Earth Day - a (belated) cross stitch pattern

I really wanted to do a pattern for Earth Day, but had no time, and did not really have an idea either. But then, as I was working on my university projects, I suddenly came up with something. So I thought it is better to post it late than never. After all, we don't need a certain date to be able to stitch for the Earth. Or if you do ;) - you can stitch it for next year.


I hope you will like it and many of my stitchy friends will actually stitch it.

New finishes and a wip

Here are the pictures I promised: I have finished stitching the runner I received from my boyfriend's mum who couldn't finish it because of her bad eyesight.

Sorry for the photos, they are not very clear.

I stitched this little fairy for a charity quilt. There is one more I need to do before I can send them.

And here is one of my wips. I have entered an embroidery competition. The topic is: how we can save the world with the help of embroidery. They have come up with some key-words, such as war, environment, solidarity, nuclear weapons etc.
I have made a pattern, or actually, I am still working on it but I have enough ready so I could start it. I am not going to show you the pattern but you can see photos of my work, so it won't be difficult to guess. :) It is an almost traditional sampler but with some modern elements.
I am using a fabric I bought in a second-hand shop, I think it is linen, quite rough, and there are some threads pulled out, as a pattern, kind of. It breaks the regularity of the stitching (which is, since it is linen, not very regular anyway) and I like the effect. It seems to reinforce the message. :)

I have also finished sewing the blouse I mentioned. Here it is, with some details:

"Bibiscornu" - a new type of biscornu

I have come up with another new type of biscornu and since it actually doubles the corners in a way, I called it a "bibiscornu" - but if anyone can come up with a better name, suggestions are welcome.

I am publishing quite a lot of free patterns here, but I thought that those that involve coming up with a new structure, not simply another cross-stitch chart, would be my "capital" - and I am trying to sell those. There hasn't been a huge rush to buy my patterns, so far I have sold 3 of them in more than half a year. I am not expecting much, to be honest, I know that most of us are out there on the hunt for more freebies. Why buy something when you can find similar patterns for free?

Still, I hope that some people who enjoy all the freebies, when they can afford, will also buy something, especially if that means something new, like the twisty biscornus you can find on the Patterns for sale page. Or the newest variation on the traditional one, the bibiscornu:

I still have to write the instructions, it will be available in a few days.

pincushion

I made a pincushion out of the black-gold pattern I stitched a while back. For the other side, I improvised a variation of the pattern, will draw it and post it soon.
I am sure it would look good as a biscornu, too.

Long armed cross stitch - free bookmark

First, would you like a good laugh? I crocheted a bag with pure wool. It looked just lovely. Then I put it in the washing machine to felt. And this is what came out of the machine:



It is VERY small and really thick. Lesson: crochet felts much better than knitting. Well, I can still use it as a mini stitching basket or decorate it with some flowers and give it to a child. :D


Now, the stitching results of the past few days. I stitched the blue striped design, both with and without the red backstitch/French knots, and made an ornament out of the two.
I used DMC 311, 794 and 309 for this. Can't decide which side I prefer. :) If you want to make it, note that the version with the red is one stitch smaller, so you need to stitch the backstitch line accordingly (my favourite finishing method is this, and not only for biscornus: backstitch line all around, then whipstitch together).





I also stitched the bird in the circle, using a variegated blue, Anchor 1210. Don't know yet how I will finish it.



I made a variation of the circle with coloured sections, and stitched it with smyrna stitches:



Here is the modified pattern:



There is another new freebie: a bookmark pattern. I stitched it using long armed cross stitch. It has long intrigued me, since it was used in old Hungarian patterns, but recently I discovered it in Swedish stitching as well. The Swedish call it twistsöm. What is different from cross stitch: you stitch the lines following the direction of the pattern.
I looked at different books, and found something interesting: in the Hungarian tradition they stitch a line then turn the work and stitch the next line in the other direction. This way they are creating ridges and valleys, so to speak. Swedish twistsöm, if I understood the explanation in my book correctly, is usually stitched starting from the same end, and so the lines resemble braided thread. There are other interesting similarities and differences between the two countries' stitching traditions, but more about that later. I am still learning.
I thought the simple stripes pattern will be an easy one to try out this stitch, and here is the result.





I like my bookmarks to have a back, so I often stitch someting simple to put on the back, too.

Here you can see the long armed cross stitch/twistsöm more closely:



This photo also gives you an idea how the bookmark was finished: two lines of backstitch on the long sides, whipstitched together, and the lines across at the ends were stitched going through both layers. Then the edges were frayed. I like this finishing. This bookmark can be washed if it gets dirty, still, it is not too soft.

For those who don't know how to stitch long armed cross stitch, here is a step by step drawing, I hope it is clear enough:



And finally, the pattern of the bookmark (of course, it will look lovely with simple cross stitch, too).



I know that some of you have stitched a pattern or two from this site. Can you please, send me a picture or allow me to put up a link here? It would be so nice to see them all.
Happy stitching to everyone. :)

New finishes

I have been on a finishing spree these past days. I promised myself I am not trying out my new sewing machine until I finish some things. First, because I need space on the table (LOL) and second, because I am a coward... LOL again.

I finished the Hungarian patterns I showed you not long ago, here they are:



I especially like these two little cushions. I saw pictures of similar things on the net, but no tutorial, so I figured out how to do it by trial and error :)






And another experimental thing. Again, a pattern I posted earlier, and said I wasn't sure whether it would work for a biscornu, because I didn't draw it as a rectangular shape but had the corners cut off.





(I have to admit, I was so much in a hurry to see how it would look finished that I forgot to stitch the yellow in the middle of the flowers on the other side :D )

So, I think it did work, and I have to say I really like the wavy effect the edges have. Compare it with the sharp corners of a regular biscornu.