Tuesday 5 March 2024

Monday 19 February 2024

04. Just Nan Snowberries

 


Just Nan Snowberries
Stitched on 28 count Pale Blue evenweave

Substituted Mill Hill beads
00161
00553
02012





Wednesday 14 February 2024

Sunday 14 January 2024

01. Cottage Garden Samplings Year in the Woods The Fox

 


Cottage Garden Samplings The Year in the Woods
The Fox

Stitched over 1 on 25 count Cirrus evenweave from Chromatic Alchemy




I changed the green of the trees from 524 to 522 and the snowflakes to B5200, then added blending filament so they show up a little better.




Thursday 28 December 2023

19. Just Nan Special Delivery

 

Just Nan - Special Delivery
2003 Ornament
Stitched on 28 count Flax Linen


This came with the linen and the gold envelope charm which even has a tiny Christmas card inside


I framed this in a box frame which I covered in Christmas paper.
No glass so you can open the envelope if you want!


Tuesday 5 December 2023

18. Just Nan Angel Ornament

 


Just Nan - Angel Ornament

Complimentary chart with Angel Flowers sampler


Stitched on 28 count pink linen







Thursday 28 September 2023

09. Nora Corbett Taurus

This is the second of the Zodiac Girls designs from Nora Corbett that I have stitched.  She is Taurus, of course:



Here's the full design:


Stitched on 32 count Murano called....Taurus!

When I saw that Sparklies did a range of fabrics named after the Zodiac signs I knew they would be perfect for this series.


There were some Waterlilies charted for this design, but I substituted DMC for the ones in the centre of her dress.  3 different colours in the 501-503 range instead of one variegated.


Nora made a little error on the chart and put the sigil for Aries, but it was simple to change it to Taurus


The other Waterlilies was the teal to each side of her.  I used a Classic Colourworks thread called Bejewelled instead.


The swirls around the pale green beads were charted for Waterlilies and I used DMC 503 for them all.






Wednesday 1 March 2023

03. Amanda Butler London Houses

 


Amanda Butler - London Houses
Stitched on 28 count grey evenweave

Third in a series of 13 for Cross Stitcher magazine


Monday 30 January 2023

02. Amanda Butler Harrogate House

 


Amanda Butler - Harrogate House
Stitched on 28 count grey evenweave

Second in a series of 13 for Cross Stitcher magazine


Wednesday 11 January 2023

01. Stitchonomy Christmas Banner

 


Stitchonomy Christmas Banner
Stitched over 1 on 32 count grey linen

The original design is much longer but I did not like the effect on this fabric.
Some people in the group were using black fabric and it looks amazing 
so I decided to stop at Band 5 and make a mini sampler.
I do intend to stitch the full design on black fabric in the future.





Friday 16 December 2022

19. Amanda Butler Edinburgh House

 


Amanda Butler - Edinburgh House
Stitched on 28 count grey evenweave

First in a series of 13 for Cross Stitcher magazine



Wednesday 14 September 2022

13. Hands on Design Snail Slime

 My eighth finish in the Scary Apothecary series.



Snail Slime

Stitched on 28 count linen in Radioactive by Chromatic Alchemy

I used the DMC conversion and stitched the potions in DMC Satin rather than cotton and metallics.




Wednesday 31 August 2022

12. Just Nan Mermaid Heart

 


Just Nan - Mermaid Heart
Stitched on 32 count grey-green linen
The skein of DMC 926 is to try give a colour match to the linen which refuses to photograph accurately


The embellishment pack came with the mermaid and seahorse charms.


Framed in a box frame I painted myself:







Sunday 28 August 2022

11. Nora Corbett Virgo



 This is my purple conversion of Nora Corbett's Virgo.



I started with the fabric from Sparklies with the perfect name - Virgo.
I chose a 32 count Murano which is my favourite for Nora's designs.


I started with the dress which is charted for 414 and 415, shades of grey rather than the blue it looks on the cover photo.  I changed those to the lavenders in the new colours - 25 to 30

Her skin is as charted.

Her hair was the biggest change, I went for the 550 family of purples.



The Caron colours have been changed to two Stef Francis threads, one silk and one cotton.
I used the silk for the butterflies and backstitched in silver metallic.



I also used the silver metallic for the antenna, which I backstitched,
then whipstitched to hide the places where it entered the fabric.



The wings are now a purple blending filament with a touch of green satin in the "eyes".
I used a DMC Satin thread for the satin stitch!  Then surrounded them with purple beads.



The larger beads have stayed as charted but all the others have changed.  For the necklaces I stitched over the gaps left in the design for beads and simply strung them on thread and tacked down at intervals so they hung more naturally.



The lowest strand of beads was charted with squares of stitching with a bead in the middle.
I used sequins held in place with a bead.


Once I had finished her and taken loads of photos I decided that I needed the pearl earring to be more dangly!


Here's how she compares with the original:



Professionally framed:








Wednesday 20 July 2022

10. Living on the Rainbow 3D Bookshop

 As a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people I purchased some PDF charts from various Etsy shops earlier this year.  THis particular design went straight to the top of the stitching list -  


Living on the Rainbow 3D Bookshop


The instructions are incredibly clear and seem easy to follow but there is quite a lot of sewing together bits of felt for the roof so I decided to change it up a little and make a rectangular shop instead.

Here are the pieces all stitched and ready to cut out:


The bookshop where I work is number 98 


The garlands are beads rather than French Knots


I added the brick details down each side to make the corners more decorative

stitched on 28 count Tan evenweave

What's your favourite detail?

I also made a base piece out of the same fabric, just backstitched a rectangle the right size.  I used thick card and double-sided tape to mount each piece, then whip-stitched the fours sides together.  Then I whip stitched the base to the building:


I am really pleased with my roof fabric.  My friend gave me some sparkly white leatherette she uses for making hairbows.  I mounted it on card cut to fit the roof area and then whip stitched it to the building using white sewing thread.  Usually I use DMC cotton in a matching shade to the fabric or stitching but sewing thread is sturdier, especially if you are pulling something taut.

Here is the finished piece:





I used clean old socks to stuff it.  Children's socks are perfect for these projects.