iStitch Exchange

Carol from iStitchaholic recently hosted an exchange featuring her designs, and stitchers all over the world signed up to exchange finished pieces.   Carol has been posting the exchange pieces to the iStitch Designs facebook page, and will be posting a gallery to her blog once the exchange wraps up completely.

My piece arrived from Elisa of Old Ragged Threads back in July.  She stitched Sew French Blue and finished it as a pinkeep.  So pretty and delicate - I love the lace on the edges and need to keep that in mind for future finishes of my own.  (Why yes I do have a collection of finishing ideas I'd like to try!)

Elisa also crocheted me this sweet colorful mat.  It is so soft and pretty, and my 4 year old was eyeing it up as soon as I took it out of the package.  Once he felt how soft it was, it was a task to get it back from him!

My exchange partner was also located in the UK.  I stitched Sew Peacock for Michelle (Michelle's Stitchcraft Place).  Sew Peacock has long been one of my favorite designs and I chose a gorgeous turquoise blue silk (Belle Soie Aqua Velvet) to stitch over 1.  The fabric you see in the background is the taffeta I used for the back of the pinkeep.  In fact, I chose that fabric first, then went to my LNS in search of the thread.  I had at least half a dozen choices, and ended up going with my first choice silk.  Do you do that too?  I go through several different colors for something like this, and inevitably go back to my first choice.

I also finished mine as a pinkeep.  Since I used the little acrylic stand I bought for Elisa's pinkeep to stand the piece up for photographing, I decided to include it in the package to Michelle.  (I'll pick up a new stand for myself so I can put Sew French Blue back on display)

And you can see the Swarovski crystal pin I put together from my jewelry bits.  I believe that's the Blue Zircon color, which happens to be my birthstone as well.  I wanted to jazz up the lace trim I used around the edges, so I added soome blue satin ribbon.  I bought a spool without realizing I had used the exact same ribbon for another project, oddly enough another iStitch design!  So I used what I had and sent the new roll off to Michelle.

As I was looping the ribbon for the top, I realized that it looked a little bit like a peacock too!

 

So my piece arrived safely in the UK and I'm just thrilled with the piece from Elisa.  Thank you, Carol, for hosting such a great exchange!

A wedding gift for a happy couple

Sew Blue by iStitchaholic 

1 over 1 on 28 ct. evenweave
with Belle Soie Peacock

Personalized as a gift

This was a freebie pattern offered by Carol of iStitchaholic.  The original pattern has an alphabet across the top of the design, but I wanted to personalize it for a wedding gift, so I used the alphabet for  their names and wedding date, and charted out my own ampersand.

Gina is a dear friend of my husband's from college, and we wanted to send her and her new husband something personal since we could not make it to their wedding.  This is actually the first of two pieces I stitched - the other is a framed piece for their walls that has yet to be framed.  At least this one got out in time to hang on their Christmas tree this year! (And you'll see the framed piece later, once it's finished up)

So I changed the pattern to personalize the piece, and I took the ribbon from their invitations to my LNS and found a perfect match in the Belle Soie Peacock silk.  Gina also had a bit of a lace motif throughout her wedding plans, so I picked up on that with the trim around the edges, and found some teal blue fabric (what you see in the background) for the back of the piece.  The lace is actually much nicer in person.  I didn't realize it looked off in the picture until after I had mailed it out.  But rest assured I didn't send out a wonky ornament.

I've been on a bit of an over 1 stitching kick, and I never fail to be thrilled with how the tiny little stitches come out, especially with silks.

Fair and Square Exchange with Linda B.

I've met so many wonderful stitchers through blogging and exchanging, and on my latest Fair and Square exchange, I've had the pleasure of meeting Linda. I wish I could introduce her to everyone, but Linda does not have a blog.... yet (hint! hint!)

Linda not only sent me these beautifully stitched squares, but when she saw that I had collected most of the rest of the fruit series, she asked if I had something special in mind with them. I told her that I had planned on stitching them over one, possibly as a bell pull for our kitchen, so in addition to the chart, she included the rest of the floss from the kit.

Crescent Colors / Little House Needleworks Fruit Series: Apples

But Linda's generosity didn't stop there. A week or so after I received Linda's squares, Linda emailed me and told me she had picked up the last chart I needed, Cherries, at her LNS, and was sending it my way. The shop owner had removed the threads to sell separately and was trying to unload the chart. The threads - they're easy to come by, but these charts are getting harder and harder to find. Linda, I thank you from the bottom of my stitchy heart!
Now onto what I stitched for Linda. I had been admiring Sew Nautical from Carol at Istitchaholic for a while now, and when I read in Linda's member profile that she liked alphabets AND lighthouses, I knew this is what I would stitch for her.





I used a variety of overdyeds, mostly Crescent Colors, for the piece, and stitched it all over one on 32 ct. Antique White. (And by the way, how CUTE is that crab? I think that's my favorite part of the piece.) And I even gave the mermaid red hair, just like mine. Except hers didn't come out of a box.
This is another of my over one pieces. I love how they turn out and as long as I am stitching on evenweave, they're not that hard to do with good light and petite needles. But I figure I better get these in as long as I can still see them - I am sure there will come a day when it will be too much for me.
Linda and I have been emailing back and forth ever since, and I've really enjoyed this exchange with her. There are some really wonderful people participating in the F&S exchange, and I am so glad to be a part of it. If you'd like to get in on the action, Jill has been doing some housecleaning, and is opening up the exchange to new members. Head on over to the F&S Blog to make your application.