Sweet Treats

 Oh, YUM....

Are you in the mood to stitch up some sweet treats for yourself or someone you love?

Then please  check out my new counted canvaswork pattern, called VALENTINE ORNAMENTS, that I just added to my website today:

These guys are CUTE!!

They are four little valentines (4.75" x 4.75" on 18 ct. canvas; 3.5" x 3.5" on 24 Ct. Congress Cloth) that are especially sweet to stitch up and enjoy.  

As you can see, I stitched two of them on the old-fashioned brown canvas and two of them on the snazzy red canvas, just cuz I couldn't decide which background color I liked best....(and besides, how often do you have a reason to stitch on red canvas?!?)

And, because I couldn't decide which background stitch I liked better, I stitched two of them with a simple Four-Way Stitch (as the top photo shows) and two of them with a richer, more textured background (shown below).  So you can decide which way you'd like to stitch your ornaments!

And you can also decide if you want to stitch individual valentines, or work them in a vertical row for a bellpull - or in a horizontal row for a fun framed project  -  or maybe in a square, for a pillow - sheesh, there's a lot of stitchin' potential with these guys!  (I'm tempted to stitch them up in other colors, too... maybe in hot pinks? lush lavenders? springy pastels? creams & golds? what colors sing for you??)

Any way you decide to work them, these four designs are very fun to stitch up.....

So, if you need a special little treat for yourself this February, please check out my new

VALENTINE ORNAMENTS over on my website.

HAPPY FRIDAY, Everyone!

Hearts & Flowers Friday

 Deep in the midst of winter greyness a splash of color is always appreciated, isn't it?  Here are some flower bouquets that caught my eye on PINTEREST this week, and I thought you'd enjoy them too....and read on, Stitchers, because they tie into an exciting new design I'm releasing this week:

 After the popularity of my HOLIDAY WREATH, Roz Watenamo of Nordic Needle jokingly asked if I was going to start a new wreath series.  I laughed, but my designing mind immediately saw all SORTS of wreaths I could create and stitch.  The first one that really grabbed my attention was a wreath for Valentine's Day.  I started sketching, graphing and stitching and VOILA, here is my new VALENTINE WREATH:

As you can see, I couldn't decide which valentiney color to use - red, pink, or purple - so I used them all, and I just love the mixed colors on this!  This piece COULD be done all in one color family if you wanted to do that.  But I've also included thread options for a purple or pink velvet bow, which would definitely change the look of this multi-color wreath. Or, how about adding a few heart buttons, charms or lockets as extra embellishments?

And let me confess: it was soooooo fun to stitch up! I just loved coming up with compact ribbon designs to fit in the larger hearts. Gotta have a few Rhodes hearts, too.  And I added a few gold cameos on my wreath, to mix in some soft gold.... And padded hearts!  Oh so fun and easy to make with plain ol' pearl cotton.  Here's a close-up look at some of the hearts:

So if you are in the mood to stitch some really fun valentines for yourself or someone you love, please visit my website:www.laurajperindesigns.net and check out this delicious new VALENTINE WREATH!

Happy Friday, Stitchers!

Mini Mystery Monday, April 2013, pt. 2

Did you enjoy working your blackwork flowers in a variegated thread?  Looks pretty different, doesn't it?

The next step is really easy and fast....  Here's the graph to follow:

Work the scalloped edge with 1 strand of your medium solid color. (I was almost going to make it an ecru border, but I thought we'd go with some color; it's always fun to try something new and see if we like the effect.)  Then add the metallic Smyrnas between the scallops. Yes, if you want, you can certainly stitch the Smyrnas first, and then the scallops -- but if you work the scallops first, when you go to stitch the Smyrnas you can push your metallic thread & needle thru your stitched scallops (on the backside) to hide your thread as you move from Smyrna to Smyrna.

Sometimes as you stitch you have to consider your stitch sequences before you dive in and start stitching.  I always try to plan out my stitching so I have something to "tie in to" with my stops and starts and moving the threads around on the canvas.  I use what I have stitched on the canvas to hide my new threads, weaving carefully thru existing stitches.  You know how it goes, Stitchers.... ya gotta be kinda crafty when you work your needlepoint projects!

Ahem... I guess I should warn you that this little design does not have a hard, square, geometric look. Rather, it's got more of a lacy valentine look, or maybe a kind of stitched doily thing going on. Which makes a nice change from the other mystery pieces, don't you think?

Anyway, as you stitch you can see that you've already got the circular floral motifs that you stitched last week.... and now we're adding a softly undulating scalloped edge. 

Stayed tuned for next week's adventure, when we add some more tidbits of color!

Mini Mystery Monday, February, pt. 2

Happy Presidents' Day Weekend, Stitchers!  I hope you've found some extra stitching time today!
Right now, we're going to finish up this little cutie with some fun stitches, so let's get to it...

Did you wonder if there would be a place for hearts in this month's mystery?  Oh, yeah....
Well, here they are in the quarter graph:

Time to add a few rows of satin stitch hearts.  I've alternated the rows by color, but you can alternate the colors within each row if you want.... or you can even try padding some of the hearts by laying a few under-stitches going in the opposite direction, then putting the final diagonal stitches on top, as shown above. 

Add the small smyrna crosses in the crooks of the zig zag rows using 1 strand of your metallic thread. And finally, work another layer of the "fan" stitches around the center diamond area, using 1 strand of your metallic thread, and stitching in every other empty hole that remains on your canvas. 

And pssst, if you want a preview of how the whole piece looks, here's the full graph for you:

When you get all your stitching done, you can add as many (or as few) beads as you want.
And, hey.... how about adding a sweet fimo heart or porcelain heart button in the center -- wouldn't that make an extra-special valentine surprise?!?

So, TA DA, there's this month's short and sweet mystery piece. This would definitely be fun to try on different colored canvases in all sorts of colorways (how about pale pinks or creams? or pastel colors, so it looks like those fun candy hearts?), or maybe on plain white canvas, using all red threads.... However you stitch it, have fun playing with it!!

Mini Mystery Monday, A February Valentine, pt. 1

Here's a little ornament that can be stitched quickly (there will only be two parts to this design) so you can have it finished by next week -- easy peasy!

You'll need just a few threads:
-  a variegated Watercolours thread (pick something valentiney);
-  a #5 pearl cotton solid color that is dark (for the borders);
-  two #5 pearl cotton solid colors that are accent colors - one medium and one light;
-  a metallic thread that matches the medium accent color (it can be a ribbon metallic like Ribbon Floss, Neon Rays+, Kreinik 1/16th Ribbon or a braid like Kreinik #8 Braid);
-  an 8" x 8" piece of canvas - white, eggshell, or any other color you want to play with (you'll see  some of the background when you're done stitching). 

Here's the beginning graph to follow, and again, it's a quarter graph so you can stitch the first quadrant, as shown below, and then turn the graph around to stitch each of the remaining quadrants.

To start stitching, make a hole in the center of your canvas, and then count up 20 threads, to stitch the first diagonal row of triangles (shown in red).  Once you have that first row in place, you can use it to stitch the remaining rows on the graph.

It's much easier to get that first row of triangles in place BEFORE STITCHING THE CENTER EYELET FAN.  Trust me, you want to leave that big center eyelet diamond until LAST.... it's much easier to fill it in AFTER the other rows are in place.  If you want, wait until next week, when the rest of the graph will appear, and you can stitch everything else, before finishing with the center space.

An by the way, when you do stitch the eyelet, place all your stitches going DOWN into the center hole (which you should enlarge as much as possible, because there are going to be a LOT of threads going down into the hole - this graph just shows the first layer!)  And your first stitch should be the VERTICAL ONE.  Then go in every other hole. All the way around the diamond-shaped center. 

Well, go run and get some threads and a piece of canvas.... you'll have this one done in no time at all!  See you next Monday....

WHO-DONE-IT??

Last week I decided to enjoy a leisurely breakfast while perusing the latest issue of my favorite needlepoint magazine, NEEDLEPOINT NOW. Imagine my surprise when I turned a page and found one of my old freebie designs staring up at me in an ad, available in a kit!

Here's the design I'm talking about, and I'm sure you may recognize it because it was also on the cover of the May 2010 ANG Needle Pointers magazine, and you might actually have stitched it up yourself at one time:


I did a double take -- how had this happened without me knowing about it?? And stranger still, why did my design, called "This Heart's For You" have a different designer's name attached to it? Someone named Pat Mazu.... Stranger and stranger!

Breakfast forgotten, I got on the computer first to try and locate designer Pat Mazu, who turns out to live in Indiana. Much later that morning, I finally got to talk to Pat and here's what I found out: she had NO IDEA how her name had gotten attached to my design. She have never seen it before, and was as stumped as I was as to how the her name had gotten involved in the ad. Hmmmm, more detective work was needed! Pat agreed to call the magazine and I agreed to call the store that posted the ad, and we would meet again later to discuss our findings....

After many phone calls to and fro, here's what we were able to find out: first, every bit of content in NEEDLEPOINT NOW is sent back to their contributors and advertisers to proofread and authorize before it is published, so they do everything that's possible to make sure their information is correct; second, at the time the ad was placed, the store owner was in the midst of moving her store AND undergoing emergency surgery, so, needless to say, she was a tad overwhelmed and a few things may have gotten overlooked; thirdly, the store owner assured me that my design was NOT being copied and included in their thread kits (which would be a copyright infringement) and when stitchers inquired about the design, they were told to visit my website and print out the pattern from my "free patterns" page.

So, by the end of this long and unexpected day, I had learned a few new and valuable things that I would like to share with you, dear stitcher....

FIRST OF ALL: I met another designer named Pat Mazu, who was extremely nice, very professional and wonderful to talk to. Please know that she is completely innocent and blameless in this ad mix-up. She was as eager as I was to get to the bottom of this mystery, and when all is said and done, not only did we solve the mystery together, but I feel as if I've made a new friend in Pat!

SECONDLY: I was very glad and relieved to know that the error in the ad was not deliberate, but rather a plain ol' unintentional mistake. And you know... that happens now and again, to all of us at one time or other, since no human on earth is perfect.

And THIRDLY: I would ask all you stitchers out there, when you are visiting your local stitchery stores to double-check that "freebie" patterns are indeed distributed free to you stitchers. Those free charts are my gift to you and you alone, and while I give my permission for them to be taught in free guild meetings, they are not intended to be resold in any way, shape or form.

And LASTLY: it's always good to pause and remember that the relationship that exists between stitchery store, teacher, designer, stitcher and let's add stitchery magazine here too, is a very close and special one. Not one of us by ourselves can exist without all the others. When you think about it, we're all part of one big stitching family. And while we may never meet each other face to face, we all share a common bond and love (and dare I say it, OBSESSION?) for stitching. So at the end of the day, what I say is: LONG MAY WE ALL PROSPER!!!

A Valentine For You!

It's that time of year for flowers and chocolate and . . . valentines!
Here's a quick valentine to stitch up for yourself, or a special someone.


Yes, it's a SQUARE valentine, done in blackwork. (But you can turn it on point, add a tassel, and you've got a sweet little ornament. Also, please forgive my rather sloppy stitching -- I whipped up the model this morning while watching an hour or so of TV, so I could show you how it looks in stitches.)

What's so fun and quick about stitching blackwork is that you can pick and choose the various elements you want to use in your design. I think of blackwork as a mix-n-match type of stitching, because you can play around by adding or subtracting easy elements to create totally different patterns, depending on your needs. Below is a picture of the two different elements that were used to create the whole valentine design. The GREEN ARROW shows the first element. The ORANGE ARROW shows the second element.


Either of these elements can be stitched by themselves -- imagine a row of either element, to be used as a border around a small sampler. Or create a row of these elements in a band sampler. Or they could be stitched in a monochrome color as a background pattern for a painted canvas. And for this valentine, by combining both of those simple elements, I've created the more complex elements shown on the right side.

I've stitched this on 25 ct. linen Congress Cloth (so it has a slubby look) with a variegated Wildflowers-type thread. The variegated thread adds a bit of "color confusion" for your eyes.... If you stitched this in a solid color, it would look more traditional and quieter! Also, because I stitched it so small, on 25 ct Congress Cloth, the design is rather bunched together. For a more lacy and airy look, try stitching on Hardanger cloth (22 ct), Aida cloth, any evenweave fabric, or even 18 ct canvas. You can also move the elements further apart, by just a thread or two...

And you can see that I've added a few gold beads for a little "bling".... and there's also a bit of red metallic stitched in the small valentine flowers. The fun thing about blackwork is: you can add as much or as little accent colors/beads as you want. You can be the designer!

So, if you want to play around with this little blackwork valentine, please check out the FREE PATTERNS page on my website and print out the page for your stash.

Anyway, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY and I hope you enjoy some special stitching time this weekend...( some chocolate and flowers would be nice, too!)

Valentine Threads

Several stitchers have asked me what threads I used on my "freebie" valentine model that I posted a few weeks ago.

Here are the threads I used:

First, I used a variegated thread (a #8 pearl cotton) that I dyed myself, so there's nothing QUITE like it out there....however, if you use Wildflowers (a single ply cotton from Caron Collection) in color 025 - "Holiday" or even 005 - "Nefertiti" (has some blues), you'll come close.

Then I used DMC #5 pearl cotton 436 for the gold solid color.

And also two of my most favorite soft metallic ribbon colors: Ribbon Floss 148-047 - "honey copper" for the gold; and Ribbon Floss 148-039 - "wine/red" for the deep red.

For the finer gold grid behind the heart, I used one of Kreinik's #4 Braids, in a vintage gold, 002V... but you can use any gold that you have on hand.

I hope this gives you some extra inspiration for stitching those valentines!

(And after I stitched this valentine in red and gold, I thought, "Gee, wouldn't that look pretty in gold and blue?.... or even gold and rose?" There are lots of color possibilities with this one, so have fun with it....)

Happy Pre-Valentine's Day!

So, here's my finished valentine for this year, stitched up from the freebie pattern on my website:


I really thought I was going to do a "winter white" valentine on the red canvas. But then I was browsing through a magazine and saw this red and gold cup and saucer.


And I thought, "Ooooooh, wouldn't a gold valentine look scrumptious on that red canvas?"

So, I pulled some red and gold threads and started stitching right away.
And, in my typical tweeky designer way, I made a few modifications to the original graph as I was stitching.

Check out my heart pattern - Version 2 - on my website, if you want to stitch another heart with a slightly different pattern from the first version.



Oh, and if you want to try a PINK version of the valentine, I'll offer you this magazine photo as inspiration!

(Can't you just see a "winter white" valentine on pink canvas, with just a touch of soft pink metallics?!? Oh, YUM, another deliciously fun idea....)

Two Hardanger Valentines

Well, here's another old pattern that hasn't seen the light of day for lo, these many years, called TWO RED VALENTINES:


I like doing Hardanger. It's exciting and rather dangerous.... you know, CUTTING the fabric after you've done a lot of the stitching! Scary stuff, right?
But of course, I can't do Hardanger in ONE color. Nooooooo, I always want to see what it will look like in different colors - or better yet, in a variegated color!
[Aside: Yup, what can I tell you, except I'm afraid I'm totally addicted to variegated threads. Can't. Stop. Using them. Ever.]

So here was my attempt to see if I could make two different "valentines" that were the same size, but with different designs that incorporated 1) Hardanger motifs, 2) blackwork motifs, 3) woven ribbon borders with wrapped roses, 4) two different variegated color palettes, and 5) two distinctly different canvas colors.

One has a more traditional hearts & flowers theme:



Here it is up-close:


The other has a floral theme:


And here's this one close up:


And, if you're interested, both of these designs were worked on 25 ct. Congress Cloth; and each design measures approx. 7.5" by 7.5".

Are Your Hearts All Afire Yet?

Keeping with this week's valentiney heart theme, I thought I'd show you some of my other heart designs. The pattern above is an older one called HEARTS AFIRE. I just wanted to do a bunch of heart shapes floating around like balloons and fill them with different composite stitch patterns. It's kinda silly really, but it was fun, too.

My favorite thing about this design is the lovely Watercolours skein I used: 028 - "Confetti". [Aside: don't you just love the names of all these threads? I think they add a magical allure to each thread, making them even MORE irresistable...] It has a yummy mix of dusty pinks, with pale golds, greens, teals, lavenders...so you can pick and choose the contrasting colors you want to highlight. (Of course, I can't guarantee that current dyelots are the same as the one I used many years ago, but chances are "Confetti" is still a happy mix of mid-range pastel colors.)

Here's an up-close look at part of the pattern:


As you can see in the close-up shot, I also stitched it on eggshell canvas that has gold metallic flecks in it. A good "cheater" canvas, when you don't want to stitch all the background areas.

If you ever get a chance to pick up a piece of this fancy canvas, do so... it makes a great background for ornaments when you leave the background unstitched - because it still looks elegant! (FYI: This metallic canvas also comes in white with silver metallic flecks, and white with opalescent flecks - like snow. It's available in 18 ct. mono canvas, as well as 25 ct. Congress Cloth.)

A Friday Treat

Last weekend, for Super Bowl Sunday, I had planned to have an all-day stitch fest (sort of a stitch blitz, if you get my drift...) Instead, I ended up with my laptop on my lap, designing several little projects, and leapfrogging back and forth between Animal Planet's PUPPY BOWL and Sci Fi's GHOST HUNTERS marathon. Never did get any stitching done.... Go figure.

Anyway, one of the little projects I graphed out was a fun little valentine treat that I'm sharing with you today.....in plenty of time for you stitch up for Valentine's Day next week, if you're interested, and need something else to stitch (ha, ha).

Here's a glimpse at the graph:


You can print out the complete pattern on my website, in the FREE PATTERNS page. The apprx. size is 4.5" x 4.5" on 18 ct canvas.

I haven't had the chance to stitch it up yet, and I don't give you any thread names, only the most basic color options. But I think this will be a fun pattern to play around with. At first, I thought it would be fun to stitch in assorted pinks or reds on a neutral background - like a traditional valentine. But on second thought, I remembered I have a piece of red mono canvas that I've never stitched on, and wouldn't it be fun to reverse the colors, and stitch a winter white valentine on red canvas (or any other dark-colored canvas)?

And of course, there are all sorts of ways to mix & match thread types. You can use pearl cottons for the scalloped border, a variegated thread for the inside diamond pattern, add some metallic sparkle (whichever is your favorite - Neon Rays, Ribbon Floss, Flair, etc.), work the background pattern in fine threads (like #8 pearl cotton, or maybe a fine silk) to give it a delicate lacy look..... any of these possibilities will work in this design. And for the center heart: how about creating a padded heart? Or maybe attaching a heart charm? A ceramic heart button? And if you're a bead person, there are lots of places to add your favorite beads. I'm telling you, once you start playing around with this design, there are all sorts of fun possibilities!

I still haven't decided how I will stitch my valentine, but I'm looking forward to playing around with it this weekend. Hope you enjoy stitching one, too!

February

Now that it's February, has everyone started working on their hearts and valentines?

I thought I'd share some of my older valentine designs....Just to get us all in the right mood!

Many years ago,I went through quite a feverish blackwork phase, and one of my first (and very elaborate) attempts was this VICTORIAN VALENTINE:


I was inspired to try and recreate an ornate and frilly Victorian Valentine using red cotton floss (1 ply), a fine red Kreinik blending filament, a fine gold metallic, and simple blackwork patterns. The border areas were rather tedious, with lots of repetitious patterns:


But the valentine itself was fun, stitched in a large flowery blackwork pattern; and couched with a fat braid I twirled myself of pearl cotton thread. And I contrasted it with a rather simple and much smaller background pattern:


And after I finished stitching the valentine, I realized it needed a center focal point, so I attached a big acrylic jewel. I guess I could also have attached a gold or brass charm in the center. An old-fashioned heart locket would look lovely, wouldn't it?

A Creative Eye

Most people, when they see a photo like this in a magazine would be looking at the little boy and saying, "Oh, how cute...." When I look at this picture, I'm looking at the patterns on the sweater and saying,"Ooooh, those patterns would really look good in a stitchery design..."

And I actually did keep flipping back in the magazine to look at the sweater in this photo....and it became one of the sources of my next nordic designs: NORDIC VALENTINE. But I wanted to use bright valentine-y colors: red and blue and green. So I found a happy variegated Watercolours thread: "Passion" and began stitching, keeping focused on the hearts/valentine theme, but also incorporating other simple and fun nordic-type borders. And here's the final piece:


I'm thinking I'll turn it into a pillow...so now I need to find some happy fabric that compliments this design....and sew it up!