Painted Stitcheries Finished

I finished two of my stitcheries today.
I tend to make things without thinking and then I have mistakes, lol.
The first one, was with the border. The green was supposed to be on the sides and I did it backwards.
This one I sprayed the design first, so I didn't antique the border.

And where do I get my ideas for the add ons? Those come after I finish the piece and realize my fabric is puffy, so I added words and a heart to tack it down better;)



The second one I used pink in the design, so decided to go with a primitive pink for the border.
This one had no saying, but I like the friends saying, so added that on, along with some inspirational words.
I realize, I should border them first, then decide on the saying and change the size and layout, to fit in the frame better.
I antiqued this piece to grunge it up a bit.

Punch Needle Angel Doll

I know I shouldn't be using my hand, but I have been stitching all week and just had to punch something.
I decided that punching a pillow would be too much work, so I came up with something new to do.
I took one of Primitive Blessing's patterns and made it into a doll shape. I moved the arms down, to the side, so it would be easier when sewing. I left out the wings and used vine twigs instead. On the original, she had a tie with stars, so I made one with jute thread and bells. For the bottom, I left it open and then cut a piece of wool in an oval, to give it a wider bottom, for sitting. I am not sure on her wings, I just sewed them on with thread, so I might redo them.

Dying and Stitchery

I decided to try some fabric dying today.
I want to make some simple art style quilts and batik type fabrics.
My first attempt was a bit dark, but still mottled, plus it was on tea stained cotton. The next ones, I used an old white cotten I had, and the colors showed better. I just twisted the cloth, then knotted it and threw it in a pot. I want to keep the colors simple, since I will be using machine stitchery to enhance them. I used red and yellow rit dye to get the shades.



I also finished another stitchery. This one I will paint too. It is a design from Primitive Blessings. I think I would like to do this one in a larger version and use applique for the main design. Today I started a punch with another of Tiffany's designs, it is an experiment, so we shall see how it turns out. I wanted to try some punch, but my hand still hurts, so I will have to take it easy after this one.

Painted Stitcheries

Today I worked on painting the stitcheries I made.
It is time consuming, not something you can rush, but also fun and relaxing.
I used acrylic paints, watered down and no mediums. After I finished, I put them in the front loader to heat set, then sprayed with water and reheated them again. I do the spray to help soften the paints a bit.

This one is just paint, I will antique it later. I realized that with painting, the pages didn't work, so I will close up those stitches, next.



This one I antiqued, to see how it would look. Normally I antique the piece, after I make it into a wall hanging.



This one I decided to paint first, then I will stitch with black. I think this was much easier for painting and I am not sure if this was actually cotton, it seemed a bit smoother. Now I hope it will be easy to stitch on, we shall see. I used brighter colors, but I think the stitching and walnut, will tone it down. All three of these are from Red Brolly's free stitchery, Catalicious.

New Stitchery

I finished another stitchery, from Red Brolly's free Catalicious Designs.
This is anther one, I want to paint, so need to get going on that part next.
I added the saying from the other one, to this one, it just fits so nicely.
She posted another one this week, they just keep getting better, I love them.
I am not making them to go together, I am using each design in a mini quilt and will gift them to friends.
I am a bit nervous about painting these. There is a lot more work in them and if I mess up, it is ruined, so need to do it on a day when I have a steady hand.



The weather has been nice and as you can see, Izzy has found the perfect spot for kitty comfort and sunshine.
Never mind that I have to vacuum the rug, even though it is not done and on the floor yet;)

Contest Winners!

I guess I won't make everyone wait any longer;)
And I won't stretch out the text and make you scroll down;)
So, without further ado, I have decided that everyone is a winner today!
Losing is no fun and it is always fun to get something free and I still need work on making these patterns.
I was thinking of an alphabet line, will see how that goes. I tend to work by moods, so it depends on what motivates me next.

I am putting two versions of the cat here, so you can just grab a copy for yourself. I did save it in pcstitch file, but have no idea if it works, so anyone who would like to try it and see what you get, email me for a copy. I make them with the dell, but use my mac for other things. My mac will not open the file. So, for another question, would you prefer patterns in pc stitch or pdf files? I would appreciate any feedback on my cat pattern. If you encounter any problems with the chart, can you follow it ok? I use less colors and make them simple, so you can use any colors you want.

This pattern is for cross stitch only, please do not use it in any other medium.
I saved the colors in text format, so you can match those if you wish. The legend numbers do not match with this version.

Grid Size: 100W x 100H
Design Area: 6.64" x 6.79" (93 x 95 stitches)

Legend: Stitches
DMC 310 black
DMC White white
DMC 3808 turquoise - ul vy dk
DMC 3011 khaki green - dk
DMC 782 topaz - dk
DMC 918 red copper - dk
DMC 517 wedgewood - dk
DMC 838 beige brown - vy dk
DMC White white
DMC 501 blue green - dk
DMC 500 blue green - vy dk
DMC 610 drab brown - dk
DMC 3857 rosewood - dk
DMC 3799 pewter gray - vy dk
DMC 3033 mocha brown - vy lt
DMC 3045 yellow beige - dk

Annie Stitchery Finished

I finally got around to finishing my Raggedy Ann stitchery.
I used dmc floss for the stitchery and the big quilting stitches.
It really was a fun pattern to do. I used a material that looks similar to the blue florals, that you find on the old annie dresses.
I added some fun buttons and antiqued it to age it.
If you would like to make one, you can get the free pattern at Kaarens.
She has a new freebie on the first friday of the month, so she will have a new one, next week.

Don't forget, the contest and the pattern sale end tomorrow.