My Clients Do Such Lovely Work

Well, I survived the hacking of my email, although I spent a full day on my computer changing passwords, etc. I don’t know if that will help any, but it made me feel good. I had been meaning to do that anyway.

Each time I do finishing for clients, I am competely in awe of the lovely stitching that they create. I always wish that the item was mine when it is finished. Alas, with all the finishing I do, there is little time left for my own creations. I promised myself in the coming months to save a day or two a week just for me! I actually did finish something which I will show another time.

For now, feast your eyes on the lovely work of my clients!

Pat did the first one here. It is from the Plum Street Sampler Leaflet entitled “Good and Plenty.” She found the perfect burgundy mini pom pom trim to go with it! I love pieces like this that go all the way through Autumn!

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Beth managed to create some beautiful beaded ornaments. First is this adorable turkey named “Bruce.” She has a lovely story to go along with it after cooking a 40 lb. turkey one year! Nice memories.

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The next she did is this Sailboat Ornament. It’s very elegant with the rayon floss I used for cording and is perfect with the “sea” themed backing I had in my stash.

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And talk about elegant…well this Santa is quite stunning! His beard is made of all beads! A work of art! And I finished it will a green velvet back.

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And the last one for Beth is this lovely needle book/ornament. This was a gift to her stitched with her friends’ initials. How lovely is that?

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Nancy stitched this beautiful reindeer from last year’s Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue. The color of the linen she chose for this is perfect for the wintery day it depicts!

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And Betsy…well there are no words to describe this luscious sampler. It is from By the Bay Needle Art and is called Serenity Harbor Sampler. She changed the flowers from pink to yellow and the large house at the bottom to yellow as well. It took her a year to complete and is stunning! I added a coordinating plain fabric backing and used handmade cording. I painted the dowels to match the cording and the look is complete!

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Vivian made this lovely primitive pillow from the pattern “Christmastide” by Notforgotten Farm. She said it reminded her of she and her sister decorating the Christmas tree! I used the antique lace she gave me and I hand-dyed silk ribbon to coordinate with the pillow. It is a very pretty piece.

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Vivian is an extraordinary quilter, but loves to do cross-stitch too. This one is called “Deck the Halls” by Stacy Nash and was made into a pinkeep filled with walnut shells by Vivian. She asked me to attach the mini pom pom trim to it after it was finished, but I like it better within the seam allowance. So I took it apart and finished it with the trim in the seam. She loved it that way.

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And last but not least is a simple photo of the lovely “Princess Diana Serviceberry Tree” in my yard. The colors are so lovely in the Fall. It doesn’t last long but when it turns colors, it’s beautiful. Alas, I think our Autumn is coming to an end making way for the fun-filled holiday season.

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Once more I have to put in a small advertisement for those of you who have not tried French Boutis Needlework yet. On my Etsy site you will find an ornament kit with three French Boutis Christmas Ornaments. I am in the process of designing more Boutis patterns so I hope you will give them a try.

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In friendship, Averyclaire

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February Finishing

Wow…February is halfway through already!  We have had a lot of grey days…not good for the psyche! Then my sister was seriously ill and nearly died. I am grateful she made it through and I still have her hopefully for a long time to come! The weather swings from pleasant to bitter cold and back again and again. I have been trying to get back to my daily walking routine with my DH, but I confess I am chicken on the bitter cold and windy days. So I worked on unfinished projects and did a couple of stitching projects of my own along with those of clients.

Here is another needleroll finish stitched by Southpaw Stitcher.  It is done the same as the one I did for myself (which was posted last time), except that she chose pink wool for the needle holder section of hers. I LOVE the pink!

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And here they are together…the two of them.  I am quite sure you have seen or will see more of these needlerolls somewhere on the internet. Our EGA chapter, Water Fall Glen, did this as a group project. Other EGA chapters did the same project.

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V.D.N. did this beautiful Christmas pillow by Brenda Gervais.  It is large…14 x 25 inches.  I love the script writing in this. It looks like it is painted on, but it is meticulously stitched!  We kept the finish very simple so as not to take away from the primitive style.

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Southpaw Stitcher did this exquisite needlepainted “Eastern Bluebird” designed by Tanja Berlin. She took an EGA class not long ago and already completed the stitching.  I am in serious awe of the absolutely gorgeous detail done by one single thread at a time! I didn’t want to return it to her after I finished it!

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And here is an owl pin done by J.DN.  She actually made two of them, but I forgot to take a photo of the second one before I returned them to her :((  He is backed with black wool and has a pin back.  The other one was backed in brown.  J.DN asked me to leave the edges “naked” so she could do some beading around the face! I think the beads will make a beautiful finish.

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Last post I showed you my own stitching and finish of “Merry One” by Plum Street Samplers.  Well here is “Merry Two” done with a slightly different finish. I can’t wait to see her Merry Three and perhaps Merry Four! It will make a delightful set. On this one I changed the colors of Santa’s robe, the snowman’s hat and nose, the flowers on the sled and I used a thicker chenille trim around the edge which I dyed with antiquing spray. I guess I am a traditionalist.  But I really like the way it turned out.

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And last but not least, over the Christmas holiday and cold January I managed to finish my Stacy Nash’s Primitive Drumroll Pinkeep and slipper with strawberry. I changed some of the colors on this pattern as well.  I added the rusty orange rather than what was called for.  And then made my strawberry orange too, rather than the traditional red. The drum is filled on the bottom third with sand, the center section with crushed walnut shells, and the top third with fiberfill. This really makes a super heavy free standing piece.  I am very happy with the end result.  [Edit:  I didn’t change the rust flowers, I made the chamomille ones WDW-dolphin blue instead…sorry…my mind is going!]

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I hope everyone has an especially lovely Valentine’s Day with those who are the special people in your life.     Amities …Averyclaire

New Photos for a New Year

Happy New Year to all! I hope all of you had a great Christmas and a super start to the New Year. Ours was a lot of fun spent with family and friends. We sure missed our Colorado family though. They did not make it here this year.

My finishing business was slow over the holiday so I managed to get some stitching and finishing done for myself. Then I worked on a list of unfinished projects I hope to do this year. I will save the list to show for my next post.

Here are a couple of finishes I did before Christmas.

P.B. did a beautiful circular pumpkin design and asked me to do a pincushion. This was a special Christmas gift for someone.

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Tinsmith’s Wife sent a stitched snow globe. She finds the loveliest patterns!

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Personally, I managed to finish my project from the Waterfall Glen EGA group.  It is a Catherine Theron “Winter Strawberries” needleroll.  The area that says “Scissors” and “Needles” is done over one on 32 count linen with variegated silk floss. The small pincushion in the center is also done over one. The edges and center lines between the strawberries are done in Palestrina knots. The inside is lined with Dupioni Silk.  The pattern called for linen needle pages and a scissor fob, but I chose not to do that.  No fob and wool for the needle pages.  It is about 8 inches long when opened and about 2.5 x 3.5 when closed. It was a project that I was not fond of after I began it, but it did turn out to be a quite nice small needleroll.

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Then I saw Plum Street Sampler’s pattern for “Merry One” and “Merry Two” and bought them up as soon as I could. They just caught my eye and I delighted in stitching Merry One right away. It is stitched over one on cream 25 ct. Irish Linen (which I sprayed with my antique spray).  It turned out about 4 x 6. The pattern came with white chenille trim, but I used some green that I had and I love the way it turned out!  Merry Two is completed, but not “finished” yet.  Here is my finish for Merry One.

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HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY a little early.  With Valentine’s Day coming I did a couple of special stitched pieces.  I wanted a big red heart to remind me of the lovely big red heart candy valentine boxes that my dear husband gave me when we were dating.  I found this pattern and I “finished” it into a lacey big red heart in memory of that special time. I did it on 40 ct. Aztec Red over two.  It turned out to be about 5 x 7.

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I also found this cute pattern for a “Valentine stocking” and created it with a real red velvet backing. It was done on 36 ct. Lambswool over two sprayed with antique spray. Then I stuffed it with “Merci” chocolate candies. YUM YUM. It turned out to be about 2 x 7.

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It was such fun having time and energy to do some of my own stitching. It makes me want to resolve to do more this year!

I hope everyone out there finds LOTS of time to do whatever it is their heart desires for 2016.  For now, happy stitching!  Amities……Averyclaire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finished Needlework

My Santa ornament is a pattern from Drawn Thread. It took a little longer to finish, but it is a lovely design. I especially love the backside of the ornament…Peace and Joy. Says it all for the season.


I adore this little Scotty dog. It is a gift for someone and I couldn’t post it until I was sure it was received. Tartan is one of my favorites. This pattern is from the magazine Just Cross Stitch Christmas ornament edition for 2009.

This reindeer was a freebie ornament from last year that I didn’t get around to working on until now. It only took a couple of hours to complete the entire piece including finishing. I have no idea who designed it and I don’t remember where it came from, but I think it’s lovely. I did add a bit of holly and berry to the original pattern.

Finished in time for Halloween was my little “Humbug.” I do not know why it is called a humbug…perhaps someone out there knows. But it was quick to stitch…done on a rectangular small piece of fabric then sewed into this triangular shape. Makes a cute little pincushion. There is going to be a series of these “humbugs”…the next one coming out in January (House of Stitches will have it). I love the little owl pin that went with it. I have a little robin as well.

 

I hope by this time next year I will have been able to actually design some of my own ornaments!  But for now I have truly enjoyed the fruits of others hard work and talent. Hope all of you are enjoying the holiday season and preparations for a blessed Christmas.

A bientôt….Averyclaire