Blackwork Hearts and Students

Sometime ago I designed and wrote the instructions for a couple of small blackwork projects that I donated to the Embroiderers' Guild of American to use as Petite Projects. These projects are small but work really well to introduce stitchers to a new technique or just to work a fun piece of embroidery.
It is fun to  hear from groups that are stitching one of them as a guild project.
The ladies of the Northern Arizona Stitches were kind enough to send some photos of their pieces. They meet in Sedona Arizona - which is one of my favorite places to visit. Kathy and Margaret are holding their work. Congratulations to everyone in the guild.

Finally the "quilt " is finished - the twenty year project

Finally........ I started a quilt in 1997. It was a lovely quilt, the cover quilt on a calendar, but it was soooooo much work that it didn't get finished. At least not while the quilt group was working on it and it got put away. I thought about it quite a few times and even got the flowers and leaves ready to applique, but there it sat until I moved into my new workroom and actually found all of the fabric. Then about six months ago I started finishing the applique border blocks. I changed the corner blocks so the quilt would be square and finished those too. I created a block of my house for the center also.  I still had to cut all of the Irish chain blocks and sew it all together but I did it and now I can share it with you. The quilt that was started in 1997 is finished in 2018!
So take heart of of those out there who have that UFOs (unfinished objects) out there, success can be at the end of a long trail of stitches.

Gold Fish and Trinket box

I want to share my very glittery gold fish with you.  This is for the top of the trinket box that is part of the Cabinet of Curiosities.
I used off white silk fabric for the background. The threads include a blue and a green silk from China. I was able to purchase some threads when we visited the school at Suzhou and I really like using them. I also used Soie de Paris in shades of gold and cream that are the same threads that I used on the sides.
I tried to use gold threads that were not too bright so the fish looked more like the color of a real Koi.
The metal threads include an antique gold couching thread from China,  a rich antique gold #1 Japanese thread, various bullions and pearl purls and paillettes.

All four of the sides and the top are finished so now comes the terrifying challenge of gluing the embroidery to paper and the paper to the wooden box.  I have gold braid for the edges and will gold -leaf the feet. I was able to find some fabulous hand made paper in gold and white for the interior.

Fish and Rabbits and Angels Oh My!

I have been working on a number of very different things in the past few weeks.

Here is the oval outline for the top of the trinket box finished. You can see the outline of the fish that will be in the center. She will feature lots of gold - gold thread, gold bullion and at least one bead.

I went into a knitting store to find some yarn and what did  I see. A row of the most darling sweaters. They were designed for some animals called Little Cotton Rabbits. I just had to visit the site and not only were the sweaters but dresses and animals of all kinds. Rabbits (of course) and bears and elephants and on and on.  So cute. So.... now I have the patterns for the sweaters and dresses and rabbit girl and bear boy. Plus I may have to get at least one other critter.
Here is my first rabbit in her "underdrawers" and  in her dress.

These are some little cloth angels that I made for my quilting group. They were fun to do but much more work than I thought they were going to be. Small and simple was my thought.... not quite but I love how they turned out. Several of the members of the group have been quilting once a month for maybe twenty years.  One day I will gather photos of all the quilt tops that we have created and post them to share.

While Rosy Cheeks is growing. She now has the alphabets finished. I am about a third of the way finished.

Retail Patterns - new blog

Times changes, the world turns and things move on....I know great platitude but true.
For the past 9 years Kelmscott Designs has been distributing my retail patterns. She called be several weeks ago to let me know that they were making some changes and would not be able to take any new patterns. Well.. since I still want to design and sell, I needed to do something else. So I set up new blog with all of the current retail patterns on it and contact information so that they could still be purchased. The blog address is: https://carolynwebbdesigns.blogspot.com and the email is carolynstandingwebb@gmail.com

So far I have talked to the Craftcenter of Fine Stitchery and they will have all of the patterns available.  I know that some shops still have patterns in stock and I will be contacting others. If you have a shop and are interested please let me know.

Shops that carry my patterns
Craftcenter of Fine Stitchery
Their contact information is craftcenter@craftcenterstitchery.com or call 801-944-4994

123Stitch
Contact them at www.123stitch.com

As I add more stores I will add them to the list on the blog.

A great big THANK YOU to all of those you have and will continue to support that part of my life and business.

Peter Rabbits's Basket

Finally!!!  In 2012 I designed and stitched  all of the pieces for Peter Rabbit's Basket. I had thought that it would be a great teaching piece because it is full of fun shapes and stitches. It was taken off of the frame and set aside for finishing but somehow life just got busy and I never got around to finishing it.  So a week ago, I looked at it and decided it was time to finish it so I could share it. Fortunately, as I was gathering the lining fabrics and other bits, I had put them in a box so they were easy to find when I needed them.

The set features a white picket fenced garden with seed packet pockets, stitched wheelbarrow and a tin bucket button.

I stitched lots of veggies in the garden on Copper Penny linen, if you look closely there is  a space for a missing carrot that Peter got his paws on.

All of the seed packet pockets (tomato, radish, pumpkin, and beans), the sheath and pin keep are lined with fabric that matches the vegetable on the front. The "Early Peas" pin keep has green headed pins stuck in the sides. The carrot scissors sheath is covered with Smyrna crosses on one side and flame stitches on the other. The fob features Peter himself.

I am glad that it is finished but now I keep thinking that the basket has room for a few more smalls. I think  it needs a needle-book and perhaps a radish emery or...?

Just keeping moving along

When I am asked what I want, I tell those who ask that I need an extra couple of hours in the day that no one else knows about. That way I can go to my extra-dimensional workroom and have those few extra hours for my projects. Of course, like Alice in Wonderland, once in I might never want to come out. Since no one has let me know just how to access that space, I need to just keep working and moving along the best I can.
I finally decided that I just needed to take some time and finish the Peter Rabbit basket that I designed and stitched in 2012. It has been setting in a box just waiting until I had the time to assemble the pieces and now it is time. I will post it when it is all put together.

Here are a couple of things that I have been working on lately.

 This is the progress on Faith, Hope and Charity. I am able to get almost a page of pattern finished in the two weeks a month that I have been working on it.

 Here are the last side pieces of the trinket box from the Cabinet of Curiosities. The color is still not very good but at least you can see the design. The background silk is a rich gold not the pale creamy color that shows up in the photos. I am now working on the top of the box and changing my mind on color as I work on it.  Sometimes you just have to start and then stop and make some changes before you start again.

 This is a new sampler that I designed. It is called While Rosy Cheeks because of a sampler verse that I found on an antique sampler many years ago and liked so much that I wrote the verse down. It was finally calling to me so loudly that I put it in a design that I am working on now. I can be done in just cross stitch but I am going to add lots of other stitches for those more adventurous embroiderers out there.