Tag: hobbies

This is the Swirl Flowers from Bucilla. As I discussed way back in… oh my gosh, June? I decided to stitch this one in all black. I am so pleased with the results.

This may be one kit where I should have used regular, divisible 6-strand embroidery floss, rather than my preferred cotton perle #8, which is thicker. The stitching is rather close and I’m afraid some of the details have gotten lost. Eh. Live and learn.

I still really love the all-black flowers on the crisp white pillowcases. Very modern.

This is the Violets pattern from Tobin.I did a pretty good job of using the thread I had on hand, and this time I matched my colors pretty closely to those recommended by Tobin. I think there could have been a higher contrast between the two shades of purple, though. And the green isn’t a shade I normally use, but it worked nicely here. Overall, I am very happy with how this turned out.

I used DMC cotton perle #8 in these colors:

Very Dark Lavender #208

Dark Lavender #209

Dark Lemon #444

Ultra Dark Pistachio Green #890

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary, Dar and Rich! I hope you enjoy sleeping on these as much as I enjoyed stitching them for you.This is the Gloriosa pattern from Tobin, available from JoAnn Fabric and Crafts. The first time I saw this pattern I thought it was just stunning. I still think so. I’m really pleased with how it turned out. Unfortunately, my photography skills don’t do it justice.The giant center of French knots was fun, but I found it difficult to keep the edge rounded. I’ll have to keep practicing that. The texture of a big mound of French knots is wonderful.

The only other thing that gave me trouble was the color. Of course I didn’t use the recommended colors, I had to go with my own. I’m still trying to use some of the thread I inherited. I started with the medium pink, but in the end I had to buy more thread to get the right red and light pink, so I’m not sure it was worth it. I think if I had to do it again I would try to use the recommended colors.

I used DMC cotton perle #8 in these colors:
Medium Red #304
Medium Rose #899
Light Salmon #761
Medium Pistachio Green #320

This is the Blue Daisies pattern from Tobin.
I think this pattern is just so lovely. I am mostly happy with it, but I don’t care for the dark blue that I chose. Again, I was trying to use colors that I have on hand, but I think the dark blue called for in the pattern would have been better- more of a cornflower blue, not quite as dark. Oh, well. Next time.

I used DMC cotton perle #8 in these colors:

I’m a sucker for cotton muslin.I ordered this set of antique pillowcases from ebay. One was completed, the other barely started. The finished case is much whiter than the unfinished one, but I had no way of knowing if the unfinished case would wash up after it was stitched. It didn’t. Actually, it is a bit better, but not much. I don’t think I’ll ever do this again. The fabric is far better than anything I could buy today in a kit, but the whole time I was working this pillowcase, I kept thinking, I don’t know where this has been, who handled it over the past several decades. And of course, you can’t wash it before you finish stitching because the stamped pattern is water soluble. It made me want to wash my hands repeatedly.Also, my stitching is very different from the original stitcher’s. I connect my cross stitches, but the other pillowcase is stitched with each X independent. That is why my case looks darker.

I’ll be keeping this set for myself, but I hope to do the pattern again on a clean, new set of pillowcases.See, the real draw was the original pattern included. I fell in love with those deco flowers. Next time I’ll use deco colors!I painstakingly matched up the wild colors chosen by some unknown person long ago.

DMC rose #335
DMC aquamarine #3814
DMC medium tangerine #741