Friday Flowers - A Corsage You Can Stitch!

 Amongst all these camellia photos I've planted a new pattern for you to find!

 

It's called CORSAGE, and looks like this:

If you like stitching different blocks of stitch patterns and flowers as much as I do, this pattern may be just the thing for you! (Oh, Yum, wouldn't this make a luscious pillow, inset in a rich velvet fabric?)

It's a small piece; just 8" by 8" on 18 ct. sage green canvas, but it packs a lot of fun stitching inside it.  I chose four of my favorite composite patterns and just played around with how they would look, using a variegated skein and a handful of matching threads. I also wanted to highlight one of my favorite flowers - the gardenia - so that's the flower I chose to stitch in the middle of the blue model (although the stitched flower also looks like a camellia as well).
 

 BUT WAIT!  Here's what's neat about this pattern: you can also choose to stitch a different flower in the center -- a simple rose (or dogwood) that looks like this:

 And here's how the flower looks in the pink version I also stitched up (although I could have also stitched the flower in pale pink, for an entirely different look):

 The pattern gives you thread palettes for BLUE, PINK, PURPLE and RED colorways, so you can start stitching without spending lots of time playing with threads...

In any event, there are lots of fun choices to make with this project; because you get to personalize it with YOUR favorite colors and flowers.  So if you're in the mood to stitch something flowery after a long cold winter, CORSAGE might be a good project to celebrate the approach of Spring!  ( By the way, I taught this piece as a cyber class a few years ago, but haven't released it to the stitching world until now.... so if you missed this fun project in the past, now's the time to add it you your stash! )
Please visit my website for more of the pattern details....  and of course,

HAPPY FRIDAY!

A Luscious New Cyber Class!

For all you stitchers deep in the heart of Winter, here's a new project that's sure to lift your spirits after months and months of cold, grey weather.  The finished size of this springy piece is 8.75" x 8.75" on eggshell 18 ct. mono canvas, and it's called "SPRING PATCHWORK":
  

Well, YUM!  I've been busy stitching it up this winter so I can offer it as a Springtime Cyber Class, beginning in May.  Once it was stitched, I had even more fun picking out additional luscious spring colorways to tempt you!  It was tough to limit the colors on this one (since it would look good in just about any color), but ultimately, the other colorways I've chosen for this piece are all soft spring flower colors that I hope will bring a smile to your face as you stitch:

This piece is designed to showcase how a variegated silk thread can be easily manipulated to alter the look of a design - which, ahem, is one of my all-time favorite things to do!  All four quadrants of this design use the same exact stitches; but  I've swapped the solid color and variegated sections in the alternating quadrants to create a subtle and rather serendipitous change of colors over the whole piece.  (See the dark pink swatches in the upper right and lower left quarters?  Those become paler variegated sections in the upper left and lower right quarters.)

Here's a look at one of the "patchwork" sections up-close:

The stitch patterns themselves are actually very easy - nothing difficult or mysterious, as you can see.  And the outer green borders are fun to work, too, with just a bit of bright color peeking out of the woven border pattern.  So once you count and stitch the outline rows, you're free to fill in all the segments in different mixes of variegated and solid color threads.  Stitchers, I must confess: This is a Very Serene Stitching Project!!

So if you need a new project to celebrate the coming of Spring in your neck of the woods, please skip on over to my website and read all about my new May cyber class, SPRING PATCHWORK!   

Wreathmania!

Hey, Stitchers;

I know you're all eager to get the next wreaths in my wreath series,

 and they will be available to you later this year.  

But here's the deal:

currently,

BETH'S NEEDLEPOINT NOOK in Kentucky

(www.bethsneedlepoint.com)

 is running a very special Counted Canvas Club for all four of 

my seasonal wreaths: 

VALENTINE, SPRINGTIME, HALLOWEEN & CHRISTMAS.

If you want to get the wreaths and all their threads & canvases

 before their respective holidays, BETH'S is the place to get them. 

 

The new SPRINGTIME WREATH pattern will be available

 from me or my distributors

after April 5th, 2015.

The new HALLOWEEN WREATH pattern will be available

from me or my distributors

after October 31st, 2015.

  STORE OWNERS: Please let me know if you're interested in receiving these patterns after the above dates, and I'll add your store to the "Pre-Order" List I have going...

Sweet Treats

 Oh, YUM....

Are you in the mood to stitch up some sweet treats for yourself or someone you love?

Then please  check out my new counted canvaswork pattern, called VALENTINE ORNAMENTS, that I just added to my website today:

These guys are CUTE!!

They are four little valentines (4.75" x 4.75" on 18 ct. canvas; 3.5" x 3.5" on 24 Ct. Congress Cloth) that are especially sweet to stitch up and enjoy.  

As you can see, I stitched two of them on the old-fashioned brown canvas and two of them on the snazzy red canvas, just cuz I couldn't decide which background color I liked best....(and besides, how often do you have a reason to stitch on red canvas?!?)

And, because I couldn't decide which background stitch I liked better, I stitched two of them with a simple Four-Way Stitch (as the top photo shows) and two of them with a richer, more textured background (shown below).  So you can decide which way you'd like to stitch your ornaments!

And you can also decide if you want to stitch individual valentines, or work them in a vertical row for a bellpull - or in a horizontal row for a fun framed project  -  or maybe in a square, for a pillow - sheesh, there's a lot of stitchin' potential with these guys!  (I'm tempted to stitch them up in other colors, too... maybe in hot pinks? lush lavenders? springy pastels? creams & golds? what colors sing for you??)

Any way you decide to work them, these four designs are very fun to stitch up.....

So, if you need a special little treat for yourself this February, please check out my new

VALENTINE ORNAMENTS over on my website.

HAPPY FRIDAY, Everyone!