Americana 9-Patch

I finally completed something! It's been a busy few months. This is my stitching of Sandra Workman's of Pine Mountain Designs kit from 2009 "Americana 9-Patch." This patriotic design comes with a pre-made pillow that allows you to slip the worked piece into the opening. I noticed that the upper right corner has no border and thought that this was probably an error. But I was wrong--again! Her other 9-patch designs have no border in the same position. I wonder what the significance is of this. I feel there has to be one but couldn't find anything about it. Does anyone happen to know?

This is the first piece that I've done on Aida in quite a while. WOW! What a difference in fabrics! But I had to have it because I loved the charms that went on it.

Beary Wish

I stitched this little topper called Beary Wish to cover one of those Renuzit Air Fresheners a few years ago. A gift to my mom, I recently found it in a box that came out of her house when she moved into a nursing home.

It was designed by my friend, Sandy Arthur, of DuoDesigns, Inc. of Louisville, KY. I felt so special because I was only one who signed up for the class and she taught me anyway. This class could not have been a profit to her. I'd heard others say that it was so cute, but they hadn't sign up for the class because they thought it would be too difficult and were afraid to try it. They didn't know what they missed!

It really was not that difficult to stitch, and she is such an excellent teacher. If you ever have a chance to sign up for one of her classes, I recommend it highly. She is so patient and such a clear instructor. And not even a bit discouraged by my being left-handed. She has such a sense of humor, too. By the way, this little plug is unsolicited. I don't think she has any idea of how much I admire her.

I love her creativity. She is not afraid to mix mediums in order to transform her visions into reality. See more of her work at the class page on her website. She mostly teaches at ANG Seminars, but does teach other places, too. Here is a link to her class page: http://www.duodesignsinc.com/classes.htm.

Sandy, if you ever happen to read this post, thanks for blessing my life.

A Stitch in Pine

Piece: A Stitch in Pine, a Hillside Samplings designer Lesley Rudnicki (no date but had to be 1996 or later).

Fabric: Desert, a hand – painted specialty fabric by Crossed Wing Collection (sxwing@gmailcom. www. crossed wing.com 12 x13". There was not enough fabric to front mat it so it was framed in sampler style with no matting on the front, but a copper metallic burnished mat backing it. It was non-acidic. The backmat was used to show thru the pulled worked of this type of linen (28 count). Crossed Wing says that that each piece is hand painted with a fabric dye rather than immersion in a dye. First, the fabric is washed in a special detergent to remove sizing, soaked in an activator to help it better take the dye, then laid out flat and painted, carefully blending several colors to achieve a subtle mottling. Then it is cured for 24 to 48 hours, after which it is washed and rinsed several times to remove excess dye, making it color fast. After drying and pressing it, is ready for your needle and thread and your imagination. (Ph: (715-258-5915 e-mail xdwing@gmail.com)

Threads:

Weeks Dye Works--Dried thyme (0110) and Collards (1277)
Simply Shaker Sampler Threads--Walnut 7029

My initials were done in DMC Precious Metal Effects (#301) - 2 plys stripped from the strand.

Notes: I did not use the threads or fabric called for in the pattern. My friend Janet, did this pattern, too. However, she used a softer even weave mint fabric with sparklies in it with more hunter green type fibers and did not pull the stitches. I chose to give it more of an antiqued look. My fabric was an uneven linen, that was perfect for a pulled technique. My threads have an olive type theme. The button that is shown in the model was no longer available, so I had to create my own tree as a spaceholder.

I also chose to frame this in traditional style of not using a front matting. But untraditionally, I used a burnished copper back mat, hoping that it would show through the pulled horizontal band in the center. But it really didn’t show up very much. I also used non glare museum conservation glass to protect it, but used a spacer to reduce the chance of it mildewing.

Unfortunately, the framer did not follow my directions and had written incorrect dimensions on the work order and I signed off on it. There margins are not consistent on all four sides . My fault, I should have measured it myself and given her the frame measurements. I think I’m going to start framing my own stuff. They also put a sawtooth hanger on the back instead of the D-hinges and a wire that I had requested. They did wind up correcting this for me though. After I complained, they said that they couldn’t do the actual re-framing over because it would take a different size frame (it would) and over because they had trimmed it (it was supposed to be laced, which it was not and I am really ticked about this). I am just glad that I did not spend months on this project. Friends, this is an opportunity to live and learn from my mistakes. Hope you all have a healthy and prosperous 2010 – Happy New Year!