Beachy Blues!

I was in the mood to stitch something fun and easy and colorful.... so I sat down and created a perfect project for a summery day at the beach; I call it SEASIDE BLUES.

Of course, the first thing I had to do was find just the right Watercolours variegated thread to build my palette from, and I chose 207 - "Bermuda Reef", which is absolutely perfect for this design, don't you agree?  Add in a handful of cool blues and aquas in #5 pearl cottons and my fav Ribbon Flosses (Yum) and you have a really fun design to work on this summer!

Here's a look at the easily stitched blocks in the center area, with their slightly shimmery metallic centers:

I hadn't stitched a quilt design in quite a while, so it was a pleasure to work with easy diagonal satin stitches that moved quickly over the canvas; these quilt designs are definitely "no-stress" projects!
 I also wanted to add a bit of beachy bling as well, so I snuck in some shimmery Ribbon Floss colors for cool accent touches.  (Although, this design would work well in other colors as well: how about bright primary colors for a pillow in a child's room?  Maybe warm fall colors for the upcoming Autumn months.... Or even soft pastels for a springy look?)

Anyway, if you're in the mood for a summer project you can take to the beach for a fun "no-brainer" project, please check out my new SEASIDE BLUES pattern that is available on my website under the AMERICAN QUILT COLLECTION.

Happy Fourth!

Hope you find time to stitch during this festive Fourth of July weekend!

A Juicy New Cyber Class

Summer can be hot...

Summer can be cool...

Summer can be bright...

Summer can be sweet...

And to celebrate all of those things, I'm sharing a brand new cyber class with you, called

ORANGE BLOSSOM TIME.

Oh, YUM!!

This is a sweet little counted canvaswork piece (apprx. 8" x 8") done on 18 ct. eggshell canvas.

I think of these small projects as mini samplers of fun and easy stitches:

 nothing too hard or too big,

but just right for something to stitch outside on the patio, on the beach, or by the pool.

ORANGE BLOSSOM TIME uses a variegated Watercolours (076 - "Woodlands") with

a handful of vibrant #5 pearl cottons, a few soft Floche threads, and two different types

of metallic threads (one thick and one thin).  

Creating the padded oranges in the center and corners is such fun 

and an easy technique to add to your stitching skills.  Plus, stitching with

all the bright-colored threads is a pure delight!

Registration for this new class runs through the end of July, with the class starting

sometime in mid-September....

So if you'd like to add the citrus-y piece to your collection, please visit 

my website: www.laurajperindesigns.net to see all of the cyber class details.

Curves (and Curliques) Ahead

Last year I had fun exploring the wonderful world of painted canvases and creating stitch guides for some of them.  But this year, I resolved to get back to work on new counted canvaswork designs, and try harder to balance my time and energy between painted canvases and counted geometric designs. 

I pulled out a piece I've had on stretcher bars for quite a while, and determined to FINALLY GET IT FINISHED!  As it sometimes happens when I'm working on a totally new and complex piece, I will stitch myself into a corner and not know how to proceed.  With the pink project shown above, I had stitched all the fancy corners and centers (and lots of Jessicas), but was left with a wide background border area that I didn't know quite how to finish.  So the piece sat for a long time, and I moved on to other projects.  Then Kreinik came out with a new thread - a #16 Braid that had WIRE in it, so it can be bent into fun shapes and spirals for a lovely dimensional effect.  AHA!  Just the thing to make some simple curlicues and couch onto my pink background.   So I went back to stitching on this piece (which I decided to name ARABESQUE) and once the curliques were in place, I was able to stitch on to the end and finish the piece. 

Oh, and there was one other dilemma: what kind of unusual jewels could I use to add bling to this design?  I decided to try some gold oblong beads - just for something different... And it was also a challenge to find a crystal jewel large enough to stand out in the center, but I finally found one. (Both the beads and the large jewel are included in the pattern).

And, TA DA!!! Once I found my beads and jewels, I was all set.   Time to get the pattern finished so  I could release this brand new design and share it with you.  And here it finally is: ARABESQUE.

I stitched the model in my favorite "Pink & Green" combination with gold accents, although the pinks are very muted and more like the mauve "ashes of roses" color so popular at the end of the last century.  But this is such an elegant piece, it would definitely be fun to stitch in lots of other colors, don't you think?   (I wish I could stitch this up in other colors, but I've got other projects to finish, more threads to try, new pieces to design, still more cyber classes to create!!).... But I've gone ahead and included other thread suggestions in the pattern for a handful of other colorways such as BLUE, PURPLE, PEACH, and TURQUOISE.

As in most of my designs, the color palette starts with a variegated Watercolours thread (the pink version uses 022 - "smoke") and a handful of DMC #5 pearl cotton colors.  Mix in two Ribbon Floss threads (one mauve, one gold), and accent with a few Kreinik metallics..... The finished piece is apprx. 12" x 12", and is stitched on a 16" x 16" piece of 18 ct. mono canvas.  I used my favorite Santa Fe Sage Green canvas, but you can do it on any color canvas you prefer.  If you'd like to try your hand at a totally new type of geometric design, please visit my website and see the ordering information for my curvacious ARABESQUE.

Need a Guardian Wolf??

 Everyone needs a furry guardian to watch over them now and then, don't they?

Well, here's one that's watching over me in my office now, and he's called THE SENTINEL, by Sandra Gilmore.  I was asked by the owner of FLEUR DE PARIS, the distributor of Sandra Gilmore painted canvases, if I'd be interested in creating a stitch guide for this canvas.  And of course I said, "YES, YOU BETCHA!"

Here's what the whole finished piece looks like:

The most daunting task with this piece was choosing the threads.  I mean, look at all those greys -- Ai Yi Yi!!!  It was tough deciding whether to go with cool greys or warm greys... and then making them match the soft merino wool Bella Lusso threads I used for the wolf's coat.  I can't tell you how long it took me a while to narrow down my options, but once I did, I was able to start stitching.  And in this case, I worked from the bottom up to the top: starting with the snowy ground (all done in sparkly Ribbon Floss ribbons); then working the birch trees (tent stitching the outlines and colored bits, then long stitching the remaining areas), which were tedious but not hard at all; and then tent stitching the background sky with diagonal stitched branches.

As you can imagine, I was a bit anxious to tackle all that fur, but again, I started at the bottom by the snow, and worked my way upwards, following the colors on the painted canvas and angling my longish diagonal stitches to follow the lines of the wolf's body.  Here's an up-close look:

Actually, it was easier to do than I expected, and once I got going, working each color at a time, from darkest to lightest, I really enjoyed it.  I left the face for last....and then carefully stitched each of the facial features.  Also, before I started stitching I googled "wolf" to get some reference photos to work from, which helped a great deal.

All in all, I really enjoyed the challenge of figuring out this beautiful canvas and bringing THE SENTINEL to life (the finished size is 12" x 12" on an 18 ct. painted canvas).  If you are a wolf lover, or just need your own guardian wolf, please check out my new stitch guide for THE SENTINEL by Sandra Gilmore on my website, or order it and the canvas from your favorite stitchery store!

P.S.: If any of you are going to the TNNA trade show in Columbus this week, you can see my model at the FLEUR DE PARIS booth.  So please stop by and say hello to my furry SENTINEL!!

Friday Flowers: Azaleas

Azaleas!  It's all about the azaleas this weekend of The Masters in Augusta!

I've been busy running errands, plus printing and mailing lots of my new 

SPRINGTIME WREATH pattern this week.... all in hopes of clearing my desk

and looking forward to a Masters Marathon, watching tv and stitching this weekend. 

But seeing those luscious pink flowers reminded me to pull out my AZALEA COLLAGE
and hang it in my hallway, to enjoy my stitched version of these elegant flowers.

 

Well, YUM,,, Love, love, love these springy pinks and greens!

What better way to enjoy these bright blooms than to stitch them so they never fade;

that's my way of thinking, anyway.

 

But for one of this weekend's projects, I'm gonna finish up my small "R is for Rabbit" piece,

from Prairie Schooler's Alphabet (oooh, and it's got  more pink & green, imagine that):

 

 

I'm stitching this 4" x 6" cross-stitch design on eggshell 18 ct. mono canvas, using 

4 ply of DMC floss in plain ol' Tent Stitch.  Easy peasy, really, and something

I find very tranquil to do in-between other large, complex projects.

I'm almost done.... so I'll certainly be hopping over to another project in my stack.

 

HAPPY FRIDAY, STITCHERS and

hope you have a restful and stitchful weekend, too!

 

Egg-cell-ent New Wreath!

Oh, all you Springtime Lovers.... have I got a new pattern for you!

It's my new SPRINGTIME WREATH, that is filled with all the happiest things of Spring --

pastel flowers, decorated eggs, and a soft chick and bunny.

There's so much going on with this wreath, that it's hard to take it all in, isn't it?  

When I started stitching it up, I began counting out from the center point,

working the velvet ribbons and bow first; then adding all the eggs, doing them one by one. 

 The bunny and chick came next (done in touchable-softBella Lusso merino wool);

 then I wove the small basket and filled it with plump eggs.  

Adding lots of pastel flowers came next - 

daffodils, pansies, open tulips, and tiny pink blossoms were fitted between all the larger items

 on the wreath.  I selected a variegated ThreadworX #5 pearl thread for the wreath foliage, 

that is worked in an easy Pavilion Diamond variation to fill the background 

behind all the wreath items.  

After everything was stitched, I finished my wreath by adding a handful of beads (included with the pattern).  I also went back and outlined each egg with a simple Stem Stitch, using the softly variegated ThreadworX, to make each egg stand out a bit from the wreath greenery.

Like any stitchery project,

 if you break down this SPRINGTIME WREATH into manageable steps, and 

focus on each step at a time, it really isn't so difficult.... and as the piece begins to take shape

right before your eyes, you can celebrate the process (as well as the joys of spring) -- 

and take pride in creating something that you'll enjoy displaying every year!  

So if you're up for a new wreath to display in your house, please hop on over 

to my website and see the thread list and other information for ordering

this new SPRINGTIME WREATH.