"Tweet Gift" by Full Circle Designs Finished

"Tweet Gift" by Lynda Watkins of Full Circle Designs

This ornament was a lot of fun to stitch because I used up lots of little bits of overdyed threads I had in my stash.  It is stitched on 32 count linen.  For the finishing I used a textured red velvet for the back and made cording in colors to accent the design.  

I knew I wanted some kind of greenery at the corners.  My original vision was pinecone buttons but I think the holly berries are even more cute.  It has a flat back and flat padded front.  To attach buttons like this, wait until after the ornament is finished and then use a matching thread to couch them onto the ornament.  It is a little difficult as you can't stitch through the matboard but it is more frustrating if you sew them on first and then try and do the finishing because your thread will catch on them over and over.    

Full Circle Design's website is not working at this time but you can see other designs

 they have at ABC Stitch.  

Blue Dogwood Designs Postcards from Seattle

This is a fun little series of hand-painted canvases from Kay Fite of Blue Dogwood Designs.  Kay lives here in Washington and paints her own canvases.  I stitched them in basketweave using wool threads, overdyed cottons, Kreinik metallics and whatever other little bits of threads I had that I liked. I stitched and finished them in 2012. Finished with silk backs and custom cording.  

Beau Geste Ornaments finished.

A whole group here!

These ornaments were designed by Deborah Wilson for Beau Geste.  It was an ornament-of-the-month club from The Needlepointer shop.  There *were* twelve ornaments.  When I did my finishing frenzy I realized that I am missing two.  Hopefully I finished them last year (possible?) and they are packed away with my Christmas stuff.  Alternatively they are hiding somewhere and will hopefully turn up.

These are all finished with white silk dupioni on the back, with a flat hard back.  I padded the front of the ornaments.  I made cording to match each design using a metallic and a cotton fiber, or silk and metallic, etc. I love these!

http://summerlouise.com/albums/stitching/designers/deborahwilson.html has another set of ornaments I stitched from Beau Geste called "Shiny Brites".

Amanda Lawford Royal Santa FINISHED

I can't believe I finished him yesterday - I am thrilled!

(Me thrilled!)

I started this piece in April 2008.  I did take lots of small breaks throughout, most especially when working on the yards and yards of cream background.  

I was working away on Bullion Knots all this last week.  These are worked in two strands of Trio, a silk and merino wool blend.  After I did the entire edge I went back over it an did French Knots for additional shading.  

The edging around the bag was next.  It is stitched in horizontal oblong cross-stitch with one strand Kreinik cord.  It's muted and I think it helps add sparkly without being over powering.

Now for all the fun embellishments!  I rolled the canvas down to the very bottom and started working my way up.  I couched down the gold trim on the cloak front (see overall picture, also shown a little bit in the above picture.  It was couched with silk thread and I plunged the ends into the canvas back with my laying tool.

The stars are stitched in Kreinik 1/16" braid, laid flat with each stitch.  The sterling silver chain was couched on the surface.  

Two more trims for the sleeve - both couched on the surface with the same gold silk I used in the crown.  Also I attached the oval gems.  I realized that the light blue on the sleeves was unstitched so I used a blue Kreinik and did basketweave to fill them in.  

The ribbons from the staff were couched on - the green ribbon, then the gold metallic ribbon, then the hand-dyed red silk ribbon.  

While watching Victoria swim last night I attached the Fleur-de-lis for the staff topper.  There is felt underneath for padding, then the gold, then I couched Gilt Medium Grecian Twist around the design.  

Very last was the jewel.  GeorgiaDee had already glued the shell to Stiff-Stuff.  I used petite gold seed beads and worked peyote stitch around the shell to create the frame.  The stiff stuff is then trimmed back and I couched it to the hat.  There was empty paint around the edging so I filled that in with purple, then added a looped beaded run around the shell at the base.  I love it!

Thanks for sharing this journey with me!  I am probably going to finish him as a stand-up then give him a designated storage box under my bed.  I thought about a wall hanging but Madeline (my 8 year old) pointed out we don't have a good spot to hang him on the wall where he would be displayed at Christmas.  

" 'Tis Red" by La-D-Da 2010 Ornament Finished

'Tis Red

by Lori Markovic of La-D-Da Designs

This shade of red, DMC 814, is my absolute favorite color. Whenever I see a new type of specialty thread I pick up a skein in this dark red because I know that someday I'll use it.  I may also buy white, but that is not nearly as exciting to me as red.  The thread I used in this is an overdyed silk from Victoria Clayton that I saw and loved and I may have bought an entire hank of it.  (shhhhh)  The ornament is stitched on 36 count white linen from Zweigart.  

La-D-Da has one of my favorite designs that I've never finished.  I still need to mail it to my friend Suzanne because she said she'd finish it for me.  Super nice, yes!  I finished another ornament from Lori some years back as well.  

I embroidered the back with the year on my sewing machine, using a crisp white rayon that really shows up with the red silk dupioni.

The beaded edge of the ornament is created after the ornament is completed by alternating bead colors, in this case a dark clear rose and white, in the string and placing 8-10 beads on a single stitch.  The smaller stitch size forces the beads to curve in an arch away from the edge.  A simple embroidered ribbon bow finishes the top.  

"Amour" by The Collection

"Amour"

by Sallie Luedtke for The Collection

"Word Weights" are fairly simple hand-painted canvases.  They are quick to stitch and make great stash busters.  They have photos of several on their website.  I did the finishing on several of their other weights several years ago.  

I stitched this one for my daughter, Madeline, who likes all things girly and pink.  It is made in Rainbow Gallery Neon Rays for the background and Neon Rays + (sparkles!) for the word.  I finished it with a hot pink silk dupioni flat back, padded front, and custom cording to match the colors in the design.  I then bought sparkling glass hearts at Michael's Crafts and used some nice 4mm Japanese glass cube beads and seed beads I had in my stash for the bottom trim.  Beads and Beyond in Bellevue, Washington is a great bead store for those stash builders.

Larkin Jean Van Horn, a Seattle artist, had a nice little book for beadwork that explains how to do some of the fancier bead trim techniques.  It's nice to be able to refer back to it when my skills have gotten rusty. 

"Believe" by Madeline Lake Santa Ornament.

"Believe" by Madeline Lake

This little canvas was a screen printed canvas from the 2006 Needlepoint Wall Calendar.  This was such a clever idea - a little screen printed canvas with a laser-cut paper mat and a color photograph.  When the year was over, the canvases could be taken out and stitched.  I wish that they had kept making them.  

This design was a stash buster for me - I used bits of red and green thread, a blue paternayan wool for the background and worked the beard in stem stitch.  The cuff of the hat is turkey work and the scarf has little fringe on the end.  The snowflakes are plastic stickers or beaded stickers that I couched on - I picked them up from Michael's Crafts.  I finished the back in blue velveteen and it is finished flat.  

A fun tip - I bought a large skein of this blue knitting yard at Pacific Fabrics in Everett, Washington several years ago.  It is a smooth nylon blend - label long gone - with shiny and matte threads running through it.  It has been a great blender for all kinds of twisted cording and also is lovely on its own - knitting fiber aisle is a great place to check for twisted cording fiber.   Just stay away from pearl cotton in skein format as it knots terribly.