Embroidery finishes

A deadline is always a good thing!

I needed to deliver some finished works yesterday afternoon so it was about time for me to convert some of my embroideries into mini quilts, suitable for hanging and display.

I wanted to try some of Wonderfil’s eight weight cotton Eleganza thread so where better than on one of my circle samplers? and a circle sampler needs circle quilting…

Some close-ups of those stitches left to right, feather stitch, crested chain stitch, pekinese stitch, buttonhole stitch with tete de boeuf at the bottom,stem stitch, running stitch, cross stitch, french knots, fly stitch and a few bullion stitches.

The Eleganza is lovely to work with but I find the color variations a little uniform compared with hand dyed threads. It’s available from Sue Spargo in three different weights and lots of lovely bright colors.

Next I finished two little Indian folk-art inspired designs.

I added teal borders to my peacock.

Here’s a close-up of all that chain stitch. There’s a little stem stitch and running stitch in there too. The river crocodile was a little difficult to photograph.The close-up shows the background color much better. I used buttonhole stitch to fill in the crocodile’s back and added some beads for a little sparkle!Moving on to my Mola inspired designs.

The birds needed two borders. Just chain stitch in hand-dyed #8 perle cotton from House of Embroidery. And one last piece. I still can’t make up my mind which way up this one should go. What do you think?Those hand dyed threads look great on the yellow background.

So, where were my embroideries going?

The annual Fiber Art Divas show starts tomorrow in Naperville. My embroideries will be there, along with several larger quilts I finished this year and all sorts of other fiber pieces from my fellow Divas! It’s a great chance to get up close and personal with the art. I’m doing a machine quilting demo on Thursday 15th, 6 until 7, and an embroidery demo on Sunday afternoon during the reception. If you’re in town come by and say hello. I’ll have threads with me for sale and lots of tips to help you enjoy your stitching.

I hope I’ll see you there!