A Simple Gift (in green & purple!)

Sometimes the simplest things can give the greatest pleasure.

I was reminded of that when I pulled out a small pillow I made many years ago, when I first started designing my needlepoint quilts. I had forgotten all about this little pillow, but when I saw it again, I still thought it was quite charming.


That's one of the nice things about those classic, traditional quilt blocks -- they certainly stand the test of time! And this little Lone Star block is one of my absolute favorites. How can anyone resist the beauty and simplicity of these stars?

Here's an up-close look at the Lone Star blocks:


As you can see, it was stitched with a "green and purple" thread - probably Watercolours' "Amethyst", which is one of my favorites.... and it's apprx. 3.5 x 3.5" on 18 ct. mono canvas. And hey, there's not even a border around this! (Which only goes to show how unnecessary borders, metallics, beads, or fancy stitches can be when something is a classic like this Lone Star block.)

Anyway, I was smitten once again with this little pillow, and decided to quickly graph it out to share with you. Please visit my website and click on the FREE PATTERNS page, and you'll be able to copy this "SIMPLE GIFTS" pattern. And, if you look at the top photo, you can also see how EASY it is to make a little pillow with this design. I used some odds & ends purple corderoy scraps - it was easy...really!

Anyway....this pattern is my St. Patrick's Day gift to all of you stitchers out there... Enjoy the stitchin' of the green (and don't forget a bit of purple!)

My Green & Purple Project

One of the best things about reading stitching blogs is: you can get inspired to stitch something you would have never otherwise attempted, just because you see someone stitching it on their blog. Such is the case with my current "fun" project.

I became absolutely smitten with the "Strawberry Basket" pattern the SPINSTER STITCHER was working on recently, and followed her growing progress with great anticipation. I just loved seeing the little lazy daisy leaves, the blushing red berries, the randomly placed alphabet grow on her fabric. AND I WANTED TO STITCH THAT PATTERN TOO!

You see, reading Coni's blog got me all excited about Blackberry Designs, a design company I had never really LOOKED AT very closely. But once I read Coni's enthusiasm for her project, it got ME excited too. And so I did some exploring on the internet to see what other designs were available from Blackberry Designs -- and along the way, I found lots of other stitchers working on more of those designs.

Well, by then I figured a trip to the stitchery store was needed.... So I went to my local stitchery store to peruse their cross-stitch pattern section. There were several patterns from Blackbird Designs, and the one I found (instead of the strawberry one) was a lovely faded purple and goldish green sampler called "Happy Birthday." Oooooh, that was lovely too - and it perfectly fit my green & purple mood....


Well, of course I've changed a few things..... First, I'm stitching it on 24 ct. cream Congress Cloth. I love cross stitch, but don't have the time/patience to do all those little xxxx's. So I substitute half-xxx's instead (which I figure saves me half the stitching time!) Here's what I've stitched thus far:


I'm using some Overdyed Floss in a suitably faded taupey grey/green and thistle purple. I've also got a bit of Waterlilies, "Hyacinth" for accent (I've stitched the bird - and the ric rac border around the verse with Hyacinth straight stitches to give it a bit more border color), plus a very subdued Sparkle Rays metallic for the little stars sprinkled thruout the design.

And I'm NOT including the big initials or the Happy Birthday script at the bottom of the verse. Instead, I've slightly altered the verse to fit in the space, which makes the box shorter and the birthday verse becomes a more universal blessing that will fit nicely with my other samplers.

I'm ready to fit the rest of the thistles on the side, plus add the cute little houses on the bottom. And then I'll be done with my new little old-looking green & purple project! How fun is that?!?

[Aside to SPINSTER STITCHER Coni: Many Thanks, Coni, for stitching that Strawberry Basket so beautifully in the first place, and getting me jazzed about a new project. I'll be sure to look for more Blackbird Designs in the future, thanks to you!]

March Comes In....

Here in Northern California, March came in like a lion.... with lots of wind and rain. Was it the same where you live?

Because I tend to think of things in terms of colors, I always think of March
as being a "green & grey" month. (Days of the week have certain colors for me, too, but that's another topic.) Anyway, around this time of year (also around St. Patrick's Day, not surprisingly) I get a craving for stitching something in greens and purples.

Here's a few of my past green & purple designs:


This is GARDEN PARTY, a geometric sampler which I've also used as my March banner heading photo, above.

Here's CELTIC KNOTS, a more traditional quilt design from my American Quilt Collection:


Here's a more elaborate comtemporary quilt design called COLOR STUDY: PINWHEELS:


And here's a completely abstract green & purple design called PURPLE PANELS (It's a particular favorite of mine, and I'll have to show it to you "up-close & personal" another time, so you can really SEE it better):


Maybe seeing all these designs will inspire you to celebrate the month of March by stitching something green & purple yourself! ..... As for me, I'm thinkin' it's about time to start another green and purple project...

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.

More Organization Ideas!

This is for all you Stitchy Stash Organizers out there....
(and you know who you are!)


Have you ever thought about keeping track of the different threads you use on each project? If you're the type of stitcher who keeps a journal with all of your stitched projects, maybe you should consider keeping little thread snippets along with your written entries. It might come in handy when, say a few years down the road, you decide to stitch a canvas or chart with those yummy colors you hand-picked for an earlier project. Now, which blue did you use that matched your sofa exactly?? If you had kept a thread card with the ACTUAL threads you used, you would have a much easier time locating the right threads.

Or how about this scenario: you want to use a fuzzy, textured thread but don't want to use that particular thread that drove you crazy...which thread was it that you SWORE you wouldn't stitch with again?!? Well, if you made thread cards for each of your projects, you'd be able to find out.

As a designer, I've found it's extremely useful to have access to the actual threads that I used on each project. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten calls or emails with queries about project threads; and in many cases, when threads have gotten discontinued, I'm asked to find substitute threads.

So, I've developed my own system to keep my projects organized with their respective threads: I make a Thread Card. I always make my Thread Cards at the end of the project, when all stitching is done. Just before I put all my threads back in their respective drawers, I cut and tape snippets of each thread to the card. It gives me a great sense of security to know that I have each project's thread palette in an easily accessible place, should I need to refer to it in the future.



Now, I must confess to you: my cards are rather a mess - not neatly scripted by any means. And I'd like to say that I have them neatly organized in a pretty binder..... but I don't. Rather, I keep them in a scruffy shoe box on a shelf. And let me tell you, I'm rummaging thru that box more times a week than I can count.... so they're definitely a functional tool that works for me.

Anyway, I thought I'd share this organizational idea with you, just in case you've run out of things to do and/or organize in your stitching life!

[Aside: In case you were curious: I found the blank/lined journals in the top photo at several discount places - Office Depot, Marshalls, Ross, TJ Maxx. Browse their book isles and you can sometimes find great journals to write in....]

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?)

What A Web!

I was cruising around the web this weekend, and found a few more interesting stitching/needlepoint blogs to add to my "must read" list. What a treat to find more needlepoint sites.... Isn't it always fascinating, educating and even liberating to see what other stitchers are doing on their canvases?

Here they are:

Stitches and More

The Cape Stitcher

Summer Louise

I really enjoyed looking/reading all of these blogs because they have great detailed photos of their stitching progress. They all provide even more threads, canvases, stitches, and ideas for us to consider as we tackle our own projects....

Which is really one of the best things about sharing things on the web -- not only are we creating something for our OWN enjoyment, but letting other stitchers see what we're doing expands the whole world of stitching, making us all a part of a really, really big stitchers community!