A Sampler for Nichole

This is my last finish for this month. I started designing it on January 2nd after Nichole's first vet visit. I stitched on it almost exclusively from January 7th until the 24th. This was my way of dealing with the grief of losing her.

Out of grief, beauty can be born.

Here are a few closeups of the specialty stitch area's.

I used this piece as a learning sampler for Hardanger, Pulled Thread, Drawn Thread & Ribbon Embroidery as well. This has a little bit of everything in it. It was truly a labor of love. It will be framed with a double mat under glass in time, just need to find the perfect frame.

Here is the finished piece.

Design: "Nichole"
Designer: Me ~ Sandy In Montana
Finished: Sunday, 24 January 2010
Stitched on 32ct. white linen.
Threads used were DMC white, 552, 554 & 924, DMC Coton Perle #8 & #12 in white.
Embellishments were Mill Hill Beads & two Swarovski Crystal pieces.
Stitches used: Petite stitch, Backstitch, Cross Stitch, Satin Stitch Hearts, Four-Sided Stitch, Twisted Latice Band, Algerian Eyelets, Smyrna Cross, Reversed Diagonal Faggoting (Cable Stitch), Kloster Blocks, Needle Weaving, Doves Eye's, Square Filet, Square Filet w/beads, Picot Knots, Drawn Thread, Ribbon weaving & Ribbon Embroidery.

Copyright 2010

Our Heartbreak for January 2010

Our beautiful baby girl Nichole went across the Rainbow Bridge to play with our other rotties, Nicolas, Rocky, & Beau, on January 6th 2010 due to kidney failure.
She was only 22 months old.

Three 2010 Finishes

Have you ever wondered what you could do with that 2" wide strip of linen or evenweave you have laying around?

Here is what I did with a couple pieces I had left over.
l to r: mini biscornu (01/03), mini cube (01/02), & mini pillow (01/03) scissor fob's & my snazzy new scissors I bought at HobbyLobby for 40% off. I'll be using them for my Hardanger work, as they are very sharp and pointy. Here is the opposite side of the mini biscornu fob.

And here is the opposite side of the mini pillow fob.

Both are stitched on 28ct. white lugana and lined with white satin. They were stitched with Caron Wildflowers thread in Burnt Toast (old dye lot).
The mini cube fob has 5 Hardanger sides and then my initials and 2010 on the bottom. It is stitched on 32ct. dark khaki or olive linen using Caron Wildflowers thread in Fiesta.
All three are my own designs that I free handed (no pattern) to help occupy my mind.

Stitching In The New Year

I posted the stitching finish of "Tranquility" from The Sweetheart Tree back in August of 2009.
This is what it looked like then.

And last night I finally got around to finishing it off.
It is now officially a Needle Roll.

Design: Tranquility
Designer: The Sweetheart Tree
It was stitched from the kit, I tied it off using a smoky purple and a white 1/4" satin ribbon. The Hardanger is lined with very light cream satin.