FRIDAY FLOWERS: A New Cyber Class - Woo Hoo!

Are you in the mood to stitch some cheerful flowers?  How about a bouquet of daisies to brighten up your summer days?   I'm pleased to share with you my next new cyber class, called DAISY CHAIN:

I was in the mood to whip up a fun, easy floral piece and this is what I came up with.  It's based on an older design (with the same name) I did many years ago... but this time around I wanted to stitch fewer rows of small daisies, and add a bigger, more interesting floral outer border
-- hence this revised-but-totally-new piece -- it makes me smile every time I look at it!
 I love the new outer border, that alternates medium-sized daisies with bunches of smaller ones, like this:

It's a 9" x 9" piece, done on a 13" x 13" piece of 18 ct. sage green mono canvas, using a handful of fresh bright pearl cottons matching a variegated Watercolours thread.  And while I stitched the model in yellow and white daisies, I've also created fresh and airy PINK and BLUE thread versions, so each stitcher can choose their own favorite palette.  Here are the thread options for the new DAISY CHAIN cyber class:

So if you're crazy about daisies, and would like to join this fun new class in July, please skip on over to my website and read all the class information.... and HAPPY WEEKEND, STITCHERS!

A New Floral Cyber Class with "Messy Beading"!

Have you heard about "messy beading"?  Well I have and was really curious to give it a try.....

Basically, instead of attaching beads one at a time, you scoop up several beads and then attach them in loops or strings or however you want...creating a very fun 3-D textural look to your canvas.  I decided to create a small printed canvas with a simple flower that had the right type of center that could take some "messy beading" on it.  Here's the initial drawing I created on my ipad, from a purple daisy photo:

Then after I printed in on 18 ct. canvas, I stitched it up with some zippy checkered (and padded) borders, some easy petal stitches, a fast "shadow stitched" background, and of course, the messy beading.  Here's how it turned out:

It was soooo fun to stitch up!  I've used DMC flosses in the 333 periwinkle blue family, so the colors are that lovely purpley blue; and I wanted to have a lime green background just for the fun of it, and to make the purple flower POP.  And I thoroughly enjoyed using the messy beading technique -- it was much easier than I expected!

And when I got done I thought, "You know, this would make the perfect summery cyber class -- not too big, not too hard, and not too long - for stitchers like me who want to try some messy beading, but don't want a really big project."

So here it is folks, my next Cyber Class called "Purple Daisy: A Messy Beading Project".  Registration starts today, May 25th and runs thru June 30th.  The cyber class will start the beginning of July 2013, and have 4 emailed lessons.  Check out the details on my website!

Is It Summer Yet?

Is it feeling like summer yet where you live? Well, regardless of the weather, here's a sunny project to get you in the summertime mood -- my latest design called DAISY CHAIN.


It's done on 18 ct. mono canvas and the finished size is 10" by 10". It uses one skein of Watercolours and a bunch of #5 pearl cotton colors, as well as a gold Ribbon Floss.

The inspiration of this piece came from an earlier design of mine, called DAISY COLLAGE. Here's the little box of daisies that started the whole thing:


When I stitched these little daisies, I had so much fun, I wondered how I could stitch them again, and give them a bigger part in the design. I wanted to see what it would look like to do LOTS of little daisies. So I decided on working four rows of "daisy chains" - each in a different color - and then let the rest of the design come together around those daisies.

I couldn't decide what color of daisies I wanted. White or yellow or pink? So I compromised and chose a variegated thread that had a little bit of all of those colors, plus a lovely peachy/apricot color as well (Watercolours 053 - "Coral Blush"). On the pattern, I've also included thread lists for other color versions in PINK, YELLOW, and LAVENDER.

And in my usual fashion, as I was stitching the cover model, I began to wonder what the design would look like if it were stitched on GREEN canvas with the PINK threads. So I started stitching a second model. (My intention is to make it into a pillow one of these days.) I just finished the pink version this week, and TA DA -- here it is for you to see:


Here's a close-up of the design:


Now here's the thing....this design is all about the daisies, and you can play with it to make it your favorite color of daisy. If you love white daisies you can stitch the whole thing with white daisies (well, I used ecru, actually, for my white daisies, but I digress)... or yellow daisies, if those are your favorites.

And oh, I almost forgot....the pattern also includes a second pattern for a slightly smaller "companion" version of this daisy design - it's 7" by 7" with a smaller daisy flower in the center.

So....if you're a daisy lover, or just want a fun summery project, check out my new DAISY CHAIN on my website!

Please, Don't Eat These Daisies!

Well, I can finally share my latest flower collage with you -- it's the DAISY COLLAGE. (Which the majority of you guessed correctly!)


It's a very cheerful design....and it makes me smile to look at it. (I'm also smiling because I finally got the model FINISHED after being buried in my to-do pile for many months. ahem.)

Well, daisies are like that, aren't they? They make you happy just to look at them; no pretense, just pure sunshine. Like Meg Ryan's character says in YOU'VE GOT MAIL: "Don't you think that daisies are the friendliest of flowers?" (Thank you, Coni, for that wonderful movie quote...I totally agree with Meg.)

Coincidentally, I was dragging my feet about tent stitching the center bouquet this past weekend and while flipping channels, came across the Doris Day movie, "Please Don't Eat the Daisies". What could be more perfect? So I decided to stitch along with the movie...and voila, my daisies are done! (Although, I must confess that I also have that movie song stuck in my head now, with those silly lyrics looping over and over in my brain...)

But at least I have the model done.... so I can send it off to one of my distributors, Nordic Needle, who will show it off at the next big trade show in September. Meanwhile, I've just finished the instructions - HOORRAY!...so DAISY COLLAGE will be popping up on my website any day now...