Casalguidi & Lavender: Barbara M. Kershaw, designer

While I need a little more time to finish my first blackwork tree before I can put a photo on my blog, I thought I would show you this Casalguidi project for which I have just received my supplies yesterday. It is called Casalguidi and Lavender and has been designed especially for the Embroiderers' Guild of America by Barbara M. Kershaw.

.

This project when finished will measure approximately 6" by 6" and it has been designed by Barbara to be finished as a scented sachet, putting some lavender inside, which is the scent I love the most, just so relaxing.

.

I first saw a casalguidi project in the Australian magazine called Inspiration and thought to myself I just need to learn this Italian technique as it is just so beautiful and when this course was offered by my online chapter EGA CyberStitchers I made sure to purchase it so that I could learn the basics. Those courses are just perfect to get us started with a new technique the proper way.

.

Will try to finish that blackwork tree today and put a photo of it either later today or tomorrow :-)

.

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.
.

There is a nice example on how to do the Alternating Satin Stitch on the Brazilian Guild website.

.

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.
.
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.
.
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.
.
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.
.
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.
.
It is so nice for me to go back to some embroidery and I am having a ball.
.
Pierrette =^..^=

Dodecagon Ornament Series, Framed Grouping 1

As I said in my previous post, each grouping will be having its own frame and mat as what seemed to work nicely for one grouping just did not work as well for another grouping. This is the frame and mat for grouping 1.

Close-up view of frame and mat.

From left to right, we have Old Country,Peace Tree and Fabulous Finale, all part of the Dodecagon Ornament series designed by Jim Wurth.

.

Pierrette =^..^=

Dodecagon Ornament Series: Framed Grouping 2

After lots of discussions, it has been decided that each grouping will have its own mat color and special frame.
Photo above shows Grouping 2.

Close-up photo of frame and mat.

Here are from left to right: Arcadia, Mohave and Monrovia ornaments.

.

Pierrette =^..^=

Blackwork: New Project

Yesterday, I ended up spending lots of time working on my blog adding additional LABELS so that you and I can find things a bit more easily. The most important label category has been to add a label for each designer, so now when you and I want to see something about Marion Scoular for example, then all we have to do is scroll down to the right side column until we arrive to the label section and then just click on Marion Scoular and all the projects I have stitched from her whether it is hardanger or blackwork will be there. Same thing for all the other designers that I have had the pleasure to stitch their projects.

.

Talking about Marion Scoular, I do love her designs immensely and my next Blackwork project is one that she designs and is called "Rapunzel", which I have added the photo that came with the instructions, which are quite limited by the way since that is a teaching project and not one like The Princess and the Pea for which she had her instructions printed for sale, so this project will be a bit more challenging than the previous one I have stitched of hers.

.

Here is the little story that Marion writes about Rapunzel at the beginning of her instructions:

.

Rapunzel

.

There was once a couple who longed in vain for a child. A window of their modest home overlooked the garden next door which was owned by a Witch, who filled it with beautiful flowers and tempting vegetables. So envious was the wife that she persuaded her loving husband to sneak through the fence to steal some rampion for her salad. On the second foray, the Witch caught him, and in response to his plea that he was only trying to please his dear wife, she agreed to let him go, but demanded that in return, she should be given their child.

.

Indeed, when the child was born and given the name Rapunzel, which means rampion, the Witch took her to a high tower, deep in the woods. There she grew to be incredibly beautiful, with long golden hair. The Witch would stand at the foot of the tower and call, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel all golden and flair, Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair". Whereupon, Rapunzel would unbraid her glorious locks so the Witch could use them as ladder.

.

Rapunzel sang with the voice of an angel, and one day, this was heard by a Prince as he rode through the forest. Mesmerized, he witnessed the Witch's ritual, memorized it, and when the Witch had gone, used it himself to see at closer hand the lovely Rapunzel. Love blossomed, but sadly, Rapunzel made the naive mistake of asking the Witch why she was so slow and the Prince so nimble. Furious, the Witch slashed off Rapunzel's locks and carried her off to the wilderness.

.

Using Rapunzel's hair, the Witch lured the Prince back to the tower, where in trying to escape, he fell into thorn bushes which scratched his eyes, blinding him. Doomed to wander for many a day throughout the land, the Prince eventually heard a plaintive familiar song.

.

Seeing the Prince's blindness, Rapunzel's tears fell on his eyes, restoring his sight. Joyfully they returned to his Palace and have lived happily ever since.

.

End of story :-) K nowing the story that goes with the piece will make it so much more interesting to work on it.

.

Since this is a rather big piece I have now mounted the canvas on my System 4 scroll frame. This way it will make it much easier to work on it.

.

Pierrette =^..^=

Hardanger: Starting to fill in those little kloster diamonds

I got up way too early this morning and I now feel sluggish and it is only 6:25. This heat (heat index today will be between 100 and 110°F) is turning my life upside down. I just don't do well in that kind of weather. These last few days, I saw myself wake up around 3:30, 4:00 in the morning and been thinking that I might as well get up and get going on some of my projects. That seems to have worked for the previous days, but today I really feel tired and I am afraid that I will be dragging my feet all day long. I don't expect that I will be doing much stitching at all, so will probably be concentrating on getting myself organized instead.

.

Yesterday, I went through lots and lots of projects piled up here and there in order to decide which ones I want to do now, which ones I will probably want to do later and those that I am not so sure right now, well you get the idea. Then I thought since I had all of them in my hands, I might as well start that list of projects that I have been wanting to do forever, so started that as it just felt like the logical thing to do. I decided that I was going to write the name of the project, the name of the designer, origin, stitching technique and whether I have completed it or not.

.

Since I am feeling like crap today, I am thinking that I should work on my blog and add a few additional labels to make things easier to locate stuff. I also need to check my supplies for those new projects and order whatever I need for them. All these things should keep me pretty busy today. At least I will have the feeling that I am accomplishing things even if I am not stitching.

.

Since the last photo taken what seems to me ages ago, I have added a new one of More Options .... in Hardanger, a Dale Sokolow design. Two small Kloster Diamonds have been filled out of 8 leaving 6 more to fill in and then of course the 6 bigger ones. For previous posts on this hardanger project as well as others of the same technique, you may want to follow this link.

.

Hoping that most of you will have a nice cool day with a gentle breeze :-)

.

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.
.
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.

.

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 :-)

.

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

.

Pierrette =^..^=

Persian Fantasy: Areas 7 & 8

Now you know the outcome of the debate I have been having with myself . I really do miss doing rotations with my projects, but there is also a part of me that really wants to catch up with this project and see if I can make it or not. I had actually put the project away but picked it up again and yesterday I have done the little corner section (areas 7 and 8).


This is a close-up of areas 7 and 8. Multiple steps here. This is supposed to be light green, what it seems to me like a blueish green but it definitely came out as blue on my photo.

Have added a third photo showing a perfect square. Well, it will be as soon as I complete area 9. Guess what I am going to be working on today? Right on the money! Area 9 :-)

.

I am starting to think that perhaps I am going to be able to catch up on this cyberclass after all (big grin).

.

Pierrette =^..^=

Persian Fantasy: Areas 1 through 6 completed

I now feel that I have reached a point in this project where more than half of it has been completed and that from now on things will be progressing faster, but there are still plenty more work to do before Persian Fantasy is ready for the framer.

.

I am now debating with myself whether I want to continue working on this project or take a little break and work on another one and then come back to it more refreshed. Next photo will tell you which side of me has won that debate :-)

.

Pierrette =^..^=