Ornament Holiday Bell Gold - 5/23/2025

May 23, 2025--One more of these Susan Portra Holiday Bell Ornaments is stitched--this one in gold.  Love it!

See all of the other Holiday Ornaments stitched to date under the Collections tab on the right.

Ornament Holiday Bell Gold Completed

Heart Swirled in Gold and White - Updated 5/20/25

 

May 20, 2025--Stitching is complete on this adorable, swirled heart.  The last area (Area 5) was a breeze to work up.  All I did differently was stitch the gold cross stitches over one BEFORE doing the gold waffle stitch.  

Scroll down to view previous posts about this heart.

Heart Swirled in Gold and White Completed

May 18, 2025--Area 4 has been stitched, and this area too was a challenge.  The designer called for long diagonal trellis stitches which had to be carefully spaced out.  Trying to count this out on curved lines (convex and concave) proved to be nearly impossible for me.  

Then I remembered the class notes for this project written by Gretchen J. and ta da--problem solved.   I have no clue why I forgot to read the class notes first, but once I did, I ripped out my attempt at the trellis stitch and followed Gretchen's suggestion of stitching 6 x 6 cross stitches.  Ta da--problem solved.  Thanks Gretchen!

Heart Swirled in Gold and White Area 4

Area 4 Grid Using 6 x 6 Cross Stitches

May 15, 2025--Area 3 is done, and like the prior area, required some stitch graphing on my iPad and lots of attention to compensation.   This heart is turning out to be a very pleasant challenge.  

Unfortunately, my vision isn't what it used to be so often enough stitches need to be ripped out and redone.  I see simpler projects in my future.

Heart Swirled in Gold and White Area 3

May 12, 2025--I finally tackled Area 2 of this pretty heart.  I've done a little Or Nué before but was never challenged as I was with this area.  I needed 4 working needles, all of which were laid or stitched one "line" at a time.  In order to manage this chaos, I had to mark up a chart (see below) showing which direction the laid threads would go and where to couch them.  The marked-up chart also helped me know when and where to begin the hearts.  Whew.

Heart Swirled in Gold and White Area 2

Graph for Area 2

May 2, 2025--Finished Area 1 of this beautiful heart described below.  Now on to Day 2's lesson.

Heart Swirled in Gold and White Area 1

April 25, 2025--At its May meeting, ANG's CyberPointers Online Chapter will be working on the Swirled Heart in Gold and White designed by Rozell Hirschfelt with instructions published in the January 2022 issue of Needle Pointers Magazine.  Of course, it can be done in any color, but I'm stitching it in the gold and white threads as designed.  It's a very pretty piece and I like the flowing movement of the sections.  Here's my preworked outline in advance of the meeting.

Heart Swirled in Gold and White Prework Outline

Stocking Emerald and Gold - Updated 5/4/25

May 4, 2025--Those of you who know me will understand that the cuff was looking "unfinished" and it really bugged me.  So, this morning I sat down and added more beads--ahh--better.  Do you agree?  Here's the result:

Stocking Emerald and Gold with Additional Beads Added to Cuff

May 3, 2025--Completed the stitching on this stocking (see below for more information) and had to make a few changes due to the limitations in supply availability.  

 First, was unable to find the right size filigree gold disks for the cuff.  What I did find was a bit small, so the cuff had to be "filled in" with beads.  Beads were not added to the far left and right sides of the cuff--they would have been too close to the edge and possibly in the way of cording.   I may change my mind about this--we'll see.

Second, the designer called for seed beads to be stitched onto the toe area.  I found the beads looked too crowded, therefore too crooked, so I worked up the area in tent stitches using Kreinik gold thread.  I'm also quite sure I didn't have enough beads to fill in the area, so Kreinik was a happy substitute.

It was recommended a row of green tent stiches be placed around the stocking for ease in finishing.  I did that but feel this step wouldn't have been necessary if the stocking was stitched on dark green canvas.   Note for future projects.

All in all, a fun project to work on.  I think it'll be lovely finished as a small stocking.  Stay tuned.

Stocking Emerald and Gold Completed

Stocking Emerald and Gold Side View

April 20, 2025--I purchased the instructions for this Emerald and Gold Stocking by Kaitlyn Marie Designs back in December of 2022 and after many months of trying to locate the gold disks required for this project, I finally found something close on Etsy.  So, I've begun working it up and here's my progress to date.  I'm going to save placing most of the embellishments to the end.

Below is a photo of the stocking as stitched by the designer.  I believe mine will look so much better than it does now when gold cording is placed around the edge and pretty ribbons tied in a bow are placed on the top.