Thursday, April 13, 2023

More Blogs to Follow!

A while back I shared a few of my favorite needlework related blogs I follow,  here are a couple more I think you'll like:

Melita Stitches 4 Fun:  Melita Glavin is a counted canvas designer and a prolific stitcher who is always trying new things and sharing them on her blog.  Her recent forays into weaving and basket making made for interesting reading.  She keeps her readers up to date on needlework related news and events as well, including American Needlepoint Guild projects.  The best parts are following along with what she's stitching, as well as her own designs and creative process.  

The Copper Fox: I could not resist including this blog, even though it is cross-stitch rather than needlepoint.  It is what I call a "feel-good" blog because it is so cozy and creative and inspiring.  Plus she has kitties, LOL!  Her cross-stitch projects are always beautiful, but I always enjoy her thought process behind what she chooses to stitch.  I enjoy the occasional peeks into her creative spaces too.  There are recipes and home-keeping tips as well, but the best part of all are her Christmas Open House posts, which are all archived on the site.  Take a look, you won't be disappointed!


Thursday, April 6, 2023

Favorite Finishes!

Sharing with you all today some of my all time favorite finishes!  

"So Happy" stitched by Mickey & finished at Barbara's Needlepoint


"Floating Hearts" stitched by Shelley & finished via Garden Gate Needlepoint
 

"Home" stitched by Jenny & finished via Needlepoint.com


"Witch Accessories" stitched by Gayle & finished via Fancy Stitches


"Monster Mates" stitched by Kathleen & finished at West Coast


"Christmas Stars" stitched by Pam & finished via Fancy Stitches


"Mod Merry" stitched by Kaye & finished via M's Canvashouse











Friday, March 24, 2023

A New Freebie Chart for Spring!

I have a new Freebie chart for you! This one is a companion piece to a Freebie I offered last year, you may remember my polka dot egg from 2022, click HERE to see that post.


This year's egg is much more elaborate, and I hope you'll enjoy stitching it.  As usual, you can find the chart over on my website in the "Bonus Charts" category, or click HERE to go directly to the page. 

Materials: 
 
You'll need an 8 x 8 piece of 18 count Mono canvas. (I used plain white, it comes in colors and even with sparkles!) 

Threads: I used a mix of Vineyard Silk and ThreadWorx Vineyard Overdye Silk, but this would be wonderful in Perle Cotton 5 as well.  The one thread you would not want to substitute is the FyreWerks thread, the sparkle is amazing! My thread list is as follows:

ThreadWorks Vineyard Overdye V112 - Green
ThreadWorks Vineyard Overdye V1230 - Light Blue
Vineyard Silk C109 - White
Vineyard Silk C083 - Dark Blue
Vineyard Silk C173 - Light Pink
DMC PC5 601 - Dark Pink
FyreWerks Soft Sheen FT67 - Yellow Gold Metallic

For embellishments, I used two different styles of 5mm flower-shape sequins and a 3mm round silver metallic sequin, all of them attached with size 15 seed beads in bright pink and orange.  The pink beads attach the silver sequins and the orange I used for the flowers.  I get most of my sequins from Cartwright's, I've included the item numbers in my list below:

5mm Opaque Petite Flower in Pink - item # oPF62
5mm Satin Flower in Rose - item # B2-s5flwr20
3mm Fully Cupped Metallic Round in Silver - item # m3k20
Sundance Size 14 Bead Color 424 - Orange
Sundance Size 14 Bead Color 518B - Pink

All stitches are stitched with a single strand of thread.  I recommend you start stitching at the top and work downwards.  The chart shows the left hand side of the design, the other side is identical but flipped. I did chart the entire area around the bunny cameo for you as there is some variation there. I stitched all the diamond shapes first, then framed them with the FyreWerks, your chart shows an example of this on the top left.  The silver sequins are attached in the hole of every corner of the diamond stitches using the pink bead. 

The placement for the single daisy-shaped sequins are marked with bright pink dots, I placed these on the upper half of the egg and around the bunny cameo using the orange beads.  On the lower half of the egg I layered a daisy sequin over the round flower shape, the placement of those are marked with a purple dot. 

Here is a photo of the bunny before I added his embellishments:


The bunny is worked in simple Tent stitch with a single strand of thread.  I did not chart the white stitches, all of the area that is blank is also Tent stitch with your white thread. I did a cross stitch for his nose and added a bow by making 2 lazy daisy stitches under his chin, the start and stop for these two stitches are marked on the chart with a red dot.  I added the flower frame around him after all the stitching was completed.  

This design is a little more complex than most of my Freebies, but I hope you will enjoy stitching it.  Please do make it your own with your threads and as much or as little embellishing as you'd like.  I'd love to see your photos of your creation!  And please do contact me with any questions!