A Gentle Bouquet

This is Karen's first Ink Circles design, Bloomers.  Let's join her in a little happy dance, then nod our heads solemnly and acknowledge the path of addiction that she has willfully stepped onto.

Just a note from me on how I had to scan my catalog page 3 times before finding Bloomers on it because the contrast in colors/fabric were so different than my version. Gotta love them all! Don't be shy about customizing.

BTW, if anyone wants to make the joke that they can see Karen's Bloomers - feel free. :o)

Thanks for sharing, Karen!  May you find many more little x's in your future.

Another Bloomin' Finish

Shannon picked out alternate colors she knew would match well to her mom's decor, then finished up her Bloomers into this sweet tea tray by Sudberry House.  Sudberry makes a number of high quality wood pieces for finishing needlework like boxes and tea trays that are a fun alternative to framing.  It's such a cool way to finish a piece after putting so much time and love into it.

Shannon's Christmas gift to her mom will be treasured.  And I thank her as well, for sharing such a beautiful finishing idea with us.

So, have you done something nice for your mom lately?  Make her a little gifty - I'm sure she will love it!

Mel Flashes Her Bloomers in Public!

The first two questions out of Mel's mouth when I show her a new design, are

1. What Carrie's Threads would you use?
2. What would it look like stitched on black?

Some designs end up looking quite awesome on black fabric.  This is her Bloomers in Carrie's Thread, on black - almost unrecognizable from the original pastels on brown that I had chosen.  Carrie's Threads includes a number of options that are really vibrant and make this piece "pop" on the black.  The colors that Mel used are not exactly the same placement as the list on the web I suggest because I was ditzy and forgot to write down what I sent her and floss-tossed it a second time.  Consider this Exhibit A to means there are MANY possibilties in any piece and you can relax and pick what colors YOU like. It'll be smashing! Be sure to send me a picture.

Now, that free chart that was posted a few days ago...after considerable playing around with colors, I decided it really didn't look great on black in the five color version.  As a monochrome, it looked neat in any of many colors.  Not wanting to squelch anyone's attempts, I would love to be proven wrong and be shown a super conversion on black.  Meanwhile, I'll just post the answer to Mel's first question.  The Carrie's threads I like for this are: Soot, Peach, Pina Colada, Dried Sage, and Garnet.  I like the slightly dusky palette on this piece and picked muted shades.  It could easily be pepped up to Raven (Black) and a full-on Rainbow for the highlights.  It could also be done as a monochrome using a variegated thread.  You decide.