Needle Lace Dragonfly

This Dragonfly was done for the Stitch map challenge in July. 

 

 

 

 

The Wings outline was done with the chain stitches.  Then Straight stitches were used to create lines over the wings.  Then Stab stitches were used to achieve this needle lace effect.    Though the body ofthis dragon fly does not look good , I am happy with the way the wings turned out.  Need more practice though.

 

Rainbow Cross Stitch Blocks 5 and 6

After a long break, I picked up the rainbow cross stitch blocks recently and completed two more blocks. 

I like stitching with vibrant colors and these cross stitch blocks gives me immense stitching pleasure.  Out of the 9 blocks that are offered in Crafty Mummy. I have stitched the blocks which I liked the most .

I am still thinking

- Whether I should stop the blocks and finish this into something.
- Whether I should frame this and hang it in the living room.
- Or should I continue stitching all the 9 blocks. 

 

Black Work - Maple Leaf

This is my first ever Black work done as a part of the Stitchmap June Challenge.  I have never tried blackwork before.  The unique thing about blackwork embroidery is that both the front and back appears the same.  This blackwork is done with the red embroidery floss just to represent the color of the Maple Leaf.

Generally, counted stitches are my favourite.  This one was fun and quite challenging.  Initially it was very difficult to follow the route and I ended up unpicking my stitches several times.    Then I practiced  with the paper pattern using different colored sketch pens, following the chartered route.  Then I found it easier to stitch .

Here is the back of the maple leaf .

 

and here is the front of the maple leaf.

 

Kanta SAL - Completed

Though this SAL got over in the May 2014, I worked very slowly on this piece and finally completed this last Saturday.  The entire piece is just done with the humble running stitch.  Generally I embroider on white or offwhite fabrics and therefore the thread colors selection becomes  easy.  However this one caught me off the guard, I doodled with all the colors and finally am happy with the choices I made .  Though it was difficult to get the proper alignment  I love the Dhaner Sheesh border stitch the most. Thank you so much for hosting this SAL Anita. I had learnt a lot and I intend to use them in my future projects.

 

TAST 132 - Kiko's flower Stitch

Here are my trials on Kiko's flower stitch.  I like all flower oriented stitch and this one is no exception.

 

 

The brown and green flowers are done with Anchor Stranded cotton floss.  The yellow flowers are done with Perle cotton 9 thread.

 

  I tried CQ seam treatment with a three petaled kiko's flower stitch, straight stitches and French knots and with a synthetic pearl bead in the middle.

 

The butterfly is done with Perle Cotton 9 and I got the idea from here.

 

Floral Umbrella

Hi,

Here is an umbrella tightly packed with leaves and roses. This was stitched in the month of April for the Stitch Map hexie.  Every month in Stitch Map , they offer three different patterns and we are free to choose the pattern of our choice.  The patterns are stitched and then are finished as Hexagons.  The roses are made with Whipped spider wheel, Cast on Roses and the yellow flowers are done with Twisted Detached Chain stitch.  The Umbrella is done with Back Stitch,Seed stitch, Split Stitch,Fly Stitch and Satin Stitch

The elliptical leaves and the heart shaped leaves are done with the blanket Stitches.

I have tightly packed the umbrella with baby's breath.  The baby's breath is done with seed beads and fly stitches.

 

Beginner CQ course - Kathy Shaw

Recently I took Beginner Crazy Quilt class offered by Kathy Shaw. I have very little experience with CQ.

 She had split the beginner course into 10 lessons.  Each of these lessons had one or two assignments to be completed.  The course text included lessons on  -  Hoops & Q-Snaps, How to achieve Balance, Flip and Sew block piecing, Making simple CQ templates, Various Seam treatments, Silk Ribbon embroidery Basic Stitch guide, SRE Iris,SRE Woven Rose, Small SRE seam flowers, Fly Stitch SRE Roses, Fly Stitch SRE Rose Vines, Lace motif attachments and Surface Beading techniques.

It was fun and joy  to see how just a  few scraps of cloth come alive depicting a beautiful garden with various elements - Seam Treatments, Silk ribbon embroidery, Lace Motifs and Beading.

The course was well written from a beginner's perspective, very thorough and detailed with step by step photos and other eye candy photos. 

Thank you Kathy for your generosity in offering this Free course.  I am awaiting for your announcement on the Intermediate course around January 2015.

Here is my completed Beginner CQ block.

Happy Day!!!