big photo as well :-)

The first top row are pincushions that came from kits. There is a Victorian Triangle which I have made for my friend Terry, then the Victorian Heart that I have kept for myself and the third one of the first top row is called Victorian Antique Ivory which I have given to Rengin as a thank you.

In the middle row, the white one on the left with silk flowers I have also made for Anne as a thank you, the middle red one I have given to Terry and the little Assisi one I kept for myself.

On the bottom row, the white and blue biscornu was a gift from Terry as well as the doggy and also the pink one with the Brazilian embroidery.

It is fun to be able to see all of them together since many have found good homes and I can't see them anymore :-(

Pierrette =^..^=

Needlecases

This is the first needlecase I have made of the whole series and it was part of some stitching accessories, a cyberclass taken with Carole Lake. You can see the front view, the complete view seen when opened and the back view when needlecase is closed.

I thought it would be fun to put all my needlecases on the same blog entry. Some of those needlecases were made by myself, others by friends and exchanges and one I bought at a time when I had none.

The little horse looking over the fence is one that I made for my friend Terry and so is the one with the lady with the hat holding a bouquet of flowers. The horse's head is one that I made for Pauline for an exchange.

These are the only two needlecases that are as pretty on the back as on the front. The under the sea theme was made for me by Elsie during an exchange and the cottage garden is the latest I have made and it is for myself :-)

Here are the two that we have seen completely opened on the top of this photo, then the little white one is the first one I ever had and I had purchased it at the needlestore at the time. The bigger one in the middle is made crazy quilt style and was made during a group project and finally the pink one with the "P" initial was made by my friend Terry. She had made me a trio at the time (needlecase, pincushion and little scissor fob).

I have been busy this morning reorganizing my needles as my goal is to have a different needlecase for different needles. Example: the under the sea scene needlecase contains all my milliners/darners needles as the person who made it was doing a lot of brazilian embroidery stitching, so that makes it easier for me to remember what kind of needles are inside, plus of course I have written the names and sizes inside too :-)

Pierrette =^..^=

A Cottage Garden

I am doing a happy dance this morning as I have just finished the stitching part of "A Cottage Garden".

This is a Kris Richards of South Australia design taken from the fantastic Australian magazine called Inspirations, issue 53.

I must say that I have learned a lot doing this project and it will greatly help me when I tackle other similar projects from them.

This Cottage Garden will be turned into a needlecase. I believe that I can never have too many. What I want to do is keep different sorts of needles in different needlecases, so when I want to find some straw/milliners or embroidery/crewel or tapestry, etc. I will get one of my needlecases and start stitching.

In this design, here is the list of stitches that have been used: blanket stitch pinwheel, bullion knot, bullion loop, couching, detached chain, fly stitch, French knots, granitos, rosette stitch, running stitch, satin stitch, stem stitch and straight stitch.

One book that I have that has been real helpful for helping me along with those stitches is the book called "The Embroidery Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Thread Embroidery. This is again an Inspirations book published by Country Bumpkin Publications.

Now, I will need to get busy doing the finishing. Will have a look at my fabric and see what will go well with it. When it is all done, will add another photo.

Pierrette =^..^=

Brazilian Embroidery: Flowers

This is what I have done today, working on finishing those three Brazilian embroidery flowers using some metal finishing forms.

Pierrette =^..^=

Blackeyed Susan: Brazilian Embroidery

These Blackeyed Susan were designed by my friend Esther. I have changed a few things and also added a little bird and a little bee to it.

I have used the same metal finishing forms that I have used for the other two, but this one was 4 inches instead of the 3 inches I have used for Minuet and Rhapsody.

Pierrette =^..^=

Rhapsody: Brazilian Embroidery Flower

This is the second free project that I have stitched a little while back from the Brazilian Embroidery Guild. This one is called Rhapsody.



I have also used the metal finishing forms. As I was saying, they are so easy to use. What I did was to cover the metal frame with some Pellon Fleece (I love that stuff for finishing as it gives a nice padding, not too thick and not too thin - I find them ideal for ornaments and needlecases), stitched a gathering thread all around, tighlty drawn it up and made a couple of knots.



I did the same thing for front (embroidery) and back (fabric), then I glued it with a new product I used which works like a charm. It is called Fabri-Tac. Made the cording and attached it to the ornament and I was done :-)



Pierrette =^..^=

Minuet: Brazilian Embroidery Flower

Some time ago I have stitched Minuet, which is a free project that can be found on the Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery Guild site at

http://www.brazilian-dimensional-embroidery.org/free_designs.htm


I have recently purchased some metal finishing forms with the idea of trying it on this little project. When I purchased them I wasn't sure if I was going to like using those or not, but I must say that finishing a project with them was a breeze and will certainly use them again for future ornament finishing. The company that makes them is called Flying Needles and they have different shapes and sizes available.





Pierrette =^..^=

Stitching Accessories trio: Gift that was made for me by my very best friend Terry

This little stitching accessory trio is one that I use on a daily basis. My best friend Terry made it for me a little while back. She knows that I have always adored Brazilian embroidery so she stitched it all with BE making very tiny flowers and leaves using the smallest Edmar threads on some silk dupioni fabric. It is really gorgeous and quite useful as she made the needlebook, pincushion and scissor fob. The bright color of the fabric also makes it easy to spot no matter how much stuff I have on my stitching table :-)

Pierrette =^..^=

Christmas ornament

This was my first Brazilian project that I made and it was for an exchange. It was designed by Elsie and was stitched with Edmar threads purchased from JDR, the biggest online store for Brazilian embroidery. Link: http://www.jdr-be.com/

Pierrette =^..^=
http://community.webshots.com/user/sunshineplus

Minuet & Rhapsody (Brazilian embroidery flowers)

An attempt at making some Brazilian embroidery flowers. The first one is called "Minuet" and the second one "Rhapsody".

They were both freebies from the Brazilian Embroidery Guild site: http://www.brazilian-dimensional-embroidery.org/

Pierrette =^..^=

http://community.webshots.com/user/sunshineplus