Springy Things

 

Are the flowers blooming where you live?

Does it get you in the mood to stitch some springy things??

One of my favorite spring pieces is LONG SPRING PANEL, which I originally stitched

in cool pinks and greens:

 

 

Then I loved this design so much I stitched it again in warm pinks and greens:

Both versions are yummy and I STILL can't decide which I like better!!

Then there is the fresh and airy SPRINGTIME BOUQUET, that reminds me

of a garden gazebo, covered in vines and climbing roses:

For a springy blue piece, I created this SPRING BOUQUET SAMPLER below, which is stitched 

on 24 ct. Congress Cloth with delicious Waterlilies 110 - "Hyacinth".  The stitched patterns

are a combination of "composite stitches" and "blackwork stitches" done in color.

The fun thing about this design is that it can be stitched in ANY color palette, if you first

choose a variegated Waterlilies thread you adore, then pick your solid colors to coordinate:

And for another light-filled springtime piece, here's BLUE RIBBON SAMPLER, 

which sneaks in a bit of hardanger amongst the blackwork flowers for a lovely lacy feel:

I stitched the above piece in blues and apricots - using variegated 

Wildflowers 147 - "Winter Sky",but again, 

you can change the colors in this piece just by choosing another variegated thread,

then matching the DMC #8 and #12 pearl cottons to it.

Just looking at these pieces creates the illusion of walking through a springtime garden, 

filled with colorful flowers waving in the soft breeze.  So if any of these pieces 

strike your fancy, please skip on over to my website and look under my

"SAMPLER COLLECTION" to peruse these and other springy designs! 

 

Hardanger, Anyone?

Now that the warm days of summer are fast approaching, I thought I'd share some light and airy pieces with you.... Several years ago, I played around with some traditional Hardanger elements, but added a few of my own design elements -- like a bit of blackwork and a few embroidery motifs, such as lazy daisy stitches, wrapped roses, and eyelets.  Add a sweet, delicate ribbon border and you have this piece, BLUE RIBBON SAMPLER:

 It's worked on eggshell 24 ct. Congress Cloth, and one of the funnest things about stitching it was using a fine variegated thread, like Wildflowers 147 ("Winter Sky") for the kloster work.  Here's a look at the elements up-close:

I enjoyed stitching up the first Hardanger piece so much, I designed a companion piece, using a slightly different color palette, called WILDFLOWER SAMPLER:
 

This piece is also worked on eggshell 24 ct. Congress Cloth, but uses the variegated Caron Wildflowers 088 ( "Mountain Meadow") with a soft sage green border color.  Here's what it looks like up-close:

 
So if you're in the mood for a softer, lighter project, that is worked on a finer canvas, please visit my website for more information about either of these unique Hardanger designs for your next summer project! 

 

And.... HAPPY FRIDAY!

Another Hardanger Piece

Here's a companion piece to the WILDFLOWER SAMPLER I showed you previously. It's called BLUE RIBBON SAMPLER.


It features a totally different Hardanger motif in the center, with more blackwork elements, wrapped roses, and a slightly different ribbon border.

Again, it's stitched on ivory 24 ct. Congress Cloth, with a pale variegated thread - Caron's Wildflowers, 147, "Winter Sky." I particularly liked the blues and peaches in this soft colorway, and it really was the inspiration for the whole piece. [By the way, the Wildflowers thread is a soft, single-ply cotton with a matte finish, and very lovely to work with. It works perfectly on 24 ct. Congress Cloth, and it's nice because you don't have to lay multiple plies. You can, of course, also use 12-ply silk or 6-ply cotton floss on this project as well.]
Here's the center Hardanger motif:


You can see how nicely the diamond-shaped rows of klosters look like little flowers. Again, I used #8 and #12 pearl cottons for all the solid colors. And look how nicely the variegated thread shows off its colors as the straight-stitched frame around each Hardangered block. And notice those little eyelets that are used for flower centers in the outlying blackwork flowers....aren't they a good (and easy) way to create a little bit of texture?

And here are the various blackwork elements, as well as the sweet ribbon border (notice those little eyelet flowers mixed with the blackwork foliage):


I like the soft, faded colors in this piece, as well as how "traditional" it feels...it looks like an old-fashioned design, yet if you changed the colors - say, to bold reds and greens on a white canvas - it would look totally different.

I also like to mix & match different stitching techniques in one piece (or maybe you've already guessed that, huh?) I'm always curious to see how things looked mixed together: Hardanger and blackwork, variegated colors and solids, simple and complex stitches. The challenge is creating a balanced piece, where every element fits with all the others, so the piece is not only fun to stitch, but also remains enjoyable to look at long after you're done.

Hardanger Wildflowers

A while ago, I showed you a few Hardanger valentines.

Well, it got me to thinking about another Hardanger project I designed several years ago for Nordic Needle. It's called WILDFLOWER SAMPLER.


I've always liked the delicacy of this piece. It's stitched on ivory 24 ct. Congress Cloth, and the finished design size is 10" x 10".

Initially, I wanted to do a bit of Hardanger, but also I wanted to incorporate a variegated thread (naturally), as well as some soft springy pastels. I ended up using Caron Collection's Wildflowers (a single-ply, matte cotton) in 088 - "Mountain Meadow" (one of my favorite colors, since it has a lovely mix of pinks, yellows, blues and greens). Along with #8 and #12 pearl cottons in soft pinks and greens. I even added a sprinkling of pink beads for added texture.

The Hardanger medallions in this piece always remind me of little flower bouquets, especially when the kloster blocks are stitched to look like flowers. As you can also see, I added some pink wrapped roses, to add even more flowers to the design.


And, as I was designing this piece, I thought I'd add some floral blackwork motifs as well...(why stitch just one technique, when you can add two or three more, for a little stitching variety?!?)


And to finish it off, a ribbon border that has a bit of blackwork and a few wrapped roses, too.


I don't think Nordic Needle carries this pattern any more. So check my website, under the Sampler Collection and you'll see it there.... (Now that I look at it again, I'm thinking it would sure look awfully pretty in pale lavenders and greens, perhaps using Wildflowers' "Lilac" or "Pale Lilac"....What do you think?)

Two Hardanger Valentines

Well, here's another old pattern that hasn't seen the light of day for lo, these many years, called TWO RED VALENTINES:


I like doing Hardanger. It's exciting and rather dangerous.... you know, CUTTING the fabric after you've done a lot of the stitching! Scary stuff, right?
But of course, I can't do Hardanger in ONE color. Nooooooo, I always want to see what it will look like in different colors - or better yet, in a variegated color!
[Aside: Yup, what can I tell you, except I'm afraid I'm totally addicted to variegated threads. Can't. Stop. Using them. Ever.]

So here was my attempt to see if I could make two different "valentines" that were the same size, but with different designs that incorporated 1) Hardanger motifs, 2) blackwork motifs, 3) woven ribbon borders with wrapped roses, 4) two different variegated color palettes, and 5) two distinctly different canvas colors.

One has a more traditional hearts & flowers theme:



Here it is up-close:


The other has a floral theme:


And here's this one close up:


And, if you're interested, both of these designs were worked on 25 ct. Congress Cloth; and each design measures approx. 7.5" by 7.5".