What a great stitching night last night! the gowns, the hair, the jewelry! I think that Hollywood really outdid themselves last night as everybody looked amazing. There were other Oscar worthy moments taking place last night on Facebook…Robin thought as producer of Amy DVD’s “I often think what I would say for my acceptance speech” which have me quite a laugh! SharonG has volunteered to write her acceptance speech, Becky will be in charge of wardrobe and Missy, well Missy will be in charge of shoes to go with your fabulous Oscar worthy outfit!

I really thought I was going to be able to finish the plume of bird #1. What was I thinking? I have most of the criss-cross Hungarian in and yes the stitch guide was designed to stitch right over the black and gold. I have not added the cross stitch with Kreinik #28 yet and that will help cover it a bit more. Some of that color will still shade through, adding dimension and some charm to that area. I did use 3 strands of Silk ‘N Colors Burnished Gold as called for as I really felt that if I went to 4 strands that 1 skein of that thread would have not been enough. Then I would worry if I buy another skein later and from a different shop that I might run into a dye lot change. Been there, done that!

I also worked on the areas around the eye of bird #1. The rust color was stitched in basketweave with 4 strands of Gloriana Silk Floss in Cinnamon, reversing 2 of the strands to lesson the streaking. It still did streak some, but for some reason it doesn’t bother me as much as it would it other pieces. Tonight I will finish the criss-cross Hungarian and maybe work on the beaks next? they are all done with the same thread which is ThreadworX 1072, each though in a different stitch. Or maybe I might work on the bird #2 body which calls for Gloriana Silk Floss in Cinnamon and Crimson with a little Krienik of course! It all depends on how the moment strikes me. That’s what I love most about these canvases with all the color sections, that you never get tired of it as it is always changing as you move around the canvas! and until next time…keep on stitching

There are many Oscars that I would love to award today! and in no specific order… How about the designers that come up with these amazing canvases that we get to stitch? the thread companies that have countless choices of threads in all sizes, shapes, thicknesses and colors? and then the names that they come up with for these threads? how do they think of so many names? the teachers that come up with these unbelievable ideas, stitches, techniques, pick out the prefect thread to go along with that prefect stitch? the shops and their crew that wait on us hand and foot, are always so nice to us? putting threads away, putting our canvases on stretcher bars, picking up after us… especially the floor with all those orts and needles!? and the shop owners who make sure that we have teachers there to lead us on in our stitching adventures? keeping the shops full of new canvases, threads, bags and all sorts of toys to add to our retail therapy experience? in my eyes they all get the Oscar!

There are so many new recipes in the papers and on the internet to honor the Oscar’s tonight. How about Red Bull Granita for Social Network? or Pork and Beans with coffee grit for True Grit? or English Tea Marble Truffles for the King’s Speech? or Blackberry and Chocolate Covered Panna Cotta for the Black Swan? It would be a great day to stay in and cook all day as it is really cold out here for us here in Southern California! Even Sylvester and AlleyCat have no desire to go outside and watch the birds, they would rather stay in and stay warm. Such smart kids.

Me cook? I don’t think so! I would rather stay in and stitch on the Rainbow Birds. I think that Brenda and I solved all the mysteries of this canvas. A special thanks to Debbie who paved the way for us as she has done all the stitching and reverse stitching along with all the bad words needed! I worked on this at home last night as I stitched under the eyes on 2 of the birds with Splendor 863 and Soie d’Alger 114. I was planning to stitch on, but realized that I had the wrong size Kreinik at my side or needed one of my stitching books to look up a stitch. I just couldn’t get up since I had an AlleyCat on my lap! I know all too well that she would have voiced her displeasure with me if I disturbed her. After I settle in on my spot on the couch, shortly thereafter she will jump into position on my lap, announcing her arrival with a vocalization! This is AlleyCat wondering what is taking me so long to get ready for her?

My plan of attack on the birds today will be to continue to work around the eyes with Kreinik colors 015, 015HL,15L which are all greens; 091 yellow and Soie d’Alger 135. The yellow head of the first bird calls for Criss-Cross Hungarian with Silk ‘N Colors Burnished Gold and Kreinik 28 which is another color of gold. I am looking forward to a great day of stitching and until next time…keep on stitching!

We had a great day with Brenda yesterday! Lots of laughs and even more great stitches. A variety of canvases from Shorebirds, Laurel Burch, Melissa Shirley and Lani. We had lots to catch up and on talk about as we were anxiously awaiting our turns with Brenda as she comes up with the most prefect stitch and thread selection for our canvases!

Have you ever gone to the American Needlepoint Guild Seminar? Well this year it is is San Antonio of the week of August 26th to Sept ember 2nd. I am thrilled with the the selection of this location! My first seminar was Memphis, and that seems like such a long time ago! I fell in love with the seminar experience and try to go every year. A few of us had their seminar magazine yesterday as we asked each other, well what would you take? and what would you take? Well my absolute first choice will be the 5 day class with Tony, Meredith, Susanne and Beth. I already have a canvas selected too! It would be one of the Leigh Pagodas entitled “Gateway to Foo” Everybody seemed to have a different choice.

Brenda, Debbie and I worked on our Rainbow Birds some more as there are a few areas that needed to be redesigned. I still need a few thread colors yet as I just can’t get the right greens that sing to me and make my heart happy. It was a wonderful day to be inside stitching as it rained off and on all day. Alison made the shop very cozy with a roaring fire in the fireplace as it was also quite chilly for us Southern Californians! I heard that there was even snow on the “Hollywood” sign, which is not the norm. I really don’t stitch too much in class, but I did continue to work on my gold outlining. All the stitches and colors are so fun, I am really not sure where I want to start next?! Decisions! decisions!

This morning’s plan is breakfast at Julianne’s, a most amazing restaurant in San Marino, off to San Gabriel Bead Company for beads for our canvases and then to the shop for class. I look forward to another wonderful day with Brenda, our threads and canvases and of the best of all, great friends. I will be headed home tonight before Sylvester and AlleyCat totally disown their mother! and until next time…keep on stitching

The wonderful wizard of stitches! Brenda Hart that is! This is Catwalk by Sharon G that I worked on with Brenda when the canvas first came out. I fell in love with this canvas right away. Actually I started it long before the stitch guide was written, and then you know how projects get put away to start something else? And then you sort of forget about it? And then you see the canvas in a shop and say, I should finish mine? I am thrilled with the way it came out. Brenda had given me some stitches for it before the guide was written, so I just took the best of both and then added a little bit of my own creativity. The framers had some great ideas and I am so pleased with the way it came out.

In a few hours I will be on my way to A Stitch in Time in San Marino, California to enjoy an amazing weekend of stitching with Brenda and the gang. I will be bringing the Rainbow Birds as there are a few areas that need to be worked out yet and a few more threads that I need! I am looking forward to lots of laughs, great stitches, bead shopping, stash enhancement, awesome food and of course a little wine and the best of all, being with friends! and until next time…keep on stitching

I really did want to blog when I got home last night, to keep up the desire to do this everyday, but things just got into the way. My flight was rather late arriving because Mother Nature in different parts unknown was acting up and by the time I got myself home, I was just a bit tired. Besides the feline children and not mentioning any names weren’t about to let me stick my nose in my Mac. Alley Cat was the loudest about voicing her displeasure of me leaving them alone, even though they do have a cat sitter! So as the normal when I have been gone for a few days as we sleep, they sleep on me for the entire night! as if to say we are not letting you go anywhere!

These are the last of the stockings by Ruth. I really did enjoy working on these so much and I would stitch them for myself in a heartbeat, no matter who wrote the stitch guides… and no she is not paying me to say this! I just really love the different colors in all of them. You know sometimes you have just had enough traditional red and green?

This pair of stockings was stitched in Rainbow Gallery Splendor in whites and shades of lavender, Silk Lame Braid in white, yellow and chartreuse, Sundance beads in colors of golden raspberry, golden mulberry and crystal opal and Kreinik in colors of yellow, white and the new “L” colors, this one being called Laser Lime! The last thread to mention is Soie d’Alger “Lie de Vin” which is a rich burgandy color and was the perfect color to match!

We are expecting rain later today, so this will be a good time to stitch on the Rainbow Birds. and until next time…keep on stitching!

as I show just a little look of 2 more of Ruth’s stockings! This is another amazing color combination that you must be thinking “are you kidding me?” This was stitched with Thread Gatherer Silk ‘N Colors Goober Green, and please tell me who thinks up these thread names? Silk Lame Braid in red, Krienik colors in white and yellow, Frosty Rays in Fuschia and lots of beads! This was another one that was really a pleasure to stitch for me and was sad to say that it was finished.

There are 6 stockings that were designed by Ruth in this series, and every two are color co-ordinated to each other. They share allot of the same threads, but them some new threads are also introduced. This one has a few additional colors of beads and threads.

The Deeva and I are almost finished getting the all the show orders on the UPS truck. It has been a wild and crazy few days as we shared lots of laughs, stories, ideas about the needlework industry, great food, wine and the best part of all, our friendship. I will be headed back to San Diego tomorrow and am anxious to see Sylvester and Alley Cat who of course will give me a mouthful for leaving them alone! and until the next time…keep on stitching!

This was my absolute most favorite stocking that I stitched out of the 6 for Ruth! Maybe because the needlepoint gods gave me flying fingers, they inspired me with my choice of threads and stitches and most importantly, no reverse stitching! You know sometimes the stitching experience is so enjoyable that you are sad when it is finished? well I finished this one way too soon.

The threads that I used in this stocking were Splendor and Treasure Braid in Christmas Red, Silk Lame Braid in White and Lavender and Swarovski Marguerite’s. Lavender and red you ask? Are you serious? Of course they are not your traditional holiday colors, maybe traditional for Ruth! She has the most amazing color sense and these colors really do work together. I am sure it will be the “star” of your Christmas tree.

The gold outlining on the Rainbow birds is coming along slowly but surely as I started on my 3rd Kreinik last night. I am hoping to start some of the great stitches that have planned out in the stitch guide. and until next time…keep on stitching!

I took the night off from stitching last night, especially after Debbie was kind enough to tell me that it will be more like a 5-6 Kreinik experience rather than the 4 that I had estimated. Oh thank you for just a little too much information! So this morning I thought I would get out the threads that Ruth helped me select from her shop, Bedecked and Beadazzled for a little encouragement. There are more threads than what you see here, as I was trying not to tease the cats too much. I like to do a majority of the outlining when I first start a new canvas as it gives me a place to anchor the threads from all those amazing laid filling stitches that Brenda is so well known for. I seem to study all the nuances of the canvas while I am stitching the easier parts and figure out how I am going to attack the rest of the canvas. Even though I do have a stitch guide for this, does Brenda think that I will do everything exactly as she says? I think not!

While taking my pictures this morning, of course I am being well supervised by Sylvester & AlleyCat! Why is it that there are at least a million and one places that they can park their behinds, but it has to be what you are working on at the moment? They were pretty good this morning and after their difficult job of keeping an eye on what I was doing, they have decided that they need a little nap!

I plan on getting some stitching done today before I leave for the home of Needle Deeeva Designs…and until next time, keep on stitching!

This canvas “Rainbow Birds” by Danji Designs is a Laurel Burch design and one that I have always been attracted to, but not really sure if it was talking to me “stitch me! stitch me!” Well that all changed in a heartbeat when I saw it being stitched under the direction of Brenda Hart! In a beating moment I knew that I had to stitch it and what better way to start blogging than with this canvas!

The wonderful sections of color, the amazing selections of threads the likes of Gloriana, ThreadworX, Silk ‘N Colors, Soie d’Alger, Kreinik, beads and did I say beads? The range of stitches personally selected by Brenda Hart, what more could I ask for?

I would like to say I have more stitched on this than I have at the moment, but not. I have been working on the gold outlining for like forever! I believe that it will be a 4 spool Kreinik experience if that gives you any idea of how much gold there is. The color that Brenda suggested is 002C and never in my wildest dreams would I even think that this color would work. I have been known on more than one occasion not to listen to Miss Brenda, but I actually did this time. Yes please don’t faint Brenda! and it looks wonderful!

I might not have a chance to get too much done on the Rainbow Birds in the next week as I am on a road trip to the home of Needle Deeva Designs! We are going to be busy shipping out canvases to your favorite needlepoint shop for your stitching pleasure.

There will be lots of other things to share with you though as I take you along on my stitching journeys… until next time, keep on stitching!