Summertime Stitching

I was thinking about what stitching in the summertime means to me. Do you ever think about things like that when you are sitting quietly and stitching on your latest project?

I think about how nice it is to sit outside and stitch and listen to the birds and the outside traffic.... sipping a favorite cool drink and feel the soft summer breezes on your face while you focus on your stitching.

(Now I'm not going to mention all those pesky bugs or triple-digit heat or the phone that rings just as you get comfortable or the barking dog next door that won't shut up.... well, you know those summer irritations well enough, don't you? This is a nostalgic look at how summertime stitching is SUPPOSED to be.)

And I think about certain colors that seem "summery" to me. Now that it's "high summer" I think of bright yellows - and what could be better than pairing yellow with sky blue? Just like my SUMMER DAYS quilt design, shown above.

Or how about sunflowers? Aren't they the perfect summer flower? Tall and sturdy, big, bright and cheerful, faces always optimistically turned towards the sun... Here's another yellow quilt design of mine called SUNFLOWER STAR, which is could be a stylized version of a field of sunflowers, don't you think?

When I look at this design I imagine a group of midwest quilters working around a large quilt that depicts the farmland all around them. Maybe they're making it for a friend who's getting married soon or as a raffle quilt for the county fair.... and speaking of county fairs, what about this golden design called STATE FAIR that has lots of red/blue/gold ribbon motifs woven throughout the pattern:

(I don't know about you, but thinking about fairs makes me think about corn dogs and cotton candy and ice cold lemonade...)

But my all-time favorite summertime design is AMBER WAVES, with the rippling patterns throughout the piece in rich golds and greens and a hint of rose as well. I have this piece hanging in my hallway and when I look at it as I walk by, I remember how much I enjoyed stitching each of the patterns in this piece:

I hope when you're stitching this summer, you give some thought to what your favorite summer pieces are. Do you have them hanging in your house? Did you stitch them for friends? And what colors do YOU associate with summer? Do you crave certain colors when you pick your projects for summer? Anyway, I hope you are able to get outside and do some summertime stitching real soon!

Oh, My -- It's Christmas In July!

I'm celebrating the finish of a new Christmas Tree design that I've completed far in advance of the actual holiday (which is something I'm not usually very good at) and I thought I'd share it with you early -- hence my CHRISTMAS IN JULY celebration... Woo Hoo!!
And here it is, my new CHRISTMAS TREE 2011:


I got the inspiration for the colors on this tree from a photo in a christmas magazine that had a tree with red and gold and PURPLE ornaments. And I thought, "Wow, that's different... Wouldn't that be a fun color combination to try on a stitched tree?" So I played around with some fun, big, composite patterns and just went to town. I enjoyed each of the "patchwork" patterns in this tree. Here's a few up-close:


The big ol' Rhodes Stars are all stitched with soft metallic Ribbon Floss threads (although I also list Kreinik 1/16th Ribbons). And the variegated green thread that makes up the tree body is a lovely evergreen ThreadworX Overdyed #5 Pearl (51048). It's a nice BIG tree too (finished size is 11" x 12"). With BIG hanging ornaments, like those shown at the top of the post. And at the bottom of the tree is a row of "patchwork" packages to complete the scene:


I stitched my tree on a 16" x 16" piece of 18 ct. canvas in sandstone, but you could surely stitch it on any color canvas that tickles your holiday fancy!

So.... if you're in the mood to get some holiday stitching done early, please visit my website for more information on my CHRISTMAS TREE 2011.

A New Abstract

It's time to reveal my latest abstract design in the IMPRESSIONIST COLLECTION - I call it "FLUORITE FANTASY":


I was inspired to create this diamond-studded design because of a handful of favorite crystals called "fluorites" I got many years ago. They are naturally formed octahedrons in cool colors like teal and purple, and they look like this:



And when I was stitching on FLUORITE FANTASY I tried to use diamond-shaped patterns as much as possible, to reinforce the crystal's shape and form:


I've also added lots of crystal beads (which you can't really see in this photo, and in addition, I've added a few small purple jewels in the smaller diamonds - which I didn't show in this particular photo...)

And of course, in this piece I also use one of my favorite techniques: stitching the same patterns in different thread weights (thick and thin) to create the illusion of space and distance within the design:


So, if you love stitching in purples and teals, and want to create an asymetrical counted canvaswork piece, this might be a nice challenge for you! Please visit my website for more information on FLUORITE FANTASY...

Friday Flowers: Hello, Summer!

I hope you're all enjoying the start of summer -- I certainly am. And I thought I'd gather a bouquet of sun-drenched flowers to share with you this Friday:











HAPPY FRIDAY!

Red, White & Blue - I Am For You!

Gosh, time flies when you have your head down over scroll bars and are crazily stitching on one piece after the other! That's what I've been doing these past few weeks, so please forgive my blogging absence. I've been so focused on developing lots of new ideas, plus finishing up a few projects that I just couldn't stop to chat. Instead I've been flitting from project to project in sort of a stitching frenzy (can you relate?!?)....

Anyway, it's time to reveal my first finished summer project to you. TA DA! it's a RED, WHITE & BLUE PANEL.


I can't believe I didn't think of doing this earlier, but when I was leafing thru my notebooks for more long panel ideas, it suddenly occured to me that a red, white and blue one would be so fun to stitch up that I had to drop everything, cut a piece of canvas, pull some threads, and start stitching.

I chose three big, easy patterns that stitched up really quick and also were fun to work. (I got this piece finished inside of a week). My thinking was to get the pattern all done and released before the Fourth of July, so I'm pleased to say I've met my self-imposed deadline with time to spare!

Here's the red section up-close:


The zig zag foundation is done with a variegated red - Watercolours 219,"Cardinal" - with Rhodes Ovals done in a soft metallic Ribbon Floss and Eyelet Ovals done with a red DMc #5 pearl cotton.

Here's the white section up-close:


I chose a simple bargello wave that uses three different soft metallic Ribbon Floss colors that alternate with plain white DMC #5 pearl cotton.

And here's the blue section up-close:


There's a variegated blue star foundation that uses a new Watercolours thread - 281, "Hudson Bay" (from which I cut out about an inch of the brightest blue of the thread, to stitch with the beautiful flag blues in the rest of the threads.)

I wish you could see the actual piece, because it just sparkles all over, what with all the red, white, blue, and gold metallics used in the piece.

And what I like about having it hanging on my office wall is that it really looks good from a distance; even though there isn't any real focal point in the piece, it's interesting to realize that those red, white & blue colors ARE the focal point, and they are so emotional and evocative in and of themselves that it becomes a simple but very powerful piece to display. (Although it has occured to me that this piece would also provide a great background to embellish with American charms - maybe some large gold stars, perhaps? Another stitching friend of mine suggested to would make a great banner project as well...)

So.... if you're in the mood to do a little flag waving this Fourth of July, this RED, WHITE & BLUE PANEL might be a fun project to get you in the right spirit.... Check out my website for full pattern and ordering details.

FYI: Just to Clarify

A blog reader recently asked me an interesting question about my new shadow stitching cyber class, PETUNIAS, and I thought I'd share it with you as well...
Marcy asked if my shadow stitching involves blending 2 or more thread colors in one needle, and then changing thread colors at every color change on the canvas.

My answer is: No, no, no! (That sounds like a fascinating technique, however, but way too much work for these little canvases...)

For my PETUNIAS I use 1 ply of a stranded silk and work one color over the whole flower (in this case, the center petunia). I use a slightly different color on the corner petunias (which you can see are a bit darker). The background is also worked with 1 ply of one green color. Whatever happens after that...just happens.

To me, the fun of using shadow stitching technique on these flower images is to see what happens as the thread color blends with the canvas colors underneath. Similar colors merge together; different colors start to compete with each other and create unexpected color "vibrations". For example: on the center petunia above, look at the glowing bright pink center of the upper petal near the bullions... That brightness comes from the canvas underneath, and shows through the pink thread on top.

Granted, using just one color over a detailed canvas mutes a lot of the crisp details and blurs the image overall. But it also takes on a watercolor wash over the whole piece, which is an effect I really like. Then, it's up to the stitcher to embellish whichever details you want to highlight - like the bullions in the petunia centers and the vein lines in the petals. Overall I think it looks kind of magical, don't you? (I should also mention that my challenge as a designer is to find the right images that will support this simple shadow technique. So currently, I'm looking thru my flower photos and selecting images that have lots of large areas that will work best for my one color technique.)

So...in a nutshell Marcy -- I have to say that my shadow stitching is pretty darn simple - one color per area, basically. Because, frankly, I like my stitching projects to be as fun as possible. When I started experimenting with these small flower images, I wanted to try something different, but I also wanted it to be a fast project as well. I consider these shadow stitching canvases to be fun "breather" projects that can be done quickly in-between other complex, long-term projects (and we all have plenty of those waiting to be done, don't we?).

Anyway, I hope this bit of clarification gives you more information about my PETUNIAS, and I hope it tempts you to give it a try!

Another Cyber Class

I never promised you a rose garden...

but here's the other cyber class I promised you this month and I'm calling it my GARDEN GATE:


I just LOVE stitching gardens, and this one is an especially sweet little 6" x 8" project worked on 24 ct. green Congress Cloth. I really enjoyed working with a handful of subtly variegated flosses from ThreadworX that helped create a more realistic garden. If you look closely, you'll see that the lawn, bushes, and flowers are all done with those variegated threads.

In order to make the climbing roses a bit larger in scale than the rest of the french knot flowers, I chose to use Ribbon Floss for the french and bullion knots, and they really look like big fat roses! Also, the opalescent Ribbon Floss also give the roses a soft sparkle of dewdrops - a very magical and pleasing effect.

Here's a peek at the piece up-close:


And after I finished stitching all my pink roses, I realized the piece would also look terrific with pale yellow roses too -- so stitchers can choose which color they prefer to go along with their delphiniums: pink or yellow. And, I've also included a "WELCOME" script that can be added to the bottom of the design, since I thought this would make a lovely welcome sampler in any home.

I consider GARDEN GATE to be a more intermediate-level project. The stitcher needs to be comfortable working embellishment stitches (french knots, bullions, lazy daisy stitches) on top of stitched areas, as well as having the confidence to add lots of those stitches in random patterns.

Random stitching often creates anxiety in stitchers... but this is one project that DOESN'T need all the surface stitches to be precise and perfectly aligned - au contraire, mon amie! In this case, the sloppier and more irregular the better. I know it can be scary to start (there's always that fear of making terrible mistakes) but once you get started working all those knots, you start to loosen up and actually have fun with it.... (you know, it can be very freeing plopping all those bullions and french knots hither and yon, without worrying about how neat they all are!)

So, if this GARDEN GATE cyber class (which starts at the end of July) gets your garden green thumb itching to start stitching, please visit my website for more information and the class registration form.