We return to April 2006 for more projects. I made two more ornaments, a greeting card, and a small framed piece.
Peace Angel
I received this ornament kit as a gift in an online gift exchange. It had been so long since I'd attempted surface embroidery that I wasn't certain I wanted to stitch it. But a couple things changed my mind.
A gal from a local stitching group had done an entire miniature quilt in redwork (except that she did it all in a pretty blue instead of red). It was magnificent.
Then I got inspired by an stitcher who has a real affinity for surface embroidery. Her gorgeous work reminded me how lovely surface embroidery can be. I was encouraged to give this redwork angel a try.
My mom taught me surface embroidery when I was a child. I was surprised to find that reaching back into my surface embroidery past was very relaxing and fulfilling. As a bonus, my adult stitches are much more even than they were when I was a child.
I thoroughly enjoyed making this sweet angel. The more I stitched, the more personality she gained.
I finished her as a basic padded ornament. I decided to try something new by finishing the edge of the ornament with beads rather than with twisted cord. The sparkly red Rocailles beads are uneven in size, so I strung some them onto some fine wire, tucked one end of the wire into the top of the ornament, then couched the beaded wire over the side seam. After the beads were couched, I tucked the other end of the wire into the top of the ornament and added a hanging loop made of cording.
It's a little hard to tell from this photo, but the beads add a glimmered halo to the angel.
As an aside, when you make a basic padded ornament in an unusual shape like this, it's important to clip the curves a lot so they lie smoothly as you lace the embroidery to the backing board. It was pretty tricky getting all the wrinkles out of the curves. The beaded edge helped to hide the imperfections.
I finished her as a basic padded ornament. I decided to try something new by finishing the edge of the ornament with beads rather than with twisted cord. The sparkly red Rocailles beads are uneven in size, so I strung some them onto some fine wire, tucked one end of the wire into the top of the ornament, then couched the beaded wire over the side seam. After the beads were couched, I tucked the other end of the wire into the top of the ornament and added a hanging loop made of cording.
It's a little hard to tell from this photo, but the beads add a glimmered halo to the angel.
As an aside, when you make a basic padded ornament in an unusual shape like this, it's important to clip the curves a lot so they lie smoothly as you lace the embroidery to the backing board. It was pretty tricky getting all the wrinkles out of the curves. The beaded edge helped to hide the imperfections.
Easter Card
The card is embellished with watercolor paper, satin ribbon, and stick-on "jewels."
I really enjoy the creative latitude greeting cards give me. It's fun making small mixed media projects.
Little Bit O' Blarney
I stitched this sweet ornament in time for St. Patrick's Day, but my needlework shop didn't have the clover charm for me until April. Sigh.
I bought this chart on eBay for no special reason whatsoever. I just liked it. I'm not Irish. I don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day except to wear green. But I thought it might be nice to have a new St. Patrick's Day decoration in my home.
I chose to stitch with Anchor floss and Gentle Art Sampler Thread floss this time. I like the quality of both these fibers a lot. For beads, I chose some from my stash that would work. They are Mill Hill white and Mill Hill emerald green. The clover charm is one that is usually used on Lizzie*Kate patterns.
I finished my heart as a basic padded ornament. Getting the fabric to lie smoothly around the heart's curve was slightly tricky — especially because I didn't leave myself much seam allowance! The cording and tassel were made from #5 DMC perle coton.
Hive & Blossoms
This is the second chart I finished from the 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar by Accord Publishing. This chart is for the month of August. The stitched area is 59 stitches square.
This piece uses only six shades of floss. The specialty stitches used are satin stitch in the hive and Smyrna cross in the border. The pattern calls for some pewter buttons. Instead, I found some bright yellow novelty bee buttons at Walmart. I used gold acrylic paint to dull them down a bit so they would match my hive. I'm quite pleased with the way they turned out!
I decided to frame this stitchery, using the printed cardboard mat that was included in the calendar.
Little Bit O' Blarney
I stitched this sweet ornament in time for St. Patrick's Day, but my needlework shop didn't have the clover charm for me until April. Sigh.
I bought this chart on eBay for no special reason whatsoever. I just liked it. I'm not Irish. I don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day except to wear green. But I thought it might be nice to have a new St. Patrick's Day decoration in my home.
I chose to stitch with Anchor floss and Gentle Art Sampler Thread floss this time. I like the quality of both these fibers a lot. For beads, I chose some from my stash that would work. They are Mill Hill white and Mill Hill emerald green. The clover charm is one that is usually used on Lizzie*Kate patterns.
I finished my heart as a basic padded ornament. Getting the fabric to lie smoothly around the heart's curve was slightly tricky — especially because I didn't leave myself much seam allowance! The cording and tassel were made from #5 DMC perle coton.
I continue to decorate my mantle with this ornament every year.
Hive & Blossoms
This is the second chart I finished from the 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar by Accord Publishing. This chart is for the month of August. The stitched area is 59 stitches square.
This piece uses only six shades of floss. The specialty stitches used are satin stitch in the hive and Smyrna cross in the border. The pattern calls for some pewter buttons. Instead, I found some bright yellow novelty bee buttons at Walmart. I used gold acrylic paint to dull them down a bit so they would match my hive. I'm quite pleased with the way they turned out!
I decided to frame this stitchery, using the printed cardboard mat that was included in the calendar.
April proved to be a fairly prolific stitching month for me. In May 2006, I finished another seven small pieces. I'm looking forward to sharing some of them next time.
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