Trying to come up with a pattern

One of my oldest and dearest friends is buying her first place and I want to stitch something for her. I've been wracking my brains for a few days trying to think of something and it's been hard.

She lives in NJ and works in NYC, so she's definitely more of an urban girl than a country girl - ruling out most LHN and CCN type designs, as well as primitives. I looked at a few NY / NJ designs and didn't like them much. I don't want anything cute or cartoony. She was down to visit a few weeks ago, and really like the Moire pattern by Pelin Tezer I was stitching, so I thought maybe I'd look for something along those lines - a little fanicer, a little elegant, but not too foofy.

I finally came up with the idea of stitching her last name in a series of illuminated type letters, similar to the ones used in Isa Vautier's Grand Marquoir, and using some of the other blocks between the letters. I had also considered using M Designs Celtic Alphabet, but thought it would end up being too busy to do a whole name, even if it is just four letters.

I definitely want to do all the stitching in one color (probably a varigated), and do the lettering straight across. I'm not completely sold on the Isa V letters yet, so if anyone has any ideas where I can find something similar, either a freebie or a chart for sale, feel free to share. I looked through some of the alphabets I have, and they're too small to do what I want to do - I'm looking for letters that are a little larger in size, at least 50x50 or so, with a little flair to them.

Ideas???

The Sisterhood is Moving On!

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pattern is moving on!

Head on over to Carol's blog, not only for a chance to enter her drawing to become the next member of the Sisterhood, but to check out her incredible, over one rendition of the pattern. It's really quite lovely!

Fair and Square Winter Round from Renee K

I received my Winter 2009 squares from Renee earlier in the week, and aren't they just adorable?

Winter by Mausimom (Freebie available here)

Renee cleverly played off the letter arragement in the chart for her signature square, and included a cool little sparkly charm (it's not actually crooked on the piece - I didn't notice it wasn't straight when I took the photo). I thought the charm was a great idea - I've used beads and charms before, but never thought to dig into some of my other jewelry making stash for embellishment. Great idea, Renee!

Renee also included a cute little heart button, which I forsee ending up in the middle of a biscornu at some point. Thanks again, Renee, for a lovely exchange!

PIF #1 made it safely to Ireland

I've been a little behind on my blog, and of course, I am going to blame it on Facebook. I have a few stitchy posts coming up, though - I have been stitching. Most of it has been secret stitching, and now that a few pieces have been received, I can share them on my blog.

First up is my first PIF gift for Michelle. Michelle was the first one to sign up for my PIF and I had a wonderful time putting together this package for her. I picked over her blog very carefully and discovered that her favorite color was purple and she loved butterflies, so I had a good idea to work with. These are the front and back pieces of the biscornu before they were stitched together. And no, that's not a stain on the fabric - it's some weird little spot that shows up occasionally on my camera lens.

Butterfly Freebie from Tantes Zolder, stitched over 1 on 25 ct. opalescent fabric with Belle Soie Silk in Elegant Eggplant.
The second block is of my own design, stitched on the same fabric with Belle Soie and DMC

NOTE: The above link has been updated March 2013 to a new site as it

 appears that the Tantes Zolder site is not functional

Now, I must confess that I had the pieces of the biscornu stitched up well before Christmas, but got sidetracked when it came to putting it together. Okay, okay, and I might as well ALSO confess that I didn't actually put it together myself - my DH was kind enough to stitch it together for me. What can I say? He's a scientist and loves these fiddly, meticulous projects. (Maybe "loves" is a bit strong, considering the dirty looks and occasional grumblings I got while he was stitching together my over one backstitching...). But he did stitch it together for me, then I did the button on the bottom. I didn't want to put a button on the top through the design in the middle of the butterflies, so I attached the button using the same silk and stitching through the design already in place.

Here it is all stitched up:

And now for the rest of the goodies I sent to Michelle.

I included some fabrics and flosses (2 of my own making), a few floss tag rings, drink mix and gum, a pretty soap, ribbon, a notepad, and probably my favorite goodie - a fold up shopping tote from Target. I love, love, love these reusable shopping bags, and have amassed quite a collection for my groceries, but I love this little one that folds up into the size of a wallet and tucks away in my purse. It's very cute, and quite handy too, especially for little things here and there that don't really warrant a shopping bag.
Michelle was quite pleased with her PIF and I am so glad she liked it. I had such a good time with this PIF and I am really happy with how the biscornu turned out. Now, on to my other two PIFs!

Fair and Square, Round #11

I received these beautifully stitched squares from Jeanie C. (no blog) in Singapore last week.

Aren't they lovely?? Jeanie picked one of my favorite Celtic knot designs from Ink Circles and stitched them up in some gorgeous shades of blue. I am thinking I will finish this as my first pinkeep, perhaps with a silvery trim and dark blue pins to pick up on the dark blue threads she used.

Jeanie also included a hand drawn card of Singapore, designed by her dd. What a great drawing! (I always wished I could draw, but am not very good at it!)

Thank you so much, Jeanie!!!

Winter Round of the Fair & Square Exchange

Renee K. let me know last week that she received the squares I stitched up for her.

Waxing Moon Designs Winter Cardinal
Stitched over 2 on 32 ct. Mushroom evenweave with DMC and Kreinik Threads

She mentioned in her wish list that she liked birds and I thought this one would be perfect for her. I used the recommended DMC colors, but gave it a little bit of sparkle with some blending filament in the snowflakes (it's a little hard to see, but trust me, it's there!) I also use a tiny little hematite colored bead (an iridescent black color) for the eyes, which I thought was really cool - they actually look like tiny little bird's eyes!

The green thread I used is actually a green I dyed myself. I was fooling around with using colors other than white and beige when I was dying threads a while back, and dunked a skein of green in a dark green dye, then twisted it up for an overdyed look. I'm pretty pleased with the way it came out and will definitely experiment more with different colors of threads.

She's packing her bags

And getting ready to move on!

Kathy has finished up with the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pattern, so if you'd like to stitch her next, stop by and enter Kathy's drawing.

Another Fair & Square Received

This time, my stitching went all the way to Singapore, to the home of Jeanie C. (no blog)

Four Little Hearts by Indigo Rose
Stitched over 2 on 32 ct. Antique White with DMC 304 and 30666

I've loved this design since the first time I saw it, but hadn't stitched it yet. I decided to go with a "Valentine's Day" theme for Jeanie, and thought this would be perfect. I love how the rayon thread makes the Rhodes hearts and squares shine like little jewels!

She emailed me yesterday to let me know she received it and that she really liked it. I also enclosed a skein of my handdyed thread, Valentine's Day, in shades of pretty red, pink and white.

A new Blogger on the Scene

Carolyn, the lovely woman who owns my LNS, has started up her own blog - Just Cross Stitch in Limerick. Be sure to stop by and say hello!

I'll have a hard time parting with this one

I really, really, really like how it came out.

Blue Ribbon Designs - A Christmas Wish of Health and Happiness (2007)
stitched over 2 on 32 ct. evenweave with DMC threads
Freebie Design available here

This is another for the set of Bride's Tree ornaments I'm stitching and finishing for my husband's cousin, who was married in August. We gave them the first one with the promise of the rest to follow, but it's taking a little longer than I expected. Oh well, I TECHNICALLY have a year to get them done.

I am really pleased with how this one came out, and it will be hard to part with it. I modified the bottom from "Health and Happiness" to "Hope and Peace" because that's what the rabbit symbolizes for the Bride's Tree Ornaments. And it's a little hard to tell, but it does say 2008 on there as well. It's been stitched up, I just only finished it into an ornament.

I did the finishing the same way I've done others - laced onto cardboard, stitched together, then trimmed with glued on cording. Here's a tip for you - hang onto the cardboard that Joann's wraps their Quarter Flats around - it's perfect for ornaments since it's on the thinner side. When you put two pieces together (one for each side), it ends up being the perfect weight and stiffness for an ornament.