What To Do?

This is a photo of a piece of needlework I finished stitching years ago. I don't know what to do with it next. Should I frame it, make a pillow, a little pincushion? Any ideas out there?

I have many projects like this just begging to know what they will be! This particular one is Norwegian hardanger embroidery (the heart) with cross stitch below the heart.

The colors aren't true in this photo but for you, dear blogging friends, who are prodding encouraging me to show what I'm creating, here IS something I've been working on from time to time. This is a needlepoint piece that was handpainted that I bought in New Orleans the last time I was there. I really cannot tell you when that was! ha! But it seems like a l o n g time ago. I am finally working on the background. I plan to make a pillow from it when I finish and I am stitching it in basketweave stitch.

I haven't needlepointed since our church kneelers were finished. See THIS POST. It is relaxing and mindless to do this and watch it develop before my eyes.

I also am creating a clean, organized "studio" for sewing and quilting and appliqueing and embroidery on the machine and all that jazz which will be fun again. Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and concern. I do appreciate it and it worked!

If Not Me, Then My Mother!

For right now, if I can't post my creations on here, then I'll show off my mother's. I call them Mama's treasures. :) When I was going through her crafts and sewing things, I came across this beginning of a cathedral quilt. I had seen it before and even asked her if she'd show me how to do the cathedral quilt method. She always said she would but another day when she felt better. :(

I really would like to continue this and make it quilt size. I do have a book that shows how to do the cathedral quilt and I've read and tried it but don't understand it. Maybe just those instructions are confusing and I can find some better instructions.

Also, I really don't know how it would look to continue with the fabrics I have. I did find some vintage fabrics in her things and could take those to finish it. I have a sister that has started doing some quilting, though, and I wouldn't want to take it unless she agreed. Maybe we could share the fabric.

This is a good close-up of the vintage fabrics used. These were probably fabrics she made our clothing from when we were children. A treasure, indeed!

A Mammoth Project

Fourteen Church Kneelers

This is a photograph of one of fourteen needlepoint church kneelers in our church. I was approached by a couple of ladies and our pastor about 7 or 8 years ago to head up a committee to make these kneelers. At the time, I was co-owner of a needlework shop and certainly had access to supplies to accomplish this. A lot of needlepoint is either printed or painted on the canvas and these painted canvases are very expensive before you even start stitching (or even buying your thread to stitch the canvas). We bought rolls of blank canvas, needles, paint, and wool thread and started from "scratch"! After our measurements were made and configurations were done as to what we needed, we determined we needed fourteen kneelers. So we cut the blank canvas, drew the designs onto the canvas with a pencil (all fourteen!) and then hand painted the canvases in the colors we needed. Then classes were held to teach those who didn't know how to needlepoint or to refresh those who did. These classes took about a year and the remaining seven years were spent actually stitching. As it turned out, we had fourteen stitchers who finished the "race"! What a coincidence! You will see initials on each kneeler. Some kneelers were completely finished by one person, some by two, some by three and some as many as four people working on the same kneeler but we got it done! It WAS a mammoth project!! It's the biggest project I've ever been involved in. They are beautiful and enhance the sanctuary. We dedicated our work and these kneelers in May of this year and it was such a celebration for all of us who worked so diligently to finish them.