This bookmark is made from the same leaflet as the last two bookmarks I made, Pretty Bookmarks by Leisure Arts. It's stitched without substituting colors. It's the last of the bookmarks made for the October birthday quilters. I was able to complete the entire bookmark in a single day.
The Year of the Small Project continued with this little angel designed by my daughter Jeanne. For Mother's Day in 1999, Jeanne gave me a packet of charts which she created by herself. She asked me to be her "model stitcher" and I stitched one or two each year.
These are the colors Jeanne chose using a cross-stitch design program. Once stitched up, she found they are a bit brighter than she had originally envisioned.
I stitched this medium-sized project for my mother-in-law. She has sophisticated tastes, and loves the color cranberry. I hadn't stitched much for her, and wanted to have a special gift to give her for Christmas.
Earlier in the year I quickly stitched a Mother's Day card for her. I knew that she appreciated it the day I gave it to her. The next time I stopped by her home, I saw that she had framed the card and hung it on the wall! Wow. That was unexpected.
It also made me a little uneasy in that it was such a little thing to have done for her, but I'd never given her a stitched gift that was worthy of framing. Right then and there I decided to do something special. That's when I found the Letter S. It's the first initial of her last name.
I stitched this on 28ct Lambswool Jobalan. It was a dreamy fabric to stitch on! It felt so good in my hand, and had a great texture and color. To make this one easier to stitch, I first gridded my fabric. I chose a cranberry-colored DMC cotton floss that gave good coverage. There was something extremely soothing about stitching this single-colored piece that flowered before my eyes.
I framed this project myself, and am very pleased with the outcome. On the back, I placed a label that says that I stitched it especially for her on the occasion of Christmas, 2004.
This piece is also made from Pretty Bookmarks by Leisure Arts. My oldest daughter, Jeanne, saw the earlier bookmarks and requested that I stitch this for her birthday next month. Once again, I made a few changes. Jeanne requested that I use the same nice autumn color pallet that I used in the Pretty Autumn Bookmark instead of using the pastel colors called for in the chart.
I saw this unique windsock ornament design in an online auction and just couldn't resist bidding on it. The finished piece was just right for an ornament exchange I participated in.
There's nothing really special about stitching the design. The tricky part is in the finishing. I put it together incorrectly the first time, so needed to take it apart and try again.
The ornament is backed with fusible interfacing, then hemmed. Next, the ribbon streamers are sewn on. You then form the ground fabric into a tube, sewing a seam to connect the two ends. Finally, you sew the ribbon hanger on the top. I enjoy this unusual finish, though I found mine was more wobbly than I'd hoped.
I've heard from a couple stitchers that also finished windsock ornaments. They recommend pressing the fabric with a steam iron at each step of the construction to get crisp edges. That helped the wobbles go away.
I've heard from a couple stitchers that also finished windsock ornaments. They recommend pressing the fabric with a steam iron at each step of the construction to get crisp edges. That helped the wobbles go away.
I'm nearly done recounting my 2004 projects -- only six more to go. I may be able to show all of them in my next #ThrowbackThursday 2004 blog post.
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