Did You Meet Elvis, Mama & Baby Kool?

I don't think I introduced you to these fun little guys, did I? Needlepoint Now readers will recognize them from the November/December 2008 issue. They caught my eye immediately, & when I saw I could order Mom & Baby Kool kitted up, I asked designer Peg Dunayer if I could add Elvis to the package. I was thrilled when this package, which included the two painted canvases, threads & simple, easy to follow stitch guides, arrived during the Christmas festivities.

After I packed away my tree & other decorations, these little fellows were the first on my list in the New Year. Aren't the fun? I absolutely love Elvis' little vest....if you look carefully, you will see the diagonal mosaic tilted two different directions for the oppposite sides of the vest. And the little bead buttons? Mom has a fun collar from Flair as well, looks like a little lace collar.

The Needlepoint Now article has directions for finishing the items yourself, as well as a cute little "Kool Family Home" which is a needle case. See, Elvis is actually intended to be a scissor fob, & the home a needle case. Mom & Baby Kool are a scissors case. But I preferred these as...you guessed it...ornaments. So on my tree they will go!

D

Mary Is Finished

I finished Mary around 11:30 last night. I am really happy with how she came out. Amy's stitch guide for the Kelly Clark Nativity Series just gets better and better. Mary's stitch guide was a little more challenging than Kit 1, Baby Jesus. Hair is not my forte but I am happy with the way it came out. My daughter, Jennifer, said her hair is better than mine but my white scarf is better than hers. Joseph arrived early. I was not expecting him until April 1. Am anxious to get him started but I have to stitch the second All That Glitters ornament. Hope to have that done by the middle of the week.



Today Denise and I went to pack up some of the large items in Ashley's dorm room. Of course we went to Rittenhouse Needlepoint. I felt like royalty. I was served tea in a Rittenhouse mug with my own special teapot for my delicious green tea. Denise had coffee in a Rittenhouse mug with a piece of danish. In addition, to our afternoon tea, the store was having two trunk shows.

They must have had every box that HP Designs makes. I never saw so many beautiful boxes. All different sizes and colors. Denise picked up the most exquisite box for one of her canvases.

The color was so beautiful. I am sure that she will be posting a picture of it. Needless to say we had a wonderful day. It is always fun to go visit our friends in other needlepoint stores.

My little Quilted Heart

Quite a few things have also come back from the finishers for me. I am trying to pace myself in posting these....

This was a fun little project. Of course now I have no idea what to do with it. I hung it on the stair railing at home, only to find kitten Cara walking around with it in her mouth 2 minutes later. Then I hung it up high, on my daughter's door, only to have both Cara & Mia leaping into the air trying to get to it.

So for now it's in the top drawer of my sideboard, until it looks less interesting to them.

Tomorrow Linda & I are off to Philly, ostensibly to visit with my daughter, take her & some friends to lunch, and bring home some stuff---the end of the school year is actually in sight!

Of course you all know that Rittenhouse Needlepoint is right near where we are going for lunch.......D

Finished Sophisticated Socks

I just picked up my finished sophisticated socks from our LNS, Stitch by Stitch in Larchmont. They really did a fabulous job on them. Each sock as some toys and presents in them.

My Christmas tree this year is really going to filled with needlepoint ornaments.

Today I left the first All That Glitters ornament for finishing. Cannot wait to see how this one comes out.

I am still working on Mary, Kit 2 of the Nativity Home Study. Mary should be completed by Friday. Will post a picture then. She really is coming out great.

Linda

Finished the Ribbon Initial--Updated

I worked my little fingers to the bone, but I finished the ribbon initial. What do you think?

Should I make a pillow from this? What kind? Framed out? What kind of trim? What kind of fabric backing? Or should I make a wall hanging (no idea where I'll hang it though). What about setting it on an easel? Both Linda & I need some ideas from you.....help!

I was kind of stuck after putting the first few spiderweb roses on....now what? Fortunately, my ANG chapter had a very timely class this week on silk ribbon embroidery, and I was inspired to work on this & get it finished.

The class was taught by Lynn Shamberger, and was so very informative. I really learned a lot abour ribbon embroidery, and even though I had familiarity with the method, Lynn really inspired me.

I will admit that my fingers got tired tonight....it's hard to pull that ribbon through the canvas sometime.

Looking forward to your feedback.....D

This week's quick little project

Hi!

There's been a whole lot of silence from me, as I have been busy with projects that are too incomplete to discuss. Right now, awaiting my attention, in various stages of completion, are the Ribbon Initial project, and a little white nutcracker, and my flag (remember that--I have 80 of 247 boxes done), and my DH's "My Life" belt from Amy Bunger's Golden Strand, and my ANG STOM Kimono project which I just drew onto the canvas & mounted onto bars......so as I said, I've been busy, but unlike Linda, I have nothing to show you.

Here's the quick little project I worked on this week. It came all packaged up from my LNS, Stitch by Stitch, in Larchmont. The shading was accomplished using Threadworx overdyes--very effectively, I thought. And straight basketweave. Mindless but fun.

So of course when I went to hand this in for finishing I had to get a little more canvas and more overdyed thread, so I can make an Italian flag as well. In between what, I am not sure.

I also have quite a few other projects ready to leap onto the front burner when I get some of the above out of the way.

I will be posting photos of some of my finished items which I picked up from my LNS over the past 2 weeks. I am waiting for my "good" camera to come back from the repair shop.

D

Finished Handbag

This week seems to be finishing week. Just picked up my finished bag from LNS. The bag was finished by Marlene's Custom Pillows in California. They did a really fabulous job. The bag is in blue leather and the interior of the bag is in hot pink. Just love it! Cannot wait for Spring to use it.

Linda

Just Back From Finisher

UPS just delivered my finished pillow of Shelly Tribbey's Flower Shopping Lady, with stitch guide by Ruth Schmuff and finishing by Ruth Schmuff. Isn't she beautiful? I handed her in for finishing in November and just received her back today. She was certainly worth waiting for.

She is finished in raw silk with pink trim, just perfect for my family room. I have had several items finished by Ruth and I must say that her finishing is always spectacular. All Ruth's finishing always comes back better then I ever imagined. Everything is always perfect down to the smallest detail. Well worth waiting for when you get back a beautiful and perfect piece.

Ruth's first Flake arrived on Friday and he is really cute. Stitch guide is great. Cannot wait to start this one. First I have to finish Kit 2, Mary, of the Amy's Nativity Home Study Course and then the second of the All That Glitters ornament. So much pressure.

Linda

First All That Glitters Ornament Is Done

Here is the completed All That Glitters Ornament. It is the first in the series of twelve. This is the club by Needle House with stitch guide by Nancy Laux and canvas by A Collection of Designs.
I thought that I would have this ornament done in four days but it took me a week. There was a lot of detail work on this piece which took time to do. I am very happy with the way it came out. Am now waiting to see how Needle House finishes it before I send it off for finishing. The second in the series should be arriving soon. I really enjoyed stitching this piece. I loved all the threads and crystals. Nancy did a fabulous job on the stitch guide. A lot of stitches were used not just basketweave. Highly recommend this club.

I have just started Kit 2 Mary from Amy's Nativity Home Study Course. I am learning so much from this course and having a great time doing it. Hope to have Kit 2 done within the next two weeks.

On Thursday the first of The Flakes Club will be arriving. This club is by Ruth Schmuff of Bedecked and Beadazzled. Looking forward to see what Ruth has done with this club. She always does a great time. Will keep you posted.

Linda

The Completed Mantle

Finalmente!

Here it is, my completed mantle canvas. The original canvas' stitch guide had the mantle garland being stitched on, creating the mirror with stitches & ornamentation, and stitching a few mini stockings to be self finished and hung with care.

Since I have finished a few tiny ornaments by hand, I was not thrilled with this idea. So I dug into my research from a past obsession, dollhousing, which my DD & I were deeply involved in years ago. I decided to decorate my mantle with dollhouse miniatures.

As you can see from the photo, that is in fact a real mirror---see my hand reflected in the photo?! I attached the mirror, the mantle garland and the stockings with clear nylon thread. Off to the framers' this week!

Hope you enjoyed this adventure with me. I enjoyed working this canvas, and learned from the stitch guide as well as developed confidence to change things as I saw them.

D

Newest Club

Here is the newest arrival to my clubs. It is put out by Needles and Threads of Ruxton. The canvas is by Savannah Designs and the stitch guide is by Judy Greer, the owner of Needles and Threads. There are twelve Gnomes in the series. They are really very cute and the stitch guides and thread selections are excellent. Judy really did a great job on the stitch guide. It is very easy to follow, stitch diagrams are great and it is layed out in a style that makes stitching and following the guide very easy. Judy has designed the club so that you do not have to purchase all twelve. A very smart move in today's economy. I only signed up for three. Judy is giving a 5% discount on the purchase of three and a larger discount depending on the number you buy. Another very smart move. If I was not overwhelmed with all my other clubs and Home Study Course, I would have signed up for all twelve but there is just not enough time in the day for me to accomplish everything.

Linda

Christmas Everywhere

Non-stitchers are always so amused when they see you working on a Christmas canvas when Christmas is 10 months away. Of course, they have no idea about finishing deadlines in September and the amount of time it takes to stitch a Christmas canvas, and they are always so amazed when you inform them of these very pertinent facts.

Linda has been stitching (beautifully) away on the Nativity set with Amy Bunger's Home Study class, and I am sometimes reluctant to post soon after she displays her stitching, as I want you all to enjoy what she's done. I am stitching, too, although not as diligently (I managed to restrain myself and NOT join three monthly clubs like my Stitching Sister!). Here's a photo of what I did this past weekend.

This is one of Melissa Shirley's candy canes. I did a Skip Tent for the background, in Alabaster. For the gold squares, I used Kreinik in Scotch stitches. For the hearts, I did a Van Dyke for the green stripes, again in Kreinik, and for the red in the hearts, I used some Vineyard Silk in a gobelin stitch. I used my stash for all the threads....LOVE doing that!

I promise to add on the embellishments to the mantle and post a photo of that soon. Linda has shown you what the ribbon initial canvas looks like; mine looks the same except there's a W there instead of an L. When we get some ribbon flowers on it we will show you the finished products.

D

Completed Baby and Manger

I have just completed the stitching of Kit 1 of the Nativity Home Study Course by Amy Bunger,

canvas by Kelly Clark. I really enjoyed stitching this piece. Everyday I would look forward to working on it. Each area offered you new threads and stitches. You never got bored with stitching it. Amy's stitch guides are totally amazing. I learned so much from this first course. You were challenged but not to the point of frustration.

Kit 2, Mary, arrived on Friday and I can tell already that I am going to be challenged. I cannot wait to get started on her. I had a question about the background and emailed Amy last night and this morning I had a response to my question. Amy's courses are just like taking a class where the teacher is there to help you.

I cannot wait until May when my daughter, Jennifer, and I go to Memphis to meet Amy and take her Cook Up A Canvas Class. I can only imagine what wonderful stitches and threads she will come up with for our canvases.

Now I am going to stitch my first All That Glitters ornament that came several weeks ago. Will post pictures on my progress. After that I will stitch Kit 2, Mary, and then The Flakes from Ruth Schmuff will be arriving. There are just not enough hours in the day.

Linda