Heart Jeweled - Updated 3/7/22

March 7, 2022--Well, I guess I'm more of a perfectionist than originally thought.  I really hated how the Kumihimo cord looked (see 2/22/22 entry below), so I took it off, braided up a new one on my Kumihimo disk, and placed it on the heart.  Much happier and I hope you agree that it was worth doing (the new cord has a much tighter twist).  The back, however, is still a mess.  I did try to separate the front from the back to redo the back fabric, pad it a bit, etc., but couldn't get them apart, so the original backing stays.

Heart Jeweled Finished Front Heart Jeweled Finished Back

February 22, 2022--Self-finished this beautiful, beaded heart today using a 12-strand Kumihimo cord.  I like the results for the most part, but realized my cord started to lose its tight twist, so the cord on the right side of the heart is a bit looser than the left side.  I'll need to watch out for this in the future.  If I were a died in the wool perfectionist, I would have redone the cord, but alas, I'm not.  Also, this heart will hang in my dressing closet for me to enjoy, so except for this blog and a brief showing at my local ANG chapter meeting, no one else will ever see it.  The fabric on the back is just OK and I forgot to add a bit of poly padding to it, AND, it came out crooked.  Oh well, like I said, it's for my enjoyment only and I'll never look at the back.  La de da.

Heart Jeweled Finished Front

Heart Jeweled Finished Back

12-Strand Kumihimo Braid

October 30, 2019--Stitching is done, and this beautiful heart is ready to be finished into an ornament.  I have a very special Kumihimo braid in mind for this.

Heart Jeweled Finished

October 13, 2019--At last I've got a moment to add a blog post.  This project is called Jeweled Heart and is designed by Nancy Cucci.  I had an opportunity to purchase the kit from Nancy, through a friend (thanks Roseanne J.) while she was at the ANG Seminar in Houston, TX last August.  I'm a big fan of all things Nancy Cucci and jumped at the opportunity to stitch this piece.

Here's my progress to date (and it really sparkles):

Heart Jeweled as of 10/13/19

Stocking Florentine Variation Mardi Gras - 3/6/22

March 6, 2022--Finished stitching this Mardi Gras themed project and am now thinking about the type of cording to make when I turn this into a stocking ornament (twisted or Kumihimo).  

Stocking Florentine Variations Mardi Gras Completed

Stocking Florentine Variations Mardi Gras Completed Side View

March 4, 2022--I signed up to participate in this month's ANG CyberPointers Chapter project designed by Pat Mazu called Variations of a Florentine Design.  I am working on the stocking and choose my thread colors based upon purple/teal/gold beads I had in my stash from other projects.   So, I'm calling it my Florentine Variation Mardi Gras Stocking.   It's working up very quickly and below are photos of my progress to date and thread colors.  I tried to show the dimensional effect of the beads in the side view photo.

Stocking Florentine Variations Mardi Gras in Process

Threads Stocking Florentine Variations Mardi Gras in Process Side View

Threads Stocking Florentine Variations

Here's a photo of the project as designed by Pat Mazu.

Stocking Florentine Variations Designed by Pat Mazu Project Photo

Wavelengths Purse - Updated 3/1/22

March 1, 2022--The stitching is done!!!  I've been working on this project, off and on, for over 6 years now, and am ready to figure out how to make it into a purse--do I work it up myself or send it out for professional finishing.  Some time spent in my sewing room practicing will help determine what I'd like to do.

Here's a photo of the full canvas before folding it in two.  It measures 20" across, so the purse will measure about 9.5" wide when sewn up and about 6" high.

Purse Wavelengths

June 26, 2021--Will I ever finish stitching this piece?  At the rate I'm going, maybe in 10 years--LOL.  I have only two more colors to stitch--pale purple and pale yellow.  Then it's done!  But those colors are in some very large areas.  Below is a photo taken against the light of a window to show what's left to stitch--it's still a lot.

Purse Wavelengths at 2021-06-25 Showing Unfinished Areas

Purse Wavelengths at 2021-06-25

November 5, 2019--It's been three years to the day since I last posted about this unique project.  Since I'm stitching this all in basketweave and using Vineyard Silks which do not need to be laid, this is my traveling project.  Yes, it is very large and cumbersome, but so easy to work on, and the threads feel sumptuous.  Hopefully it won't take another three years to finish it.  Below is my progress to date (all the reds, black, and grays are done; most of the blues and medium yellows are done; lots of purples to stitch yet):

Purse Wavelengths as of 11/05/2019

November 5, 2016--This is the project I stitch when meeting fellow stitchers and want to do more socializing than serious counting or decision making.  It's all done in basketweave with Vineyard Silks that don't need laying.  So far all the black, charcoal, red and dark blue colors are stitched.  Now to finish the medium blue areas.  Once that's done, the purples, yellows and grays should go fast.  Correction--should go a little faster--this project is still going to take years to complete.  Here's what it looks like today.

Purse Wavelengths as of 11/04/2016

April 6, 2016--All the red is stitched, as well as the blue columns and the charcoal grey area.  It's a great project to do when listening to complex dialogue in an audio book or movie.

It took awhile to finish this color since I ran out of the Vineyard Silks dyelot I was using.  With only an inch or so to stitch, I placed a search on Facebook's Needlepoint page and voila, a kind soul checked with her LNS who in fact had what I needed.   Happiness is a wonderful needlepoint community.

Purse Wavelengths as of 4-6-2016

February 20, 2016--Started stitching this cool project and even though I'm not a big fan of painted canvases, I'm enjoying this one.

Firstly, I decided to work it all in basketweave or tent stitches because I'm going to make this into a "wristlet" type of purse and don't want to catch longer, fancier stitches on anything.  Secondly, even though it's being worked in boring basketweave, the design itself has its own challenges in the fact that the diagonal lines aren't on a true diagonal. I'm required to baste the lines to visually guide me up and down the canvas (see photo below).

At the rate I'm stitching these days, I figure it'll take me 3+ years to complete this thing. LOL.

PS  I'm not stitching this "in hand" as I wrote below--too cumbersome for basting stitches.

Purse Wavelengths Status at 2/20/16

Purse Wavelengths Basting of Diagonal Lines

January 21, 2016--A week or so ago Art Needlepoint Company of Canton, MA asked Facebook needlepointers to post a picture of their favorite stitching chairs, etc. and a lucky winner would be chosen to win a canvas worth up to $100.   Well, guess what--I won and here's the photo I sent them (click here).  The 18 count canvas I chose is called Wavelengths, measuring 20" x 6.5" and can be made into a clutch purse or wristlet measuring 10" x 6.5".   I also chose to stitch it using Vineyard Silk threads (which they recommend).  The design is an adaption of an old textile pattern.  Here's a picture of it made into a small clutch.  I love all the sections for applying various stitches or I may just decide to stitch it "in hand" using only tent stitches.

Project Photo from Art Needlepoint Co.

Graph Management - 1/28/22

January 28, 2022--I want to share a hint about marking up stitching design graphs and using a laying tool at the same time.  

Here's what I used to do--I would have a paper copy of the graph on a table beside me, a highlighter marker in my lap (and staining my clothes, etc.), and a laying tool in my hand.  Managing this was very cumbersome.

Here's what I do now--I take a photo of the graph with my iPhone, then open the photo on my iPad where I can select the little pen icon to mark up the photo with my iPen.  I can then keep the iPad on my lap where it is so easy to highlight the stitch I just completed on the graph using my iPen.  Since I need to keep the iPen in my hand for this purpose, I tried using it as a laying tool and surprisingly enough, it works quite well.  No more switching from iPen to laying tool.   I also like the fact that I can "erase" the highlighted areas of the graph if I need to use it again for a different section of the project.  I can also make notes on the photo with my iPen and save the photo for future reference.  It's also easy to reverse, rotate, flip, etc. the iPad photo.  The possibilities are endless.

I suspect many of you also do something like this, but for those who haven't tried it, I hope it works well for you too.

Using iPen to Highlight Completed Stitches on Graph Photo on iPad

Using iPen as a Laying Tool

A Little Fun This Morning

January 16, 2022--These are three of my favorite needlepoint eCards.  If you have more, please let me know.  Thanks!

Have a nice Sunday, and to those in the East, stay safe and warm.  We will be just a few miles from the edge of the upcoming blizzard with expected temperatures in the mid 50s.  We are dodging a bullet on this one.  Whew.

Saint Paul Snowdrift - Updated 1/14/22

January 14, 2022--Ta da--completed the stitching on this very interesting and challenging project.  Fortunately, it was small enough to quickly get done and will make a cute ornament.  The photo below gives you an idea of what it will look like when it is "finished".

Saint Paul Snowdrift Completed

A photo of the project as designed is at the end of this post.  My version is stitched on light blue 25 count linen using ecru DMC perle 5 and perle 12 (ecru is the only color I had in my stash in both sizes of perle).

January 10, 2022--This is a Hungarian Whitework project designed and taught by Terri Bay through ANG CyberPointers Chapter at their January 2022 meeting.  Below are photographs of my progress through the lessons given online with a brief description of each band.  Whew--I really was out of my comfort zone with these stitches, but I did learn a lot.  

The next steps are the reverse of lessons already covered, so they should go a lot more quickly.  I also learned the correct way to manage cut threads at the edge of the design detail for the hemstitch band, so they will look much neater.

Lesson 4 Quarter and Half Eyelets, Spot Eyelets

Lesson 3 Double Cable and Satin Stitches Band

Lesson 2 Hemstitch and Eyelet Band

Lesson 1 Topwinder Band

Saint Paul Snowdrift Project as Stitched by Designer Terri Bay

Janet Zickler Casey Santas Stitched to Date - 1/3/22

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

January 1, 2022--In keeping with my goal of stitching one new and one old Janet Zickler Casey's santas each year, I stitched the below Cashmere and North Wind Santas.  This makes 14 santas stitched to date.

Cashmere Santa Completed

North Wind Santa Completed

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

North Star 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.