I'd like to be...

Under the sea, in an Octopus's Garden in the shade.  Honestly, who doesn't love that Beatles' song? This is one of the earliest Ink Circles designs, and I'm hoping some of you love it too.  I can't say the song was the inspiration, but it sure came to mind when I needed a name for the chart.

Kate took a brief visit to their garden and sends us this snapshot. She did a lovely job and now probably will have that earworm stuck in her head for the rest of the week. To cap off with a bad pun, I congratulate Kate on her fine job - she did swimmingly.  (Does anybody besides me use that word?)

Sneak Peek

Things have been quiet, so I thought I'd perk things up with a peek at some of the smalls that go with a new design coming out soon.  My biggest conundrum is how to photograph a biscornu. It seems that no single camera shot can do them justice.

Joining the Circus

It's not really practical for most of us to run away and join the circus, but we highly encourage you to join the Cirque craze!

Stefanie started her Cirques circuit with Cirque des Cercles using Sassys Fabbys Bluebell 32ct lugana and a custom color HDF Single strand premium over 2 (2329/5141/5300).  This came out so beautifully!

After such a beautiful finish, she has moved on to Cirque des Careaux (CDCx) and shared this picture of her WIP.  She is using Sassys Fabbys Angel Dust 32ct lugana with another custom HDF single strand premium over 2 (6119/5141/5300).  This silk is such an amazing color, and it matches so well with that fabric.  Stefanie is going to have a lovely Ink Circles wall.

Thank you, Stefanie, for sharing your fab photos!

On a personal note, it became clear to me that if I intended to take the Ink Circles show to Nashville next year, that I would clearly be remiss if I didn't have a stitched model of Cercles myself.  The gold on black beauty on the leaflet cover was stitched by Marc Davis, who generously let me use his photograph.  So, I'm stitching up my version.  Let me just say that you [stitchers at large] made picking a color combo sooooooo hard. I have seen so many fabulous combinations paraded in front of me that I was almost paralyzed with options.  More on that later...

A Quick Read

Well, actually you don't "read" a needlebook, but they are quick little projects to make up.  Every stitcher should have a needlebook or two tucked into all their different project bags.  It's a good idea to trade out needles frequently and this is a nice way to keep a few extras on hand.

Needlebooks also make great gifts and exchange projects. This is the treasure that Nicole made for Stacey for an exchange recently.  The Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon Mandala was a free chart I offered a few years back.  Nicole's exchange was themed "BeCause it's Pink."  Depending on how you pick your thread colors, you can actually customise this ribbon mandala to support any cause.  Nicole used DMC Variations 3350 with DMC solids 961, 962, and 225 on 32 ct. mushroom Lugana.

Can you believe this is the first needlebook Nicole has ever made?  I think she did an amazing job.  And - she has created a beautiful and useful gift for her friend. Why not give one a try?

Love Is Blind

Here is a new freebie for you. It's more of a project for you to compose, as I am only providing the raw template and the information. You get to create whatever message you want, and then to use it in whatever format you like.  You can make a pillow or a sign, put your initials on something... use your imagination.  And share a picture with us if you make something cool.

Dowload the pattern here.  It includes the template plus the Braille alphabet.  Can you read what I wrote?

Are you noticing a trend?

I guess Black is the new Black!  This makes a perfect Hat Trick of brights on black by Ink Circles stitchers this week.  Without further adieu, I present the Bramble and the Rose by Sharon.  Now, anyone can see it's black fabric, but you might not have guessed (or be able to tell at this resolution) that it is 1 over 1 on 28 count!  You might also have guessed the silk is HDF. Which it is, Hibiscus to be precise.

This came out simply stunning; thank you for letting me post your picture here, Sharon - it is an inspiration.  My hat is off to all who can stitch on black fabric. Three cheers for black!  Three cheers for not being afraid of colors!  Three cheers for actually FINISHING your WIP.
Hip Hip Hooray!

OOOHHHH you guys, I'm going to need a bigger Thesaurus so I don't sound like a broken record.

In Full Bloom

I always thought it a shame that you could only see the growth rings on a tree once it was cut down.  These Growth Rings are not quite the same concentric ones we see in a tree trunk, nor does exposing them mean the death of the plant. Every little "cell" of this design is bursting with flowers, leaves, or seed pods.

This is Rosanne's version of Growth Rings.  It's done on 25 count black Lugana using Anchor variegated threads 186 and 1345.  She used 3 strands of floss to get good coverage given the large fabric count. Given that fabric count, the finished piece is roughly the size of a redwood trunk.  I'm not sure of her finishing plans, but table topper might be a good option. It's going to look fabulous no matter what she does.

Thanks for sharing your beautiful finish, Rosanne!  You did an exquisite job.

Folks looking for the Growth Rings pattern will need to get their hands on the back issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine (March/April 2009) or wait until later this year when the copyright flips back to me and I can release it as a stand-alone chart.