Christmas Ornament using Lace Trellis chart

I sent a shipment of Lace Trellis off to Hoffman last Friday, so hopefully it will be ready for distribution this Friday. Please visit your local needlework shop and request it. If you don't have a shop, let me know and I will help you find one.

As promised here is another alternative application for Lace Trellis, as a Christmas ornament. The ornament is a cube, created from six squares of perforated paper. After cross stitching the Lace Trellis motif, I decided it needed a little sparkle to catch the light while hanging on the tree. I added a few Mill Hill beads to this effect. I then used a herringbone stitch to attach the sides together. The top and bottom are the tricky sides, my solution was to use two needles, one on each end of the thread and then create the stitch in a back and forth manner. The result is a neat little three-dimensional ornament that works up pretty quickly.

Happy Wednesday!!

Beth

Patera Jewelry Pendants

In my search for finding alternate finishing ideas for cross-stitch, I discovered Patera Pendants from Nunn Design. These jewelry findings are hand-cast in the USA and made from 100% lead free pewter and then plated with precious metal finishes. The pendants come in a variety of shapes and sizes. I inserted my finished cross-stitch, in this case a motif from Lace Trellis, into the Patera and then covered it with DG3 Art Gel from Judi-Kins. The directions for the DG3 gel say to allow 24-48 hours of drying time. I guess fabric changes this, because it took about 5 days for mine to dry. I had pretty much given up on the idea, so I was surprised when I came back days later and found that it no longer looked like washed out paper, but had dimension from the stitches and the fabric itself. I added the remaining elements to create the necklace you see here. A note, the fabric did darken a bit during the process. I am rather new to the whole jewelry making trend, but found this to be a fairly simple process. I am now scouring through old miscellaneous bins to see what I can use in making more!! It is definitely a great gift making idea. Nunn Designs has a listing on their website for on-line vendors that carry their jewelry findings. You can find their website at http://www.nunndesign.com. I ordered mine from Country Stitches at http://www.countrystitchesonline.com.

Happy Monday!!

Beth

Lace Trellis Unveiled

Hi Friends!

Here is the completed Lace Trellis design. Stitched on 28 count Olive Green Cashel Linen by Zweigart. I stitched the model over one linen thread, so that it would have a very fine look. Don't despair, if you are not up to stitching over one, you can just stitch over two, it will not change the overall design. I finished the needlework into a pillow. Not sure if you can tell by the photo, but the needlework is backed with muslin and then just tacked to the pillow at the corners. This is a quick finishing method. I created a new pillow top for this project, but you could very easily use a purchased pillow to save yourself some time. I have also been experimenting with some other finishing ideas for this design. More to come...

The design itself is very versatile and can be used in a wide array of projects. The pattern is such that you can use part of it or extend the design for a larger purpose. It is also a relatively simple pattern and the first installment in my Stitches to Go series. The idea being that the needlework can be stitched without the need to constantly follow a chart, thus making it easier to take the needlework with you and work on it "on the go."