One down, one to go

The little boy bunny is now fully clothed with a basket of Easter eggs to be delivered!

His bow tie was created with satin and tent stitches using two shades of DMC cotton floss.  More Kreinik #12 tapestry braid 005 was used in a Leviathan stitch variation for his buttons.

The basket was worked in a woven stitch with Silken Straw Whiskey.  Pink and blue DMC floss in a satin stitch created the Easter eggs.

I rarely throw away a thread package. and it's a very good thing!  I remembered a thread given to me by the owner of my LNS back in Connecticut (pre-1998), which had just come out and was supposed to be great for creating Christmas trees.  I frankly wasn't impressed with the tree application, and tucked the card away for a rainy day.  It moved to Texas and finally Massachusetts, where some 18+ years later the card of Arctic Rays made some lovely Easter grass for my little boy bunny!

A little bunny's backside

Not only did I catch up from working the front, I actually finished the backside of the little boy bunny!

His collar is cream Petite Very Velvet, worked in basketweave, and trimmed with Impressions.  The same value of Impressions was used for the hem of his coat and for shading.

The wider stripes of his coat were worked in Vineyard Silk Classic Citron with VSC Dandelion for shading in a slanted Gobelin stitch  .A lighter value of Impressions was used in tent stitch for the pencil stripes.  Kreinik #12 tapestry braid 005 in a Leviathan stitch variation created the buttons.

More Burmilana in an encroaching Gobelin stitch formed his bottom.  For a bushier cotton tail, I switched to Silk & Ivory Sand in French knots.

Two finishes!

This past week, I received a care package from Needle Nicely in Vero Beach, Florida (www.needlenicely.com).  This year's Christmas stockings have been beautifully finished, each with coordinating velveteen backing and cording.  Needle Nicely also finished the two stockings that I gifted last year, and I can't recommend its services highly enough!

Last year's and this year's stockings, designed by Liz Goodrick-Dillon, were all stitched within 18 months--quite a marathon since I had other stitching projects going at the same time.  I can't honestly recommend cramming that much stitching into such a short period of time, but sometimes you've gotta do what you've gotta do!

Hopping along

What a busy week it's been!  But I managed to get some stitching in on Melissa Shirley's boy bunny, finishing the lower part of his body using a combination of Burmilana and Impressions in an encroaching Gobelin stitch.

The collar and cuffs of his jacket were added with a cream Petite Very Velvet in basketweave, and his shoes were stitched with black Petite Very Velvet.

Now to play catch-up with his backside!

Quite an earful

The boy bunny's head is now stitched, using a combination of threads from my stash.

The primary brown thread is Burmilana, as is the pink on the inside of his ears.  The darker brown and cream-colored threads are Impressions.  Except for the nose, worked in a padded satin stitch, and the mouth, worked in basketweave/tent, the rest of the head used an encroaching Gobelin stitch.  DMC cotton floss in tent stitches formed the eyes.

White DMC floss in basketweave created his short, with a placket formed by encroaching oblong cross stitches.

Stitching out of season

Every other year, the Cape Cod Hospital Auxiliary sponsors a Holly Berry Bazaar fund-raiser, to be held November 12.  A treasure-trove of painted needlepoint canvases was donated for sale at the bazaar, and one of the auxiliary members asked me to help her price the canvases for sale. What fun it was to see such a variety of designs and designers represented!

 I helped the sale get started by purchasing a pair of darling two-sided Melissa Shirley bunnies circa 1989 and wasted no time getting the little boy bunny mounted on stretcher bars.  Finally I have a non-magazine canvas to work on and show my stitching progress here.  Who cares if I stitch an Easter canvas as we creep closer to Halloween?  Certainly not needlepointers!

Happy Birthday, America!

Independence Hall, Philadelphia--the birthplace of The United States of America 240 years ago tomorrow with the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

I designed and stitched this piece four years ago for the July/August 2016 issue of Needlepoint Now to mark the 40th anniversary of the American Needlepoint Guild (ANG).  ANG's anniversary celebration took place during its annual seminar in Philadelphia. 

The sky behind Independence Hall is definitely the largest area I've ever needle-blended!