2014 ornament strawberry

Here is the detail chart for the mini queen stitch strawberry.

Bags for the April meeting

On April 7th, Loree will help us with either of these darling bags from Shepherd's Bush Designs. Each of the bags are $24.00 and you will need to get the bag that you want to stitch from your local needlework store or you can order them directly from the "Bush" at shepherdsbush.net

The first one is called My Stitching Bag.

This sweet bag come to you already sewn together.  All you need to do is stitch the design on the linen portion of the bag. The kit includes a pattern, threads and button as well as the darling bag with its matching stripe and floral fabric border.  It is so darling.  The perfect place to store your favorite stitching supplies--scissors, threads and needles.



The second bag that is available is  Forget me Not Bag.

This adorable bag comes pre-made, all you get to do is the cross stitching--a sweet, old-fashioned sentiment in a meadow of sheep.  All the supplies are included to complete this wonderful bag.

Come and join us if you can, if not them get one of these special bags for your very own and stitch along with us.

2015 Ornament

Here is the picture of the ornament that Jackie designed for us. 

 

 

 

Jackie Said that when her son was toddler that they always had to feed Santa's Reindeer too.  So for our ornament she created a pouch to hold greens and a bottle of oats mixed with glitter.  The pouch is all hand finished and has a self lining and backing finishing technique.  It is worked with cross and tent stitches over one fabric thread.


The cost of the kit is $25.00 and shipping will be $7.00.

Swan Stitching Goals 2014 addition!

Here is another great post for 2014

 

It is Santa's Magic  stitched by Sandra Ball

 

Let us know if you finished some on your list.

 

Here is one of Carolyn's finishes. It was not sent in on a list but we thought that you would enjoy the story behind it. When she picked it back up this year to stitch on it, she found a paper in the bag with 1999 on it. So it was started about then or before. So take heart and know that it is never too late to work on and finish those "Works in progress".

 

Santa of the Forest - stitched by Carolyn Standing Webb

Swan Stitching Goals 2014

This is the time of year that tradition dictates that we make New Years Resolutions. Most of us keep those goals for about a day or perhaps a couple of months. We have received some ambitious lists for 2015 and it will be so much fun to see just how far they can go. So whether or not you sent us your list or even wrote one down for yourself, here's to lots of stitching and perhaps even some finished projects in the next year.

 

Several of our members were able to make stitching goals for 2014 and finished several of their pieces.

 

Barbara Martin finished 3 projects.

 

They are: a Christmas Sampler Stocking by Mary Beale

Boxed Blue Iris Sampler by Barbara Rakosnik

and a Biscornu that was not on the list but is a great design.

JoAnn Jackson finished two.

Stitcherie Challenge Heart

Ice Queen's Dilemma

I am sure that there are plenty of other finished projects out there. We would love to have you share then with us.

Mistress L

Lynn Jones and I have been steadily working on Mistress L by Lauren Sauer. We decided to work ours in silk - just 'cause we could and silk is so much easier to stitch with. It has been an adventure to find colors that match as much as possible. We did change a few colors because we wanted a bit more pink in the flowers.
Lynn has stitched a bit more than I have but here is part of my sampler.

 

 

Specialty Stitches - Queen Stitch Scissors Sheath

In March the guild is going to have a workshop about a couple of stitches that are often used on sampler to add a little something extra.
One is Montenegrin. This stitch us used to create stems and scrolls in bands. It is a reversible stitch and one that can be difficult to do.
The other is queen stitch. Queen stitch can be used as a single stitch or as a filling stitch. It can be worked straight and diagonally.
There are some tricks  and techniques that can help us improve both of these stitches.
As part of this class, Swans will hand out in class and later post the directions for  a scissors sheath that features queen stitches. Here is a photo of the finished sheath.

We will  suggest some thread colors but you will be free to choose your ground fabric and colors. You will need 3 flower colors, green, yellow and tan for the flower pot.