I Love SNAPDRAGONS!

 

I just finished a new stitch guide this week, called "SNAPDRAGONS", to accompany Sandra Gilmore's painted canvas of the same name.  The minute I saw this smaller canvas (8"x 10" on 18 ct. canvas) I was smitten.  I love snapdragons and this lush bouquet had me grinning with pleasure.  Then there are all the different vases and dishes -- a china lovers delight! 

This was a pretty straight-forward canvas to figure out and stitch: the china is all tent stitched (or basketweave stitched where possible); the blue vase is also tent stitched in sparkly metallic ribbon threads; the cream vase uses shiny ribbon thread as well, but the ribs are slightly padded to create a more realistic raised texture.  For a satin sheen, I used more rayon ribbon thread for the chair fabric, as well as on the gold chair back.  I found a simple blackwork pattern to use on the wallpaper stripes, as well as a simple diagonal blackwork pattern for the table/tablecloth.  Here's look at the canvas up-close:

The last things I stitched were the bouquets of flowers.  The white roses gave me a chance to try a technique I used on the climbing roses on NANTUCKET: I used white Ribbon Floss and instead of laying each stitch flat, I deliberately twisted the thread and laid it with a soft twisting curl on the canvas, then couched the curve in place with a soft stitch of the same ribbon thread.  Working a bunch of those stitches created the effect of tightly furled roses, and overall I'm very pleased with the effect.

 

To tackle the masses of pink snapdragons, I  tent stitched practically the whole bouquet, from the darkest colors to the lightest; then went back around and added irregular diagonal satin stitched petals wherever I could figure out where to put them - concentrating mostly on the lightest pink colors, to give the illusion of depth in this shallow tablescape.

If you're smitten with this wonderful painted canvas by Sandra Gilmore, you might want to order it from your favorite needlepoint store, who can order the canvas and guide from FLEUR DE PARIS (Sandra's distributor).  I have just the stitch guide available on my website, if you already have the canvas and are inspired to start stitching! 

Inching Along...

This past weekend I decided to pull out a small Sandra Gilmore painted canvas that I had been working on last year, but got stalled with it and put it aside to work on other counted pieces.  It's called NANTUCKET, and it looks like this:

I'm in love with all of Sandra's garden canvases, and this one appealed to me because of the bold turquoise gate, as well as all the flowers.  And it is small, approx. 8" by 10", so how hard could it be to finish, right?  Ha, ha.... Joke's on me, because there are dozens of colors in the flowers and greenery, so it turns out to be more involved than I expected.

In a canvas like this, I like to start with the background areas... which means stitching the wall, the shadows, the foliage, and the sky. ( By the way, since this design was painted on "vintage" canvas that is blue with parchmenty blue sections showing thru, I decided to add a few clouds floating by,  picking out the lighter blue areas on my canvas and turning them into clouds.)

Then on to the focal points, which are the garden gate and all the flowers.   The gate was easy enough (diagonal satin stitch done in silk Splendors), but the flowers required a bit more thought.  What stitches to put where?  And what type of thread?  I started making the flowers with variegated DMC floss, which has lovely variegated pinks and yellows.  But the softness and fineness of the cotton floss just didn't stand out on top of the foliage (which had the upper leaves stitched with variegated ThreadworX floss).  So I decided to try the shiny rayon Ribbon Floss to see if they would add more shine to my flowers.  I started on the left side of the canvas and made all the tall yellow flowers with long bullion stitches.  With lots of overlapping bullions, here's what they look like up close:

And yippee!  The Ribbon Floss did give the flowers a discreet shine, so I decided to stitch with Ribbon Floss for all the rest of the flowers.

This past weekend I wanted to push on and get more of the flowers stitched, so I moved over to the lower left side of the canvas to work on those flowers.  I used 1 strand of Ribbon Floss for the smaller pink lupines (?) as indicated by the pink arrow.   Then when I started stitching the tall blue delphiniums, I realized that 1 strand of Ribbon Floss was too small, so I tried doubling my thread in the needle, and made lots of sloppy, loose french knots with 2 strands of Ribbon Floss (where the blue arrow is pointing) - and voila! - the flowers had the bigger, looser look I wanted!

Then I had to figure out what to do with the purple hydrangea heads.  I didn't want to make any more french knots (had enough of those!).... so I decided to try massing irregular cross stitches - some 2x2, some 1x2, and just mix them up.  I also stitched them in more shiny Ribbon Floss, and to "floof" them up a bit I stitched each cross stitch twice, one on top of the other, as the purple arrow shows.  I even sprinkled a few french knots around the hydrangeas (you can see them in the upper, smaller masses, but I haven't added them to the larger, lower mass).  

Whew! By the end of Sunday, I was tired of making french knots and needed to put this project aside.  Now, the only thing I have left to figure out is how/what to do with the climbing roses.  Bullions? Satin Stitches?  Can't decide... but I'm sure I'll figure something out, so I can get this piece finished, the stitch guide done, and finally move on to something new!  

Friday Flowers: Stitched Nasturtiums

One wonderful way to keep summer in your heart all year long is to stitch a bouquet of your favorite flowers.  A Sandra Gilmore canvas I fell in love with last year was the absolutely stunning FLEUR FETE, which features a huge bouquet of spicy nasturtiums.  The canvas celebrates Fleur de Paris' 40th anniversary, with nasturtiums (the 40th flower) and a ruby (the 40th stone)....

 It's a large canvas - 15" x 17" - and ahem, it took awhile to get it completely stitched.  Not that the stitching was hard; the stitches were actually very easy, but there was so much canvas to fill!  Lots of wooden table (done with blended threads), lots of background (done in a large, variegated blackwork pattern), and LOTS of different colored nasturtiums to stitch!  Here's a look at the flowers up close:

I decided to work all the leaves in matte DMC Floche, and all the flowers are done with DMC Floss.  I selectively chose some of the petals to pad, while most of them were done in simple diagonal satin stitch.

The antique vase, shown above, was stitched in simple tent/basketweave stitch, but worked entirely with metallic ribbon threads (Ribbon Floss and Neon Rays+)  to replicate a shimmery antique vase.  Then I went back on top and padded just a few of the vase lines to delineate the sunflower motif.

The last thing I stitched was the big ruby jewel in the lower left corner of the vase.  I debated whether to attempt it in beads, but there were soooo many colors in the ruby I chickened out decided against it, and instead worked it all in plain tent stitch, but using extra sparkly Kreinik 1/16th Ribbons.  And I'm glad I did -- it ended up looking surprisingly sparkly and remarkably like beads, so it turned out great!

So if you love nasturtiums as much as I do, and would like to have a bouquet hanging in your house all year round, please consider Sandra Gilmore's gorgeous FLEUR FETE painted canvas, as well as my new stitch guide (which is now available on my website).  In any event, both of those items can be ordered for you from your local stitchery store, so call them to get more information!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Need a Guardian Wolf??

 Everyone needs a furry guardian to watch over them now and then, don't they?

Well, here's one that's watching over me in my office now, and he's called THE SENTINEL, by Sandra Gilmore.  I was asked by the owner of FLEUR DE PARIS, the distributor of Sandra Gilmore painted canvases, if I'd be interested in creating a stitch guide for this canvas.  And of course I said, "YES, YOU BETCHA!"

Here's what the whole finished piece looks like:

The most daunting task with this piece was choosing the threads.  I mean, look at all those greys -- Ai Yi Yi!!!  It was tough deciding whether to go with cool greys or warm greys... and then making them match the soft merino wool Bella Lusso threads I used for the wolf's coat.  I can't tell you how long it took me a while to narrow down my options, but once I did, I was able to start stitching.  And in this case, I worked from the bottom up to the top: starting with the snowy ground (all done in sparkly Ribbon Floss ribbons); then working the birch trees (tent stitching the outlines and colored bits, then long stitching the remaining areas), which were tedious but not hard at all; and then tent stitching the background sky with diagonal stitched branches.

As you can imagine, I was a bit anxious to tackle all that fur, but again, I started at the bottom by the snow, and worked my way upwards, following the colors on the painted canvas and angling my longish diagonal stitches to follow the lines of the wolf's body.  Here's an up-close look:

Actually, it was easier to do than I expected, and once I got going, working each color at a time, from darkest to lightest, I really enjoyed it.  I left the face for last....and then carefully stitched each of the facial features.  Also, before I started stitching I googled "wolf" to get some reference photos to work from, which helped a great deal.

All in all, I really enjoyed the challenge of figuring out this beautiful canvas and bringing THE SENTINEL to life (the finished size is 12" x 12" on an 18 ct. painted canvas).  If you are a wolf lover, or just need your own guardian wolf, please check out my new stitch guide for THE SENTINEL by Sandra Gilmore on my website, or order it and the canvas from your favorite stitchery store!

P.S.: If any of you are going to the TNNA trade show in Columbus this week, you can see my model at the FLEUR DE PARIS booth.  So please stop by and say hello to my furry SENTINEL!!

Meanwhile, Back on the Stretcher Bars...

I know, I know... it's been a while since I've done some regular blogging.  But I've been very busy dividing my time & energy between designing and stitching several types of projects, and by the end of the day it's hard to focus enough to string words together... I'm hoping to get back in the bloggin' groove this new year, so here's to the start of another fantastic stitching season!

Wanna see what I'm working on for the New Year?
 
Here's a counted canvaswork piece that's almost finished.  I'm waiting for icy blue beads to arrive, before I can finish the model and release the pattern (with beads included).   I'm calling this one NORTHERN LIGHTS, because it's got lots of blue and aqua shimmers in it:

The patterns and stitches are actually very easy, but mixing and matching different threads makes it look more complex than it is....Very Very Fun!!  Psst: it's actually a companion piece to one of my favorite designs, JEWEL BOX, which was done in greens and pinks:

The other project on my stretcher bars is THE SENTINEL, another gorgeous painted canvas by Sandra Gilmore. The owner of FLEUR DE PARIS (distributor of Sandra Gilmore canvases) asked me if I'd like to do a stitch guide for this fellow, and of course I said YES!   I've got him hanging on my office wall, and his unblinking stare continually reminds me that ahem, I've got to get back to work on him:

So far, I've figured out a border; started working on the birch trees; and now I need to get started on the wolf's coat.  I've got a pile of soft Bella Lusso wools for the wolf, and plan to do him in overlapping long stitches. Wish me luck on that!

Hope your New Year is off to a great stitching start, too....

Shakin' Up a Little Snow

Woo Hoo!!  I've just finished working on a new holiday stitch guide, called SNOWGLOBE 1, by Sandra Gilmore.  After the large FALL SPLENDOR piece I stitched last month, this was very, very fun because it was small (8"x 9") and didn't require any fancy stitches!  Here's a peek up close:

I used a blackwork pattern for the table area, using a subtle variegated Watercolours thread; and I also padded some of the pedestal rows stitched with DMC #8 pearl cotton to add a bit more dimension.  As for everything else, I used lots of metallics for lots of sparkle (which, alas, you can't see in any of the photos).  The snowglobe area was all done in tent stitch, but with a blended needle of floss and opalescent Kreinik blending filament.  The globe really does sparkle like a snowy snowglobe should!  And while my model has a more antique-y gold look, I've also included thread options for a pure snow white effect...

If you love snowglobes (and let's face it, who doesn't?) and want a fun little project to keep you merry and bright throughout the holiday season, this may be the canvas for you.  I left my model flat for framing, but it sure would be cute to have it finished as a standup piece, don't you think?

 Please contact your local stitchery store for ordering the Sandra Gilmore canvas called SNOWGLOBE 1, along with my stitch guide, from our distributor, FLEUR DE PARIS.  And just so you know, the stitch guide is available on my website, too....

Fall Splendor

Well, here it is.... my largest finished painted canvas piece to date, FALL SPLENDOR by Sandra Gilmore.

It's been painted on the darker sandstone canvas, so it has a lovely aged parchment look to it; and with the "zig zag" border I designed for this piece, it measures 15" x 15".  Here's a peek at the variegated outer border:

What the photo doesn't really show you is that the entire floral pattern in the background is worked in simple Tent Stitch, using a glitzy Kreinik #8 Braid (6 spools, to be exact!), while the rest of the sandstone canvas is left unstitched.  Then for the leaves, I wanted something very simple (to show off all the colors) and decided to use long Straight Stitches.  Surprisingly fast, fun and non-stressful (well, if you don't count concentrating on keeping the long stitches flat, smooth and untwisted), it really was a joy to stitch all the different types of leaves in 5 ply of Splendor silks.

As this big leaf photo shows, just by changing the stitch directions in certain areas of the leaves, you can create surprising color changes, because the light hits the stitches in different ways....

Those red berries and fat acorns are padded and stitched with a shiny rayon ribbon, just to provide additional texture and surprise to the piece. (The padded elements are a bit smushed in the photos, since they're smack up against the scanner bed, but trust me, they are nice and poofy in real life.)

This canvas was an absolute joy to stitch, and I plan to enjoy looking at it all autumn long.

If you are hankering for an elegant fall piece, please contact your favorite stitchery store so they can order you both the FALL SPLENDOR painted canvas and stitch guide from my friends at FLEUR DE PARIS.  The stitch guide is also available on my website. 

HAPPY FALL FRIDAY!

My Current Fall Project

After finishing Sandra Gilmore's OLIVER last month, I was eager to get back to work on this very large piece (another Sandra Gilmore beauty) called FALL SPLENDOR.  It is such an elegant piece that I have been enjoying working on it every night while I watch (ahem, listen) to tv....

Whew!  It's a large piece - 15" x 15" with my added border work - but the sandstone background isn't solidly stitched, so only the gold floral work needs to be done, which I'm doing in plain old Tent Stitch with a Kreinik #8 Braid. I'm making progress, one leaf at a time...

It's rather restful, doing lots of tent stitching with metallic thread; then switching over to long Straight Stitches for the leaves. I've never done any of those old "longpoint" kits that Dimensions used to sell, but I've certainly enjoyed creating my long-stitched leaves, using 5 ply of Splendor silks. It's a simple but effective way to showcase all the luscious fall colors in this piece.

I've already padded the acorns, but still have to finish the red berries at the bottom -- they'll be padded too, with a shiny rayon ribbon, I think.

Anyway, I'm hoping to have this finished shortly (one leaf and five berries to go, woo hoo!), and then I should have the FALL SPLENDOR stitch guide done and mailed off to Fleur de Paris in the next week or so.  Stay tuned for further stitching adventures!
HAPPY FALL FRIDAY!!

Back At the Beach (again)...

I promised you a look at my finished new canvas (and the resulting stitch guide)....

          so here it is -- SHELLSCAPE, by Sandra Gilmore:

This was soooo fun to work on; and very different from the stuff I usually stitch!

There are lots of areas that need to be done in Tent/Basketweave Stitch, but I truly

enjoyed the simplicity of those sections.  Although I did jazz it up a bit

by using lots of "blended needle" work -- mixing thread types or colors, to add

subtle depth and texture to the large flat areas like the dunes, sea, and clouds....

And I used a LOT of variegated threads -- for the sea, sand, borders, shells, coral  -- 

well, almost everything!  Even the table ledge with its enlarged blackwork pattern is done 

with a "driftwood" looking variegated #8 pearl cotton by ThreadworX.

And you can see that most of the items are slightly padded as well.  I was surprised how fun 

the conch shell was to pad and stitch; if you look closely you can see that I used 

two variegated peachy threads for the outer conch shell - the lighter one on the top half,

 and the slightly darker one on the lower half:

I left the big white flowers for last, and I'm very glad I did.  Barbara Elmore, a designer 

who I consider to be the Queen of Embellishment, was kind enough to send me a sample

of a new ribbon she is marketing (through Sundance Designs) called RETRO RIBBON.

She suggested I give it a try for my floppy flowers -- and 

she was soooo right -- it was perfect!!

The 5/8" wide couture ribbon really mimicked the crinkly petals of a mantilla poppy; 

and I very carefully flattened, twisted or poofed each petal in place, before tacking them 

down with small couching stitches.  The ribbon also has a slightly transparent texture, 

so the yellow painted canvas showed through enough to create an interesting effect 

as well...  I was so impressed with the finished look of the flowers, that I asked Barbara 

to send me a bit of green RETRO RIBBON to add a few dimensional leaves!

So if you want to celebrate the end of a lovely summer

or perhaps you just love a good beach canvas,

please contact your local stitchery store to get this SHELLSCAPE 

canvas and stitch guide from FLEUR DE PARIS.

You can also order just the stitch guide from my website....

HAPPY END OF SUMMER, STITCHERS!

A New Floral Stitch Guide

Another model I sent to the TNNA show in San Diego this year was PRETTY (by Sandra Gilmore), done this past autumn...

I absolutely loved all the soft pastel colors in this canvas, and I found myself proceeding very carefully to render all the different shades of pinks and yellows.  Because the background colors were so lovely, I didn't want to cover them up with solid stitching, so I chose some blackwork patterns that provided interesting texture, but didn't hide the painted colors.

I like to think that the large "wall" area could be wallpaper, drapes, or even ironwork.  Then the middle section could be carpeting or the back of a sofa (I was envisioning a chenille sofa!).  Then another blackwork pattern for the white lacy tablecloth.

When I got to the bowl and flowers, I did a LOT of Tent Stitching (or Basketweave, where possible) in a variety of colors.  I added irregular Mosaic stitches over the bowl, to give it a rough-ish texture, hoping to contrast it against the soft petals of the flowers. You can't see it in the photo, but all the bowl stitches have a slight sparkle, since I mixed in some Kreinik Blending Filaments with each stitch...

And then I tackled the flowers. (Are they roses or peonies?  I still can't decide.)  First I Tent Stitched everything, then went back and added Diagonal Satin Stitches on just the petals I wanted to highlight.  I used rayon Ribbon Floss and Neon Rays, since I wanted a soft sheen on my petals.

Slow work, but very, very satisfying when everything is done.  And after all the flowers were stitched, I decided they needed some deliciously full bullioned and beaded centers!  (And I've included a packet of beads with the stitch guide, by the way).

So if these soft pastel flowers appeal to you (deep in the heart of winter) you can check out the stitch guide for PRETTY on my website.... or ask your local stitchery store to order the canvas and stitch guide from Fleur de Paris.  Either way, it's a wonderful project to get you in a flowery spring mood!

To Market, To Market....

Although I'm not traveling to San Diego for the first TNNA show of 2014, I have sent my models for the stitch guides I've created for four Sandra Gilmore canvases. I had a blast working on painted canvases for a change, and I look forward to doing more of them in the coming New Year.

But I wanted to share with you my recent holiday stitch guide, for Sandra Gilmore's NUTCRACKER.

 He's a very handsome fellow, isn't he?  I especially love the raspberry and green colors, and couldn't wait to get stitching on him!
 

Because I was thinking this wooden nutcracker was shiny, I decided to stitch him in the shinier rayon threads of Ribbon Floss and Neon Rays.  Rather slippery threads, those rayons!  But I didn't have any problems with them, and they are so soft, they work nicely for the Elongated Tent Stitches I used for his hat and body.  I used regular Tent Stitches (or Basketweave) for his whole face. I also decided this nutcracker is so regal looking, his crown needed a tiny Swarovski crystal in the gold cross at the top of his hat. That's included with the pattern, by the way...

I padded his nose, and of course, his eyebrows and mustache (with soft Bella Lusso).  I left his fuzzy hair for last, mixing 2 strands of white Wisper with 1 strand of white Bella Lusso.   Personally, I didn't want super fuzzy hair, but if you did, you could always tackle some Turkey Work for those areas.

Since I wanted the nutcracker to be the focal point of the piece, I chose a quiet background, so it receded  behind - but not competed with - the nutcracker. I used a simple but elegant blackwork pattern, but enlarged it to fill the large background space, sorta like wallpaper, I guess...

 And, to tell the truth, I think my favorite part was stitching the ribbon border!  I've slightly padded the pink raised ribbon sections so they look like they're moving in and out of the canvas.  The white scalloped border is done with DMC #8 perle, and the green stripes are 1 strand of DMC Floche.

So if you are a nutcracker collector (and I know there are a lot of you out there!), or just want something fun to stitch for next year's holiday season, please visit my website for the stitch guide.  Or contact your local stitchery store for them to order both the canvas and stitch guide from Fleur de Paris, the distributor of all Sandra Gilmore canvases.