High Summer

This is a small Rebecca Wood canvas I started stitching last summer, but set it down at some point, and forgot about it.

This year, I remembered it, pulled it out of my stash and decided to get it finished for this Fourth of July.

Cute, huh?

It's actually part of a set of characters that make up an Independence Day collection -- don't know if it's still available, but it's really, really cute and I just fell in love with this little boy and his dog in particular....

And I certainly had fun stitching him up - nothing fancy, mostly basketweave stitch. I decided NOT to put in a background, as you can see. I'm going to just frame it in a simple silver frame, then enjoy looking at it the rest of the summer!

Check out many more of Rebecca Wood's wonderful canvases at www.RebeccaWoodDesigns.com

Healdsburg Celebrates

As I've walked around Healdsburg this week, I've taken some pictures of how some houses are decorated for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend, and thought you'd enjoy seeing them.....









I hope wherever you are, you have a Grand and Glorious Independence Day!

Pure Americana!

Here's a little seasonal color to get you in the mood for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend.....

Here's the first red, white and blue quilt I designed, called STARS & BARS (and yeah, it has a bit of gold in it, too). Let's face it, these stars are just plain fun to stitch in ANY color combination:


Then a few years later, I came up with another red, white and blue quilt I called STAR SPANGLED QUILT, which has a good bit of gold - but it's metallic this time:


This is LIBERTY STAR, one of my all-time favorites, with a quilty version of bunting.I think this is a great design because not only does it have lots of fun stitch patterns in it, but it also manages to look traditional AND contemporary at the same time:


And hey, let's not forget this traditional favorite, the good ol' CLASSIC LOG CABIN:


And do you love firework displays? I do. And I wanted to try and create some fireworks - stitchery style - so I designed my INDEPENDENCE DAY:


And WOO HOO!...for a real firecracker, sparkler effect, you gotta love this PINWHEEL SPARKLER pattern. It reminds me of kids sitting on the curb, waving pinwheels and flags as they watch a parade pass by. This design just sings out with lots of colors, movement and razz matazz:


And last, but certainly not least, is my INDEPENDENCE INN, which says it all:


Hope this gets you in the Spirit for stitching - as well as celebrating our freedom and independence!

Duel in the Sun

Every morning Katie looks out the window hoping to see the squirrels playing on my lawn or up in the trees. She positively quivers if she smells squirrels and nothing will do but I let her out to sniff around. (I always wait until the squirrels are up in the tree, however...) She beelines it to the tree, sniffing furiously and sometimes barking and howling with frustration that the squirrels have eluded her yet again.

Here's the big cedar tree on my front lawn (i.e.: the battleground) with Katie
at its foot, looking up for her nemesis - THE SQUIRREL.


In the background you can see a big oak tree that the squirrels also like to play in, as well as an assortment of other redwood, fir and walnut trees in the neighborhood.

This morning, there was the usual standoff between Squirrel and Katie.
Here's Squirrel, high above and safely watching Katie doing her crazy dog dance around the yard:


And here's Katie, waiting for Squirrel to make a move, any move....


Alas... today, like every other day, Squirrel has wisely scampered away to scold and play another day. But Katie will be waiting and dreaming of squirrels in the meantime.....

Ocean Waves

This is one of my earlier quilt designs called OCEAN WAVES. Originally, I stitched this model with Rainbow Gallery's Overture V61 - "Ocean Blues" and a palette of blue #5 pearl cotton threads.

Last year, Caron Collection came out with some yummy new thread colors, including one called "Appalachia" (236). I thought it would be a good thread to use in a quilt, so I asked my mother if she'd like to stitch up another model of OCEAN WAVES, but this time using the new "Appalachia".

Before I show you my mother's completed piece, I want to show you the individual Ocean Wave block:


You can see here how the block is made up of various sizes of triangles, and how there are two alternating color sections, with one of the sections using the variegated thread. A very easy way to stitch this design would be to just use a variegated thread and alternate it with one solid color....

Now here's what four Ocean Wave blocks look like together:


Pretty sweet little quilt, huh? And if you want, try picking out the variegated color - plus the five other solid colors that are used as accent colors. Can you find them all?

And TA DA! Here's the complete version of my Mom's OCEAN WAVES, which has nine full blocks, plus a lovely wavy border:


I think this version has a warm, summery feel to it - which is rather different from the cool blues of the original. So if you're heading to the beach this summer, you might want to consider this project for catchin' some waves!

A Walk in the Hills

This past weekend, my dog Katie and I went exploring on a new trail that we've been hearing about: the "Healdsburg Preserve" located in the hills above the north end of town.

It's a lovely parcel of land (about 150 acres) that has been "preserved forever" (so says the entrance sign) and overlooks Healdsburg and the meandering Russian River Valley.


Katie and I struck out early in the morning and hit the dog-friendly trail that goes up, up, up through lots of oak trees. When we finally got to the top of the hill, we had this gorgeous view to the north:


and this beautiful view to the east:


That patch of blue water on the right is the Russian River as it twists and bends through the valley, heading (eventually) to the Pacific Ocean to the west. On the left-hand side of the picture you can see a few of the lush grape vineyards that line the valley.

We rested a bit at the top of the hill, looking out at the panoramic view. Then back down we went, listening to the birds and admiring all the different oak trees that lined the trail. Katie was on the lookout for squirrels and deer; I was on the lookout for poison oak....


But we both enjoyed the morning hike; it was a terrific way to start the weekend. And next time, I'll definitely bring some water so we can explore even farther. I've heard that there's a pond on the preserve, so I look forward to finding it....

A Gentle Breeze is Blowing...

Here's a canvas I recently finished stitching (still has to be framed):


It's a Curtis Boehringer canvas that I fell in love with a few years ago.

I've always wanted to stitch a velveteen rabbit of my own, so that's how I stitched this one - I used Petite Very Velvet for the whole rabbit.
Here's a close-up:


I had intended to stitch the flowers in dimensional stitches (padded satin and long satin stitch) and God knows I tried. But no matter how many times I tried - and with lots of different thread types, I might add - I just couldn't get it to look good. So I ripped out (I lost track of how many times) and finally opted to stitch everything with Ye Olde Basketweave Stitche.

And what the photo doesn't show is that all the daffodils and leaves and pink ribbons are stitched with a softly metallic Ribbon Floss, so there are subtle metallic glints on everything that isn't bunny.

And yes, I added the thin wavy breeze lines by backstitching them with a fine metallic thread.

And because I didn't want to stitch a background, instead I used a soft blue colored pencil to CAREFULLY scribble around the bunny and then smear (with ye olde index finger) to blur the soft blue background.

One of the nicest things about Curtis Boehringer canvases is how well they lend themselves to Basic Basketweave. Since the designer uses his signature swirls on everything, it's easier to stitch them in Basketweave, and just embellish a few things in accent stitches, rather than try and figure out how to incorporate lots of fancy stitches. Another stress-free option is to Basketweave Stitch everything - BUT USE LOTS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF THREADS - and how fun would that be?!?

And because his designs are so beautifully composed and the images are so graphically pleasing, you can basketweave to your heart's content, and not feel guilty about it. Sometimes simple IS best.

If you're interested in seeing other Curtis Boehringer designs, check out his website (www.curtisboehringer.com) or browse around in ebay, where his canvases appear from time to time...