Framing Cross Stitch with Foam Core Board 05/19/2011
I used foam core board for the first time to frame my Home Sweet Home sampler. I had fun distressing and glazing the frame, which I found in the thrift store. It started out as glossy white.  frame and cloth are both distressed - they started out snowy white... I bought a big panel (32" x 40") of foam core board at our local frame shop for under $7. This board is made in 3 layers: card stock, foam, card stock. It needs to be cut with a sharp utility knife in 3 passes, cutting one layer at a time. I cut the board a little smaller than frame opening, so there would be room for the aida cloth.  use stainless steel pins to position the fabric to the foam board The fabric can be centered quite easily and fastened in place by pushing stainless steel dressmaker pins in place along the side of the foam board, as I pictured. The pins stay in too. The next step is to miter the fabric on the back, by folding in the excess aida cloth and stitching the sides together. (I didn't want to cut the excess cloth off, in case I decide to display it differently later on.) I stitched the corners together in two steps: starting at the outside and then finishing the inside after I wove the sides together. Some people skip the weaving altogether, as the pins hold the cloth very securely.  back is mitered and woven together After that, you are ready to pop the fabric covered board right in the frame and proceed to display. I don't like to use glass with needlework, but that's just me.  I'm ready to frame - that really wasn't so bad! 3 Comments Cross Stitch loves Four-Sided Stitch 05/09/2011
 intended to go with the Hoover cabinets in our very "retro" kitchen I put almost the last stitch to a Home Sweet Home sampler about 2 months ago. In fact, it's still in the stretcher bars, waiting to be dated, initialed, removed and framed. Poor thing. I used a very nice chart from a book that a friend loaned me. I forgot to write down the name of the book, but I imagine it was one of the older Christmas issues that Better Homes and Gardens puts out. My one big change was to use four-sided stitch for the border. I've used four-sided stitch to finish hems, and wanted to see if this very useful and easy stitch would be happy with cross stitch. I actually loved the way it turned out, the crispness of the stitch is a nice contrast to the fluid vines and the heavy letters.  you can really build up the color with four-sided stitch, similar to bargello! I have a wonderful needlework book in my library, called The Open Canvas, by Carolyn Ambuter. It has great descriptions of so many stitches, including four sided. This book includes all kind of fancy needlework, including pulled thread stitches, hardanger of course, and even reticello lace. (If I ever actually retire, I plan to spend a few months with this book, and work up the teaching samplers the author has designed.) The website, Needlework Tips & Techniques, has a very simple description of how to make this stitch. If you apply a little tension, you will create a lovely lacy pulled thread stitch that has lots of uses, including finishing an edge or as a filling stitch. In my Home Sweet Home sampler, I used no tension at all. Click on the link though, to see how to make the stitch and how lacy it looks with a little tension! http://www.needlework-tips-and-techniques.com/four-sided-stitch.html Well--I finally finished my pulled thread sampler. Actually, I completed the pulled thread squares about 5 years ago, but it took this long to get around to adding the hem-stitched border and hang the whole thing up.  44 squares of different pulled thread stitches - just didn't know when to stop! I used a very loosely-woven fabric to work up 44 different stitches from The Danish Pulled Thread Embroidery book the Dover Needlework Series. I think Dover is just one of the best needlecraft series around; I am slowly collecting as many of these books as I can find... With this sampler, I made the dumb mistake of not writing down what stitch is in each square. Some stitches are easy and look great. Some are really, really hard to do, and don't look good enough to be worth the extra effort. If only I had kept notes about this!  This detail of the edging shows the drawn-thread border running up and down both sides. Some pulled thread stitches are very difficult to work because you distort the ground fabric when you apply the necessary tension with each little "pull". With some of the stitches (like the Greek Cross), it is very hard to see and pick up the right threads.  more details from the middle of the sampler - the pulled satin stitches that make the basket weave square are so simple to do and very dramatic. I have made two miniature bedspreads using pulled-thread stitches, and plan to do more...  more details from my sampler - I had to anchor the dowel, as the stitches need tension to look their best. Cross Stitch loves Gobelin Stitch 09/26/2010
I recently finished a tulip sampler (to display in our home). It's the wrong season for tulips obviously, but I really like it. I made a padded fabric mat with a burgundy-colored velour, and put everything inside a shadow box frame. This is my first fabric mat--the next one will be easier and look better I'm sure!  cross stitch finished with shadow box I used a pattern from "100 Cross-Stitch Gifts from Nature", offered by The Vanessa-Ann Collection. "Vanessa-Ann" is one of my favorite cross stitch designers and this book is definitely a keeper. The designers give you 4 different colorways, but I just went wild and used some of my favorite garden colors--mixing up the red, yellow, pink and purple. I also used gobelin stitch to replace the little cross stitch frames in the sampler. Gobelin stitch here is really just a slanted straight stitch. It's a basic needlepoint stitch that I think is perfect in this design, as it really keeps the tulips front and center. Mixing up cross stitching with needlepoint and pulled thread stitches is always fun to do.  detail of gobelin stitch frames BTW, I used hand-dyed aida cloth to give this project a little something extra. I bought this fabric from an eBay seller who offers absolutely gorgeous hand-dyed fabrics. Her store name is Dove Cross Stitch. You can find her at http://stores.ebay.com/DoveCrossStitch. Having fun recycling dreary mail 08/02/2010
It all started with this book I borrowed from the library: Creative Correspondence. It is full of creative ideas to recycle paper from everyday mail to make cards and envelopes really special. This book belongs in every card makers library. It's fun to read, lovely to look at and full of ideas and inspiration. I used the inside of a security envelope from the bank as a starting point to cut out the images for this "oops" card I made today. Not completely done but it's been fun so far...  inside of 'security envelope' on the right. I cut images out of it and colored with markers and crayons.  recycled paper makes a great wicker basket One of the nicest things about crochet is that once you weave in the final thread and block the textile, you are done. When I cross-stitch, I generally find myself with a lovely unfinished project and lots of uncertainty about what I REALLY want to do with it. For example, there is this dahlia stitch sampler that I had intended to mount on a board to hang... I especially like the colors in this piece. It is based on the Sue Lentz teaching design Blue Dahlia. I used some of her floss colors and the basic outline of the central flower, but worked it with lots of different stitches, including pulled thread. I'm thinking it would look good framed in a recycled denim tote bag? But I'm still not committed and it is still not finished!  Blue Dahlia needlework sampler  stitch details - not just cross stitch | Author:
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