Bee Sampler – Finished!

Finished! Utterly, completely, absolutely nothing left to add, finished. Except I haven’t posted it to my mom yet. But still! It is technically done even if the recipient of the gift hasn’t received it, right?
To the best of my knowledge, I designed the honeycomb border, row 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 2/3 of row [...]

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Bee Sampler Update II

Previous posts on the project are here and here.
I’m almost half-finished:

The last band pictured is the seventh of thirteen planned and then there’s the rest of the border sooooo almost halfway there.
PCStitch has been a big help. I downloaded the trial Pro version and after tinkering around with it I can do some basic stuff. [...]

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Blackwork Shading Samplers

After finishing the two fill-in samplers from Beginner’s Guide to Blackwork I decided to press onward in my self-education.
Here are my attempts:
This was my first attempt at manipulating blackwork patterns. I was so ridiculously proud of myself. Here’s a detail of the top portion of the sampler.
Each column contains a different interpretation of the [...]

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Blackwork Fill-In Samplers

When I first got interested in blackwork I decided I wouldn’t burn myself out on it. Typically, when I start a new craft I read as much as I can about it and then tackle a project that captures my interest. Usually, this involves a skill set I just don’t have yet. I slog through [...]

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RV Cross Stitch Kit – Fifth Wheel

So, in addition to craft ADD I am a bit of a craft snob. When I got into embroidery as an adult it was ribbon embroidery that caught my attention. It was so striking and unlike anything I’d ever seen that it seemed better than anything else. I wondered how anyone could not be into [...]

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Blackwork Sampler Update

I’ve “sketched” some new designs for my mom’s sampler. Previous designs are here.
I took one of the bees and after a lot of fiddling I came up with this:

I had to try out both versions but I think I’ll use the second as a band in the sampler.

The motif on the right is adapted from [...]

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Swiss Folk Heart crewel kit

This is a kit I’m working on right now.  And this is all I have been able to finish so far. So when I say, “right now,” I mean, “whenever I’m least intimidated.”

It’s all satin and stem stitch with some french knots thrown in. Here are the instructions:

And here’s a detail of my stitching so [...]

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Planning the Bee Sampler

This is a gift I’m making for my mom. She’s really into bees but I guess you could see that for yourself.
It’s in the early planning stages, obviously. There are many, many, many mistakes. I wasn’t pleased with the beehive on a branch band until the very bottom. And some of the bees are very [...]

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Winter Morn Kit

The very first project of my return to embroidery was not the ribbon embroidery present for my grandmother. It was a Bucilla Creative Needlecraft kit No. 1958 called “Winter Morn.”

I chose this specifically because it reminded me of something my mother did. It was crewel (this used cotton floss) and there was a wagon wheel [...]

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Ribbon Embroidery

Like most people, I have craft ADD. Here are some pictures of my first but not current love: Ribbon embroidery.

This is my grandmother’s Christmas gift half finished. I got really into folk art and bought a bunch of books (bad me!) and chose this image from Pennsylvania Dutch Designs (International Design Library).

The other books in [...]

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