Black Beauty

Nicole stitched this Cirque des Carreaux over 1 on 28 count black Jobelan with Gloriana's Silk Floss.  I just love the mix of solid color pastels with the multi in the same shades, and in such a nice color layout.  The colors just sing on that black.  What a beautiful job.  Hats off and a big happy dance!

She tells me she is working on Triangles next - I can't wait to see!

A Little Hanky Panky

Anne said she liked the way these different motifs fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Spot samplers like this ARE fun to stitch because things keep changing before you can get bored.  This sampler is Hanky Pysanky, inspired by the Ukrainian art used to decorate eggs.  She stitched up the full sampler on black 25-ct linen using a variety of silks from Needlepoint Inc and the Fiber Addict.  The Fiber Addicts silk was actually marketed as a binder yarn for spinners (think of the strong core that holds mohair yarn together) but that didn't hold back Anne.

Sometimes it's the best fun just to play around with different fibers and color combinations - try new things to see what works and what you like.  Stitching "smalls" is a great tool for test driving combos.  These are some of the ornaments and tie-ons that Anne made using motifs and improvisation.  The smaller ones can actually be worn as pendants - how clever is that!

The sampler is off at the framers and the smalls found their ways to Anne's friends and family.  What a wonderful job with a delightful outcome.  Thanks for sharing, Anne!

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!

Four in the Hand

Mel shows us that "Four in the Bush" is now actually in the hand.  She stitched this chart I posted as a Halloween freebie using the Carrie's colors I recommended in silks. Beautiful!

And if you ask me exactly of what there are four, I will reply, "Owl-bats."

For those who have yet to BoInk

..Don't worry that the mystery is over.  Many folks are just starting.  Some did finish within hours of the final mystery piece being posted, but people everywhere are working things through at their own pace and some haven't even heard of it yet.

Liz shares her finished Book of Ink Circles, a free mystery project I offered last year which became affectionately known as BoInk.  Like many stitchers, she's changed things around a bit to really make it her own piece.  This was a great solution for those who didn't really care for the four cats in the corners, despite their authentic Celtic heritage :o)  Once the jokes made the rounds about the cats "barfing" out the ribbons, I think they lost a few fans.  (But gained a few nicknames: Barfy, Spewey, Ralph, and Chuck)

In addition to the corner knots, Liz chose a unique palette of aquas, browns, and overdyed threads on her own handpainted 18 ct. eggshell canvas.  And it's done in needlepoint - you can see that better if you click to biggify.  (Did you know that nearly all of the Ink Circles designs convert well to needlepoint?  I'm just not big into the specialty and fractional stitches.)

Beautiful job, Liz! Thanks for sharing.

Designs Coming Full Circles

You'll recognize the two recent cross stitch designs at the heart of this project pair.  Both started out as a doodle, got charted out and stitched, and have now come to life in a new medium over the last week.  I used two different carving mediums.  I liked the pink "speedy stamp" better than the white "mastercarve," but I think I prefer real linoleum to the cuts-like-butter stuff.  A fairly successful project & the photos don't need much for explanation.

An Inkling of an Inkling

I've decided to give a special name to some smaller pieces that I'll be putting out.  They're going to be called "Inklings."  Twisted Heart would have been one, if I had thought of the name back then.  I love doing bigger projects, but it's so nice to have some littler ones to shake things up.  The first official one will be Fleur d'Orleans, and this is your sneak peek.

I'm debating between an oval frame and a flat fold. Thoughts?  I definitely need to find some Mardi Gras beads for the leaflet photo.  I should have the chart ready for release after Christmas, which should leave plenty of time for stitching it up before the King Cake goes in the oven.

Thanks go to Nick Pericone for suggesting I do a fleur de lys design.