Fourth Of July Stitching - Part Two

The Fourth Of July is less than one week away! 

I wanted to share an update on my stitching project.  You may remember this project, {my first post about it is here} if not, I explained that I am making a small table cloth.

Since that last post, I have transferred the Fourth of July motifs I wanted to use and selected my floss colors.  The three main colors I am using are red - DMC #349, white - DMC Blanc, and blue - DMC#820.  I love this particular color, it is such a rich, deep blue. 

All the extra steps I took in laying out the motifs on this tablecloth have really paid off, everything is nicely lined up.  Especially these star bunting borders - I have four of them, one on each side of the cloth.

For the edge, I am experimenting with a running stitch in the blue floss.  So far I am really happy with it!

Hopefully, I will be back before the 4th with another update on this project!

Ballerina Pillow - Part Three

I have a quick update on my ballerina pillow project.  You may read the previous posts for this project here {part one} {part two} 

I have stitched the outline of the purple tutu - I did this in back stitch.  I need to fill in all little details on the tutu and the design on the bodice area.
I also made some progress on the pink tutu - also in back stitch.  For the shoulder straps on this one, I am using the double knot stitch. 

I talked about the green and lavender floss colors I am using in my last post on this project.  Now for the pinks,  I am using DMC #603 {dark pink} and #605 {light pink}.  They are both so pretty! I love the way they look with the other colors in this palette:

My next step is to finish all three ballet costumes and then start on the fancy motif at the top: 
 

100 Stitches - Needleweaving

Time for another stitch on my 100 Stitches list.  This is called Needleweaving. 
The category is Drawn Thread Embroidery so I used some medium to loose weave linen.  For the floss, I used perle cotton, this is DMC #4240 color variations: 

For Drawn Thread Embroidery, the area to work has the horizontal threads removed and then the idea is to stitch over the remaining vertical threads.  For this stitch, I made two vertical cuts about 3/4" apart and 1/2" high:

The directions for this stitch were really straightforward.  I started on the right hand side at the top edge and brought the needle up alongside the first group of vertical threads. 

I went over the first group, under the second group...then continued right to left alternately over-under until I was at the left edge:

Then I started back left to right weaving over and under.  Notice on this second pass, I am passing the needle under the thread groups I previously went over:

And then a third pass:

I just continued until I had filled the entire open space:

The underside of this stitch is interesting, there were no instructions in 100 Stitches on starting or finishing so I just left my floss ends loose.  If I were actually using this stitch on a project, I would need to figure out a way to secure the ends!

I like the look of this stitch.  I did this in blue so that it would be easy to see but I think it would be so beautiful in white floss on white fabric.

This is #79 on the list of 100 Stitches and is found in the Drawn Thread Embroidery Category.

Dinosaurs!

I have a new embroidery pattern available in my shop.  It is called Dinosaurs! 

This was such a fun pattern set to research and draw.  Now I am enjoying stitching the motifs. 

I really love this T-Rex.  I drew him in two sizes, one size that is in relation to the other motifs, so that you could stitch a whole prehistoric scene and he would be the appropriate scale to all the other dinosaurs and trees and plants.  And I drew a big stand alone size.  I just finished stitching that one:

Notice his big sharp teeth?  As you can see, I stitched them in white floss.  The white floss against the white ground fabric wasn't really showing up so I added a single strand of a murky green colored floss and made a straight stitch on the edge of each tooth. 

It really makes them stand out:

I think I am going to stitch this little triceratops next:

Here is a look at the pattern packet:
 

Fourth Of July Stitching - Part One

You may remember from my earlier Fourth of July post that I was starting a new stitching project.  Since that post, I have a little progress to share. 

I am making a small tablecloth to decorate either the buffet table or picnic table for the Fourth. 

I started with this piece of white cotton fabric.  I hemmed it on all four sides with a 3/8" hem.  And I mitered the corners!  The finished square measures 17" x 17".  

Next, I measured to the center point of each side:

And placed a pin:

My plan is to stitch this motif on each edge of the cloth - centered in the middle on each side:

I drew a dot with my water soluble marker at each pin:

I taped the motif on my cutting mat and then placed the fabric over it:

I made sure the center dot was at the center of the motif and then traced the motif:

I traced the motif on all four sides - I measured in from the hem edge to make sure all four sides matched. 

Now I have the motif traced on each of the four edges:

My next step will be to trace different motifs on each corner and one in the center.  I plan on positioning all the corner motifs so that they point towards the center.

I will be sure to post about my progress on this!