Twilight Angel: Christmas gift for Terry

Here is the project that I will be stitching for you, Terry, for this upcoming Christmas. Will blog my stitching so that you will be able to see it coming to life :-)

Look what I have just received from Mary Corbet

I had a lovely surprise today when I picked up my mail and opened a small envelope full of goodies coming from Mary Corbet.

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At this point you may be wondering why I got so lucky and the reason is that I always stop by Mary's blog to find out what she has been cooking for us for the day and on one of these cyber trips I saw that Mary was celebrating Needle'n Thread 3rd anniversary (the name of her blog) and having a give away in celebration, so I decided that I might as well try and see if I could possibly get lucky this time around, so entered my name and to my great surprise I won. I say this because I rarely win and that has been a trend throughout my life. Things may now be changing :-)

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A BIG THANK YOU to you Mary. I am very happy with my goodies and I have no doubt that I will find a good use for all of them. You have just made my day :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

HAPPY EASTER! Easter egg designed and stitched by Anne Stradal

(Designed and stitched by Anne Stradal)
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I always like to put something special for all our main holidays, so I was thinking about what I had stitched for Easter in the past and the answer to that question is not much, not much at all.
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I participated in an Easter egg exchange some years back and had to make a decision as to which egg design to select and stitch as part of my exchange. They have a very bad habit in these exchanges to insist that you give one in order to get one (grinning), so I went on ABS Designs and checked out what kind of eggs Anne had designed at the time. I was happy to see that I had plenty of designs to choose from and selected to stitch this one . I have always enjoyed nature scenes so that one was just perfect for me.
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Since Anne has selected my only stitched Easter anything project done so far a few days ago as an example on canvas interpretation for her blog, I could not very well used it now, could I, so today I found myself with a tiny problem with what photo to put on my blog, that is until I thought of this little darling egg that I was lucky enough to receive in that exchange. This was Anne's design and she stitched it herself for that exchange. The only thing that she did not do is the finishing. Apparently she is "allergic" to finishing (just kidding). Her original was stitched in pink and was called "In the Pink", so I guess the one I got should be called "In the Blue" (makes sense to me).
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I have been thinking of stitching another one as this one is feeling pretty lonely all by itself. I do like the one called "Crocus" so maybe that should be my next one and will keep it this time around as I am still missing "In the garden". The only consolation I have is that "I think" it went to a good home, but still, I do miss it (boohoo).
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Lots of blabla here just to explain my Easter egg selection in order to wish you all a very "Happy Easter". Have fun eating all that wonderful chocolate. Don't overdo it though. If you have too much of it, you could always send some to me as I LOVE chocolate :-)
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Pierrette =^..^=

Here Kitty framed

Remember when I stitched Here Kitty for my friend Terry's birthday a little while back, a Cheryl Schaeffer design? Well she has just framed it herself and sent me a photograph of it to add to my blog.
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I will let Terry tell us more about it on her blog when she is through having her tea. Terry lives in Great Britain as you may already have concluded (grinning).
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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 =^..^=

Hibiscus and the butterfly: A gift from my friend Terry

What a lovely surprise I got yesterday from my very good friend Terry who stitched this lovely stumpwork project called Hibiscus and the butterfly. The colors are just so gorgeous that I could almost eat them but I won't. I could not wait at all to have it framed so the framer has already it in her hands. Can't wait to see it. I have received so many beautiful stitched projects from Terry through the years we have known each other and I cherish each one of them.

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I wanted to add this entry to my blog yesterday but after writing not one (bargello florentine all stitched), not two (projects that need finishing), not three (my knitting project) but four entries (Kitty, project stitched for Terry's birthday) yesterday I was totally exhausted (grinning). I have only been writing a blog entry here and there since the beginning of the new year so that was a big departure of what I normally do.

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Angelina is back from the framer so will be adding a new photo as soon as I manage to take a good photograph of it, which is always a bit of a struggle when there is glass over it, which most of them have except a few stumpwork projects.

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Have added a few lists on the right side of my blog, one about a list of projects that I am either working on or about to and another list of projects that are waiting to either be finished or framed. I have so many things to do that I thought it would help me to remember what I need to do next and help me get all my ducks in a row :-)

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Pierrette =^..^=

Here Kitty: Cheryl Schaeffer , designer

Just before Christmas, I was reading Pat's blog where I saw this charming cat who seems to be playing peek-a-boo and I immediately thought of my best friend Terry who has always had at least one cat since childhood. I wondered if that was something that she might enjoy receiving it for a birthday gift.
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Once I made that decision I then had to start hunting for the painted canvas. I don't recall who it was who mentioned something about where to find it. as it has been a long time, at least seems so to me. Anyway, I ended up on Cheryl's website and decided to write to her. She then suggested that I could possibly contact a shop where I could purchase it, that is if I had not a local needlepoint shop that I was doing business with, so I ended up at Old Town Needlework in Scottsdale, Arizona where Alice Borge helped me. Alice and I exchanged a few emails and when she was ready to mail me the painted canvas, you know what she said? She said that she had written me a nice little stitch guide (stitches and threads) and all that without me asking her for one.
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I was almost jumping up and down as for me choosing threads and stitches is NOT fun. I know that some of you out there just love that part, but I do not, so what a relief that was and I will always be grateful to her for doing me that favor.
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I could not post anything while I was stitching it as Terry would have seen it and I wanted it to be a surprise. Terry's birthday and mine follow each other closely so we had decided to wait until both of us had received each other's gift and then opening them simulatenously while being online, which we have just done.
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I will soon write another post after I take a picture of what Terry made for me for my own birthday :-)
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Pierrette =^..^=

I did a little finishing with "Party Girl"

This is how I finished my little "Party Girl" (a Jean Walter design), something between an ATC (artistic trading card) and a postcard as it is a little bigger in size than your regular ATC (which is the size of a playing card as a rule).
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I stitched a little border around the picture, put some padding and a rigid piece of stiffener (can't recall the name of it). It is rather rigid and can be used to make fabric bowls, and then stitched the back with the front.
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A while back now, my best friend Terry who lives in England, had her bag stolen while doing grocery shopping and she lost some embroidered pieces that I had made for her which she was carrying in her handbag and having fun showing them around. Her bag was never found by the police and I knew that she was very sad about it, so I made up my mind that I would slowly restart making more fun little pieces again and sending them her way as little surprises, rebuilding her little collection with some new pieces. They will all be sizes that she can easily carry around with her. They say lightning rarely strike twice at the same place, so hopefully they won't get stolen this time around.
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I recall those pieces that I had made for her which were stolen: Gardian Angel, Halloween ID card, Fabric envelope so that she could carry them in it. I thought there was something else too, but can't recall.
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I can now post this blog entry as Terry has just received her little surprise this morning and can't stop laughing. Her husband is there looking at her and wondering what is the matter with her. She has not told him yet, keeping him in suspense a bit longer before she shows it to him :-)
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Yesterday I ended up not stitching at all, so Angelina is still headless and armless, but should resume my stitching today.
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Pierrette =^..^=

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 =^..^=

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 =^..^=

Rose Vine Ornament

This is a Wendie Young design that I have slightly changed to make a Christmas ornament out of it.

Pierrette =^..^=

Roses and Noel Ornament

This is a Victoria Sampler Christmas ornament that I have just completed the stitching and finishing, which is now all ready to go on a Christmas tree.

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I had been wanting to make it for quite some time but for some reason or other never got around to it. I am glad that I did this time around. It was lot of fun to stitch and a wonderful experience. I am always learning something new each time I work on a project, so learning curve going up (big smile).

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Roses and buds are bullions, fly stitches for the big leaves, lazy daisies for the smaller leaves and stem stitch for the stems. I have used DMC threads for this project. Was tempted to use Edmar threads, but changed my mind. If I make another one, I will probably do it Brazilian embroidery style.

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Pierrette =^..^=

Bookmark: Painted woman

These days I am deep in experimentation with different medium and wanted to make something special for Terry's adult son Matt, who has returned to the unversity to study art amongst other things.

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The idea came to me to make him a bookmark where I would attempt to paint a woman and only outline her silhouette and clothing in stitches. I wanted to give the feeling of oil painting by using watercolour.

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Here is the finished product, but he won't be able to see it before Christmas. I do hope he gets a kick out of it.

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Time to move on to another project for Christmas as tomorrow is already Thanksgiving. Can't believe how time flies when I am having fun.

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Pierrette =^..^=