My Vintage Heart - Updated 3/27/21

March 27, 2021--Finished this beautiful heart into an ornament and love how it came out.  Lots of sparkly bling.  Project information can be found below copied from prior blogs.

My Vintage Heart Finished Front

My Vintage Heart Finished Back

My Vintage Heart Kumihimo Cord

My Vintage Heart Kumihimo Cord Setup

December 6, 2020--The bling has been added and wow--it's beautiful.    Purchasing Nancy Cucci's designs and kits with beads is always a lot of fun.  There's a nice surprise at the end when all the beads are attached--shine, texture, dimension, etc.   This project did not disappoint.  

My Vintage Heart Completed

My Vintage Heart Completed Side View 1

My Vintage Heart Completed Side View 2

November 30, 2020--The stitching is done and all sections ready for embellishment with the beautiful (and many vintage) beads Nancy included in the kit.  I love how beads add so much "wow" factor and can't wait to see what this will look like all dressed up.  Stay tuned.

My Vintage Heart Before Beading

November 17, 2020--When ANG's CyberPointers Chapter offered up this heart by Nancy Cucci last June with lessons to begin in November, I signed up immediately.  Her hearts are so beautiful with wonderful bead embellishments, and this heart doesn't disappoint (click on Collections to the right to see other projects designed by Nancy Cucci that I've stitched to date).   I love how she added antique beads to the kit that were accumulated by her over the years.

Here's a photo of the completed outline done in Tent Stitch.  Now the fun begins.

My Vintage Heart Outlined

Blue Diamond Ornament - Updated 3/20/21

March 20, 2021--Finished this tiny diamond into an ornament.  I must admit I almost didn't bother posting on the blog--this is one of the worst finishing jobs I've ever done.  Well, maybe the second worst.  I'm discovering that the smaller the ornament, the more difficult it is to properly finish.   The proof is in the pictures.  I also believe that one of the reasons professional finishers top off their work with lots of bows and fru-fru may be to cover up errors in forming a loop at the top.  It isn't easy stuffing all of that cording into the top of an ornament--something has to give.

Ornament Diamond Blue Completed Front

Ornament Diamond Blue Completed Back

January 27, 2021--Last night I took a Zoom class on how to stitch the below ornament.  

Blue Diamond Ornament

Melita Glavin of  Melitastitches4fun's Blog and a co-attendee of the class, perfectly describes the event as follows:

My EGA Brandywine Chapter hosted a class earlier tonight with Vicky Witterschein so she can gain experience towards her teaching certification with the National Academy of Needlearts (NAN).

Many thanks to her local needlepoint shop, The Edwardian Needle and Pam, for donating 20 kits to each of EGA’s 5 regions. It consists of 5″ x 5″ piece of 18 count canvas, Santa Fe Sage, 2 mm ribbon, Kreinik, pearls, needles, and beading thread.

Vicky led us through the stitches, had video demonstrations, and several of us finished the project during the 2-hour Zoom class. She is well on her to being an excellent teacher.

It could be done as a diamond like I did (2″ x 3″) or a Christmas Tree. Any ribbon thread will work, if I want to make up another. It’s great that the stitches work up easily into 2 different designs.

I chose to stitch the diamond shaped ornament rather than the tree.   It was a fast stitch and one worth repeating.

2 comments:

1. 
   Frances W.February 3, 2021 at 9:17 PM

   Lovely, I’m also signed up. My zoom class is in March. Can’t wait.

   ReplyDelete
2. 
   MelitaFebruary 20, 2021 at 10:12 AM

   Definitely would do another. I love seeing you in Zoom classes and meetings!!

   ReplyDelete

Graph Gripper - 3/13/21

 March 13, 2021--A new favorite tool of mine is the Yarn Tree Graph Gripper.  The "gripper" is large enough to attach to 3/4" wide stretcher bars (but not Evertites).  Often enough I copy a stitch diagram from my instructions and cut off everything but the graph and hold it in place using the Graph Gripper's clip (see photos below).   The Gripper is very flexible and can be maneuvered into any number of positions while not slipping out of place (hope this makes sense).

Yarn Tree Graph Gripper Bent Sideways

Yarn Tree Graph Gripper Kept Upright

North Wind Santa - 3/12/2021

March 12, 2021--I'm continuing to stitch these cute santas designed by Janet Zickler Casey.  This one is called North Wind Santa from 2003.   You can see others I've done by clicking on Collections under the Pages tab on the right.  So far this is number thirteen that's completed.   I've planned to stitch one old and one new each year until I've caught up with all that's available.  There are twelve older ones to work on and Janet designs a new one each year, so I'll be busy for--twelve more years.  Yikes.   

North Wind Santa Completed

North Wind Santa Side View

There's lots of sparkle in the beard.

Delicate Flowers Stocking by Pat Mazu - Updated 3/8/21

March 8, 2021--This is the third stocking finished using a technique I've recently written about.  It's a process that has many steps and takes time, but is worth the effort to proudly say I've finished it myself and saved quite a bit of money to boot.  Of course, it's not perfect, but it's for my personal use only, so enjoy it I will.

Stocking Delicate Flowers Finished Front

Stocking Delicate Flowers Finished Back (Note year of 2015)

Stocking Delicate Flowers Cording Name

Stocking Delicate Flowers Cording Details

July 13, 2015--Have completed the stitching on this piece and am ready to finish it into a stocking.   The side view picture shows the depth and nap of the threads.

Think I'll make the cording out of the two greens and add white.  Love working on projects that take no time to complete.  It's just what I needed.

Completed Stitching

Side View

July 11, 2015--Finished the cuff on this beautiful stocking.  Changed the color of the Kreinik cross stitches from gold to a pale green.  Hope it'll work.  Here's a photo of my progress so far.

Stocking Delicate Flowers Through Cuff

Stocking Delicate Flowers Through Cuff Closeup

July 6, 2015--My local ANG chapter, Delaware's Seashore Chapter, is stitching Pat Mazu's Delicate Flower Stocking from the 2003-2004 Chapter Project Book.  I've got everything together and ready for the class today.  The threads chosen are from my stash and even though not the traditional holiday colors, I think they'll be lovely (I love all greens with a touch of blue in them).

Delicate Flowers Stocking Project Photo

Thread Selections

This is the first post in over a month--was fishing with DH in Canada and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I love being on the water and DH makes fishing so easy for me--he baits my hook and takes the fish off the hook.  All I have to do is reel it in, and that's where all the fun is.  The lakes were so beautiful.

Fishing at Lost Lake Wilderness Lodge, Ontario, Canada

A Star in the Meadow Stocking - Updated 3/5/21

March 5, 2021--Finally finished this project into a stocking ornament.  This is the second stocking made using a technique I wrote about here.   It's definitely a learning process and some of what I learned can be transferred to flat ornaments.  For example, finger pressing the canvas seam allowance into place, then ironing it flat so it can be used as a mounting board template is a great technique for odd shaped ornaments.  I'm still on the fence about hand sewing together the canvas front to the fabric back, but I'll give it a try with flat backed ornaments rather than gluing them together as I would normally do (hand sewing is a necessity for working up stockings though).  

Stocking Star in the Meadow Finished Front

Stocking Star in the Meadow Finished Back

Below is a photo of the cording I used which was purchased from Michaels Arts & Crafts.

Stocking Star in the Meadow Cording

February 9, 2017--My ANG chapter, Delaware's Seashore Chapter, had a class led by our incomparable Geri W. on stitching Pat Mazu's stocking called A Star in the Meadow.   This was a free download (click here) made available by ANG Needle Pointers Magazine.  Due to the bargello or florentine stitches over multiple threads, this was a very quick finish.  Too bad the shiny Swarovski Bicones don't show well in the photo.  This is the third Pat Mazu project I have ready to finish into a stocking.  They make darling ornaments.

A Star in the Meadow Stocking