Lighthouse by Dimensions

The design is from a kit given to me by Gaby. I really didn’t care for the design as shown on the kit – it was stitched on 14 ct. white Aida with generic cotton floss – but then I looked at the chart itself and thought, “Hmmm. That might actually come out looking pretty good on a higher count linen with some overdyed thread.” So I gave it a go, and voila.

This is stitched on a scrap of what I’m pretty sure is the same linen I stitched Dirk and Jiske’s wedding gift on. I used all GAST fibers: Blackboard, Soot, Banker’s Gray, Harvest Basket, Old Blue Paint, Blue Spruce, Kale, School House Red, and Pomegranate.

I’ll be finishing this into an ornament or wee pillow for Aunt Kathy, who loves lighthouses. Max has told me I have to stitch another one to keep.

Friendship

A little design of my own that I’ve finished as a pillow stuffed with chamomile blossoms for a sweet scent. Stitched using all HDF supplies: 35 ct Peach Butter linen, Primitive Black, Legacy Blue, BeBopped, Black Cherry, Examplar Black Iris, Examplar Miligrubs, Bock, Bole, Castory, and Ginger. A note on the skin tone – for the bottom stitch I used Bole one-over-two and for the top stitch I used it two-over-two. It kept the skin from looking too intensely colored. One-over-one for both top and bottom stitch made her look like she had some unpleasant skin condition. LOL. Must ask Vikki’s advice regarding skin tones, but I thought this turned out well. A bit of vintage lace and some deep purple twill-like finishing fabric that matched the Examplar Black Iris finish it off.

Pointy Kitty by Wee Wonderfuls

I  just love the Wee Wonderfuls creations, and her patterns are clear enough for even a fumblethumbs like me to create something sweet. I changed the look of Pointy Kitty, giving her some vintage flair by using a Moda historic fabric “Kansas City Star” and adorning her with vintage lace and buttons. Her wings are some stiffened lace thingies that I bought intending to use for floss holders (as in a needlebook) but the floss catches too much on them. They made great wings though!

Some notes about this pattern. I should’ve printed out the page with the ‘underbelly’ (C, I think) twice rather than cut it out from the body, simply for ease. And really, there’s no reason the underbelly couldn’t have been a single piece rather than two pieces – it would’ve been that much less fiddling. The fabric, especially something lightweight like I used, should’ve been backed with interfacing first – I had a lot of problems with seams bursting because this little darling has got to be stuffed tight. The head should not be ‘closed’ until after the face is done – that was a PITA and I’m not happy with the security of my buttons, but I did the best I could. The head was a bugaboo to get on, but I don’t have any labor saving ideas of how to do it better. In the end, it came out quite fine and I like the little tilt to it, like she’s listening to you or is about to speak.

May your joys … by The Sampler Girl

I stitched this wonderful freebie from The Sampler Girl on a piece of 28 or 32 ct linen banding using HDF silks in my choice of colors. Although I stitched it as a gift, I’m having a hard time letting it go!

In God We Trust by Plum Street Samplers

Gorgeous design (a freebie available from her blog), gorgeous silks from HDF … it was maybe a little bit hard to send away, but when I saw the design I thought immediately of the friend I made it for. To keep it would’ve been like stealing. :0 Stitched on 35 ct Bunny Brown linen from HDF, stuffed with wool rovings and backed with fabulous Moda fabric.

Five Birds by Barrick Samplers

I just love this design- it’s an old freebie from Kathy’s Barrick Samplers days. I’ve stitched it before, but this is the first time using the suggested colors. And actually, I didn’t use them – I found close substitutes to the DMC in my HDF silk collection. I just love how it came out. And the backing fabric – purchased some time ago from Karen V. – is just too perfect. Stitched on 35 ct HDF linen and stuffed with wool rovings to create a humble pincushion. A gift for a thoughtful friend.

Paques by Marjorie Massey

The design shown on the cover of this leaflet doesn’t match the actual design that’s charted. Shown on the cover are two bunnies dancing with a heart underneath and the year above – perfect for a birthday, and I loved the font that the numbering was done in. Imagine my surprise when the chart showed two bunnies dancing over an Easter chick with Paques written above. No numbers anywhere, and the cover photo wasn’t something that I could use to simply stitch the numbers from. Anyway, I edited and fudged around and came up with this, stitched on 35 ct Peach something linen from HDF using The Thread Gatherer Irish Blues silk. It’s stuffed with lavender and polyfill and Conny assured me she liked it.

Red Sampler by Blackbird Designs

Here’s my version of the little red sampler freebie that’s been making the rounds. Mine’s dedicated to Sara, one of my dearest friends of all time. Her maiden name is Brice and we met in 1987 (I subtracted 100 years to keep with the vintage-style look). I’ve stitched mine on 28 ct Celery/Natural Graziano linen using HDF silks Black Iris Bloom, Everlasting, and Dried Roses. The bird is from an old Dutch book “Klassieke Kruissteek Motieven” edited by Gertie Wandel. I chose a swan/goose because of the associations with loyalty, love, and steadfastness – as well as both birds being known as very protective mothers. Sara is a dedicated mother, wife, and friend and I wanted to chose a bird that reflected these traits of hers.

I’ve added some vintage lace, black rick rack, floral rick rack, shell buttons, and an antique-style key so the sampler looks like it’s been made by someone who wanted to show Sara how much she loves her by adding her prettiest bits & bobs (which is actually the case!).

bookmark for Annemiek

Design is from Here Be Wyverns, stitched using Caron Wildflowers threads on perforated paper.

Helga Mandl – Spring (adapted)

Stitched to make a needlebook/scissor pocket for Max’s birthday this April. I adapted one of Helga’s Seasonal SAL designs. The backside of the needlebook will have the names of the four seasons and something like ’stitch every day’ written.