Le Chat - Part Three

I have a couple of finishes to show. You may remember back when I started these.  Now that the stitching is done on both, I wanted to share the colors and stitches I used. 

First up is this cat in a bicycle basket.  I used both Stem Stitch and Back Stitch for all the outlining. French Knots for the flower centers, Straight Stitch on the basket and the flowers.  I used Satin Stitch on the kitty's eyes, nose and the bicycle hand grips. 

Here are the floss colors and numbers I used:

Now for the kitten.  He was done in Stem Stitch and his eyes and nose in Satin Stitch.  His pink bow was also Stem Stitch. For the settee and cushions, I used Back Stitch, Stem Stitch and Straight Stitches.

Here are the floss colors and numbers in this palette:

Both of these were very enjoyable to stitch!  I especially liked making the eyes of both cats. To emphasize their eyes and make them sparkly, I first used a base color {green for the cat and blue for the kitten} and added some metallic blending filament.  I used Kreinik Blending Filament.  I love using it because it is easy to work with, it blends beautifully with any color I have tried and really adds sparkle:

Ballerina Pillow Project - Part Four

I have made quite a bit of progress on my ballerina pillow project. 

You can read my other posts about this project here: {part one} {part two} {part three} 

I finished the top border motif. 

Here is a closer look - I used the chain stitch, back stitch, stem stitch and double knot stitch:

I have also finished all the ballet costumes. 

Since my last post, I have made a few changes to the purple costume. 

If you have been following this project, you may have noticed that in previous posts the purple costume had wide shoulder straps:

I decided I didn't like the way those looked after I had filled in the bodice of the costume, so I cut the purple stitching on the straps out.  I decided that double spaghetti straps stitched in the lavender of the tutu would look better.  I started to make the change....

and then realized you should be able to see the hanger between the spaghetti straps - I hadn't stitched it before because it had been covered by the wider straps - so I had to stitch the missing parts of the hanger first!

Then I stitched each of the spaghetti straps with a single straight stitch

that I couched with this beautiful blending filament that adds so much sparkle:

Next, I washed out all the water soluble marker:

and stretched the fabric out to dry:

It is really beautiful!

I will be back with another post on my next steps with this project!

Progress Report - Space Stitching Part 5

Do you remember my space stitching project?  {If not, you can review my progress here: 1, 2, 3 and 4}. I have made a tiny bit of progress that I can share.  I have stitched part of the astronaut in white back stitch:

I have added some french knots in silver for the far away stars and now I am experimenting with stitches and colors for the close up stars.  So far, I have tried yellow floss mixed with silver blending filament to add some sparkle.  The yellow is six strands of DMC #973 and the blending filament is Kreinik #095

The far away stars are silver metallic thread - Kreinik fine braid #001.  I love this and I need to buy some more as this piece is all I have left!

I used gray for the astronaut's faceplate - this is DMC # 415 but now that I am looking at it, I am very tempted to take it out and replace it with this black floss:

I think it will look really good all filled in with the black floss- it will be a nice contrast as I plan to fill in the astronaut's suit and helmet with white floss. 

Gray or black, I would love to hear which color you would choose!

Gingerbread house completed

 Remember my gingerbread house wip?  I finished it!

Well, the stitching is finished anyway :)

I really like the pastel colors on this one

Can you see the sparkle in the gingerbread frosting?

I used my new favorite blending filament to add some sparkle.  I love this!!!

I didn't use too many advanced stitches, mainly back stitch and french knots.  For the candy tree trunk I used the open chain stitch.  I had to go back and review my own 100 Stitches post to remember how to do it!

I am really happy with the way this turned out! 

Now I just have two more gingerbread houses left to transfer and stitch:

Here is a list of the beautiful floss colors I used for this project:

Blending filament on an Autumn wip

I'm just starting to stitch this autumn leaf border. Notice the sparkly addition to my floss?

It is blending filament!  I have three of these now - gold, silver and multicolor {you may remember the multicolor from this post}

I am using the gold along with this variegated pearl cotton floss.  I have these two fabrics, both are cotton and each has a cream colored background with a pattern in white.  They are both beautiful!  The fabric pictured on top has a small leaf motif and the fabric on the bottom has a heart and flower motif:

I decided to use the fabric with the small leaf motif:

I am using a leaf border from the Autumn pattern.  Perfect for this fabric!

I cut the border out and transferred it to the fabric with my water soluble pen:

and started stitching.  You can see the size difference between the blending filament and the pearl cotton.  I just love the added sparkle!