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.

2019 Year in Review

December 31, 2019--It's been a busy year, but I still managed to complete the stitching on 20 needlepoint projects.  Here they are from most recent (December) to oldest (January).

Many have not yet been finished into ornaments, etc.--I'm waiting to stitch all the projects in the collections before working them up into ornaments (e.g., Janet Zickler Casey's santa collection, Susan Portra's holiday ornament collection).

Also included in this list are the projects stitched in prior years and finished into pillows, ornaments, etc. in 2019.

Hope you enjoy looking at these pictures and walking down memory lane with me.  Click on the photo's caption to see more information about each project.

Santa Heart

Autumn Crackers Leaf (5 of 5)

Autumn Crackers Owl (4 of 5)

Autumn Crackers Pumpkin (3 of 5)

Autumn Crackers Quilt Block (2 of 5)

Autumn Crackers Tree (1 of 5)

Jeweled Heart

Woven Ribbons Ornament

Expressions in Rose Gold

Mini Embellishment Ornament

Valentine Heart

Hardanger Crystal Daisy Ornament

Holiday Ornament - Green Bell

Ornament by DebBees Designs for 2018

RG Mystical Stairs Coaster

Ort Box With a Twist

Overdyed Spools

Holiday Ornament - White Light

Star Spangled Santa

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Santa

Here are four stitched projects completed in years past and finally "finished" into something in 2019:

ANG Stitch of the Month for 2016

Woven Ribbons Pillow

Bargello Techniques Pillow

Florentine Canyon Heart

Heart Santa Ornament - Updated 12/27/19

December 27, 2019--Here it is a year later and after shopping many yarn stores, I could not find a chenille type yarn that I liked to replace the ecru colored Fluffy Fleece.  I did find a new color of RG Fluffy Fleece No. FE1, Natural, so I ordered it hoping it would be lighfer than FE14, ecru, which I have in my inventory.  As you can see in the photo below, there is absolutely no change in color, just in the color number.  Why???

Oh well, I went ahead and couched down number FE1 and even though it's darker than I prefer--it's done and ready to finish as an ornament.  Now to choose the next Janet Zickler Casey santa that I have in my stash to stitch.

Santa Heart Completed

Same Color, Different Number

November 5, 2018--Have stitched as much as possible on this cutie.  Now need to find a white, loopy yarn for the beard.  Janet Zickler Casey's instructions call for RG Fluffy Fleece in white, but that is no longer manufactured.  What's available is Fluffy Fleece in an ecru color which I think is too dark.  When I asked Janet for a substitute, she suggested going to a yarn shop and finding a "chenille" style yarn.  Perfect.  Now to go shopping.

Heart Santa as of 11/2/18

January 17, 2016--Have begun stitching this adorable santa ornament designed by Janet Zickler Casey.  Found this cutie on eBay.  Hope to find more of these santas either on eBay, SNS, or on Facebook needlepoint seller sites.

Heart Santa Face Stitched

Woodlawn 57th Annual Needlework Show 2020 - 11/11/19

November 11, 2019--The 57th Woodlawn Annual Needlework Show and Entry Form for 2020 is now available on their website (click here) and hand delivered entries must be submitted on February 8th or 9th, 2020.  This is a very special show with exhibitors from all over the country.  At the least, plan on seeing the show which takes place from March 1st through the 31st, 2020.

See you there.

Still Here - 10/7/19

October 7, 2019--Wow, it's been nearly a month since my last post, and I still don't have anything to share--yet.  Lots of fun craziness here in Delaware and I'm working on a Kumihimo project for the CyberPointers Chapter of ANG.   The presentation date has been changed to January, 2020, and I hope you'll be able to access the class.

In the meantime, I am currently working on two projects--one which will be finished soon and the other is half-way done.  Will post about them shortly.

Hope you're Fall is beautiful.  We're having great weather here.