A New Design for The New Year

I'm so excited to show you my first new pattern for 2012!
It's called "STAINED GLASS WINDOWS" and it looks like this:

It's a larger piece than most of my other designs - 12.5" x 12.5" stitched on 18 ct. brown mono canvas.

The inspiration for this larger design actually happened after I designed a smaller "Triptych Mystery" piece for NEEDLEPOINT NOW magazine (which ran in their Sept/Oct, Nov/Dec, Jan/Feb issues). Here's that whole of that smaller design:

I enjoyed stitching up this 3-part piece so much, that I stared and stared at it when it was hanging on my project wall. After a while it struck me that I could expand the patterns into a nine-patch layout, using the brown-framed squares as if they were windows. But windows of what? Well, the rich jewel-toned colors of Watercolours 231 "Ethiopia" reminded me of old cathedral stained glass (I toyed with the idea of naming this pattern "Cathedral Windows"), so I went rooting around my variegated Watercolours skeins, looking for other colors that would look good inside "wooden" brown frames....

I came up with three different colorways: the blue & green one I used on the model - Watercolours 289 "Lexi's Blue" (which is a new color from Caron Collection); a purple & orange version which uses the same Watercolours 231 "Ethiopia" as the Triptych Mystery piece (which I think is totally stunning and dramatic); and a red & gold version that also uses a new Watercolours color 290 from Caron called "Mystery Mix". Here are snippets of the two other colorways I list on the pattern:

The Purple & Orange version

The Red & Gold version

If you look closely you'll see that the smaller design is the foundation row for the middle of the STAINED GLASS WINDOWS piece, but I expanded the patterns, added a few more thread colors and added LOTS more "bling" with metallic accents and of course, gold beads. In fact, one of the fun design elements was incorporating one unexpected gold motif within each square of the design, so overall there would be lots of interesting treasures to look at.

Each of the squares has two different stitch patterns in it, plus a gold band running diagonally across the middle. And even the gold bands alternate between blue and green rows! I've also separated the two color families of blues and greens by working them in alternating rows of the large diamond shapes, just to create another subtle design element. Of course there are plenty of subtle color and pattern changes within the overall piece, but I chose lots of fun patterns (nothing difficult) so it was an absolute joy to stitch, block by block.

Here's an up-close look at the middle block so you can get a peek at some of the elements:

And after I had finished stitching the large model, and it too was hanging on my project wall, I realized that just FOUR of the squares could be stitched to create a very interesting smaller piece. So,I've included suggestions for a four-square version in the pattern for your additional stitching pleasure.

Now I must also tell you that I was so focused on stitching this pattern in rich "stained glass" colors that I reluctantly had to dismiss other color combinations or favorite variegated threads because they didn't "fit" with the brown window frames I'd decided upon. But this design would look fabulous in ANY OTHER COLOR COMBINATION you can think of. Don't limit yourself to the brown squares... but try another dark color for your borderlines, then create your own fabulous color confection. (I'd love to see this in a monochromatic version in whites and creams or maybe pale pinks or aquas??) There are sooooo many luscious colors to play with, it's hard to choose just one to use in a design, so I'm counting on you to surprise me with whatever colors you can find!

So if you're interested in this new STAINED GLASS WINDOWS design, please visit my website: Laura J. Perin Designs real soon..... And psssssst: I'm pleased to announce that I've been able to update MOST of my website so there are PAYPAL buttons for each item (there are a few glitches that the website company is still working out for me)-- making it easier to purchase my designs.