Needlepoint

I finished Marilyn Owen's Ornament Quartet, one of the projects in the ANG Chapter Project book.  It was the education program for a Cyberpointers meeting.  I even finished the individual pieces as ornaments.

 I also finished all of the lesson 1 stitching for Terry Dryden's Moroccan Sands, offered as a Cyberworkshop through ANG.  I love the colors in this piece and I like working on counted geometric designs.

Finally, I continue to work on my kimono.  It was involved in an accident with a cup of coffee and a cat, but none of the stitched areas were damaged.  Here it is half done.  I love the way that the stitch textures and colors work together and in the individual sections.  Many of them look like brocades or patterned fabrics.

Finished needlepoint

I finished my Mad Miters piece yesterday.  I learned quite a bit from this on-line class presented by Liz Morrow through Cyberpointers.  I would like to stitch another Mad Miters piece but I think I will chart the next one out more carefully and use brighter colors.

I have continued to finish older pieces.  Here are three variations of Orna Willis's piece Making Memories from the ANG Seminar in Milwaukee, WI.  I finished them two different ways -- as an insert on a book cover and as a pendant -- in two different colorways.

Another Finish

I am continuing to work on older pieces and finished a second version of Orna Willis's Creating Memories last night.  This was a class at the ANG Seminar in Milwaukee in 2009. I finished one at the Seminar and  I put it on the cover of a book.  This one is a pendant.  I have the materials to make two in the brown colorway.  I will make one book cover inset and one into a pendant.  

Copper River Canyon completed

I completed Mary K. Campbell's piece Copper River Canyon last month and am finally posting pictures. The design is based on an interpretation of the topography of a desert canyon presented in thread and beads on canvas. The beads add dimension and texture to the piece. The black work adds depth.   It was taught as a class through Cyberpointers a few years ago.

I added the stitched border around the edges which makes the piece look more finished and complete.  I have not decided how to finish the piece.  I could add it to a bag or make it into a purse, but it would also be attractive inset into a pillow.

Talaquepaque finished

I have mixed feelings about posting this finish.  It is a canvas from Sundance Designs with a stitch guide.  I bought it as a kit when a local needlepoint store wet out of business a decade ago.

The piece is my local ANG chapter challenge from last year.  When I first purchased it, it was intended to be an anniversary present for my husband.  I went to Sedona as a child, and remember when Talaquepaque was first built, my father still owns a print I remember them purchasing there one summer.  I became engaged in Sedona, and probably visited Teaaquepaque on that trip.  I also think I visited it on a family trip to the Grand Canyon with the kids.

The piece itself was kind of a pain to stitch.  I am not a fan of chain stitch on canvas, I would prefer to work that type of stitch in hand but that is why the tree trunks are made of.  The rayon boucle for the leaves o the trees shredded and I had to buy more.  There were too many lines on the line drawn canvas and the windows and wall above the door don't match the photo of the original piece.  But it actually looks very good and is a very pretty piece.

Sedona itself  is now so built up that the remote Oak Creek Canyon paradise where I caught frogs and picked up pieces of sand stone is now gone, and the marriage is ending.  In any case it is finished.

John Waddell Kimono part 3

I have completed Part 3 of the Kimono.  I am not sure if I am happy with two dark green patches next to each other and there is a mistake in the compensation on one of them.  I didn't want to fix it until I have stitched part 4 and see how the two dark sections fit in with the rest.  Other than that, this project is fantastic and a lot of fun to stitch.

Cobblefield Road Completed

I finished stitching Jean Hilton's Cobblefield Road toady.  It was offered as a cyber workshop through the American Needlepoint Guild in 2007.  Ro Pace updated the color selections and the instructions.  I used her color selections and the suggested sparkly canvas.  It is the second Hilton stitch piece that I have completed this year.

Menagerie Parts 5 and 6

I have finished the next two parts of the 2012 Cyberpointers Mystery Project.  It is called Menagerie and is based on a series of instructions and design suggestions from Karen Anthony.  Block 5 is a group of Box Stitches stitched in two colors of Medici wool.  A white rayon is used for the small dividing bands between the sections.  The stitches in this block look very delicate.

Block 6 is a group of Diagonal Stitches.  I used a variety of threads in different color patterns and textures including cotton, silk and wool, rayon, and nylon to make up the different sections.  These threads and pattern stitches look bolder than the ones in Block 5.

John Waddell Kimono Part 2

I have finished sections 14 through 26 of John Waddell's Kimono.  The colors continue to come together.  I have about ten threads left that I have not used yet; they are different shades of colors that already appear on the kimono.  I have included a photo of the kimono so far and a picture of the sections from the second lesson.

Menagerie parts 3 and 4

I completed two more squares in the Menagerie sampler.  One is eyelet stitches, the other is herringbone and tied stitches.  I am enjoying making up the patterns in the squares as I go along and trying out different combinations of red white and blue threads.

Kimono sections 1 to 13

I am working on a needlepoint Kimono that was originally designed by Maggie Lane.  John Waddell is offering a colorful version as a course through the Shining Needle Society.  Although I really want to make one that is black, red and gold on black canvas with the color spacing like the one Teresa Frank entered in the exhibit at the 2004 ANG Seminar in Reno.  I would like to use red in place of the blue and black for the cream portions, but I have been seduced by all of the colors that everyone is posting.  So I selected colors from my stash:

The threads include two colors of Caron waterlilies, a couple of skeins of Walsh silk and wool, some Needle Necessities, quite a few Gumnuts "buds", some stranded metalics, a couple of rayon threads, and some other stranded cottons.  I added DMC to expand the range for each of the main colors and to give me more stranded fibers to work with.  Using John's random color selection method, I stitched the first 13 sections of the Kimono:

I am delighted with the results.

Cyberpointers Menagerie

The year long project for 2012 at Cyberpointers this year is a sampler project called Menagerie.  I started mine this weekend and stitched the first two blocks.  I have a bag full of red, white and blue fibers that will provide a perfect assortment of threads and textures for this project in a limited color scheme.  I also had a piece of 18 count tan canvas that was large enough for a 12 x 18 sampler which will allow for twenty four 3 x 3 squares.  The first two squares are shown here.  They are Hilton stitches and Rhodes variations.

Family Photos

I love this picture of my mother as a little girl.  There are two others, one of her mother and one of her Grandmother all dressed as little cowboys at about the same age.  This one is from 1944 and it makes it easy to see that she came from Texas.

I also finished some stitching, a small needlepoint bookmark for a friend.  I need to sew the ends together and put it in the mail.

Large projects

 I like working detailed projects on high count even weave and have a collection of started projects, large and small.  This photo shows one quarter of the design, stitched with gloriana silk.  The color is beautiful, the piece is intricate and detailed and it looks beautiful.  I love the colors and I love the design.  It is fun to stitch on for a while and then becomes boring -- it may be the only large monochromatic piece I will ever stitch.

My other large project is just the opposite, it is a large needlepoint rug on 13 count canvas.  The colors are vibrant and full of life.  It was someone else's UFO and was brought into an ANG meeting and offered to anyone who wanted it.  I have been working on large count, straight forward needlepoint this year so I brought it home.  I am working my way through the flowers one color at a time and am almost done with the pink ones.  It is possible that if you calculated the total stitches in the two pieces that they are the same, the only difference is one of scale.  Working on both pieces is a relaxing, almost meditative activity and finishing each flower and each medallion gives me a sense of accomplishment.

Completed some old projects this summer

Over the summer I worked on some old stitching projects.  I finished two of them, an Erhman Tapestry Project called Fireworks was the first one.  I  purchased this kit in 1989 and have worked on it a couple of times since then.  This time I was determined to finish it.  I love the vibrant colors and the abstract pattern.    I am going to have to block it because I worked most of it in hand while on vacation.  I think it will make a great looking pillow or if it is the right size a great cover for my antique footstool.


I also finished a Vanessa Ann Porcelain Doll.  It is a Christmas pattern that I started when I was pregnant with my daughter in 1994.  She is not impressed with the finish, but I am.  She reminds me of the porcelain doll that I had as a child.  It had belonged to my mother and had a wardrobe of clothing that her grandmother made for it.  The clothes were all hand sewn and elaborate in their details.  Even more magical because they were made by a woman who did not like to sew.

Square dance progress and vacation

I was ambitious at the beginning of the month and I completed the first few lessons on Square Dance, an ANG Cyberworkshop taught by Orna Willis.  I love Orna's use of color and the ways that she finds to combine threads and stitches in her designs.  Square Dance is no exception, it is made up of small squares filled with detailed, layered stitches.  The photo shows my progress so far.  (The neon orange basting threads will be removed before the piece is finished.)

I also went on vacation, my first cruise, my first trip to the Caribbean, and my first trip with my sisters in law.  The islands were beautiful and it was wonderful to be away from the snow with nothing to worry about.  On the ship, everything is taken care of for you, on the islands, the weather was perfect.

Copper River Canyon progress

I have been listening to Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire mystery series and watching movies while working on Copper River Canyon.  This design by Mary K. Campbell was offered as a cyberclass through Cyberpointers.  I loved the idea of combining beading, blackwork and surface mapping techniques in order to produce a piece of needlework.  I also loved the copper colors in the piece.

Today, I finished beading my river.  I think it is a bit wider in parts than it should be but that will be fine.  Randomly applying the beads to the canvass was a meditative act that went fairly quickly when I sat down to work on it.

Lake County ANG Year Long Project -- restarted

I decided a couple of weeks ago that I really did not like the color scheme for my Year Long ANG project so I went to North Shore Needleworks and picked out new threads.  You can see the green and burgundy color scheme here:

I started out with the Laid Filling Stitches -- the next four photographs show the results:

Partially finished objects

I am almost finished with my afghan.  All of the squares are done and joined together.  The top lace border is completed, I have the bottom lace border and i-cord on the two sides left.  I am out of Rowan yarn in noir, so I can't finish until I get more.  The yarn shop is also out of noir but they have it on order, so I will have to wait until they come in.   I am very happy with how the afghan has come out.  I enjoyed working out the color combinations and charting the bird in the center.  I am knitting another afghan this year but I selected the colors and ordered all of the yarn at the start.  I ran out too many times while working on this one.

While I wait for my noir yarn to come in, I am working on some old projects.  These include my UFO for the Lake County ANG Chapter which is Lynne Tomlinson's Cabin in the Woods.  I started it 13 or 14 years ago and never finished.  Now, I have a year to finish or I will have to pay the guild $10.00.  You can see from the picture how much progress I have made so far, I think finishing is feasible.  There are two more trees, a top and bottom border and a very simple background.  I am hoping to finish a number of projects this year, I selected two challenge pieces for the Lake Michigan Sampler Guild as well.

ANG Chapter Project

The Lake County ANG Chapter is doing a Yearlong Project.  I joined the chapter this year and finally started my project.  I decided to use a fall color scheme using some of the threads from the Halloween treat bag exchange and others I had in my stash.  The colors are some of the ones I saw at the Chicago Botanic Garden last weekend.

I started stitching the first border, using Norwhich stitch in the corners and a series of Herringbone stitch rows on the sides.  The green and orange are Gumnuts buds, the brown is a Walsh Silk and Wool.  I am not sure I like the green corners.  I am going to stitch the border down the side and then see how a brown corner looks on the other end.