Tiger Ornament -- February 15, 2008

One of my needlepoint friends is Jane of Chilly Hollow. Jane has a wonderful needlepoint blog which you can see here;

http://360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Update: Due to Yahoo’s 360 difficulties, Jane created a mirror blog which is at;
http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/

Now that you are back from Jane’s blog, you did come back didn’t you? I thought I would share with you another project that my daughter stitched and finished this past year.

Several of us who had met through our blogs and emails decided to meet at the 2007 ANG Seminar in Baltimore, Maryland. When Jane heard that my daughter was a beginner stitcher, she offered to bring a new project to seminar for my daughter as Jane believes strongly in encouraging stitchers. My daughter was impressed that someone who didn’t know her would be willing to give her a needlepoint canvas.

Why is it kids are always more impressed when someone encourages them in their hobby or interests even when their parents are cheering on from the sidelines??? I probably was the same but I don’t think I want to ask my mother that question…

My daughter thought long and hard on the choices that Jane gave her and finally decided on the Lee White Tiger.

I brought the canvas home from seminar and we were off to our local LNS. She picked out Rainbow Gallery’s Petite Very Velvet for the shades of black and gray on the tiger. She then picked out a Splendor silk in blue, white, and black for the eye. She added one stitch of #32 (Pearl) Kreinik #12 metallic in the eye for interest. The nose was stitched using a pink Splendor silk. She added another texture by choosing a cream and darker tan Impressions thread for the lighter areas of the tiger. The Impressions is slightly fuzzy so it gives a furry look to the tiger.

She finished this project in several days while watching TV. So off I went to our local LNS to drop him off for finishing. She was busy that weekend and couldn’t come along so I picked out the threads for the braid/cord. I selected cream and gray DMC #5 threads and added a Kreinik #32 braid for some sparkle.

Well it didn’t take long for her tiger to return from the finisher and he turned out beautifully.

We both want to thank Jane for her generosity!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Original Comments:

- Very nice job! Cute ornament
NC Pat – Needleart Nut

- I'm blushing at the compliments! If you knew how many people have helped and enouraged me in my NP, you wouldn't be surprised I was paying them back by helping your daughter, Cynthia. The white tiger is spectacular!Please tell your daughter it is lovelier than I could have done. I hope she had a lot of fun with it. She picked some lovely threads and you did your part, Cynthia--you bought her great threads to use. So this is a 3-way collaboration, four ways if you count Theresa Lee the designer, who did a wonderful canvas.Jane/CH

- Hi,I'll tell her that you both like her ornament!As a volunteer I know that you don't always know if helping someone is appreciated. We both appreciated your support of her new hobby!Cynthia

Windy Meadow

Originally Posted: February 15, 2008

Pat’s Heart and my Daughter’s Interpretation -- February 4, 2008

I thought I would also share with you several pieces that my daughter has stitched since last summer. Now I have bought several canvases for her over the last two years. She would pick them up, stitch a little bit, and then put them down again. Well as I explained in my entry on, August 7, 2007 she quietly picked up a Lee circle this past summer and quickly finished the design without my knowing that she was stitching! Since then she has stitched several pieces but I wanted to share with you her second completed piece. First a little background information.

I joined the Needlepoint_etc Yahoo group as soon as it was formed. For several years there was a Secret Pal exchange. We would gather up fun needlework related items over a year and then send them to our Secret Pal at the end of the year. I’ve enjoyed the Secret Pal exchange for the years that it was organized, even though one of the boxes that I sent was misplaced on a Post Office shelf! Talk about being worried as many of the items could not be replaced!!! I've made some wonderful online friends through this Yahoo group.

During the last Secret Pal exchange, Pat Warner-Sorci had my name and she sent me a wonderful box of goodies. One of the items was a lovely needlepoint heart that she had stitched for me and framed. Pat stitched the heart but left the background unstitched. She then added a layer of shiny gold fabric behind the canvas when she framed the heart. It's beautiful and I have it in my dining room stitching area.

Pat explained in her note that this is a design that she created to show others how to stitch. It’s stitched with Watercolors so no two hearts are the same. I loved the design and asked her for the pattern as I thought it would be something my daughter might like to stitch. Of course, I already knew that I would like to stitch one for myself!

Not only did Pat send me the pattern, she also sent a kit for my daughter to stitch the ornament! Wasn’t that wonderful?

My daughter and I had put the canvas on the stretchers bars and I explained to her how to follow the pattern. I wasn’t home when she decided to start on the heart. When she picked up the canvas to start stitching, she didn’t pick up the Watercolors fiber that Pat had sent with the kit. Instead she picked up another skein of Watercolors that I had on the table (which was an absolute mess at the time) and stitched Pat’s heart. As you can see above, it’s full of cream, soft blues, and greens. Don’t worry, she’s saving Pat’s Watercolors for her next heart.

She had so much fun stitching the heart she didn’t stop stitching! She actually finished the heart in 2 ½ hours without taking a break! She had a lot of fun but she decided that she wouldn't do that again.

I was very surprised when I came home from work that night to see the finished heart!

My daughter decided that she wanted to have the heart finished as an ornament. The finisher added the ribbon bow and it turned out beautifully!

This is the second needlepoint piece that she started and actually finished so I thought I would share it with everyone.

She is very proud of her heart and it was displayed proudly on our Christmas tree this year!

We would both like to thank Pat for her enthusiasm and her generosity in not only sharing the pattern but providing a kit!

Thank you Pat!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Original Comments:

- Cyn, your daughter did a wonderful job! I love the colors! Are you sure she is just a beginner?
NC Pat – Needleart Nut

- Beautiful! I am thrilled to see what she has done, Cynthia. She's a natural stitcher, isn't she?Jane, waving from Chilly Hollow

- Hi,

Yes she was a beginner when she stitched this project. Now I'd call her an intermediate and well on to her way to being an advanced stitcher. Just wait to you see several of her other projects!I just love working with older teens as they are quick to learn and willing to try new things!

Cynthia

Windy Meadow

Originally Posted: February 4, 2008

Lee Circle – August 7, 2007

I wanted to share this stitched and finished Lee Circle that my daughter did. This is the first piece that she stitched by herself and she actually finished the stitching!

She has tried needlepoint several times in the past but would get busy with school work and activities and she would put the piece aside. She quietly picked this up again in late spring and started working on it without letting me know.

I was so excited when she showed me that she had finished the stitching!

We visited our LNS and with the help of the staff, she considered placing it in one of the Lee boxes but she finally decided that she would like to have it finished as an ornament.

She loved how it looked when it came back from the finisher and is now hard at work on a Lee Kimono. We ordered the design, threads, and a stitch guide from a needlepoint shop as I thought she might enjoy seeing what someone else would design and it wouldn’t be coming from her mother. This has worked very well as she’s following their stitch guide, looking up stitches in my stitching books (which keep getting moved all around the house ) and is only asking me for help when she gets stuck or she wants my opinion as to how something is working.

I enjoy teaching needlework to children, especially the older teens, and I’ve found that they enjoy working on designs of the subjects that interest them. Many of the teens are interested in Manga, Anime, Japanese art, online gaming, etc. so I try to find patterns or design patterns that fit into these themes.

My daughter loves Egyptian and Japanese themes so we’ve tried to find designs that fit the themes that she likes. The Lee designs work beautifully!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Original Comments:

- Please congratulation your daughter for me. She's done a very nice job on this piece. I'm sure she'll have a lovely time with a Lee kimono, too! They are so lovely....
Jane, waving from CH where it is 85 degrees at 10:30 p.m.!!!

- Hi Jane,

I'll have my daughter read your lovely comment when she gets back. Right now she's on a sail boat in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. And yes, it's as hot here in Maryland as it is in Chilly Hollow. 100+ degrees today!
Cynthia
Windy Meadow

- Cynthia, tell your daughter thinking of you two stitching together led me (along with the ANG list's talking about embroidered pillowcases) to my latest post on my Blog. It's all about teaching folks to stitch, especially folks under 30. Which includes her. Does she need an embroidered backpack?
Jane of Chilly Hollow

- Cynthia--tell DD it is wonderful! She should be very proud of her, and we want to see pictures of the Kimono too. I taught nieces to stitch when they were young, and one is stitching bibs as we speak for the new baby due at the end of the month. She told me when we get to Chicago to visit her, I have to show her how to do French knots again--LOL, but she is stitching on airplanes while traveling for her job. I think it is great!
NC Pat – Needleart Nut

- Cynthia, Please give your daughter a big WOOHOO for me. She did a great job on her ornament. She (and you) should be very proud.
Kelly W.

- Hi Jane,My DD doesn't need an embroidered backpack thank goodness. I don't know how we would stitch through all that thick material!She does have patterns and enough embroidery floss to stitch on a jean jacket, etc. but so far she hasn't tried that as she's having a lot of fun this summer with her needlepoint projects!I loved the entry on your blog about teaching children. I'm going to post a comment on your blog and I'm planning on writing an entry here.
Cynthia
Windy Meadow

- Hi Pat,I'll have my DD read your comment so she can see for herself that you think her ornament is wonderful!You'll have to post on your blog about helping your niece relearn French Knots! :-)
Cynthia
Windy Meadow

- Hi Kelly,I'll definitely tell my daughter and I'll have her read your comment. She'll love the WooHoo! :-)She was very excited to get her ornament back from the finisher. I think it really made it real for her that she stitched the ornament and that it could be turned into something even more beautiful!When she left for her trip this week, she told me that she was going to enjoy the ship but she knew she would be anxious to get back to work on her Lee Kimono!WooHoo!!!
Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Originally Posted: August 7, 2007