Fibers for the Wild Woman

Tuesday night is stitching night with the girls. I took this canvas and some of the fibers I had along. I was able to fill in the rest of the colors I need to stitch this piece. Below is a better photo of the fibers--all Splendor except for the medium purple one--Fuzzy Fur--and the Water and Ice. This is canvas BF49, but I am calling it Wild Woman!

One pretty leaf

I finished the rest of the Lacquered Jewels in the top leaf....without a counting error! Then using Kreinik cord, I did the Japanese six into one twisted threads technique and couched it around the outline of the leaf using a single strand of cord.

Lots going on

First, here is the progress on the Lacquered Leaves. I almost finished the first one, not quite. I made a mistake counting and had to frog a full row! But, back on track now and it looks great! The shine is so much better in person, but you get the idea.

I picked up Lady Carolyn's fan from the framer! The old gold frame and mat are set off by a narrow strip of blue mat next to the piece. It really makes it pop! Nice job Bob and Maggie!


Last but not least is the latest Stitch n Zip. Alice Peterson designed these gorgeous Hibiscus which I stitched in Vineyard Silks for a birthday present for Miss Linda! I could not post it until after I gave it to her!

Half way

I continued working on the same leaf and figure I am at about half. This piece is 15 x 15 on 24 count. I am using two matching strands of Lacquered Jewels to work this pattern. I put black behind it tonight before I took the picture so hopefully it shows better detail. The Lacquered Jewels runs from black to silver to gold so there is a lot of shine in the work.

Starting on one

I started on the leaf in the top right corner of the piece. It is worked with two strands of Lacquered Jewels in a pattern that creates rows of blocks. It was difficult to get a photo that is going to show true color as you can tell by the design at the bottom of the picture. It was worked in gold and copper. I will try and get a picture in daylight tomorrow and see if it shows up better.
This piece is by Betty Chen Louis and was taught at a seminar. You recall I am stitching this piece that a friend can no longer finish. I think it is going to be gorgeous and want to thank Barbara for keeping her instructions long enough to send them off to me!

One front petal

It took a bit, but I finished the front petal on this poppy. I really like how all the colors are blending together to make it look so real! Hope you like it too!

Lacquered Leaves

Barbara graciously sent me the instructions for Betty Chen Louis' Lacquered Leaves. You recall, my friend gave me this canvas to finish for her from a class she took many years ago. We did find the fibers which are Kreiniks and Lacquered Jewels. It is worked on black canvas and what you see is what she had stitched during her class. With the instructions I will now be able to complete this piece for her and it is going to be stunning.

Next up for Mondays

This is called Lace Fan and is by the same person who designed Lady Carolyn's Fan--my friend Marilyn. This is from a class she taught and then I got distracted with something else. Anyway since we are helping her out I decided it was time for me to finish this piece she designed. When we visit her, I like to tell her the progress I am making and chat about the class and good time we had. It is great for her to remember those things. I told her that Lady Carolyn's Fan was at the framers and she is looking forward to seeing it.

So on to the information. This piece is worked on 18 count Pewter mono canvas on 14 x 20 stretcher bars. I am going to use the following threads: DMC Flower thread in white and gray, Anchor Pearl Cotton in white, Mill Hill Petite Beads, Kreinik brad in size 4 and 8, Lacquered Jews, Kreinik Soie Perlee, in Noir, Caron Snow, DMC floss in black and white, some black Ultrasuede.

The background: The Art Nouveau (c1915) lace fan pictured in the February 1995 issue of Victoria magazine inspired her interpretation to stitch this on canvas. The original fan resides in the John and Mabel Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida.

The foundation of the fan is stitched using Alicia Lace stitch in the two colors of the flower thread and each of the flowers and leaves is stitched in the white and the dark gray for the background.
Alicia Lace is a back stitch worked on the diagonal and the first half is worked over the vertical canvas thread from the lower left to the upper right and coming back from upper right to lower left. Then the second pass is worked on the horizontal thread from lower right to upper left and back down, framing the hole and creating the lace effect. I have worked from left to right on this piece to avoid dragging my hand over the stitched area.
I also put in some of the outline on the flowers on the left using the pearl cotton and outline stitch. Most of it is done over two canvas threads but compensating on the curves to keep a smooth line.

One is identified-UPDATED

Great news! The second photo in last night's post is Jean Hilton's Crown of Hearts! Thanks to those of you who recognized it! I am trying to find the pattern as we speak and did a Google search for it but did not find anyone who carries it. If you know of someplace, do let me know. The other piece is still a mystery and it is a shame as it is such pretty colors and fibers!
I was busy today getting my rotation set back up. I have recently finished a couple of pieces and needed to fill in those. I spent some time deciding and then stapling canvas to frames. Then, I dropped the staple gun on the top of my foot! I am hoping to get my shoe on tomorrow. LOL at least I won't have glue in my hair from finishing this time.

I have someone who volunteered the pattern for Crown of Hearts and have sent her a note. My foot is not broken, just some smashed tendons and a shot of cortisone has helped the pain. No shoes fit so it is a flip flop day! LOL

Do you recognize these?

As you may know we are cleaning out the stash of a stitching friend. We have found several pieces that have been started but cannot locate the instructions or fibers that go with them.
If you have any idea what these two pieces are or who designed them please let me know. We are trying to finish some of these for our friend but are stuck at this point.

I have found the instructions for Betty Chen's Lacquered Leaves and they are on the way to me. Thanks Barbara for those!

More blue

The corner above the right bow band is done. I finished filling in the background with the two strands of Waterlilies Ice and moved to just below the same band, compensating along the edge of the large center bow. I also compensated around the hearts that will be filled in with either beads or fibers or both.

More petals

I have filled in the rest of the large third petal and added the two smaller back petals. I just barely started the long and short on the largest outermost petal. Just a reminder, I am using a single strand to do all the long and short so this is going to seem to show very little progress during each session but I like how it is looking.

The big splurge

Last night I went to Tuesday stitching and my big splurge had arrived.I was amazed to be handed the white drawstring bag. Nice.

So we opened it up........
and this nylon shoulder bag was tucked inside! My shop is starting to carry the Colonial Needle line. She has a lot of fibers for us needlepointers but also carries a lot of cross stitch and charted work. This is her venture into getting into more needlepoint to try and generate more interest in canvas. Yippee!She is starting with some luggage tags and small boxes but also picked up some of the small and medium kimonos that Lee does so well!


Anyway...
This is what the inside looks like. Very well made and sturdy too along with two zippered pockets for goodies!



And last, the canvas I chose for the front of this bag is:






I love the purple hair and the eye shadow and blush she put on with her palette knife! I don't know how long I will be able to hold off before I have to start this!

Top right corner

I worked on finishing the inner most heart by completing the gold and clear bead heart in Mill Hill petite beads. I then worked around those hearts and filled in with the Double Stitch compensating around them almost out to the edge. When I start in again, I plan on working right below this area and filling down this side for a few sessions.

Petal Two

It is time to get back to getting things in the rotation again and I started with the Oriental Poppies by Pat Van Cleve. I continued on with the second petal, after adding the center to petal one. I did dark red french knots for the very center. I moved on to the third petal and it is the one on the left that is not yet completed. I am doing all the petals in long and short stitches using a single strand to achieve the blending.

The right corner

I resumed working on Gifts of Love by Sharon G. I did the second row across in the Double Stitch using two stands of Waterlilies. I then used 557 gold Mill Hill beads and surrounded the blue and white heart. Next I started filling in the white and gold heart with petite Mill Hill beads. This is going to show slow progress due to the detail I want to put into it, but it will be worth the extra time.

Another finish

Tonight I finished Stitches in Sterling by Nancy Cucci. I took out a mistake I made last night, and was able to finish the last few sections. The two bottom left darning patterns are both worked in Perle Cotton and Kreinik. The lower right block is supposed to have my initials and year but I changed that. I also changed out the crystal rhinestone for the duller pearl in the very center block of the beaded box. I felt there was so much glitz that I wanted this instead. Thanks to Nancy for allowing me to blog stitch this piece.

All the beads

I finished beading the center box! Lots of beads but very pretty overall. There is a lot of variation in beads and sizes which create great interest in the design. I have decided to go ahead and finish this piece as I only have the two lower left and one far right box to do. I hope to finish this tomorrow night. We are on a roll......

I finished it!

The last steps were fairly quick. First I glued the ring to the design piece that I made yesterday and set it to dry.


While that dried, I then shaped first the outside circle against the smaller inner circle of the base and then glued it down and sealed the ends. I then glued the inner circle inside that and you can see the clips holding it.

I glued some black gimp inside around the bottom, just for looks. I then glued some gold gimp around the outside bottom too!Everything is not quite dry, but I set the lid on to show you!

Let's make a round box!

I want to put the Black and Gold piece in the top of a box, but make my own. I know I just got the glue out of my hair and from under my nails, but that is the plan. First, I have two circles of mat board that are the same size and two that are a little smaller. From one of the larger ones, I marked a circle and had DH cut it out on his scroll saw so it would be perfectly even. I then covered it with black brocade material and am waiting for that glue to dry. On the other set I covered each with fabric and then glued them together as this will be the bottom of the box.


I then covered the other smaller circle and glued it along with the cut ring. However, I put a layer of quilt batting on the ring circle so the padding would be on the top of the piece.

I cut the black and gold design a little smaller than the ring circle and cut and glued a piece of gold lame to the smaller ring. Dry, glue, dry!


While waiting for all this glue to dry, I cut the strips for the box sides and then the fabric to cover those. I glued the inside of each piece and am also waiting for that glue to dry.And now, I will go and get as much glue off my hands as I can.

Monet's Garden is done

I finished the Monet's Garden box. I attached the bottom oval to the stitching but it was not as smooth as I like so I added another twisted cord. I then inserted the bottom oval to finish the inside. Last I glued the top of the bottom section into the gold rim. Now that it is dry, I could show you.

Just pretend

I am working on the rest of the finishing on the oval box. I did glue the braid around the top and it is drying nicely. I scraped all the glue off my hands, nails and palms. Don't ask. None on the stitching though--yes! I then trimmed the canvas seams and clipped it around the bottom. No problem. The instructions say to glue the bottom oval to the bottom of the folded in canvas. Oh, sure. Easy for you to say. I put the glue on the oval and tried to pin it to hold it. That did not work. Okay, since I was working looking down on the bottom, try turning it over and try holding the piece to the bottom. Nope, that does not work either. My fingers are not long enough, nor, do I have enough to go all around. Walk away and wipe more glue off every appendage. Say blue words. Give DH a dirty look when he asks "Are you done yet?" Re-read instructions. Walk away--there is always tomorrow.

There is no photo tonight, so please pretend there is. Thank you.

Back to the box

Tonight I worked on the Monet's Garden box. I stitched one of the bases to the top and then glued it into the ring, and am waiting for that to dry. I then made the twisted cord that will cover the sewn edge. Next, I machine stitched (without any blue words) the canvas to the lining. I cut a piece of stick on felt and placed that on the back of the stitching. Then, folded all of that in half and stitched the seam of the lining and the canvas--it was even! Woohoo! That all got turned right side out. That is as far as I got. Next will be to finish the base and attach it all to the top and glue the twisted cord around. Sounds like I could get that done tomorrow!

A few more beads

The top row is done and so is the second row of beads--those hearts. Below that on the left, I put in the middle box, and finished the bottom left one as well! I still did some chatting but tried to get a lot more beading done instead of laughing tonight. There are three boxes in the beaded box to finish and then the two lower left and far right darning patterns. This is moving right along I think!

A different finish

Since I did not get by Michael's I pulled out this little piece. Our friend that we are helping to clean out her stash had this finished in one of the boxes we took out. The canvas is by Julie Thompson and was dated 1991. Since our friend is no longer stitching anything, we have each taken some of the pieces to finish and give back to her. This is about 1.25 inches wide and we found a round pendant frame for her. I fitted it with a piece of mat board and then glued Ultrasuede to the back. I then took my white pen and wrote stitched by " " on the back for her.

Into finishing

This gift kit also came with a DVD with instructions by Terry Dryden and Sandie Colbert, which is detailed and step by step. I am following all the instructions and the first step is to mark and cut out each piece of canvas.

Then using the frame, I made a pattern and cut out four pieces of mat board making sure they fit into the lid.



Then I covered one of the ovals with a piece of the blue Ultrasuede and glued it to the inside clipping the curves along the way. The picture shows the back of the piece where I put pieces of quilt batting to keep my clothespins from marking my fabric while holding it so the glue can dry.I glued the next oval to a thin quilt bat and then cut another oval of Ultrasuede and did a running stitch and pulled it tight on the oval on the right. For the oval on the left with the flowers, I cut a couple of pieces of the bat and built up the center so the flowers will dome. I then did another running stitch and gathered that one on the underside as well.
I need to stop by Michael's tomorrow and pick up a couple of things I need to keep going.