New November Piece

Remember a few months ago when I revealed my ONE LONG PANEL and said I'd be doing a series of long panels? Well, I've finished the next one, which I'm calling LONG AUTUMN PANEL. Here it is:


I found the novelty of working on a long rectangular piece very fun and quite a relief from the usual "square designs" and as I was eager to see the patterns unfold, it worked up very quickly. And because it's such a long piece (finished size: 4.5" x 16") and hard to see from the full view, I'll zoom in a little closer and show you the parts of it up-close:




I've chosen another set of fun and easy stitch patterns to use in this design and the colors are especially yummy and what I consider very Novembery (with Caron Watercolours 231 - "Ethiopia".) And like the first panel, I've chosen to stitch it on the brown or tan colored mono canvas, to give it a richer appearance.

I've also suggested another autumnal colorway on the pattern, if you would prefer to do this design in ORANGE AND TEALS. And of course, if you want to pick totally different colors, I give you the suggested thread types for doing that as well.

If you're interested in trying out one of these fast and fun panels, please visit my website: www.laurajperindesign.tripod.com and see what's available!

"Sunday's Fun Day, Charlie Brown!"

Do you remember this old Peanuts comic book? I've had it in my book stash since 1965 (...ahhh, those were the good old days...)


Anyway, I pulled it off my bookshelves because I was feeling just like Lucy and Snoopy last Sunday - ready to do something FUN!

And you know what that means for stitchers, don't you? Yup. I STARTED SOME NEW PROJECTS! (Never mind that I currently have an undisclosed number of projects already started, needing to be finished - that's soooo not relevant.)

I had such a FUN DAY last Sunday, pulling out threads, cutting canvas and attaching it to assorted scroll bars and stretcher bars.

Once that was done, I sat down and figured out the basic composition of the pieces I wanted to stitch next. And that meant browsing through some of the stitchery books on my shelf - for pattern inspiration, of course. [Aside: Have you noticed the current Bargello trend that is popping up in all the stitchery magazines recently? Well, hint, hint...guess what I'm going to start stitching next? Just wait and see where I'm going with THAT....]

I've also got another floral collage started, but I put it aside to get my Barbary Coast projects done, so I need to get back to stitching on that piece. AND I've had an idea for creating a butterfly piece (another trend I keep seeing in stitching and design magazines) so I think it's time to get started stitching a butterfly design, too.

Oh boy, oh boy.... my favorite thing in all the world - starting a new project!!
And I've got several that I can't wait to begin. Well, those new projects are calling to me, so I've gotta go now and get to stitching... Talk to you later!

Pulling Threads

Yesterday I mentioned the new projects I've just started.

Well, here are the bunches of threads I pulled for each new design.


The first one is for the new floral collage. This will be a delicate spring flower, done in cool greens and the softest of pinks and whites (maybe a little pale blue or lavender, if it's called for).... I'm using Watercolours' 141 - Alpine Moss, which is a thread I've been eager to use for some time - but I had to find JUST the right flower to use it on. (I won't tell you what the flower is....but I'll show you glimpses of it later, as I get started stitching...)

The other bunch of threads I pulled is for a new quilt design I'm thinking of calling MORNING GLORY because it's a happy, vibrant quilt that shows off lots of blues and purples, with a dash of fuchsia.

This particular color combination, with Watercolours' 192 - "Elderberry Wine", is one I seem to crave every winter. The colors remind me of winter - lots of cool blues and purples with a bright punch of teal or fuchsia. I used this same color combination last year on STARRY NIGHTS...and again, just recently on my new NORDIC SNOWFLAKES. I just can't resist those deep jewel-tone colors....they are very wintery, January colors to me...

So....now that all the threads are pulled, and the canvases are attached to their stretcher bars, it's time for me to get to work -- stitching, stitching and more stitching!

New Year, New Projects!

I celebrated the first day of the New Year by watching the Rose Parade and sketching out some new designs.

I realized I hadn't stitched a quilt in a while, so I decided to look through the quilt blocks on Electric Quilter (a software program for quilters to design their own quilts). It's one of the best resources I've found to search for quilt blocks. Sometimes I'm inspired by the quilt block's name...sometimes it's the block's arrangement that catches my eye. In any event, there are so many hundreds of quilt blocks, that it doesn't take long to find an interesting block and then start playing around with colors and compositions. And voila! I print out a draft layout of the desired quilt, and I have a quilt design that inspires me to start stitching....

I also realized that I needed to start another flower collage...it's been some time since I've done a new one of those too! So I sketched out a collage composition, and then sketched in some different patterns and ribbons to fit the various sections. And another design is now ready to stitch...

But of course, one of the most important elements of any new project is picking out the variegated thread I'm going to use. EVERYTHING depends on the colors within that variegated thread. So I spend a lot of time pawing through my drawer of threads, looking for JUST the right color combination that will work in whichever design I'm working on at the moment.

The next step? Cutting the canvas and attaching it to stretcher bars. Then I'm ready to start stitching. And then it's my FAVORITE part of the whole process: starting to stitch on a new project.....

Here's to a wonderful New Year, filled with wonderful New Projects!
(Now go celebrate the New Year by starting one of your own...)