A Springy New Cyber Class!

Have I got a treat for all you stitchers that have taken my cyber classes in the past: 

a brand new, Springy cyber class piece that make you smile every time you look at it.... 

And it's called DAFFODIL TIME:

The idea for this fun design came as a surprise to me.  For all the years I've been teaching

FLEUR-DE-LIS with it's bright blue iris, it never occurred to me to design a companion

piece - until I was posting the iris photo on Instagram, and something about

the angle of the photo made me do a double-take and say to myself, "Hey, wouldn't

it be fun to create a daffodil design in the same layout?"

So I did!  And I had a lot of fun figuring out four different floral patterns 

that I could highlight around the center daffodil, creating little flowers

that sorta had a daffodil look to them.  And working with the bright Springtime colors

was definitely another perk - and much appreciated during the cold grey winter months!

Here's a close-up look at a few of the stitch patterns used in this piece:

DAFFODIL TIME is worked on my fav Santa Fe Sage Green 18 ct. canvas,

and it's finished size is a managable 8" x 8".  The thread palette is built around

Watercolours 297 - " Goldenrod" which has a cheerful mix of yellows, greens,

and a dash of blue.

 

So, if you LOVE daffodils (and honestly, who doesn't?),

  you might want to try your hand at stitching up this new Springtime piece.

(And I promise you that this is one daffodil that WON'T wilt, fall over in the rain,

or get eaten by bugs - and you'll enjoy looking at it all year long...)

Skip on over to my website and check out all the cyber class information....

Registration runs from now until April 30th, and the class starts in late May.

A New Spring Design

Last month I went looking for some red cyclamen to cheer up my house and when I couldn't find a nice enough plant to bring home, I decided to stitch one up instead! I pulled out an old illustration I did many years ago, and converted the pink flowers to red ones.  I was thinking that I'd like to turn the piece into a pillow for my sofa, so I wanted something easy to stitch up and not too elaborate.

I chose a cheerful ribbon border, then added a sweet inner border of a modified blackwork pattern - all done in #5 pearl cottons with some metallic Ribbon Floss for sparkly accents.  Inside, the basket of cyclamen is tent stitched with a handful DMC floss.  Here's how my RED CYCLAMEN design turned out:

It's a nice 9.5" x 9.5" size on eggshell 18 ct. canvas - perfect for a pillow inset!  My next task is to figure out what kind of fabric I want to use on the pillow....  And here's a closer look at the border elements:

If you're a cyclamen lover, as I am, you may want to stitch this sweet piece for your very own.  And, I've included thread suggestions to make a PINK or PURPLE version of the design, so you can stitch up your basket of cyclamen in your favorite color.

I've just added this new RED CYCLAMEN design to my website, so if you're interested, please skip on over and see all the ordering information!