Two New Shimmers

I have two new Shimmers, a bunny and a ship's wheel.

The bunny was a request by the manager of the gift shop at White Point Beach Resort, White Point, Queens County, Nova Scotia. The shop is going to carry my Shimmers and Fibre Art Pendants.

The ship's wheel is in keeping with a Maritime theme.

As you can see from the photos, it was a gorgeous sunny, warm spring day. I spent the day outside with our granddaughter (sleepover last night). Since it was Earth Day, Gale planted a small pine tree in the back of the garden.

Now for a few links:

• Lots of free embroidery at Flamingo Toes 
• Top 60 Quilting Blogs in Canada      
• Eye Candy, Gracie May, Textile Artist, Bristol, England    
• Kathleen Laurel Sage   
• Anna Scott, Embroidery   

Enjoy!1

International Embroidery Day

Apparently July 30th is International Embroidery Day!! You can read more about this day HERE. See the English translation of the Manifesto HERE. Interesting, to say the least.

A few blogs have posted about this day too:

• Wild Olive 
• Needlework Society HERE,    
• Mooshie Stitch   
• Piece 'n' Peace  

So, do you have any embroidery that you will be working on today? Unfortunately, all my embroidery is packed away. I just started knitting a pair of mittens so I might find time to do some of that.  
Enjoy!!

A piece by Constance Howard, Royal School of Needlework, UK. Photo by yours truly

Spring in Nova Scotia

It was another beautiful spring day here in Nova Scotia. I spent the morning in Dartmouth, the afternoon in Bridgewater and the evening in Brooklyn (near Windsor). Not looking forward to the cooler temperatures home at the end of the week.

I hope your projects for Mother's Day are well underway.

To my non-facebook friends, here are a few links I found from Facebook Posts:

• 14 Quick-Sew Gifts for any Occasion  
• Sewing Instructions for Quick (and less quick) Fabric Baskets 
• Embroidery Tutorials 
• Bernina Zippered Rulerwork Bags 
• Round Robin Collection - Free Quilt Patterns 

Crossing the McKay Bridge after lunch, I managed to take this photo of a very large container ship heading into Halifax Harbour.

    

Eye Candy

Sometimes it nice to just look at other artists work, don't you think? I enjoy seeing what others are doing. You never know what might trigger an idea for a new project.

Not one to make excuses for what I do, I'm very proud to present my artist daughter, Jill Thirza Cooper. Have a look at her work and bio.

• Next are birds, beautiful embroidered / beaded birds made by Julia Gornia. Her work is exquisite.
• Embroidery by Kitaeva Irina. It's not in English but scroll through her posts. 
• Textile Art by Susan Teech 
• Embroidered Art by Rachel Wright
• Kate Barlow's Budgerigar - a gorgeous piece. 
• Adventures Textiles by Cecile Maraglia 
• Fiber Artist / Embroiderer, Eve Botelho 

 Enjoy!1
    

Hand Embroidery

I have several embroidery links to share.

• Martha Fieber   Landscape in Thread - Hand Embroidery
• Savage Stitch    The Art of Hand Embroidery 
• Cazadora de inspiracion     Pinterest boards for this artist HERE   
• The Splendid Sampler  
• Adventures Textile  
• Pinterest: Hand Embroidery 
• Hand Embroidery Network              

 A tiny hand embroidery on one of my Fibre Art Pendants.

Home Sweet Home: An Embroidery Workbox

This is the third book that I received for Christmas. I'm not interested in 'building' another workbox but I was curious about the embroidery stitches and how Carolyn Pearce used them. Beautiful coloured photos, detailed instructions and clear diagrams, provide all you need to embroider and construct the workbox and matching accessories.

The book has a full size pattern sheet and lots of step-by-step photos to help you create all the projects in the book.

Some sewing kits:

• On Pinterest: HERE, HERE & HERE    
• Tag Along Sewing Kit  
• Travel Sewing Kit   Another HERE  
• Victorian Sewing Kit 
• Matchbook Sewing Kit  
• Crochet Cupcake Pincushion Sewing Kit 
• Needle Books & Cases    

Enjoy!                     

Modern Folk Embroidery

Here's another new book added to my collection. The photos are beautiful and the designs can be found in folk art but with a modern twist. I've been following Nancy Nicholson's embroidery for awhile. I like her distinctive style, which 'draws on influences from Scandinavia and the Far East'. She uses a variety of stitches to create 30 interesting projects.

Each project is provided with embroidery suggestions which show the stitches used. There are pages of stitch combinations to explore in a variety of ways.

Links related to Folk Art:

• Freebie Christmas Tree Folk Art    
• Folk Art on Pinterest, more HERE  
• Wee Folk Art 
• Folk Art Free Patterns 
• Scandinavian Folk Designs 
• Scandinavian Embroidery on Needle 'N Thread    

Enjoy!         

Goals?

Do you have any goals for 2017? I want to stitch something every day even if it is just a few stitches. Last year, I started to do this on a scrap of fabric but did not follow through. I experimented with some different yarns and threads but other things took over. I used all kinds of unusual fibers, some were so thick that couching was the only way to tack them down. Now I'm going to give it another try. Some of the stitches below were used in several underwater scenes.

I also have another small snowman in one of my hoops. It may get done by next Christmas!

Here's a few embroidery links for you to check.

• Needlework and Embroidery Techniques  
• Artfabrik - Wool Stitch Along 
• Aventures Textiles 
• Let's Learn Embroidery 
• The Splendid Sampler 
• Penguin & Fish - Embroidery Stitches   

Enjoy!              

Storm Watch and other Stuff!

There's a storm watch for this area over night and tomorrow. I'm glad I visited the fabric store today as I have a small project to sew up. I won't need it until January 1st but I will get started on it soon.

First, I have to gut out the studio in between been carpenter's helper. We will be very busy for the next week finishing the painting of back porch, powder room and hall as well as putting down new flooring. Any sewing will have to be done at night. I'm also hoping to get the tree up this week. This is the latest we've been putting it up.

Enough of that!!

From 2012

Check these out:

• Modern Christmas Tree Quilt or block. One of these trees could be a mug rug or small wall hanging. 
• Freebies for machine embroidery   
• This Table Runner caught my eye. It isn't difficult but takes a little time to do. It's on my to do list one of these days.
• Crochet Owl Basket   I like this one too.
• Christmas Embroidery  (inspiration & free patterns)

I hope you find something interesting!
Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday & Other Stuff!

First of all, a Happy Birthday to my brother, Don, who is on vacation somewhere between Manitoba and Newfoundland!! His birthday was yesterday.

Next, I've been off the grid for awhile. In fact, I've hardly looked at the computer or at the various blogs I usually check out for a week or so. I now have a new computer to get used to. That's not much of a chore as I have my own computer guru (how lucky is that!!).

Here are a few blogs to check out:

• Quilter in Motion has some excellent Friday Finds 
• Let's Learn Embroidery 
• And Then We Set It On Fire 
• Shawkl Designs       

Windsor, NS, May 27th. You can see these flowering crab trees everywhere!

Windsor, NS, May 27th. Lilacs in bloom already!

Freebies

There is nothing better than finding sources for free patterns and useful stitching information.

• By chance, I found Eglantine Stitchery with its extensive list of sources for free stitching patterns. 
• Free Vintage Patterns at French Knots (all things stitchy for crochet, embroidery, applique and quilting)
• Some embroidery ideas at Hayfield Cottage  
• I like the Bedside Pockets Organizer at Sew Can She. This is a free tutorial. Using the non-slip shelf liner is a good idea for holding this organizer under the mattress
• Of course, you can't go wrong with Quilt As You Go Tutorials from Patchwork Posse. 

I hope you find something interesting to consider making!

Enjoy!!

One of my past sewing projects: Pisci Fantasticus (original design)

Wearable Art Pins

I always make my fantasy fabric base using a variety of glitzy threads and yarns.  When the base is finished, it's hooped and then embroidered by machine. Before I invested in an embroidery machine, all the designs were done by free motion stitching. That was a lot of work!

All my designs are designed in Corel Draw by my husband and then converted to stitch in another computer program. Then it's ready to be stitched out.

Here's another link to my fantasy fabric.

Remembering the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Devon House to see the exhibit, Remembering the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, an embroidered history of the French in Atlantic Canada. This set of embroidery was stitched in Conche, Newfoundland, under the sponsorship of the French Shore Historical Society. Since 2006, the French Shore Historical Society has supported the idea of representing history in the tradition of the 11th c. Bayeux Tapestry in France.

This exhibit features 8 embroidered panels done in bold colours and a classic design that presents the events surrounding the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. This particular event had a profound effect on the future of Canada.

I had permission to photograph this exhibit at Devon House and present it here on my blog.

The embroidery design of these panels was created by Cynthia Colosimo Robbins and embroidered by: Ruby Brenton, Anne Byrne, Lucy Byrne, Dorothy Loughery, Joan Simmonds, Daphne Symmonds and Doris Randell.

The French Shore Historical Society is also interested in exhibiting around Newfoundland and the rest of Canada. If groups are interested in having this exhibit, please contact The French Shore Historical Society, P.O. Box 29, Conche, NL A0K 1Y0, CANADA or via email:
Frenchshorehs@nf.aibn.com

Please enjoy the exhibit (each piece was accompanied by a written account of its historical significance which I did not include here).

Revival of French Culture in Atlantic Canada

The Acadian Deportation and the Destruction of Louisbourg

Acadia

The French in Labrador

The Treaty of Utrecht 1713

D'Iberville's Avalon Peninsula Campaign

close-up of above embroidery

Plaisance, France's Colony in Newfoundland

Newfoundland Cod Fishery

Getting Ready For the Christmas Craft Fair . . .

These two embroideries will be framed 5 x 7 with white mats and black metal frames. All my frames are custom cut by Image Fusion, Mount Pearl and put together here at home.

One of the hardest parts of composing a picture is coming up with a suitable title. I have my sister working on that one since she has been so good at giving titles to her quilts! However, I had to tell her to leave the food names out of it. She does have a bit of a sense of humor when it comes to something like that.

I've also linked up to The Needle & Thread Network this week.

Tidal Pool

Water World

New Pendants

During the summer, I did work on some new pendants. As you can see, I was into flowers. In all, I finished about 30 (not all flowers). They are now ready for the local market and Christmas Craft Fair. My pendants are light weight, will fit in an envelope, and are inexpensive to mail. They make wonderful gifts and each is one-of-a-kind!
Have a look:

Nature Walk

As I have written before, my camera goes with me all the time. I'm always looking to nature for inspiration.  I see lots of potential in these photos. I like the daisies growing beside the house. In fact, I've made similar pieces using 3-D miniature daisies.

When I was a small child, the purple flowers below, were referred to as 'toothbrushes'. I don't remember their name. These would look lovely in a small embroidery piece.

There are lots of places to find inspiration for quilting and embroidery, for example: nature gardens, beside a pond, seashore, neighbourhoods, books, magazines, the internet . . .
Enjoy!

Cozy Afternoon Free Block Of The Month

A new BOM for June was just announced! It's called, Cozy Afternoon Free Block Of The Month, by Jacquelynne Steves, The Art of Home.

If you are interested in this project, you can sign up HERE. It's free! There are three versions for each block

1. Applique
2. Embroidery
3. Piecing

Scroll down (on the blog page) to check out the blog hop and you will find more 'stuff' on the Cozy Afternoon Pinterest page.

I have no affiliation with this site but thought you might like to know about the free BOM.  

Needle & Thread Network, Grow Your Blog & Links

Today I linked up with The Needle and Thread Network where you will find Canadian bloggers who are sharing and showing off their work.  Please take a few minutes to visit their sites as there is always something interesting going on.



Don't forget that the Grow Your Blog giveaway ends Saturday. Your last chance to leave a comment to win some of my Shimmers!



I found a couple of sites worth a look:

• Mooshie Stitch
• Edge Per Week
• Facile Cecile 
• Margaret Dier Embroidery
• Embroidery Methods

I hope you find these interesting.
Enjoy!

More Photos

Here are a few more photos from the Bristol Renaissance Faire. There were embroiderers stitching at various stations during the faire. The various costumes been worn and those on display, were heavily embroidered as well.

Enjoy!

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