Last Call...

Just a reminder, Stitchers: 

 This weekend is the last opportunity to register for my

juicy new cyber class, ORANGE BLOSSOM TIME.

Please visit my website: www.laurajperindesigns.net

to see more about the class and register online.

HAPPY WEEKEND!!

A Little Free Friday Fun

Happy Friday, Stitchers!

I thought I'd surprise you with a fun new freebie design

 you can use with bits and pieces from your stash. 

I call it LITTLE FLOWER BASKET #1

(and yeah, I'll be sharing others as I have time to whip up the graphs!).

   

 Anyway, this little cutie can be worked on 18 ct. canvas with #5 pearl cottons

and the design will be approximately 3.5" x 3.5".

If you want to stitch it on 24 ct. Congress Cloth with 3-4 stranded silks or cottons,

your design size will be approximately 2.5" x 2.5". 

I've graphed it with a minimum of threads, but feel free to play around with it --

stitch some variegated colors in the flowers or basket; add more beads

in all the flower centers; place a fancy charm or button on the center flower;

tie a small bow at the top of the basket; or work on colored canvas and omit all

 the ecru background stitches (super fast stitching!).

This would be a fast and easy hand-held project for those lazy summer days of 

sitting by the lake or beach, chatting with friends, or watching golf or a baseball game...

HAVE FUN

AND

ENJOY YOUR SUMMER DAYS!

Design Quiz

Hiya, Stitchers!

I was playing around with photos of my designs this weekend, 

and was having fun arranging them into color groups. 

 (It was too hot to stitch, so I decided to mix and match

 some of my cooler blue and aqua pieces,

 to see how they'd look next to each other...)  

Then I got even fancier and created a "four-patch" photo 

with four designs of the same or similar colors. 

This one highlights those serene blues and teals.

So I thought I'd share my first DESIGN QUIZ with you savvy stitchers.

Can you name the four Laura J. Perin Designs I used 

to create the BLUE FOUR-PATCH below??

 

And, if you're a lover of all things BLUE, how many of them 

do you have in your stash??

ANSWERS, clockwise from top left:

Bargello and Butterfly  (Samper Collection)

Color Study: Flying Geese  (American Quilt Collection)

Blue Butterfly  (Sampler Collection)

Moorish Tiles  (American Quilt Collection)

Stitchin' The Blues

When the summer days are long and hot, I always seem to gravitate towards those projects that have cooling blues and greens.  I've done a lot of designs that use those serene colors, and I find them the perfect antidote for sticky, sweltering hot days (especially if you can sit stitching under a nice ceiling fan, or better yet, by cool ocean breezes).  Anyway, here are a few of my favorites:

REFLECTING POOLS (from my Impressionist Collection:

 EBB TIDE (in my Sampler Collection):

BARGELLO & BUTTERFLY (also in the Sampler Collection):

And some very fun American Quilt Collection designs... super cool FLYING GEESE:

and ultra serene OCEAN WAVES:

If you're eager to dive into any of these summery projects, please visit MY WEBSITE for more ordering information.

HAPPY FRIDAY, SUMMERTIME STITCHERS!

Beachy Blues!

I was in the mood to stitch something fun and easy and colorful.... so I sat down and created a perfect project for a summery day at the beach; I call it SEASIDE BLUES.

Of course, the first thing I had to do was find just the right Watercolours variegated thread to build my palette from, and I chose 207 - "Bermuda Reef", which is absolutely perfect for this design, don't you agree?  Add in a handful of cool blues and aquas in #5 pearl cottons and my fav Ribbon Flosses (Yum) and you have a really fun design to work on this summer!

Here's a look at the easily stitched blocks in the center area, with their slightly shimmery metallic centers:

I hadn't stitched a quilt design in quite a while, so it was a pleasure to work with easy diagonal satin stitches that moved quickly over the canvas; these quilt designs are definitely "no-stress" projects!
 I also wanted to add a bit of beachy bling as well, so I snuck in some shimmery Ribbon Floss colors for cool accent touches.  (Although, this design would work well in other colors as well: how about bright primary colors for a pillow in a child's room?  Maybe warm fall colors for the upcoming Autumn months.... Or even soft pastels for a springy look?)

Anyway, if you're in the mood for a summer project you can take to the beach for a fun "no-brainer" project, please check out my new SEASIDE BLUES pattern that is available on my website under the AMERICAN QUILT COLLECTION.

Happy Fourth!

Hope you find time to stitch during this festive Fourth of July weekend!