A New Pattern For June

I love the dianthus flower in all its many forms...

So when I was thinking about creating a flowery bargello pattern for the summer, the classic "pinks" flower came into my mind, and I was off and stitching!

So now I can share with you my new pattern for June, BARGELLO AND CARNATIONS:

It was a sweet joy to work on this piece, with my most favorite pink and green colors, against a very cool pale blue canvas (it could also be done on pewter, sage green or eggshell canvas as well). The finished size is 10.5" x 10.5" on 18 ct. canvas.  It uses a handful of #5 pearl cottons and a #8 pearl cotton for the background stitching.  Here's an up-close look at the individual flower (really easy stitching, I tell ya), plus a bit of the bargello, background, and border:

I've also included thread choices for a red or blue variation... just in case you prefer red carnations instead of pink ones!  And the blue version could also represent those summery blue cornflowers...

This time around, I decided to use a silver metallic accent, instead of the usual gold metallic, but I'm including BOTH silver and gold round beads in the pattern, so if you prefer gold accents, you'll have the matching beads for it, too.

The pattern also gives you the option of adding a stitched area outside the octagonal corners, if you wanted to frame this piece without getting a specially cut mat.  Just continue stitching the 4-way background stitch in the corner areas, and you have a squared piece to frame -- instead of a more expensive octagonal one!

Anyway, if you like smelling lots of delicious carnations, like I do, please visit my website for all the information regarding my latest design, BARGELLO AND CARNATIONS.

Hardanger, Anyone?

Now that the warm days of summer are fast approaching, I thought I'd share some light and airy pieces with you.... Several years ago, I played around with some traditional Hardanger elements, but added a few of my own design elements -- like a bit of blackwork and a few embroidery motifs, such as lazy daisy stitches, wrapped roses, and eyelets.  Add a sweet, delicate ribbon border and you have this piece, BLUE RIBBON SAMPLER:

 It's worked on eggshell 24 ct. Congress Cloth, and one of the funnest things about stitching it was using a fine variegated thread, like Wildflowers 147 ("Winter Sky") for the kloster work.  Here's a look at the elements up-close:

I enjoyed stitching up the first Hardanger piece so much, I designed a companion piece, using a slightly different color palette, called WILDFLOWER SAMPLER:
 

This piece is also worked on eggshell 24 ct. Congress Cloth, but uses the variegated Caron Wildflowers 088 ( "Mountain Meadow") with a soft sage green border color.  Here's what it looks like up-close:

 
So if you're in the mood for a softer, lighter project, that is worked on a finer canvas, please visit my website for more information about either of these unique Hardanger designs for your next summer project! 

 

And.... HAPPY FRIDAY!

My Newest Stitch Guide

Before winter recedes completely from our memory, I want to share my latest stitch guide with you: HEY YA! by Sandra Gilmore: 
 

  
A while ago, one of the stitchers at Fleur de Paris asked me if I would be interested in doing a stitch guide for this canvas, and when I saw how cute it was, I totally agreed to stitch it up...  This little canvas (only 8.25" x 9.25") was so fun, and the snowman so jolly that I just couldn't resist!

I used lots of the shiny, shimmery Ribbon Floss on this piece -- it's everywhere: the snowman, the hat, the face, the border... plus I used the soft merino wool Bella Lusso for his scarf and mittens; and I couldn't resist sneaking in some boucle thread for the small evergreen tree in his arm.  I used a "swirly sky" background pattern, and had lots of fun coming up with a fun (and easy) border treatment:

So, if you want to get an early start on NEXT WINTER'S projects, this might be a fun one to add to your stash!

If you are interested in getting only the HEY YA! stitch guide, please visit my website: www.laurajperindesigns.net.  If you want to purchase the stitch guide along with the canvas, please contact your local stitchery store so they can order them both for you....

It's Iris Time!

I have a few clusters of iris in by backyard, 

and they've been putting on quite a show in my garden this week, 

and as always, I'm fascinated by their delicate beauty, precise markings, and deep rich colors:

 

And then I remembered a piece I stitched two years ago, 

called "FLEUR-DE-LIS" for a springtime cyber class:

 Oooh, la, la!  This royal French flower was such a pleasure to stitch! 

Lots of interesting (but not difficult) composite stitch patterns,

 and a central iris motif that is surprisingly easy to create.

So, alors.... I thought it would be fun to offer FLEUR-DE-LIS again as a cyber class. 

Stitchers get to choose between two color palettes - BLUE or PURPLE:

The BLUE palette (on the left) is built around Watercolours 289 - "Lexi's Blues" and 

the PURPLE palette (on the right)  is built around Watercolours 006 - "Amethyst"....

both use #5 pearl cottons, a variegated cotton for the background, and a few

fun metalllics for a little bit of bling -- how yummy is that!?!

Registration for this class runs from April 26th through June 1st, and the class will start in July 2014.

If you are interested in stitching this piece in July, please visit my website

 and read all the cyber class details... merci beaucoup!

and.... HAPPY FRIDAY!

Friday Flowers: Southern Gardens

 

 

I'm looking forward to watching The Masters in Augusta this weekend.  I'm planning to do a lot of stitching on several in-progress designs while watching this beautiful golfing event....and while I stitch, I just love getting glimpses of the velvety greens, and most especially, the azaleas and dogwoods in full bloom. 

Recently, I showed you my newest flower collage, AZALEA COLLAGE, which is the perfect piece for this weekend:

But I'm also reminded of an old favorite piece of mine called SOUTHERN GARDEN, which I've hung up in my hallway, to enjoy this spring.  I've revamped the pattern, so the charts are now in color (one is a foundation graph, and one is the flower placement graph):

I especially love the wrought iron fence and gate in this piece....I modified some blackwork patterns to fit for the fence and arching arbor... 

...and the masses of flowers - azaleas, dogwoods, camellias, and wisteria - are created with assorted textural stitches (lazy daisy, bullions, french knots).

   Yummy!  This is one way I get to enjoy those favorite spring blooms just a little bit longer...

So if watching The Masters this weekend gets you in a "Southern" mood for stitching some flowers, please browse my "Secret Garden Collection" at my website: www.laurajperindesigns.net.  And Happy Friday!

Need a Little Spring??

"Spring has sprung,

The grass has riz;

I wonder where

Them bunnies is?"

Ooooooh, I've got bunnies.... and chicks.... decorated eggs... spring flowers....

and just in time for Easter, too!

It's my brand new pattern, called SPRINGTIME RIBBONS:

 Boy, is this a fun one to stitch!

Lots of fuzzy little bunnies and chicks.. I mean, how cute is that?

  

I stitched the bunnies and checks with the very soft Bella Lusso merino wool (but you could also use pearl cotton or floss).  And check out those cute little eggs!   Two different styles, but very easy to stitch...

I had a hard time deciding on which spring colors to use in this piece, especially since I used Watercolours 270, "Easter Egg" as the foundation for my palette.  Should I use mostly pinks? blues? lavenders?  Tough to pick a favorite.... so I decided to mix them all into the design for a very colorful spring basket!

Same with the choice of canvas: I could have done it on the pink canvas, the light blue canvas, the lavender canvas, or the sage green canvas, but frankly, I was curious to see what it would look like as a "white-on-white" color scheme, so I went with the eggshell canvas with gold flecks.  This finished model looks just like a yummy Easter cake.  Or like the cover of a big box of Easter chocolates.  In any event, you can choose your favorite color of canvas for this piece and it will look totally YUMMY, whichever color you pick!

And if you like stitching ribbons, like I do, you've got three different ribbons to work up, with three different floral treatments - not hard,at all, just plain fun!  I chose to use a different color on each ribbon, but if you have a favorite springy color, you could certainly do all the ribbons in the same color family.  Just something to consider....

Anyway, if you are craving a pastel treat for a springtime project, please check out my sweet new SPRINGTIME RIBBONS on my website!

A New Flower Collage!

 Springtime comes early in Northern California.  Our daffodils have already bloomed, and the flowering cherry and pear trees have already lost their blossoms and are leafing out this week; even my wisteria is just starting to open its purple flowers.... 

To celebrate the return of spring, I've been working on a new flower collage, since I haven't done one of those in a very long time!  And what better flower to highlight this season than the AZALEA COLLAGE:

I guess I've been craving lots of pinks and greens this month, since many of my projects seem to feature those colors -- (oh, yum, they are my favorite color combination, to tell the truth)...

Here's a look at some of the fun stitching sections up-close:

It's always fun to work on these collages, since you get to stitch swatches of several lovely stitch patterns, plus it's always fun for me to think up new ribbon patterns.  This 9.5" x 9.5" piece is worked up on 18 ct. mono canvas, in the serene Santa Fe Sage Green color.  It uses a skein of Watercolours 55 - "cerise" with a bunch of matching DMC #5 pearl cottons, flosses, a few metallic Ribbon Floss colors, and a variegated ThreadworX floss for the leafy green background.  All in all, a very fun piece to stitch up and it definitely satisfied my craving for lots of luscious pinks and greens!!

If you are looking for a tempting floral design to get you in a springy mood, please visit my website for all the ordering info on this delicious new AZALEA COLLAGE!