Throwback Thursday - 2002 (Part 1)

If it's Thursday, it must be time to look back at old projects. I began the first half of 2002 by putting down my tapestry needle and picking up a crochet hook.


Crochet Hat

I made myself a nice warm black winter hat with a rolled brim. It's quite warm because it's completely stitched in single crochet.

I found the pattern in Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework, page 371.

Bethlehem

I love the jewel colors in this piece by K. Elaine Kramer Designs as well as the quotation:

Years ago a baby cried,
His voice can still be heard.

This piece has a small stitch count, 93 x 64, but is stitching intensive because the entire sky is solid stitches. Much of the sky used a blended needle: two shades of blue floss in the needle at the same time. That gives the horizon the illusion of it being dusk. There's also quite a bit of backstitching. This piece looks wonky in the photo and will need to be blocked to straighten it out.

The Damask aida I used has a lovely hand. It's very soft and has a pretty sheen. But it is a very loose 18 count fabric with a loose weave, so my needle would often slip and split the ground fabric, creating a hole where there wasn't supposed to be one.

The star is stitched with a silver metallic fiber. The light from the stable had a bit of blending filament in it so that it glimmers.

This is one of those stitcheries that is still languishing in my box of stitched-but-not-finished items. I hope it will finally be ready for display in 2019.


Happy Easter

Oh, gosh. Another stitched-but-not-finished piece! My plan for this is to make it into a banner with a prairie point edging. I have all the fabrics and a decorative hanger ready to go. Earlier this week I learned how to make the prairie points. So everything is ready for me to display this by Easter 2019.

This cute piece is designed by Sue Hillis. The border and words for this piece were stitched with a variegated fiber called Bravo! (A118). The sweet metal Easter egg charm seen between the bunnies came with the chart.


Moose Christmas Ornament

For our 10th wedding anniversary, my husband and I took a cruise to Alaska. While there, I found a series of Alaska-themed Christmas ornament design.. This is the first in the series, designed by Calico Cache.

Ski Moose Christmas Ornament

Here's the second ornament in the series by Calico Cache. The Santa hat and "candy cane" skis were a hit with my daughters. I used a calico fabric for the back of the stuffed ornament, and a ribbon for the hanger. The cording around the edge was made of a 4-ply green yarn.

Horned Puffin Christmas Ornament

Here's the third ornament from our Alaska trip in the series by Calico Cache. This bird has attitude!

I finished the ornament simply using cardboard, a fabric back, and silver trim around the edge.

Next #throwbackthursday I'll show more ornaments from the Alaska trip that I stitched, beginning in June 2002.