Quick Stitch

After showing you my recent stitchery finish, I am contemplating doing this "quick" romantic heart piece with an alphabet contained within. You can get the free pattern here. I have never worked needle full of linen thread before, so this may be a wonderful new experience for me. Of course with the younger grandschildren visiting 4 times a week if not more, something like this could be nice to display for Valentine's Day. Maybe in a frame on one of the end tables in the living room or possibly bedroom. I'll hear PGD#1 age 3 singing her alphabet all the time, and many times she is doing the alphabet hand signals for the hearing impaired at the same time.


I found out about it while surfing some of my favorite bloggers. Gabi is a very talented Australian lady that does amazing needle work. Check out her site at Lady of Floss. I absolutely love the "coming to the water piece" she is currently working on, Incredible! But she is also the person who showed me some finished Chatelaine Designs. Specifically the Alpine Mandala. I have this pattern and have started collecting a little bit of silk threads and such, here and there to off-set the huge cost it would be to be done in silks and bought all at once. On the internet, the european Store offering the kit for it wanted $280.00(?pounds) which would be about $400.00 in US funds. Yikes! Of course, living where I do, with no stitchery shops around, it's difficult for shopping, but of course, not an impossible task since we do travel and I research what shops are nearby where we'll be. But in the mean time, to justify any more expense, I need to continue finishing up more UFO's. Go Janie!!!!

Recently, while at the Mary Ellen Hopkins Lecture in Vermont, I went to the Wooden Needle stitch shop in Stowe, VT. Kathy, The shop owner saw my pattern of the Alpine Mandala, and said remarkably, "Oh that is one of Martina Weber designs I plan on making too, but I plan on doing it in silk threads." Then she stooped beneath her counter and pulled out her pattern with all the supplies she has collected so far. Now she is a shop owner and is doing the same thing I am doing. She also was very helpful and showed me how to do the split stitch with your needle to make sure your 2 threads will lay flat with each stitch. I can't for the life of me now remember the terminology for that stitch but I probably will at 3am this morning. It might be the railroad stitch, but I'm not sure.

Happy Stitching,
Jane