Wedding and Anniversary Gifts

Last week, we celebrated our 10th anniversary, and wedding and anniversary pieces have been on my mind.  My in-laws' 50th anniversary will be coming up in the not too distant future, so I've been thinking about something we could stitch for them.  It's also traditional wedding season - June is still big for weddings, right?  (Although it seems like October is pulling ahead in terms of popularity.)  

I've already shown you some of the Bent Creek pieces I've done for weddings in a previous post.  I thought it would be fun to go back and look at some of the pieces I've stitched as wedding gifts, or on occasion, anniversary gifts because I can't get my act together in time for the wedding.  And in the case of this first piece, a Christmas gift because we didn't even stitch at the time the wedding took place.

I like to tie what I stitch into the event whenever possible.  With weddings that don't have a specific theme, I look to the the time of year, location, even a special reading or a song from the ceremony for inspiration. 

This is a piece I modified from a Leisure Arts leaflet called Marriage Keepsakes.  I had stitched the pattern once before, as designed.  This time, I changed the text to a poem my BIL and SIL used on the bookmark favors for their wedding.  They didn't have a theme for their wedding, so I drew on the colors they used, blue and silver.

Another couple I stitched a gift for also didn't really use a theme for their wedding, so I used this Bucilla kit, "To Love and To Cherish" as a gift for my far away friend.  She and I met online while we were planning our weddings, and have remained close ever since.

I changed the pink flowers to a peachy color so they would look more like the peach colored carnations that the bride chose for her bouquet and their decor.

I've also designed pieces completely from scratch by using motifs from several books I own.    This is where cross stitch software comes in VERY handy.  I have used PC Stitch for several years with great results, though I must admit that once I upgraded, some of the functions I could do quickly and easily became more complicated, and I am still muddling my way through some of the software.  (I want to go back to the old way of doing things for some functions, and it's just not possible.

For my friend Kelly (also a fellow wedding planning site buddy), I created a piece using the Song of Solomon quote they used for their invitations.  Red roses were a big part of their fall wedding, so I incorporated that into the piece as well.  The rose motif in the middle was tricky - I wanted something symmetrical - and ended up playing with a charted rose and its mirror image to get the look I was going for.  (Names are intentionally blurred for privacy)






One of the more unusual pieces I've done was for a couple that had marigolds and cicadas for their wedding theme.  Definitely not your typical wedding theme!  In 2004, the cicadas of Brood X (the largest group of periodical cicadas that emerge every 17 years) were coming out.  The marigold part was easy - I tapped the same flower book I used for the roses in the previous piece, but the cicadas proved to be a challenge.

I ended up stitching a simple piece, and worked the cicadas into the framing.  I found some line art drawings and printed them on velum paper, then used an Exacto knife to trim away the excess and cut out the middle.  I mounted the paper to a store bought mat with spray adhesive.  It turned out better that I expected and made for a very interesting wedding record.  Working with printed velum and a store bought mat can be tedious, but it adds a whole new level of versatility and flexibility to framing pieces.


On a much more traditional note, I used a reading that was very important to the couple to stitch this Book of Ruth Sampler by Design Connection (now OOP).  The names were charted out on paper, pre-stitching software, and I would definitely move some things around were I to stitch it again.

And the last piece I have for today should be familiar to many of you, as it's Blackbird Designs I Thee Wed.  It was a commissioned piece, stitched for my cousin to gift to a friend.  You can find the details on the piece here.

 Do you stitch gifts for weddings, anniversaries or other significant life events?  How do you choose what you will stitch?  Do you have any go to designers or charts that you've stitched more than once (like my fondness for Bent Creek's I Do)?

Finishings!

I finished a piece for my BIL and SIL, made lots of progress on Nautical Dreams and finally got around to taking pictures of some ornaments I finished a week or two ago.

First up, the piece for my BIL and SIL. It's a modification of a chart in a leaflet called Marriage Keepsakes by Leisure Arts. I've stitched the chart before - the repetition in the border makes it pretty easy. This time, I charted out the poem they used on their bookmark favors and used that instead. I like to use themes and colors from a couple's wedding when I make their wedding record, so I thought this fit in nicely. I stitched over 2 on 28 using all DMC floss, including a silver metallic thread for the inside borders. I have to frame it up and it will be ready to go for 1/2 of their Christmas present.

I also stitched up what I'm calling the Family Tree for them. It's a copy of a piece my MIL has had hanging on her wall for YEARS. It was something a friend of hers stitched for her and I've always admired it, so when I started stitching, I took close up photos of her piece and copied it into a chart in PC Stitch. It was VERY quick to stitch up, so I made two - one for us and one for my BIL and SIL. The original piece is stitched in red, brown and green DMC floss over one on what appears to be 14 ct. off white Aida, so I replicated the same fabric and color combination for the new ones. I experimented with a slightly brighter set of colors for theirs and framed it in black. I think it came out great. And I was lucky enough to find the same alphabet in one of my books, so now if I want to make one for someone else, I can do that. (I intentionally blurred our family name in the picture).

Next up are some ornaments that have been languishing in a drawer for at least 2 years. My DH stitched them up from a kit by Bucilla, laced them over cardboard backings with a little batting and there they sat, waiting to be finished. A few weeks ago, I finally dug them out and finished the backs by gluing a hanging ribbon and a piece of coordinating felt over the lacings. I know they're a little close to the edges, but this was one of our very first stitching projects and we were still pretty inexperienced. We'd definitely leave much more room the next time! They still came out nice, and they'll be family heirlooms anyway. :-) (And if you notice the kitty in the first row, he even modified him from the original brown to black so he looks like our kitty.)

And finally, I made some progress on Nautical Dreams this weekend, finishing up the cross stitching (almost) in the section with the shells and sandpiper and filling in the background. It's hard to see, but I also started on the 2 little shells on the top. I'm hoping to finish by the end of the week so I can get it personalized, framed and mailed out.