Orts – Page 2 – My Needle's Song

A Triple Finish Day

Granted, these are not huge projects, but they are still things that needed to be finished. I have just gotten so busy lately that I went to scheduling stitching for certain groups on certain days. I work on projects for my two chosen groups 4 days a week, and have the balance – a whopping 3 days – to work on my things.

So, today was a day for me to work on things for the shop. I have been working with this little guy for a bit, doing some revisions. Today I was determined to sit and finish…

I am putting the finishing touches on the chart, and it will be available as my first download in my Etsy shop very very soon. I will also have him finished as an ornament, and those will be for sale too.

Canada Stitches has asked for Christmas ornaments to donate to the hospitals and/or to fundraising efforts at animal shelters. I do love working on Christmas ornaments, so this is a fun challenge for me. I got the first one stitched today, and will finish it off as a flat ornament as soon as I have 3 more done.

It’s another one that has to be done on evenweave. This is from Lorrie Birmingham’s And Even a Mouse. I did a few last year as family ornaments and got a lot of smiles from them. And yes, I will be doing more. Some of these may well make it to the shop. In spite of all the fractional stitching, these are not bad to do, especially if you are addicted to evenweave fabrics.

I also have an ongoing commitment to another group. I just finished 4 Kitty Christmas ornaments for them, and have a Kitty Love square plus 2 quilt squares that I promised to do. I started the Kitty Love square on Thursday (their day), and decided to just go ahead and finish it today. I spent so much time working on this site over the last few days, I felt it only fair to finish these projects off!

So, there you have it. Tomorrow is my 2nd wedding anniversary. I am not sure yet what we are doing. I do know we are going in to Rauma for dinner, and my husband has promised me a trip to the thread shop. I need a couple more colors for the two quilt squares I have promised to do. Other than that, it is our day.

Until the next time (which will be VERY soon now that I have the new site done!) Happy Stitching!

A Shout-Out

It isn’t often that I can give this kind of recommendation, so treasure this. Many many people are leery of dealing with online purchases, especially downloadable charts. I have three sites in particular that I am going to boast about.

The first one, and biggest one is PatternsOnline.Com. Sure, by now everyone has heard of them, haven’t they? This is the place you can buy so many charts from so many designers. You get them loaded onto your account where you can retrieve them as you wish. I started dealing with them in 2003. Since then, I think I am on my 4th computer. Everything has worked for me.. usually. This last computer upgrade was probably the hardest for me. I moved to a different country and my carefully packed hard drives didn’t let me have access to all of my stored information. I did a fresh install and hoped everything would work right.

Well, it didn’t. There was a string of about 12 charts that I had purchased that would no longer open for me with PC Stitch. The program is used to open, view, and print these charts. I also use it when I design my charts. The program told me I didn’t have access to these. They were on my computer, and I know I paid for them. I sent in a trouble ticket just a few days ago. I got an answer just a few hours ago. Everything is fixed and I once again have access to all of these charts purchased in 2003 and 2004! Thank you Jennifer for your kind help. And seriously how many companies go that far for their customers these days?

This is their online shop stocked full of everything you need to stitch the charts you just purchased. They are owned by the same company, and I know their attention to detail is just as good. You may well wish to check them out for your stitching needs.

The other two shops are on Etsy. I know you keep hearing about it, but you may not know what it is. I like to think of it as a virtual craft show. Yes, you find vintage and supplies on there, but for the most part, it is handmade. I’ve had so many bad experiences purchasing charts on eBay that I swore off of them. Many were computer generated charts that were just poorly done – a fast way to make a buck. The designs never look like what the cover image suggests. I gave up on any charts not generated by one of the big designers until I ran into Jody and Rinna on Facebook.

Jody is Austitch, an Australian designer with a growing shop. She’s an avid stitcher and designer who is bright and bubbly. Yes, she’s a real person and she is very responsive to her customers. Her designs can be a bit on the cheeky side, but they are far from rude. I have purchased a chart from her and when I get a chance to stitch I will be posting updates. Her charts are large, well thought out, clear to read, and with excellent instructions. I can tell this will be a project I will truly enjoy. Please do drop by Austitch and see what new unconventional creations she has. I think you will enjoy!

The second Etsy shop that I love dearly is Cross Stitch by Rinna. Rinna is based in the Philippines and brings a solid Oriental touch to her work. Her work is bright, colorful, and fun not to mention gorgeous. I love the faces on her children and cherubs. You can almost guarantee that at least one of her designs is going to end up on a piece for some lucky child. Rinna is another lady that is very responsive to her customers, and a pure delight to talk to.

Do check these shops out when you are in the need for new charts. I know you can find just about everything at PatternsOnline and their prices are very reasonable. What you don’t find there, you may find at Austitch or Cross Stitch Rinna!

Until next time, Happy Stitching!

Fingers have been quietly working….

It has been a busy end of spring here. My husband and I took a short trip to Eastern Finland just a couple of weeks ago. It was so nice to get away and see his family. The country side is gorgeous, all cloaked in the soft greens of summer.

I did take stitching with me, but didn’t get as much done as I wanted to. Spending time with my husband and family was a bit more important. I did get to visit a real needlework shop in Joensuu, and replenished some of my precious DMC floss.

I also finished 4 panels for a quilt that will be given to a 2nd grader in California this week. She’s facing some surgery soon, and her wonderful teacher wanted to give her a surprise.I had posted a picture of the first panel earlier… The pictures you see here are all 4 that I sent.

All four are Precious Moments. These were a lot of fun. I have not seen a picture of the finished quilt yet, but I will post one when I do.

For now, it is back to work for me.. I have some more pretty magnets to do!

The Power of Backstitches

I don’t always have a chance to demonstrate just how powerful backstitching can be. For one, I often backstitch as I finish an area, so getting a picture with just the cross stitching done is almost impossible. Secondly, I work on a lot of smaller projects. But sometimes, I really love to see how the design blooms. I hear so many stitchers moan and cry over doing these stitches. They can be a pain sometimes but they add so very much to the completed piece.

In this first picture, I have all my cross stitches done. It really doesn’t look like much other than blobs of color. You can barely tell what this is going to be (“You are the Sweetest Heart” – Gloria & Pat, PMR3). This panel will be going for a charity quilt, being presented to a special young lady.

And here we are, with all the backstitches done. This chart isn’t really that huge – 40 stitches wide by 89 high. The cross stitches took me about 20 working hours, and backstitching another 8. Precious Moments is well known for its delicate shadings and use of backstitch. It is not unusual to have 4 or 5 different colors used just to add these outlines.

Amazing, isn’t it?

You can get this lovely design from Patterns Online or you can get the whole booklet with 25 other sweet designs from Gloria & Pat’s website as a digital download. The booklet itself is out of print, so you may well pay a bit more than the $12.50 cover price.

*********************

I’ve taken a few days away from working on items for the shop to do a couple of panels for a quilt. I do have some more message magnets to go into both shops. My 10% off sale is over, but I will do another one very soon. In addition to starting on Christmas ornaments (yeah, I know.. it’s only the beginning of May!), I should have some small gifts like mug mats and bread cloths ready well in time for the holiday season. Don’t forget to drop by Facebook and LIKE the page. It’s a great way to stay in touch of sales and product additions.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Outstanding Service!

If you follow this blog, you know that I have been having a hard time finding certain items. I am so used to the complete needlework shops that have all the necessary items, plus spoiled by stores like Michael’s and Hobby Lobby where you can find everything you need for embellishments. Here in Finland, we used have a small chain called Tiimari. We even had one in our small town. I can get basics like jump rings and eye pins but it is a VERY limited selection and well, expensive. For example the magnets I use for my witty little message magnets. I found 6 of them for 2 euros, or about 60 cents EACH. I used to get my magnets at Wal-Mart for about 8 cents each. Tiimari closed and it left me looking for my findings. Many smaller shops started carrying supplies which helps tremendouslyI am still looking for sources on this before I resort to mail order. As I told my husband, at least I know where to get them.

But, I needed some other items to complete my tiny stitching. There is this place called HelmiQ near Tampere (the next large town to our east) that has a lovely website. So, I decided to try them. I put an order in on Saturday the 23rd for findings and beads. We got the payment request on Monday and sent it back. My package arrived today, complete!! I didn’t request any special handling or pay for rush postage. From the time we sent the payment information in to the package arriving was less than 48 hours!!! GREAT selection, outstanding service too. I will definitely be back to shop there and will make a road trip soon too.

They do ship international, folks… and they do have an English version of their website.

Visit HelmiQ soon!!

Now just what is she making?

Here’s the first crop of tiny designs. What are they going to be? Well, originally I was going to make them into small pins or button covers. The bunnies make cute earrings, too. But then… times change and our tastes for bling change. These are about the size of a US quarter. So.. you will just have to check back to see the finished products. I was hoping to have some ready by April 1st, but it may be just a few days later.

Welcome to my latest project!

Welcome to my latest and craziest project — an online needlework shop. Over the next month or so, I will be opening an Etsy shop to sell my small completed cross stitch ornaments, magnets, and gift items. You will want to tune in here regularly so that I can update you on the progress as well as tease you with hints of things to come.

My life this last couple of years has been crazy. I have been a needleworker all my life – embroidery and needlepoint when I was younger, counted cross stitch as that developed in the early 1980’s. I have done craft shows in 3 different states, and always loved seeing the people smile at my work. Some have even bought it! In the summer of 2011, I had a lovely man propose to me, and I moved from the Texas Hill Country to the rural part of western Finland. I love it here, but it is so very different. I can’t just run to Wal-Mart or the Michael’s for floss. There is a small fabric shop in nearby Eura that has Mayflower floss, but no DMC! I believe the closest DMC is in Rauma, a good 40 minute drive.

Jobs are scarce here, unless you want to work at plucking chickens or do seasonal work in the fields. There are very few office jobs, so… I decided to make my own work.

I did a bunch of counted cross stitch Christmas ornaments that were quite well received.

These were just some of them.

I think my two favorites were ones I did for my niece and nephew for their tree:

These little ornaments were all stitched on 28 to 32 count evenweave, stuffed with a thin layer of batting and then finished with a single running stitch and fringe. The hangers were simply metallic DMC thread attached to the plain back.

My mother-in-law displayed several of last year’s ornaments on some spruce cuttings:

These were all stitched on 18 count Aida, then sealed with needlework finisher and cut out. They don’t ravel at all. I will be doing a LOT more of these.

Right now, I am working on a group of message magnets, including some in Finnish. I will post a picture as soon as I get the pieces blocked and completed. I also have conversation hearts in both English and Finnish scheduled to be done in the next week. I expect to have my Etsy shop online and ready in about 2 weeks. I won’t have everything there, but it will be a good start.

I hope you will bookmark this page and come back frequently. Happy stitching!

My Needle's Song – Neulani laulu

Category Archives: Orts