Friday Flowers: Coastal Edition

Last week, I went to stitch with a few of my friends in a house at Bodega Bay. Besides the fun of being with friends and stitching non-stop, one of my favorite things to do is taking Katie Lou for walks in a new environment. Here are some of the things we enjoyed seeing. First of all, Bodega Bay:


then lots of interesting houses looking out at the Pacific Ocean:

plenty of trimmed bushes in spring colors (they look a little bit like Easter eggs, don't they?):



and of course, pretty flowers:




It was a very cool getaway, as you might guess....

Anyway, Happy Friday and I hope you get some stitching done this weekend!

My Kimono with Fans

I keep meaning to show you the way I framed this particular square piece within a standard rectangular frame, because it might give you some ideas for framing some of your own pieces that are unusual or non-standard sizes.

Normally, for my pattern covers I scan each finished piece onto my scanner for the best possible close-up image of the stitched model. I don't provide a photo of the framed piece, since THAT part of the process I leave for each stitcher to determine themselves.

But the way I framed this piece provides a rather simple way to create an elegant look and I thought you'd be interested in seeing the overall piece.... After I finished stitching this piece, and laced up the back around a piece of mat board, I went looking thru my pile of frames. As I recall, I had to get it framed quickly to send it off to a show, and I didn't have time to shop around for the "perfect" frame.

All I had on hand was a lovely rectangular frame with a gold finish that matched the golds in the piece. [ASIDE: I took this photo on a dark grey day, but the frame and kimono actually are a deep gold color, like the kimono lapels.] To eliminate the extra space on the top and bottom, I decided to use pieces of fancy wallpaper (from an old discarded wallpaper book) - that I tore up "artistically" and placed on the background purple mat. (You could also get this same look by using one of the many scrapbooking papers available...or you could even use pieces of fabric..)

But it still needed something..... so I added yet another piece of darker purple mat board, which provided extra dimension, plus the additional accent of color (it also echoes the dark purple lining of the kimono and draws the eye up and down, attaching the two separate pieces of wallpaper). Here's what the bottom half of the piece looks like up-close:


It had never occurred to me to collage the background of a stitchery piece, but as you can see in this model, it works well with the piece and even adds some additional interest to the finishing. (And, in case you're wondering....I glued the papers with spray adhesive, then hot glued the laced model on top of everything.)

So, I hope this gets you thinking about different ways to finish your stitched pieces, and trying other combinations besides regular matting....

P.S.: For those of you who might ask, this design is called KIMONO WITH FANS and can be found in my KIMONO COLLECTION at my website.

Friday Flowers: Camellias

It's that time of year when camillias are starting to bloom in Northern California. And it's always a pleasure to see their pinks and reds and whites unfolding in such frothy abundance. It's fun to walk around the neighborhood and look at all the different kinds of camillias showing off....

So I thought I'd share a bouquet of ruffly camillias with you - focusing on just the red ones this time. These flowers come from the bushes just in my yard (and my neighbor's too)...I love all of them, but I'm particularly mesmerized by the speckled and striped ones - as if an artist hand-painted each petal for a dazzling effect:









Have a Happy Frilly Friday!

Thanks, Jane!

I've been following Jane's Chilly Hollow adventures as she begins working on the Tony Minieri piece, "STARS FOR A NEW MILLENIUM." Watching her careful step-by-step process has inspired me to pull out my MILLENIUM piece, which I started a few years ago and haven't touched in a long while.

I'm enjoying watching Jane as she thoughtfully considers her (many) options regarding color choices for her piece. She's even created a blog poll for interested readers to give their opinions on which colors/threads she should use. And there are a LOT of different threads used in this piece, so it's smart to plan ahead, before you start stitching.

Having said that, I must confess that that's not the way I'm tackling this project. Instead, I pulled all the possible threads I might want to use - as shown in the above photo (which has created a big knarly mess, frankly...)

My foundation variegated thread is one that I dyed myself - in my favorite pink & green combination - with some lavender and apricot thrown in for a little added spice! (This combination is similar to Caron Collections' 003 - "Meadow" or 088 - "Mountain Meadow" colors, which are favorites of mine, because they have a base green color plus pink, blue, apricot, yellow, lavender accents - allowing you to pick your favorite pastel accent color.) Below is a close-up of a few of the blocks, plus the variegated thread I'm using as the foundation...


This is such a large, complex piece, that the best way to tackle it is to focus on each block at a time. And each block is a stand-alone masterpiece by itself! So that's the way I've approached this big project: working each block as a separate item, mixing and blending threads to make each block work to my color specifications.

Anyway, this past weekend I waded back into the project by working first on the easier border and sashing (to re-familiarize myself with the design) then I continued on to get one more block finished - TA DA - thanks to Jane and her own Millenium adventure. (See Jane... I DID start stitching on it again!):


Surprisingly, I'm using more lavender and apricot threads than I expected. The lavenders are becoming the "zing" accent color, and the apricots are becoming the lightest "brights" in the piece. Totally unexpected -- but I'm letting the piece talk to me, and dictate the colors I use, block by block. It should definitely be interesting to see how this turns out!

Anyway, I wanted to thank Jane for getting me re-enthused about this large counted canvaswork piece - it's definitely a heirloom project... And if other stitchers out there are also working on their MILLENIUM pieces, please feel free to share your colors and stitching experiences as well, so we can all share this wonderful stitching adventure together!

How Much is that Doggie in the Sampler?

The one that I showed you last week in my Hollyhock House sampler?

The one with the spots? ... She's not for sale.

That's KATIE, my part-Wire Haired German Pointer mixed with (I'm guessing here) a little bit of obsessive (in a nice way) Border Collie.

It occurred to me this weekend that all you dog-loving stitchers out there might like to have the graph I used to add Katie to my sampler. I fiddled around with her shape to get the right coloring in a very small area, but you can certainly adapt the design to suit your dog's size and coloring. Here it is for you to copy and use, if you'd like to add your dog to any sampler you're working on:


ANYWAY....my Katie Lou is a rescued dog, from 'way up in Northern California's Lake County, where (I suspect) she was a rejected hunting dog that was abused my some male (she's wary of all males, especially ones carrying sticks, unbrellas, skateboards, anything long and pointy) and she's terrified of loud noises (like fireworks, backfiring cars, anything remotely sounding like gunshots.)

Katie may have started her life as somebody's throwaway trash....but now she's my TREASURE - a smart, sensitive, priceless companion and I'm so grateful to have her in my life!

Post Script to Yesterday's Blog

I forgot to mention on yesterday's posting that the delicious piece I showed you at the bottom (shown above) is a design by Gay Ann Rogers called "Hollyhock House."

I love miniature things - especially houses - and this stitched version of a miniature house was irresistable! And I must say, I've loved stitching every bit of it. Here's the lower portion of the design, thus far....


I've changed the color palette a bit, with more springy pinks and greens and blues. The flowers at the bottom remind me of sweet peas (one of my most favorite flowers) so I'm quite pleased with them.

And I couldn't proceed further with stitching the living room decor until I figured out how to add my dog Katie into the design (which originally had a cat beside the stitching chair.) Here's the stitched version of Katie up-close:


VOILA!! Now that she's in the picture, I can continue stitching.... And, because I'm enjoying stitching this piece so much, I'm taking it slowly and enjoying the process, stitch by stitch.

Please visit Gay Ann Rogers blog and website, if you're curious about seeing more of her luscious designs....They're really splendid, and each one is truly a delectable work of art!

Why I Like Scroll Bars

Like most of you, when I start a project one of the first things I consider (after pulling threads and picking out the canvas color, of course) is whether to mount the canvas on scroll bars or stretcher bars. There are quite a few things to consider.

How big is the project? For small to medium projects, I like to use scroll bars. Although, small and medium projects can be easier to stitch on stretcher bars than a larger piece... For a really big canvas - painted OR counted - I waffle between scrolls and stretchers. Mostly I prefer scroll bars, because I can get closer to the work, which I REALLY like. Other times, I prefer to tack the big canvas to stretcher bars so I can see the whole design while I'm working on it...which becomes crucial if you're balancing colors and threads thruout the design.
What type of ground is it - mono canvas, Congress Cloth, or linen? I find that mono canvas is pretty darn tough and holds up well on scroll bars or stretcher bars - much better than rolling it up in your hand, that's for sure! Congress Cloth, while a bit stiff, can be easily creased if folded, so putting it on bars keeps the canvas flat and crisp. (I usually iron my piece of Congress Cloth before attaching to bars and stitching, so it starts out flat and crisp). And with linen, which I think is a pretty tough fabric as well, you may be an "in-hand" stitcher (which links you with a long tradition of stitchers stretching back thru time) or you may be a scroll bar stitcher. I have enjoyed cross-stitching in-hand, but I prefer putting my linens and other fabrics on scroll bars before I start stitching.
Will there be only flat stitches, or lots of raised, complex stitches? If you're going to be stitching lots of fancy stitches, or ones with long loose stitches, stretcher bars will be much easier on your canvas/work. That being said, I must admit that most all of my quilt designs (that use longish diagonal satin stitches) have been worked on scroll bars, and I haven't had any problems with the long threads being "rolled" on scroll bars. (On the other hand, I don't keep my quilt designs on the scroll bars very long; I usually complete the project in a few weeks or so.)
Other things to consider are:
What types of threads are you using - cottons or silks, rayons, metallic or wool?
Is it a travel project (one you'll carry around to stitch-ins or guild meetings, packing it in and out of your car)?
How quickly will you be working on it - finishing it in a week or a year (or two)?

All of the things mentioned above have to be considered. But, I have to confess: I usually go with the scroll bars. I know myself well enough to know that if I put a large piece on stretcher bars, chances are it will be more awkward to work on - and then I won't stitch on it as much. If I mount that same large piece on scroll bars, it won't seem quite so intimidating; I'm much more likely to stitch on it; and it will get finished faster (and I'm much happier as a result).

So I have a few techniques I use when I do mount a large piece of canvas (or fabric) on scroll bars. 1.) I'll cut long pieces of cotton batting and roll the hidden ends of the canvas against the batting, to protect the unstitched canvas, as well as soften and support the stitched portion of the canvas. 2.) I'll cover both rolled edges of the scrolled bars with fabric covers. Below is an illustration of how I quickly rigged up some muslin scraps (with safety pins, no less) to cover the top of a long project on white Congress Cloth:


I confess I was so eager to get started stitching, that I couldn't be bothered to stop and baste the muslin (or heaven forbid, pull out the sewing machine and sew up the edges). The lower edge has a fabric cover I sewed from scrap fabric, with a plain ribbon closure that can be pulled and tied to any width of scroll bars....You can get as fancy as you want with these scroll covers, but hey, whatever works - that's my stitching motto!