Completed 2003

This is a design from Alma Lynne's book, Cross Stitch for Special Occasions. I recharted the word "Papa" to be "Daddy." This is a belated Father's Day present.

This is another design from Alma Lynne's book, Cross Stitch for Special Occasions. It's called "Mother." I did this for a belated Mother's Day present because my mom has bunnies that look very similar to this on the border in her kitchen.

Wendy & Durant (Jason) picked this out for their wedding. It is actually an Anniversary project from Alma Lynne ~ but it works just as well as a wedding present. I used a Pastel Linen (which I'm not sure was actually 28 count ~ but that's another story). I think it is Spruce Green or something like that. It turned out pretty well ~ has a country feel that compliments the design.

All Cracked Up is Black Swan's Easter Eggman. In 2001, I did Mr. Sandman and Ho Ho Ho Snowman for my sister-in-law, Tracy. This year I'm completing the set with All Cracked Up and Trick Or Treat. I changed the lavender linen that came with the pattern to a Antique White Linen Silk that went with the off-white color of the rest of the set.

This is a beautiful Limited Edition kit from Black Swan, called Fairy's Welcome. I did this on The Blended Needle's Periwinkle Puffs fabric. And this is also my first time for recharting skin to over-one from over-two. The shading is much more subtle in real life, but I wanted to give an idea of the beauty of the fabric. My first finish of 2003!

Trick Or Treat is Black Swan's Pumpkinman. I didn't put the Trick Or Treat bag in, since I'm not really into Halloween ~ although I like pumpkins and I have a black kitty!

Pansy Bouquet is a silk gauze kit from Dreams of Stitches. I took this as a Make It & Take It class from CATS this year. Pansies are Todd's favorite flower so it was fun to try something new (petit point) and do something he would like as well. Now I just have to figure out how I want to frame it! :)

Lorri Birmingham's Friends Needle Roll is my 3rd design by her and my second pulled thread work. I love her designs! Unfortunately, I had done the heart the wrong way, so I had to take it out and redo it the correct way (so it would actually be a needleroll and not a bellpull) Thankfully, it was just pulled thread work and not hardanger! Now I have to decide whether to keep it or give it to a friend! :)

Lorri Birmingham's Friends Scissor Fob is my 4th design by her and my 3rd pulled thread work. The only thing I would have changed is the crystals. For some reason, the crystals in this kit were quite big and the ones in the Needleroll were small ~ so for size sake, I would have changed them. (But I don't feel like undoing my French hem right now)

I took the Silk Ribbon Embroidery Needle Roll class from Lorri Birmingham at the CATS festival in 2002. It was my first experience with silk ribbon embroidery and I loved it! I haven't decided whether or not to frame it as is or actually do a needleroll ~ so it may stay as it is until I decide!

Well, I didn't get The Victoria Sampler's first level done in 2002 ~ but maybe I'll get the second level done in 2003! Here's TVS1-9, Friends In Stitches, in which I learned the Montenegrin Stitch. This was a very easy and pretty stitch to do. I did it in a few hours one night while my husband read to me.

I completed this one from The Victoria Sampler in a little less than 3 hours. These fast finishes are somewhat addicting! TVS1-10, Celebrate!, taught the Plait Stitch ~ which was actually kind of fun.

TVS2-1, Christmas Rose, from The Victoria Sampler teaches the Spider Web Rose stitch of Ribbon Embroidery. I love Ribbon Embroidery. It's very flowing ~ and this rose is one of my favorites!

TVS2-2, Azaleas, from The Victoria Sampler, taught the Japenese Ribbon Stitch & the Feather Stitch. The Feather Stitch was a little difficult to figure out at first, but the Japenese Ribbon Stitch was great!

TVS2-3, Boughs of Holly, from The Victoria Sampler, taught the French Knot. This was an interesting stitch to learn, because I thought I knew how to do the French Knot! Turns out, I've been using the Colonial Knot, but thinking it was the French Knot. It was a little awkward for me because I'm used to doing them a different way, but it was still fun.

TVS2-4, Mistletoe, from The Victoria Sampler, teaches the Stem Stitch. It also uses the Japanese Ribbon Stitch. It was a lot of fun to do. Most people who saw me working on it thought I was doing Christmas ornaments early. Nope! Just learning Ribbon Embroidery stitches!

TVS2-5, Poinsettia, from The Victoria Sampler, teaches the Lazy Daisy Stitch. I didn't pull as hard as the model, so my poinsettias are a bit pouffier than shown on the kit. However, these were easy to do. I did add the beads in the corners.

TVS2-6, Friendship, from The Victoria Sampler, teaches the Japenese Ribbon Stitch ~ which I've actually already done quite a bit of in her previous designs. Still, the blue silk is gorgeous ~ and it was very quick!