Clearly Need to Clean

 How cute is this?  I took this picture at Chaparral in Houston many moons ago.

Guess what I found in the upstairs closet?  Clearly need some more organization around here.   It looks like I was planning on basketweaving mine.   Stitch guide for the above is by Carolyn Baird. 

More Comparisons

A follow up from yesterday's post.  Here is the same Petei Santa canvas stitched two different ways.  Bothe are super cute. 

Petei Nativity Set by KH

I love to see how other stitchers interpret canvases.  This set was stitched by KH.  She took the guides created by Diana Bosworth at The French Knot as her starting point and went from there.  Super cute backgrounds she designed.  AND the finishing!  Which she did herself.  

Here's part of my set which is stitched from the same guides.  I like KH's!

Coming Home from Ewe and Eye

I started pulling out all my Amy stuff and wondering how much more does a girl need?  So much!

Lousy lighting but you get the picture

Cute colonial knots for the flowers?  Stones?

Random Diagonal Cashmere for the house

Tricks I Learned from Amy Bunger

I am going to miss Amy's classes so much.  Her guides are wonderful and hopefully will be available for quite some time to come but the tidbits you pick up being around her are invaluable.

Here's one example.  I am now stitching the background down the side of House #5.  Obviously the full pattern does not fit.  What's a stitcher to do?

Use stick'ems or pieces of paper to create the space you are stitching.  You can see I blocked off the eight canvas threads that make up the blue area down the side.  I don't have to constantly look at the stitch diagram and count and recount.  Easy peasy.

Halloween House Row Update

The guide calls for beading the weather vane on House #5.  Here we go:

Done!  Amazing how the light can change the way the color looks.  The bat was not painted the same on both wings so I chose to bead it to look balanced.  We'll see how that looks when I go over the part not beaded with the background stitch.   It looks like some frogging and restitching in that area.
Overall I am pleased with how it looks.

I stitched the other side of the roof of House #4.  I wasn't happy with how the compensation made the peak of the roof on the left side look.  I took DC's advice and put a long stitch at the peak and it made me like the end result more.   The guide calls for using Wired Kreinik to outline the peaks.  I did not like that stuff.  I think it would be good for curled areas but it would not straighten out completely.  When I formed the peaks, the metal showed through the fiber.   Lastly, GG pulled on it to help me and a piece just broke off.  I am going to try regular Kreinik size 16 to see if I can get the result I want.

 Happy Stitching this weekend.  More on Monday...

Been Out at the Lake

Hello!  I've been out at the lake with some of the SWANs.  We had a good time stitching and catching up.   I took my Melissa Shirley Halloween House Row with the stitch guide from Amy Bunger.  I did a lot of background while talking but did get the moon done.  I LOVE IT.  Not so hot on my execution of the witch's skirt.   That's a redo for sure.  

The moon stitch is the Ming Divided.  The outline thread is Petite Silk Lame and the inside is filled in with two strands of silk.  It's beautiful.

Big News!  Amy Bunger is closing her shop at the end of 2020.   She has announced her retirement.   I had to be sat down to hear the news.   She is one of the most talented teachers and such a fun happy person.   I will miss seeing her regularly so much.  I wish her all the happiness and health in her retirement. 

P.S.  I am going to go wild  buying everything I ever wanted from her store before she closes!  Pics to follow...

To the Finisher

We have a great framers here in Austin called Blue Skies.  They do a great job framing needle art.   These lovelies are off to let those ladies work their magic.

Can't remember the designer

 
I finished this years ago.  I didn't know what I wanted to do with it so it lay dormant.  Carolyn Baird had these fabulous ribbons at her store, The Ribbonry.   It's inside Chaprral. The vintage sunflower strip down both sides is going to be heavenly.   This is a Melissa Shirley canvas with a stitch guide by Amy Bunger.   I think the guide is available for sale at amybunger.com.

Melissa Shirley's Cream Farmhouse

  I finished the White Farm in the last few months.  This is a canvas from Painted Pony Needlepoint and stitch guide by Amy Bunger.  Yes, I adore Amy Bunger and her stitch/thread selections.  This one won't have any ribbon or mat.

White Farm by Diane Ulmer Pedersen from Painted Pony Needlepoint Designs