And the winner is…….

I’m only taking time tonight to make a quick post about who won the 3 of the skeins of Edmar thread that I used to stitch my “Ribbons & Roses Heart”……sorry to have kept you waiting.  I wrote down the names of everyone that had posted a suggestion of a project to use the heart design on.  My hubby picked the winning number, so it’s his fault if you didn’t win.  The winner is MOIRA!  Congratulations, Moira!  Once you send me an email to SherryBDE@gmail.com with your mailing address, I’ll send the 3 skeins of thread out to you.  Happy stitching!

By the way….Moira suggested using the design as the focal point on an evening bag…..great idea.

Other ideas had been to mount it on the top of a container to keep special little things in, an ornament, a jewelry box, a tote bag, wall hanging, CQ motif on a pillow, to make for a Heart Swap, as an inspiration piece, and as a framed wedding or anniversary gift.

I still haven’t decided how to use my completed design, but when I do, I’ll post a picture of the finished project.  But, when weddings had been mentioned, I got a thought…….if someone special in your life is getting married and they are having a ring bearer and flower girl…..this design would make a great design on the ring pillow……just change the color of the roses to white (or the color of the bouquets) and the ribbons to the color of the bridesmaids’ dresses.

I’ll post more tomorrow or Sunday about my progress on my new project…..

New Project starting…..

I thought I’d let you in on the beginning of my next project.  I mentioned it right after the first of the year, but I’m just getting going on it.  It’s a large piece, so it’s going to keep me busy for quite a while.

I’d found a wonderful pattern in a book that I bought at the BDEIG Seminar last year.  The book, More Beautiful Embroidered Blankets, is a soft-sided book by the Australian company that publishes Inspirations Magazine….Country Bumpkin Publications.  And, No…..I’m not going to be starting on another blanket….though, I did really enjoy making the last one…..hmmm…..I may have to post photos of that one here, too, since I’d only shown it on my old blog.  Oh, sorry, I’m getting off the subject…..I tend to do that now & then. 

The pattern that I’m going to be doing is actually on the front cover of the magazine…..it’s that beautiful arrangement of flowers in a wall basket.  The design, Summer Symphony by Helen Eriksson, is a beautiful crewel design stitched on wool blanketing material and was stitched primarily in wool threads.  But, what can I say?….When I saw this design the first time……it shouted out to me, “Stitch me in BDE !”  Now, who can turn down a design that’s yelling at you?

I don’t feel I should post a close up of Helen Eriksson’s finished piece or the pattern because of copyright issues, but here is, at least, a more head on photo of the blanket.

The actual design area is 11” x 14”.  Once stitched and framed, it’s going to make a beautiful picture for my entry.  The original piece was done in pastels, but I’m not sure that I want pastels, so I’m going to have to think a little about what color threads I’d like to use.  I’ve traced the pattern onto a medium tan linen that will work great in my house, so I’m thinking I may need  deeper and brighter colors.  I can just imagine how beautiful this piece is going to turn out stitched  in BDE and I can hardly

 

wait to get started stitching on it.  What a wonderful array of flowers and stitches I’m going to be able to use……what fun!

Tomorrow, I’ll mount the fabric pattern onto  a frame made from 15”  & 18” stretcher bars.  I prefer working on stretcher bars and since this is going to be a larger project, I’ll use my Needlework System 4 floor stand., rather than my lap / table stand. Both hold the stretcher bars wonderfully while leaving my hands free, but because of the size of the “canvas”, using the floor model will enable me to flip the piece easier to get to the back.  The nice thing is that this stand folds and slides under our couch when I need it out of the way.

Well….Plan to check back in the next couple days to see my beginning stitches on this piece.

Until then, if you live where it’s warm and sunny…..please soak up some of that sunshine for me, will you!  I’m starting to get pretty tired of all this cold & snow!!

Oh…..a little reminder…..if you haven’t entered a comment on the post with the “Ribbons & Roses Heart” giving a suggestion of how to use the design, make sure to do it.  I’ll be having a drawing  from all the suggestions given by this Thursday for some of the Edmar thread used in the design.  I’d love to hear yours!

Hugs,

A new challenge for me……

I thought I’d share a little about a new challenging path that I’ve taken…..I applied to BDEIG to teach at the 2011 Seminar in Portland this next June.  When the Seminar Supplement came out this last week, it was exciting to see my classes featured in it along with all of the others.  What a great feeling!  Now that the supplement has been delivered to all the members, I can talk about what I hope to teach if enough members choose me classes and share some photos here.
Many times, designs taught at Seminar reflect the Seminar theme….which is Floral Bouquets this year or they might be designs featuring the flower of the year….which for 2011 is the Orchid.  One of my classes will represent the Flower of the Year.  Earlier this year, we had a challenge on our BDEIG Online Chapter on Yahoo groups.  The challenge was for everyone to stitch their state flower in BDE.  Well, my state…Minnesota….has a State Flower named the Showy Lady Slipper….which is a wild Orchid!  I used to see these beautiful wild flowers in the wooded areas near my grandmother’s old log home way up in the wilderness in northern MN……in fact…..I got in trouble once as a little girl picking  a bouquet of them for my grandmother!  I certainly had no idea then that there was a $100 fine for picking just one!
So, it was fun for me to research this lovely flower that was part of my childhood memories.  This flower is very three dimensional. White petals sit on top of a ballooned out magenta & white pouch.  The ones near my grandmother’s home had larger white petals than those pictured, so I made mine like those.  I won’t share how I stitched my Showy Lady Slipper with you, but I will share a picture of my finished design.
I just called it Showy Lady Slipper

Figuring out how to stitch the three dimensional pouch was  the most fun.  Look how far the flower sticks out from the fabric.  Isn’t BDE neat!
I hope lots of the members think so, too,because I’m going to enjoy teaching this class. 
I came up with an idea for a Christmas design a while back and decided to develop it into a design to teach at Seminar.  I wanted a casual design, so decided to make a wreath with natural materials and flowers….but something a little different, too.  So, this is what I came up with….. Ring Around the Wreath:

This design is made to represent grape vine pieces, poinsettias, white roses, rose leaves, holly, holly berries, pine boughs, pine cones, a cord bow and silver bells. It will have directions for alternate designs with it, too.  A candle design may be substituted for the bells, or the frape vine design area on the left can be filled in with flowers,  so that it can be used as a candle mat.  Lots of versatility for holiday use.
I love BDE because of the realistic dimension that you can get when making the flowers and the sheen of the rayon thread is so gorgeous!

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my new designs and if you are going to the BDEIG Seminar this year, maybe I’ll even see you in one of my classes!
Once Seminar is over, I’ll plan to have both of these designs available for purchase.  They’ll be printed on fabric along with the complete written directions to complete the stitching.

A little BDE information

I'm so happy that many of you liked my "Ribbons & Roses Heart". I hope you have an opportunity to stitch it for someone special in your life.....maybe yourself! Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery is such a gorgeous form of embroidery. Many of you might not be real familiar with it or what makes it different from other types of embroidery. The first thing, is the type of thread that we use to stitch with. BDE is stitched with several different types and weights of "Z" twist rayon thread. This is what gives it the fantastic sheen that BDE is known for. The most popular brand of threads used is Edmar, which is available from many suppliers.....but there are a few other brands out there. If this style of embroidery is done with any other type of thread, like silk, cotton, or wool; it is just called dimensional embroidery. Many of the stitches used for BDE are those that had been developed for other forms of embroidery and have been around for decades, and have been improvised for use with the "z" twist rayon by switching the direction the thread is wound on the needle or how it is held while stitches are made to keep the twist from untwisting..... but.... many, many new stitches have been developed specifically for BDE by talented BDE teachers and designers and are only found in their books or patterns. A word of caution....BDE books and patterns are written to be stitched with "z" twist thread, so if you are using them and stitching with "s" twist thread, you will have to understand that you may have to compensate for this or your stitches may not come out right. If you would like to find out more about BDE, why not check out the BDEIG website? There is a lot of information there including free patterns and stitch instructions. You can find it at Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery International Guild .  I'd like to, also, invite you to join me and a great group of talented ladies interested in BDE at our BDEIG Online Chapter on Yahoo Groups. We have a terrific group that is there to help with questions and help you with your BDE efforts. There is some great "eye candy" there to view, too. Come and check it out.

Tomorrow, I'll share something I’m excited about and a little “eye candy” with you. See you then.... Hugs, Sherry

An original Valentine Design to share with You!

I’d hoped to have this design stitched and ready to share with you and my friends on the BDEIG Online Chapter on Yahoo Groups long before this, but life does have a mind of it’s own sometimes and our best intentions end up getting set aside for a while.  So, I’m posting this just in time for the pattern to be my Valentine’s Day gift to you instead of your being able to use it to make something for someone else this Valentine’s Day…..maybe you can do that next year?
Well, here it is……”Ribbon & Roses Heart”…with an actual design area of 4”x4”.  IMPORTANT NOTICE:  After offering this pattern to the public for free for 6 months, I have removed it.  It is now available for purchase, including a printed fabric pattern and all the directions.  So, if you'd like to stitch this design and did not get it while it was offered free, you may purchase it on linen or trigger cloth.  Just contact me.




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