Saturday, August 29, 2015

My Designs

I have come up with a few of my own designs in the last couple of years.

 

This is a Wessex Stitchery sampler. Wessex Stitchery uses simple stitches to create a wide range of patterns. This technique was created by Margaret Foster of Bath, England in the early 1900s.

 

 

I did not design any of the peacock motifs used in the next embroidery. I just collected some of my favorites from various sources and combined them into a sampler.

 

 

This next piece is a sampler of Bargello stitches.

 

 

Recent finishes +1

First, the '+1'. This is the first blackwork sampler I ever did (1979!) but I recently refurbished it with a new frame and no glass so I decided to include a picture of it.

 

 

This chart is from a Dutch designer, Jan Houtman.

 

 

This is from a French designer, Papillon Creations. It was published in 24 installments over 2 years and was a 'mystery' sampler since we didn't know what the finished work would look like until the end. It has stitches that are representative of countries from around the world.

 

 

This next one is called Spring Quakers and is from Rosewood Manor.

 

 

I have done a few canvas work pieces recently. This is Cleopatra's Cat by Mary Long.

 

 

And this is Daphne Reborn by Michael E. Boren.

 

 

Lace

I did not make any of this lace. They were purchased on our trip to the Adriatic.

 

First up is Lepoglava lace from Croatia. It is a type of bobbin lace.

 

 

This is Hvar lace, also from Croatia. This lace is unique in that the thread is collected from the aloe leaves of agave plants that grow on the island of Hvar. The leaves are picked at a certain time of the year and are then specially processed to produce a thin, white thread. The Benedictine nuns in the town of Hvar are the only ones who make the Hvar lace. [thanks Wikipedia]

 

 

This last one is Idrija lace from Slovenia. It is also a bobbin lace.

 

 

 

Miscellaneous

These are a few miscellaneous items. First up is a cross stitched and beaded house. The photo shows all four sides of the same house.

 

 

And how about this guy? His name is Hootie and I think he is just toooo cute. He was knitted with novelty yarn then filled with sand and is a door stop. His face is done with felt.

 

 

Last, but certainly not least, is my 6.5 ft by 1.5 ft rug. This is a traditional Scandinavian hand-knotted wool rya rug. It took me seven years (I didn't work on it continuously) and 10,500 knots to complete it. Whew!

 

 

Some Cards and Gifts

This is a souvenir I made for Annika, my penpal in Sweden, to commemorate a brief vacation together in Sweden In 2012. We celebrated 46 years of "pen-fighting" this year.

 

 

These are some greeting cards I have stitched. This first one is a technique called Wessex Stitchery.

 

 

These next two are done in the Swedish Sollerosom technique.

 

 

 

This is cross stitch.

 

 

And this one was done in beads.

 

 

In the gift department ... this is a small Hardanger mat.

 

 

Placemats and napkin holders in cross stitch.

 

 

A small cross stitch for my mother's birthday.

 

 

And a small cross stitch in the Swiss paper cutting style.

 

 

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Needlework ornaments

Some of you may have noticed I haven't been keeping up with photos of my needlework on my website (or maybe you just thought I quit stitching - that'll never happen!). The way photos are displayed on my website makes it difficult to quickly find anything new so I have decided to start posting pictures of the needlework I finish here. I have a bit of catching up to do but in the future I plan to post new stuff as soon as I finish it.

 

So, for a start, here are some Christmas ornaments from the last few years.