Holiday Ornament Green Gift - 1/30/2020

January 30, 2020--Number 10 of the 16 Susan Portra Holiday Ornaments collection is now stitched (click here for more information about them).  The star centers are filled with french knots and turned out to be easier than anticipated.  They add some dimension to the front.  The instructions for this ornament were published in Needlepoint Now Magazine 2014, Volume XVI, Issue 6.   I plan on turning all of these Holiday canvases into ornaments when the set is completely stitched.

Ornament Holiday Gift Green Completed

Hardanger Ornament Crystal Daisy - Updated 1/8/2020

January 8, 2020--The additional project to stitch given us by Terri Bay in the hardanger crystal daisy class (see 7/20/19 blog post below) is now finished into a little doily.   It has some depth and shine due to the beads and Kreinik thread.  Cutting away the fabric wasn't difficult at all--just had to keep a steady hand and carefully cut into the inside corners with the sharpest little scissors I have.

Hardanger Crystal Daisy Doily Finished

My Tiny, Inexpensive, Sharpest Scissors

July 20, 2019--Finished the Hardanger Crystal Daisy piece into an ornament.  

This is the first time I've made an ornament stitched on linen fabric--all others have a canvas (usually 18 count) base.  The linen had a tendency to move off grain, so it needed serious pinning around the edge of the mounting board to stay even.  It was also difficult to keep the measurements even all around from the edge of the stitching to the edge of the ornament--I had to repin the fabric onto the mounting board three times before I got it right.

Hardanger Ornament Crystal Daisy Finished Front

For a needlepoint ornament stitched on canvas, I usually cut the ornament front a little smaller (about 5%) than the back so the cording "sits" a bit forward.  This is because the canvas is so thick with stitching all the way to the edge (usually).  With the linen ornament, the fabric is so much thinner than canvas and there's no stitching to the edge, so the front mounting board should only have been reduced in size by 3% or so.  So this linen ornament has a front that is too small and the cording doesn't show at all from the back.

And speaking of cording, mine is too small for this size ornament.  It would look much better if it were twice the thickness.  

Every time I finish my own ornaments, I learn something new, but am learning the hard way.  Would love to "intern" with a professional finisher so I could learn all the tricks of the trade at one time.

Anyone want an intern?  I'm willing to travel in the mid-Atlantic area.

PS  I have no desire to use what I would learn to finish ornaments for others as a business--this would be for my own purposes only.  Thank you.

Hardanger Ornament Crystal Daisy Finished Back

July 14, 2019--In February, I attended Hardanger University (click here for information about the classes) and have been wanting to finish stitching the pieces I started.

The first class was an ornament sized project called Crystal Daisy from Terri Bay Needlework Designs.  Recently I decided to complete the stitching and learned a lot in the process.  I really like stitching "in hand" and have no problems with my tension pulling and or warping the linen  Below is a picture of the ornament which I just completed.

Hardanger Ornament Crystal Daisy Completed

Below is a photo of where I left off at class end.

Hardanger Ornament Crystal Daisy at Class End

I had an issue with the very thin beading thread included with the kit.  A small amount was coiled inside of a plastic bag and when I tried to take it out--it knotted up like crazy.  So I used my 6 lb. Berkley Fireline Crystal Braid to stitch the bicone beads in place.  This works great on canvas, but hated the results on the linen which can be seen in the photo below--was way too heavy.    Fortunately I remembered having some "invisible" thread in my sewing stash.  So I cut out the Berkley line and restitched the beads in place using my invisible thread.  Worked perfectly as you can see from the first photo above.

Hardanger Ornament Crystal Daisy with Berkley Fireline to Stitch Beads (too visible)

Am now working on the larger, oval ornament which was included in the class materials.  I plan on turning the project into a small doily instead of an ornament and placing it on the edge of my huge soaking tub for something a little decorative.

Janet Zickler Casey Santas Stitched to Date - Updated 5/18/2020

Click on the photo caption to view more information about each santa.


May 18, 2020--Here's the 12th santa ornament stitched so far--North Wind Santa

North Wind Santa Completed

May 12, 2020--the 11th Janet Zickler Casey santa stitched to date called Santa in the Moon.

Santa in the Moon Completed

January 5, 2020--The 10th JZC santa, Heart Santa, is stitched.

Santa Heart

February 11, 2019--The 9th JZC santa is stitched.

Star Spangled Santa

January 9, 2019--Here's the eighth stitched so far to add to the list below.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Santa

November 16, 2018—Recently I counted up the number of santa ornaments designed by Janet Zickler Casey that I’ve stitched over the years.  Below are 7 out of 23 total to date.  As new ones are completed, I’ll add them to the list.  My goal is to stitch two a year (one new, one old) until all are done.  Click on the caption for more information about each santa pictured.

Candy Swirl Santa

Pine Cone Santa

Nutcracker Santa

Christmas Tree Santa

Silver Bell Santa

Christmas Light Santa

Candy Cane Santa

To see the santas yet to be stitched, please click on the 2 Pages on the right side of this blog called Planned Projects and In Process Projects.