Time to Hit the Stitchin' Trail!

This past year I've worked on such a variety of painted canvases, complex geometrics and composite stitch collages that I've started to crave the simplicity of a good ol' stitched quilt! So I sat down and designed a new quilt called "CALIFORNIA TRAILS" which uses Watercolours 244 - "Olive Garden" as its base, with a handful of blue and green #5 pearl cottons and a splash of gold metallic Ribbon Floss for good measure.

How blissful it is to work up simple geometric shapes using diagonal satin stitches and straight stitches - and that's it - no fancy stitches here!!  Yeah, I could add Rhodes Stitches, Waffle Stitches, beads and buttons, but I truly think of these as miniature quilts.... so I design them as if they were flat pieced quilts with traditional blocks and motifs.
 

 In CALIFORNIA TRAILS, the central block definitely has a traditional feel, but adding the multi-colored diamond border kicks it into an art quilt look, I think.  So this design is equally traditional AND modern/contemporary at the same time.  Also, I've wanted to use the blue/green combo of Watercolours' "Olive Garden" for a long time now, and this quilt certainly seemed like the best way to show it off.  And the colors remind me so much of the colors of the rugged Pacific coastline or the mountains of the High Sierra:

I like the rather masculine look of this piece and could see it as a pillow for a comfy leather chair - can't you?   And just the other day I had a query from a stitcher asking for a good design for a pillow for a church bench and this design sang out as a good choice....

So if you're hankering for a simple but satisfying new project, please consider my new CALIFORNIA TRAILS pattern, which you can read more about over on my website: www.laurajperindesigns.net.   Happy Stitchin' Trails, everyone!!

Do You Love Stitching Ribbons?

I do!
And recently, I realized I hadn't offered my sweet RIBBONS & MONOGRAM class for several years, so it seems like a good time to offer it now as the next cyber class:
 

It's definitely a fun project!  And the perfect size, too: just 7.5" by 8" on 18 ct. brown canvas (which creates a vintage feel that shows off the yummy colors).  You get to create three different ribbons (stitching just enough of the patterns to be fun, but not overwhelming), plus you have a central initial to tent stitch as a focal point - which makes this piece a terrific small project for yourself or as a gift for a friend.   I originally stitched up the pink model for myself, and now I'm working on a purple version for a purple-lovin' friend of mine.  I'm hoping to make them into pillow insets sometime this year.

And this class offers several color options, so the stitcher gets to choose between these springy color palettes:

Pretty sweet, huh??

So if you'd like to stitch up this sweet RIBBONS & MONOGRAM piece for an easy springtime project, please skip on over to my website and check out the class details! 

Pssst, just so you know: I'm offering this encore class now, so I can finish up a few new cyber class designs I'll be offering later this year - stay tuned for more stitching adventures!!!