Throwback Thursday - 1998 (Part 4 of 4)

As I look back on these projects I completed 20 years ago, I barely even remember making some of them -- especially those that I gave away as gifts. Others I still have and use at least once a year. Still others, I'd like to make again and keep for myself.

Forward we go through the Fall and Winter of 1998.


Blackwork Scissors Fob

This was a teaching piece for me. This is another example of blackwork stitched on some white aida. I made two different motifs and adhered them to a set of covered buttons. Then the two buttons are glued together and wrapped with cording and finished off with a tassel made from the same fibers that were used in the design.

Fobs are attached to scissors to help keep them from getting lost in the chair cushions!

Halloween Fingertip Towel

I stitched this Halloween-themed towel for a secret sister. I used a towel that already has a piece of aida woven into the edge. I took bits of three different charts to make this design:

• The moon, bats and lettering are from Shepherd's Bush
• The jack-o-lantern is by Sam Hawkins
• The border was inspired by Donna Kooler

Don't Bug Me!

This is a freebie chart from Lizzie*Kate. I made it into a little door hanger for Halloween. The hanging cording is made from all the colors of floss I used in the chart. This is one of the pieces I kept and display it every October.

Hardanger Motif

Another needlework technique I toyed with is Hardanger, a Scandinavian counted thread technique stitched on linen (or an evenweave). It's traditionally done with a cotton thread the matches the ground cloth. Hardanger emphasizes box shapes with areas of cutwork. This star shape is also a traditional design.

This was the first Hardanger design I ever attempted, so I stuck to a satin stitch pattern that required no cutting. I embellished the snowflake/star with some gold thread. I finished it as a little puff pillow ornament for a friend.

Mitten Ornaments

As the last project of 1998, I made about 25 of these little mitten ornaments. I gave most away, but kept these five for my family.

The mitten itself is made of felt. The hearts are appliqued onto the front using a buttonhole stitch. Buttonhole stitch also holds the front to the back of the mitten. Then I invaded my lace stash and used a variety of laces along the top as a cuff. I made little bows of plaid fabric cut with pinking shears for a zig-zag edge. Then I raided my button stash to embellish the bow. Finally,  piece of ribbon was attached inside the top cuff, used to hang the ornaments on the tree.

This is one of my favorite handcrafted ornaments. I liked the idea so much that I used it again a few years later, with a candy cane motif instead of the heart. We hang these little mittens on our Christmas tree each year.

Next week: 1999

Rabbit Rehab

Way back when I was about 5 years old, I was given this little stuffed bunny. My oldest brother, Paul, was away from home at St. Catherine's Military School while he was in junior high. I'm not sure why it was recommended that he go there, but it was a boarding school in a nearby town.

My little child brain remembers going there on one special occasion to watch him and his classmates march and parade in the school yard. Afterward, I believe there was some kind of craft bazaar run by the nuns. Or maybe the two events weren't connected. But that Christmas, he gave one of these little nun-made bunnies to each of his four sisters, each bunny a different color.

It's hard to see now, but my bunny is white with pink ears, paws, and tail. Or ... was. She lives in my box of Easter decorations now, but for years and years she sat on a shelf with my other special childhood toys in a place of honor ... but gathering dust.

When I took her out in March, she was looking really pathetic. She is about 55 years old, so I'll cut her some slack. Just look at those eyes! Who can resist them?! I decided to see if I could spruce her up. I had to take her head off and scoop out her stuffing before I washed her. She was stuffed with paper pulp. I cleared it out of her body and head, but it had to stay in her paws and tail. I washed her gently, and boy! Was she dirty!

She's made of wool yarn. After I washed her, some of the crochet detail was lost as the water and mild soap changed the texture. Not all the dirt came out, but she does look a lot brighter. I re-stuffed her with polyester fiberfill, mended her holes, reinforced her ears, and sewed her head back on. I couldn't find yarn to match, so I had to make do with some light pink.

When she was reassembled, I have her a bright red ribbon to match her button eyes and felt tongue. My guess is that she'll last another 55 years, even if I don't. And she'll look good doing it!

Dogwood at the Doctor's Office

I needed to stop by the doctor's office for a blood test this morning. The dogwood tree out front was in glorious bloom.

I'm pretty glad I had to be there so I could witness this.

I Am Light

All colors in one

Click for larger image

While I was writing in my journal this morning, the sun reflected off my cell phone screen and burst into a prism.

Flowers of the Forest Floor (part 2)

A month ago, the forest floor was covered in purple. Now, it's yellow

and yellow

and yellow

and yellow. The arrowleaf balsamroot are in bloom.

A Quick Stitch

Today I finished up a quick little chart from a kit called In the Garden.

It only took me 14 years.

The story is that the kit was a "Mommy and Me" pattern. Mommy had the "big" chart. The small chart was a coordinating design for the child. The idea was to teach the child how to cross-stitch.

My daughter Jodie, who was 11 years old in July 2004, wanted to learn to do cross-stitch. This is the chart I used to teach her. I don't think either of us finished way back when. But I found this chart in my stash, nearly done. I finished it up today and will use it to create a cover for my next gratitude journal.

Compatible

The periwinkle and ivy grow in harmony in the shade on the north side of the house.

Throwback Thursday - 1998 (Part 3 of 4)

My walk through 1998 continues from mid-year.


Just Like You

This is the companion piece to My Heart Belongs to Daddy which I completed in 1997. I still have these two pieces hanging in the hall by our office door.

.
Santa Bear

I used this Christmas ornament as a teaching piece. My oldest daughter, Jeanne, wanted to learn how to stitch. So she and I each began this ornament. We stitched our ornaments side-by-side, and she did finish hers. But she didn't catch the cross-stitch bug the way I did. She did, however, design a few cross-stitch pieces, some of which I stitched and will point out later.

Best Friends

On the insistence of my 5-year-old Jodie, I bought and stitched this kit. As a little girl, she thought of herself as piglet and her daddy as Pooh. Dale and Jodie surely did interact the way piglet and pooh do in this piece. I recently passed this piece on to my granddaughter, Melody.

September Birthday Faerie

In 1998, fairies were all the rage in the stitching world. When I found the Birthday Faeries book by Barbara Baatz at a local store, I understood what the fuss was all about. They really are quite pretty. The wings have blending filament in them to make them shimmer. The overskirt has beads to add dimension. I stitched this faerie for my daughter Julie's 12th birthday, and managed to keep it a surprise.

Earth's Book Mark

I stitched this bookmark for an online friend of mine who was an in-person to my brother Paul. She was a great support to him as he went through cancer treatments, and a great support to me by keeping me informed about how he was doing.

This bookmark is designed by Betsy C. Stinner of Earth Threads

Drive the Cats Crazy

This freebie chart by Ruth Sparrow of Twisted Threads is an adaptation of the cartoons by Emerson Quillin. I used some Alpaca wool to stitch the mouse to make its fur nice and fuzzy. I used some rayon thread for the bra to make it shiny and silky -- just like any female mouse would want! Then I used some cotton floss and a #9 crochet hook to make the mouse some nice warm slipper and appliqued them onto the end of her hairy little legs! I sure wish I had better macro photos of this one. It's the details that make this piece pop.

Layers of Color

Layers of flowers and grass and bushes

Layers of reds and yellows and greens

Trees in My Back Yard

Mini Blues

My neighbors have the loveliest gardens.

I found these baby flowers next to the sidewalk on my morning walk.

Flowers of the Forest Floor

Three weeks ago, the forest floor was covered with these delicate purple flowers. I think they're called Douglas' grasswidow.

I walked the trails again today. The purples are gone. Arrowleaf balsamroot and yarrow have replaced the purple with bright yellow.

Perhaps I can get some photos of them before the forest floor changes again.

10 Months

My little Melody ... from just over a month ago. Yummy graham crackers!

I hear she's starting to walk now!

Grape Hyacinth

We have a bumper crop this year by the front door and in the back yard on the hill. So pretty to see the waves of purple.

Throwback Thursday - 1998 (Part 2 of 4)

Hoppy Easter

Part two of looking back on my 1998 stitching begins with Easter. I found a quick, cute chart by The Sweetheart Tree. I wanted to give stitching on black a try. It's cute, but the pastel colors of floss would have been sweeter on a lighter fabric.

Silver Splendor

My next jump in learning about different kinds of counted thread embroidery came with an Embroidery Guild of America  (EGA) correspondence course on blackwork. The goal in blackwork is to make the stitching on front of your work and the back of your work look identical. This is achieved by utilizing a double running stitch in a specific pattern. The added beads are stitched only to the front. The numbers on the white piece in these photos are where the class instructor evaluated the piece and gave suggestions on how to improve my work.

I enjoyed this class so much that I stitched the pattern twice - one on white and the other on black. I used rayon threads and stranded gold metallic threads on the black piece so it sparkles in the light and is striking against the black ground cloth.

Pattern Darning Bookmarks

The next counted thread technique I learned is called pattern darning. This is another technique that can give you a reversible completed piece. Unlike blackwork, both sides may not be exactly the same. But the pattern formed on both sides is pleasing, and thus reversible.

Pattern Darning stitches are executed like a running stitch by using an "over and under" stitching method. As you work back and forth across the fabric, the tread running under the fabric will create a shadow which is an important part of the design. When you flip your piece over, you have a different design, also enhanced by the shadow of the stitches on the other side of the fabric.

Creative Kids Bookmark

This was a teacher gift for my daughter's preschool teacher.

Teacher Pencil Holder

This was the other gift I made for Jodie's preschool teacher. I stitched the apple with red rayon thread so that it would be shiny. I covered a soup can with the stitchery and glued ribbon around the top and bottom edges. Then I filled it with some nice sharp pencils.

Winter Warmth

'Tis done!

I decided to alter the chart just a bit to change the background behind the cup from black to green. I like it quite a bit. I also added more backstitching on the flower motifs on the cup to help them stand out, as well as backstitching around the steam. Those elements *pop* now. I also chose to leave off button embellishments because I didn't find any that worked well. I don't think this piece really needs them.

Winter Warmth is the last of the patterns from my 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar. This means that I've now completed another of my 18 Goals in 2018. Hooray!

I like that it only took me twelve years to complete these twelve small charts. I have many other patterns much older than this. In fact, I plan to stitch one of them later this year called Letter Snow. It's a snowman standing in a snowstorm of flakes shaped like the alphabet. That one will be in homage to my mom whose favorite Christmas song was Let It Snow. Stitching that pattern is another of my annual goals.

April Goal Update

It's that time again. Let's see what kind of progress I made this month on my 18 Goals in 2018.


Goal 1: Finish all the charts in the 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar and frame them / get them ready to display.

I finished Bud Vase and I'm nearly done with Winter Warmth.

Goal 12: Read Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck

I listened to the audio book. FYI, I recommend reading it and working through each of the exercises instead of listening to the audio book. The narrator really oversells it and is crazy annoying to listen to. Gratefully, I got out of the book what I needed.

Goal 13: Work through The Artist's Way course

I'm making nice progress and totally enjoying the process.

Goal 18: Go on a retreat

I went to Arizona for a Celebrate Your Life retreat with authors Elizabeth Gilbert and Martha Beck. It was spectacular -- so much more than I'd hoped for. I met some marvelous women and learned some techniques that I continue to use every day to nurture my soul and creativity. The retreat dove-tailed beautifully with The Artist's Way course.

This means that at 1/3 of the way through the year, I've completed three goals and have made progress on four more. I feel good about this.