Border Bits

As I go to and fro during the day, my eye is stopping on some of the borders I have on some smaller pieces hanging around the house. So I thought I would share these small border ideas with you.... As we all know, you can never have too many border options!


Here are two ideas combined in one border. First, check out that tiny CHECKERED BORDER made with simple scotch stitches, alternating with smyrna crosses. The scotch stitches are done in a variegated thread, and the smyrnas are done in a gold metallic. This is a VERY SIMPLE border idea that can be worked in a jillion combinations -- and yet very, very effective for a little bit of a different border. This works great on tiny canvases, where you don't want to overwhelm the central design.

And notice that really cute POLKA DOT BORDER. How fun is that?!? Another simple but elegant border idea to use on small to medium canvases. And of course, you can use beads for the dots, instead of stitches!

And one of my easy favorites is the PADDED SATIN BORDER. If you haven't tried that yet, you must! It's fast, fun, and easy. Just lay 1-3 long stitches in the "ditches" of your canvas, then diagonal satin stitch over them to get a lovely raised border. (The scanner smushed the padded border in this photo, but you get the idea...) You can also do TWO layers of padding before covering with the final layer - if you want a higher padded border. Also, notice the thin shaded line sandwiched in between the two green borders. You can do a solid color, a blended color, or a variegated color to echo whatever colors are in your main design.

And let's say you buy a canvas with a solid band of color around it. Here's a real easy way to create a patterned border. Just stitch rectangular blocks in alternating directions to create a chevron pattern. Or, for a bit of pizazz, alternate with a matching metallic ribbon, so the border has a lovely shimmer to it. (I've used that effect on several of my quilt designs, to wonderful effect.) Then finish it off with a padded border on the outside - TA DA -- Easy Peasy!!


And last, but certainly not least: there's the good ole' checkerboard border. When in doubt, a checkerboard border always adds a bit of country charm. Using black checkers is always elegant and creates instant drama to any piece. Alternate with a variegated color and you've added even more sophistication with a really simple technique. HOW FUN IS THAT?!?!

Bored With Borders Yet?

Not Me!
I love thinking up new and different types of borders. (Can you tell?!?)

So, I'm going to show you another border trick you might want to use some time....

First, let me tell you how it came about (it's one of those HAPPY ACCIDENTS that occur when you just GO FOR IT, trusting your creative instincts to lead you somewhere wonderful). ANYWAY... I was trying to come up with a good teaching project (something fun, slightly challenging but not hard,with fast results and yet adaptable to several color combinations - gee, that should be real easy, huh?).
While stitching PRIMROSE PATH, I enjoyed the floral tapestry pattern so much, I decided to use it in a smaller project. Since California Poppies were on my mind, I stitched this version first:


I jazzed up my usual plain satin stitched border with metallic insets. I liked it well enough, but it just wasn't as ELEGANT as I wanted it to be. I felt it needed SOMETHING, but I didn't know what exactly. Then I decided to try the "repeat border" technique I used on that green Diane Evans piece I showed you a few days ago.
Here's how it looked after I repeated the border:


Oooooooh....much better! See how I repeated the first border, but slightly darkened the orange colors, and expanded the corner sections so they echoed the first border? Suddenly, the piece had more elegance, more pizazz and definitely a more eye-catching border. (And see...I snuck in a narrow row of the variegated color - in between both borders, to pull the variegated colors out to the border, and also to create a calming rest between those two elaborate metallic borders.)

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Guess Who Katie Was for Halloween!

My dog Katie is a very intelligent wired-haired Pointer mix (I suspect there's some border collie in her as well). She isn't a frilly, girly type of dog. Can't abide anyone fooling around with her hairy mess of a mouth, so I normally just leave her be.

But....

when I twirled her moustache, she sorta reminded me of a famous avante garde artiste, so I played with her hair a bit more and coaxed her into doing some expressive poses for me.....

all the while trying to convince her that she would be the only dog on the block with a REALLY ARTISTIC Halloween costume this year:


So......can you tell who she's supposed to be?!?!?

YES!!!....It's none other than SALVADOR DOGGI!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Hope your Friday is filled with happy tricks and treats!!

Indian Summer

I don't know what the weather is like in your neck of the woods, but here in Healdsburg, Indian Summer has definitely arrived. The days are bright and sunny, the air has the tangy snap that reminds me of apple cider, and the light thru the trees is as golden as poured honey.

A few years ago, I designed the above quilt pattern, INDIAN SUMMER. It's been a very popular pattern with stitchers. I can't decide if it's because of the colors -- or the intricate pattern. Probably both. Anyway, it's one of the designs I never get tired of looking at. [And I must confess, I just love those "wild geese" triangles; they've always been my favorite quilt patterns... And since this design combines those triangles with the ever-popular "lone star" how can any stitcher or quilter resisit it?!?]

Anyway, it occurred to me that it would be fun to design a companion piece to it, using the same variegated thread (Watercolours' "Rainforest"). Here's what that new piece looks like so far:


You can see how I stitch up these models: first, I work all the variegated and solid pearl colors; after the colors are balanced to my satisfaction, I switch my focus to the background colors. [Really, it's just like creating a fabric quilt: first, you focus on creating the pieced quilt top; then, you decide which quilting pattern you will put on top of your quilt -- thus these stitched quilts have the same multi-dimensional effect as a real quilt... except with stitching, we have the added pleasure of the changing light on the directional sheen of pearl cotton threads.] You can see in the lower areas that I've started stitching the intersecting diamond shapes in a darker gold floss. I'll work all the darker gold areas next; then everything that's left will be filled with the final light gold floss color.

I create all my quilt designs that way: focusing on each type of thread at a time. I guess I prefer counting out all the main parts of the quilt first; then when I get to stitching the background areas, I don't have to do that much counting -- it's basically just filling in the blank spots. That makes it easy to stitch while watching tv or stitching in a group when you can talk and stitch at the same time!

Oh, yeah....I'm calling this design: INDIAN AUTUMN. And as you can see, I'm on the home stretch...just have to finish the background and then I'll be ready to write up the instructions for this pattern.

Another Border Idea...

While I'm thinking about different ways to finish a piece with borders, I want to show you this one:


This is from a large piece called "SPIRIT OF THE SOUTHWEST" by Susan Portra. (I didn't scan the whole piece; just a section of it). I stitched it many years ago, using my favorite Southwestern adobe and turquoise colors.

What I want to show you is the way I finished the border on this piece. The instructions show the angled ECRU borders as the finished edge of the piece. If you've ever seen this piece stitched up and framed (and absolutely GORGEOUS, of course), it usually has a custom-cut mat that has all the triangular sections cut, so that the mat fits snug against the angled outside edges.

Well, I didn't want to mat the piece that way...so I came up with another way to finish the piece so it would fit within a plain square-cut mat. I decided to TENT STITCH inside each triangle shape with a medium-dark color (so the background would recede a bit) and then add a simple string motif (or jessica, if you prefer) that echoes the various jessica elements in the overall design. Here's a closeup of those sections:


I think the extra tent stitching was worth it. I created a background against which the Southwest design could stand out. And I still finished off the piece in an unusual way, without having to have expensive double or triple mats cut.

I share this idea with you, just in case you might have an unusual geometric design that you want to finish in a different manner. When in doubt, consider STITCHING your borders or backgrounds, to show off the rest of your work!

Feeling A Little Batty?

It's that time of year when stitchers start to get a little batty... or even a little witchy... Yup. It's that wonderfully purple and orange time of year: HALLOWEEN!

Time for all us stitchers to look thru our stashes and pull out our fun Halloween canvases.... or grab those purple, orange and lime green threads and start to work on a fun and/or spooky stitching project!

In keeping with the spirit of the season, I've posted a free little Halloween project on my website: www.ljperindesigns.com under the FREE PATTERNS page. It's my CATS & BATS freebie. Check it out!


Here's the story about this little bat: A few years ago, when I was going to local quilt and craft shows, I would design a little freebie handout for the shoppers passing by my booth. I made this little bat design into a pin that I could wear (I turned it on point, and added a pin back). It was a very fun and easy project. Other stitchers even stitched just the outer border, and then added a fun fimo, porcelain, or wood button in the center - a very cool way to show off a special Halloween button!

I stitched this 3" x 3" design on lavender 18 ct. canvas, but any color would work. And while I used #5 pearl cottons, you could also use 3-4 ply of floss if you prefer.

Anyway, I thought I'd share the pattern with you (there's also a black cat that you can stitch in the center, if you prefer cats to bats)....so you too can whip up a new little project just in time for Halloween!