Bargello Fun - Updated 4/26/22

April 26, 2022--Done the stitching on this really pretty bargello project.  I'm imagining this as a purse with a Kumihimo cord and shoulder strap and two large tassels on the right and left bottom corners.  How cool will it look with dark wash blue jeans and a white blouse.  

Bargello Fun Completed

January 30, 2022--I have the blues and am loving it.  The blues I'm talking about are in this project and look wonderful.  The first quadrant of Section 2 is done and actually worked up quickly.   Please ignore the "thread spaghetti".  Will deal with that in the next quadrant.

Bargello Fun Section 2 First Quadrant

January 5, 2022--Getting well into the new year now.  Lots of planned stitching to do, but for now, this is the project I'm very much enjoying.  I believe I've completed about 50% (this calculation includes the time it took to work up the outline in Smyrna stitches).  So here it is with the center and Area 1 completely stitched.  Loving the blues.

Bargello Fun Center and Area 1 Completed

January 1, 2022--Happy New Year!  Wishing everyone the best in 2022.

I've started stitching a new project being led by Delaware's Seashore Chapter member Pat vdA called Bargello Fun designed by Carol Algie Higginbotham.  It's taken from the ANG Chapter Project Book for 2015-2016.  So far, I've stitched the outline done in Smyrna Cross Stitch.  

Bargello Fun Outline Completed

I'm not stitching this in the pink colorway as shown in the project photo.   Instead, I've chosen to work this up in blue colors listed below.

Name/Type Color Number Color Name

DMC/Floss 791 12-13 V Dk Cornflower

DMC/Floss 797 12-11 Royal Blue

DMC/Floss 798 11-07 Dk Delft Blue

DMC/Floss 799 11-06 Md Delft Blue

DMC/Floss 800 10-03 Pale Delft Blue

DMC/Floss 809 10-04 Delft Blue

DMC/Floss Blanc White

Now on to the fun part of doing bargello stitches.

Here's a photo of the project as stitched by the designer.

Bargello Fun Designed by Carol Algie Higginbotham Project Photo

Bargello Rose - Updated 11/16/21

November 16, 2021--Just picked up this project from Michael's Arts & Crafts in Rehoboth Beach, DE and love it.  The mats coordinate perfectly with the rose and stem while the frame picks up a bit of copper in the border stitches.    

Bargello Rose Framed

Bargello Rose - Updated 7/14/21ly 14, 2021--The stitching on this beautiful rose is finished and the project is ready for framing.  Learned a number of new things and am proud to have gotten through some of the more difficult segments.  Love the border stitch and it has a surprise of shiny color along the upper and lower edges which doesn't show in the photo.  We students had the option of using Chinese characters in the "chop" block or our initials and date.  I opted for the latter.  Now for an oriental styled frame and mat.  Stay tuned.

Bargello Rose Completed

July 5, 2021--Happy Independence Day Holiday.

Had some time yesterday to begin working on a new project offered by ANG's CyberPointer Chapter called Bargello Rose designed by Wendy Moore.  The lessons are offered over five days during the chapter's online July meeting and are wonderful supplements to the instruction manual received with the kit (canvas and threads).   It's a huge piece--the canvas measures 18" x 11" and when framed, will be quite large.  

Finally got it through my thick skull on how to work the direction of bargello stitches--if you're going up the canvas, the stitches are done in a downward direction (from top to bottom).  If you're going down the canvas, the stitches are worked in an upward direction (from bottom to top).  Then, of course, I need to remember to make a tacking stitch to change direction.  

Here is the rose worked through most of Lesson 2.

Bargello Rose Lesson 2 Partial - Closeup

Bargello Rose Lesson 2 Partial

2 comments:

1. 
   Frances W.July 5, 2021 at 2:09 PM

   VERY NICE, i NEED TO START MINE.

   ReplyDelete
2. 
   LindaJuly 5, 2021 at 3:02 PM

   I love the canvas your using and the bargello so far is beautiful ! Can't wait to see more !

   ReplyDelete

Golden Gala Evening Purse - Updated 12/11/2020

December 11, 2020--Over the last two weeks I've been working on the finishing required to install the front and back panels into a clear acrylic purse.   After mounting the stitched canvas and lining fabric unto acid free cardboard, I then had to "sew" them together which proved to be very labor intensive.  I used a circular needle which is unwieldly and difficult to maneuver with my arthritic fingers.   After all that, I somehow measured incorrectly and the two panels are a smidge too big for the purse.  Oh well, I just jammed them into each side and am satisfied that they aren't going to slip out of place.  LOL.

This beautiful purse is proudly displayed on a shelf in my dressing closet and adds a touch of class to the casual clothes hanging within.

Golden Gala Evening Purse Front Panel

Golden Gala Evening Purse Back Panel

Interior of Golden Gala Evening Purse Showing Ribbons on the Back of one of the Panels (for use when pulling the panel out of the purse to avoid damage to stitching)

September 26, 2018--Stitching is completed on both the front and back panels.  Now to line each one in preparation of inserting them into the clear acrylic purse form.

Golden Gala Evening Purse Back

Golden Gala Evening Purse Back Slant View

Golden Gala Evening Purse Front and Back Panels

September 21, 2018--While at the ANG 2018 Seminar in Washington, DC last month, I took a class by Michele Roberts called Golden Gala Evening Purse.  It consists of 2 panels (a front and a back), backed with a beautiful fabric and exposed ribbons.  Both panels are inserted into a clear acrylic purse form that has golden hinges and a long detachable strap. 

I learned the ribbons are placed on the back of each panel so the they can easily be pulled out of the acrylic form.   Without the ribbon "handles", damage could be done to the needlepoint when pulling it out.  A very good idea!

Below is a picture of the stitched purse front.  As usual, the photograph doesn't show the vibrancy and beauty of the threads. 

Golden Gala Evening Purse Front

Bargello Techniques - Updated 8/23/19

August 23, 2019--Can't believe it's been 5 years since I completed the stitching on this project.  So rather than let more years fly by, I bought some fabric, foam, cording, etc. and then, instead of working this up into a box pillow myself, took it to my local fabricator.  Love the results.

Bargello Techniques Finished into a Box Pillow

May 2, 2014--Fini!  The last two sections, 7 and 8, are complete and this project is now ready to be made into a box pillow.  If I can find an upholsterer who will sell me the right sized piece of foam, I'll make the pillow myself.  I really enjoyed working on this and learned so much about bargello, especially when it comes to moving from one section to another--merging your patterns, so to speak.  The instruction manual is truly an excellend resource.  Thanks Liz for offering this course through ANG!

Bargello Techniques Through Section 8

Bargello Techniques Section 8 Closeup

Bargello Techniques Section 7 Closeup

March 30, 2014--Section 6 is complete and the missing stitches on Section 5 filled in.  Love how it reminds me of a kaleidoscope.

Discovered that I was 2 threads off at the bottom of Section 5 and used Liz's trick of doing the fill-in stitches over 6 threads (instead of the usual 4) to make Sections 5 and 6 meet.  Liz did this at the bottom of Section 6 to meet Section 3.  Worked beautifully.

Bargello Techniques Through Section 6

Bargello Techniques Section 6 Closeup

January 30, 2014--Section 5 is mostly done.  I'll complete the bottom after I begin Section 6--wanting to be sure of my count.  Must now put this project down for a few months due to other commitments, but look forward to working on it again.

Bargello Techniques Through Section 5

Bargello Techniques Section 5 Closeup

January 5, 2014--Section 4 is now done and I've reached the half-way point.  The instruction manual by Liz Morrow for this project is chock full of information and will make a wonderful reference for future bargello work.  I see all kinds of bargello designs by moi in the future.

Bargello Techniques Through Section 4

Bargello Techniques Section 4 Closeup

December 27, 2013--Just finished Section 3 and moved my horizontal and diagonal basting lines by 2 canvas threads to correct the error I made in Section1 (discussed below).

I'm not sure if I've miscounted, but had to make a small change in the instructions for Section 3 regarding what stitch to do first.  It isn't much of a change--all I did was move the basting indicator (small dot at top of Diagram 27) over 1 thread to the left (this change now agrees with the basting line for Section 2).  After doing so, I then began my stitching 1 thread over to the right.  Now everything fits where it's supposed to (see photo below showing these changes in the instructions).  Still enjoying this project immensely.  The next section is large and looks like fun to do.  Hope to start working on it soon.

Bargello Techniques Section 3 Closeup

Bargello Techniques Through Section 3

Change in Section 3 Instructions

December 18, 2013--Section 2 is done.  This was a large section to complete, but once the pattern was set up, it was a dream to stitch and didn't take long.  Love those over 4 stitches.  Liz suggested trying different color patterns, but I chose to stick with the plan since I'm not sure there would be enough thread to do something different.  Anyway, I love the color pattern as designed--it's a treat for the eyes.

PS--Since Section 1 was started "upside down", I inadvertently began two threads down from where I should have, so now I need to rebaste Sections 3 - 8.  Not a big problem and glad I realized what happened.  I'll just need to add two threads of stitching to the top of Sections 4 and 5 to equal Section 1.  You can see in my picture of Section 1 Closeup that there's an extra row of 2 threads stitched on the top.

Section 2 Closeup

Complete Through Sectiok 2

December 9, 2013--I'm loving this project!  So far all of the basting has been done to mark off the sections (hard to see in the picture--used very light pink thread) and Section 1 is complete.

The shop where I purchased my threads did not have Silk & Ivory as recommended by Liz, so they suggested Planet Earth and Vineyard Silks.  The lightest and darkest of my threads are Planet Earth and they cover beautifully.  Perfect for this project.  The Vineyard Silks...not so much.  Others have written on the class Yahoo Group List, confirming this is NOT a good substitution (thanks Melita for your photo).  However, in an email to the group, Liz suggested a "looser twist" or tension if using threads that cover less well, so I'm doing that with pretty good success.  The picture below was taken at a slight angle and, because my tension is loose, there's a loft in the threads, so the coverage looks good (for the most part).   Since I don't have an LNS, I'm sort of stuck with the thread purchases I made before I learned of this problem.

I really liked Liz's suggestion to begin the pattern in the middle, dividing the thread in half, working one side from the middle to the right, then the other side from the middle to the left.  My thread skeins were easily cut into 40" lengths, so this was perfect.  Had no waste knot to start and just enough tail on each end to bury into threads on the back.  Since I used only half of the length for each side, there was less drag and wear on the thread through the canvas.

Bargello Techniques Section 1 Closeup

This is a huge project--on 18 x 22 stretcher bars.  Will have to be extra careful not to knock over my glass of wine.

Bargello Techniques Section 1

November 20, 2013--Just purchased my threads for this project... was unable to find Silk & Ivory as recommended by Liz.  However, the wonderful personnel at Creative Stitches in Dallas, TX (where I'm currently visiting my sister) suggested Vineyard Silks and/or Planet Earth Silks.  Below is a picture of my color choices.   The instruction manual has already arrived in the mail and am looking forward to starting the class on December 1st.



Bargello Techniques Color Palette and Threads

September 9, 2013--Have just signed up to take Liz Morrow's Bargello Techniques Correspondence Course through ANG's CyberPointers Chapter.  I love bargello and have had few opportunities to really learn about these types of stitches.  Liz is a wonderful designer of needlepoint bargello and am keeping an eye on certain of her new projects hoping she'll offer them as classes in the near future.

See the tab above called In Process Projects for a project photo done by Liz for the class.

Florentine Heart - Updated 7/31/19

July 31, 2019--Finished this interesting heart into an ornament using a 6 ribbon Kumihimo cord.  It came out real cute.

Heart Florentine Canyon Front

Heart Florentine Canyon Back

September 11, 2018--Just finished the stitching on this delightful CyberPointers project.  The colors used came from an overdyed RG Mandarin Floss thread and would not normally have been my first choice--way out of the box for me.  I'm going to call this "Canyon" Heart since the colors make me think of the way canyons look at different times of the day.  It's interesting how the center color played out on the overdye, clumping the yellow in one place.   Do you think of a sunrise or late afternoon sun?  What do you see?

Heart Florentine aka Canyon Completed

September 9, 2018--As a member of ANG's CyberPointers online chapter, I love stitching their meeting offerings whenever possible, and because I love bargello stitches, this month's project is a must do for me.  The project called Florentine Heart is designed by Patricia Tector, and uses an overdyed thread from which 5 different thread colors are drawn, all taken from your own stash.

Years ago I received an RG Mandarin Floss M924 overdyed thread at an ANG NOVA chapter event as a table favor and have always wanted to use it somehow.  This strandable bamboo floss, along with four matching DMC threads and an RG Splendor thread are perfect for the Florentine Heart--at least I think so as of this point in the project.

I have thus far completed the instructions for Day 1 and below is a photo of the heart outline along with my thread choices.

Now onto the instructions for Day 2.

Florentine Heart Outline - Day 1

Florentine Heart Threads

PS  The heart outline was copied from another project that had the stitches already graphed--all I had to do was count out each section.  I found this preferable over tracing a heart design on the canvas and figuring out where to place the tent stitches.   I'm either very lazy or an extreme genius--or both.  LOL.

SOTM 2013 Updated 10/29/14

October 29, 2014--Love the framing.

Stitch of the Month 2013 Framed

December 1, 2013--There's nothing more to add for December, so I'm done!  Now to see what my framer can do.

November 8, 2013--The November lesson is done.  I like the chain pattern, but am not sure how I like the colors.  The two narrow edges are now lost.  Looking forward to the final lesson in December.

SOTM 2013 November

October 6, 2013--October stitching is now complete and I love how nicely the gold diagonal back stitches fill in the empty space.  Now I'm wondering how the canvas will be stitched between the two outside borders.

September 4, 2013--The lesson for this month is done.  It's looking very pretty.  Looking forward to what the next three months will bring.

August 16, 2013--I have been asked to list the colors used in this project.  Below are my DMC selections:

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Original Thread Type	Amount for Congress Cloth	Thread Selection and Color
Kreinik 1/16" Ribbon	1 spool	Vatican Gold #102
Keinik #4 Braid	2 spools	Vatican Gold #102
Need 3 color families
Main Color - 5 Values		Blues
Dark	3 skeins	DMC 311 Md Blue
Medium Dark	1 skein	DMC 312 V Dk Baby Blue
Medium	1 skein	DMC 322 Baby Blue
Medium Light	1 skein	DMC 334 Md Baby Blue
Light	1 skein	DMC 3755 Lt Baby Blue
Second Color - 4 Values		Pinks
Dark	1 skein	DMC 3721 Dk Shell Pink
Medium Dark	1 skein	DMC 3722 Md Shell Pink
Medium Light	1 skein	DMC 223 Lt Shell Pink
Light	2 skeins	DMC 224 V Lt Shell Pink
Accent Color - 3 Values		Beiges
Dark	2 skeins	DMC 840 Md Beige Brown
Medium Dark	2 skeins	DMC 841 Lt Beige Brown
Medium Dark	1 skein	DMC 842 V Lt Beige Brown

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August 3, 2013--Just finished stitching the August lesson--took very little time to do this month's assignment.  Am unable to figure out what direction the design is taking, but so far it's been interesting.  Looking forward to September.

July 5, 2013--Completed the July stitching.   It's a beautiful trellis pattern which fills in much of the space very quickly.  Nice.

June, 2013--The stitches inside the red area remind me of a fruit pod.  Pretty.

May, 2013--The additional blue section is adding nice dimension.

April, 2013--The four corners are called leaves by Debbie.  If I had known this at the beginning, I would have reversed the colors.  Oh well, I'll play it out through December and hope it won't matter.  

March, 2013--This month's lesson gave us dimension.  Pretty border.

February, 2013--What a great beginning.  Love the pattern.

January, 2013--Love starting a new ANG Stitch of the Month Mystery project.  This is my fourth SOTM and each year has been a real treat to stitch.  This year's project is taught by Debbie Stiehler using Bargello stitches.  January's lesson was to lay down basting stitches from corner to corner on the diagonal.  Onward to the fun.