Tutorial - Holly Berries / Karácsonyi magyal

Wanting to add some 3D holly berries to the Christmas themed RR block I am working on, I realized that all I had on hand to make them at that moment, was thread and needles (daughter sick, me not able to grab stash from studio)... They say that one of the challenges of crazy quilting is to use what we have, so let's try to get creative. My first idea, the padded satin stitch just didn't give the dimensional result I was looking for, so I decided to try and "close" the raised cup stitch and it worked so well, that I decided to share it with you, too.
Here's a snap shot of my doodle cloth:

There is a great tutorial for the raised cup stitch on Sharon Boggon's blog, Pin Tangle.
Based on that tutorial, I worked a raised cup with two rows/circles of knots (one knot in each space):

After completing the second row, I continued going around, working one knot in every second space of the previous row of stitches, closing up the flower cup shape into a round berry shape.

When I ran out of stitches, I took my needle down through the center of the berry: (taking care not to pull the thread too tightly, because that would have distorted the berry.)

And there it is, a 3D berry, just the shape and texture I was looking for:

It can be completely closed, like in the picture above, or it can have a little opening at the top, as shown below. It all depends on when you decide to stop reducing the stitches:

And here you can see my progress on the RR block, with the holly and berries already in place:

(Additional work by Michele)

I kept calling them berries, because they were the ones who called for this experiment and I think they would work to make any kind of berries, but looking at my doodle cloth, I can see this stitch used to make also hydrangeas, for instance.
Want to give it a try? Please, let me know how it went!

Have fun!

Free Embroidery Design

This is a design made for the three center blades of my fan ring bearer's pillow:
Ezt a mintát a legyező mintájú gyűrűpárnám közepére terveztem:

(Fan block design by Miss Carole Samples)

For the veins I used whipped chain stitch made with white DMC perle no. 12, the leaves are bullion stitches, each "embraced" by a detached chain stitch, with ecru DMC perle no.12 and I added beaded flowers. (Also, while stitching, I added more leaves.)
A kacskaringózó ágakat átcsavart láncöltéssel, fehér 12-es DMC perlé-vel, a leveleket bullion öltés és egy azt körülölelő láncöltés kombinációjával, ecru 12-es DMC perlé-vel hímeztem. A virágok MillHill gyöngyökből készültek.

The pdf version can be downloaded HERE. Enjoy!
A minta pdf változata INNEN letölthető. Használjátok örömmel!

Have a beautiful weekend, Everyone!
Kellemes hétvégét!

The story of a ring bearer's pillow and of so much more

When Lee Albrecht asked me to take part in the exhibition "Maos que bordam pelo mundo" (Embroidering Hands Around the World) she is hosting within the Campinas Patchwork Show in Brazil, I didn't think twice before saying yes.
Amikor Lee Albrecht megkért, hogy készítsek valamit a "Hímző kezek a világban" című kiállítására, ami a Campinas-i Patchwork Show keretén belül került bemutatásra, rögtön igent mondtam.

Then, as I started thinking about what I should make and being a bit overwhelmed by my desire to create something perfect and unique, I thought that maybe I was too quick to say yes... Saying yes... Yes! A ring bearer's pillow! And this is how this pillow was born:
De amikor elkezdtem gondolkozni azon, hogy mit is készíthetnék ami egyedi is, tökéletes is legyen, elbizonytalanodtam és megfordult a fejemben, hogy talán túl hamar mondtam igent... Igent mondani... Igen! Egy gyűrűpárna! És így született ő:

From all the pieces I have ever made, this is the one that is closest to my heart. It is not perfect, and now I know that it doesn't have to be. Because it was made with love and when it was off on it's journey to Brazil, a piece of my heart travelled with it. And I believe that this piece of heart is what gives real beauty and value to any handmade creation.
Az összes eddigi munkám közül ez a párna áll legközelebb a szívemhez. Nem tökéletes, de ma már tudom, hogy nem is kell annak lennie. Mert szeretettel készült és amikor elindult hosszú útjára, a szívem egy kis csücskét is magával vitte. És hiszem, hogy minden kézzel készült alkotásnak ez a "szív csücsök" adja igazi szépségét és értékét.

Lee had the great idea to frame the pillow for the exhibition, and look what a beautiful frame Joao, the framer Lee works with, has made:
Amikor megérkezett hozzá, Lee bekereteztette a párnát és nézzétek, milyen gyönyörű munkát végzett a keretezője, Joao:

And here it is at the show, surrounded by so many wonderful embroideries:
És íme, a kiállításon, rengeteg csodálatos hímzés társaságában:

The plan was that I would personally attend the exhibition, but unfortunately life got in the way of this trip, so Lee was so kind as to dry the bouquet of roses I have sent for her birthday and use them as a table decoration next to my pillow and also included a few other little details, making me virtually present... Now isn't that (too) the kindest, sweetest gesture?
Az eredeti terv az volt, hogy személyesen is részt veszek a kiállításon, és annak ellenére, hogy ebbe az utazásba "kicsit" beleszólt az Élet, Lee kedves segítségével, virtuálisan mégis ott lehetek, mert asztali díszként ott van, például, a rózsacsokor amit születésnapjára kapott tőlünk. 

Muito obrigado, Lee, meu eterno carinho por você!

The story of this ring bearer's pillow is far from being over, but for now I know that my little piece of heart is in a good place, in kind and caring hands...
A kis párna története még nem ért véget, de egyelőre tudom, hogy jó helyen, szerető, gondos kezekben van...

For more photos of the event, please visit Lee's blog at http://leealbrecht.blogspot.com/

Tiny Christmas Stocking

After a couple of hours of finger piercing (would someone, please, enlighten me that the thimble has been invented????) the little stocking is merrily occupying its place on the Christmas block:

Pár órányi ujjszurkálás után (felvilágosítana, kérem, valaki, hogy feltaláltatott a gyűszű???) vígan foglalta el a blokkon kijelölt helyét a kis Mikulás csizma:  

This is Genevieve's block and is part of the Fabulous First Timers no.17 Round Robin with Crazy Quilting International Yahoo Group, and all the embroidery that can be seen in the photo, around the stocking was made by Jocelyne.

Ez Genevieve Fabulous First Timers no.17 Round Robin blokkja, a fotón látható hímzés pedig Jocelyne munkája.

Tiny Christmas Stocking

Today I took a little break from gardening to make what I hope to be a crazy quilted appliqué on a Christmas themed crazy quilt block.

Egy kis szünetet tartottam ma a kertészkedésben, hogy egy Karácsony témájú crazy quilt blokkra elkészítsek egy aprócska, ugyancsak crazy quilt technikával készült rátétet.

It is a tiny Christmas stocking, measuring about 7x5.5cm, made from even tinier taffeta scraps.

A kis Mikuláscsizma alig 7x5.5cm és picuri taftdarabkákból készült.

The embroidery part is finished, now I am very curious to see how it will look appliqued...

A hímzésével elkészültem, nagyon kiváncsi vagyok miként fog mutatni amikor rávarrom a blokkra..

I think it would also make a cute Christmas tree decoration, too, don't you?

És akár karácsonyfadíszként is el tudnám képzelni.

Letter to St. Nicholas / Levél a Mikuláshoz

It has been weeks that my daughter has been asking for an earth globe, so I told her that if she behaves and eats her meals and brushes her teeth, St. Nicholas just might bring her one. And I was happy with her choice, because it does not fall into a thousand pieces and does not make noise, not to mention how educational it is.
Hetek óta emlegeti kicsi lányom, hogy mennyire szeretne egy földgömböt. Elmondtam neki, ha jó kislány lesz, megeszi az ebédjét és szépen fogat mos, a Mikulás talán majd hoz neki egyet. Örültem is, hogy erre vágyik, mert amellett, hogy csak egy darabból áll és nem zajos, ráadásul még hasznos is.

But, while shopping for groceries yesterday:
De tegnap, a heti bevásárlás közben:

I have a feeling that when we sit down to write the letter to St. Nicholas, it won't be an earth globe that the young lady will be asking for... :D
Nagy a gyanúm, hogy mikor leülünk megírni a levelet a Mikulásnak, mégsem földgömböt fog  kérni benne a kis hölgy... :D

Progress on the little girl in pink

A certain young lady, coming home from kindergarten yesterday, demanded to know where the little girl in pink dress picked her roses from.

Her mother was quick to answer: from the rose garden, of course.
"But where is her garden, mom? I can't see it, please draw one for her!"
And as I was more than happy to obey, here's my progress so far:

Taking the pictures I realized that there is a big, barking mistake in the composition, that I will have to solve somehow, without unpicking the silk ribbon embroidery...  Nevertheless, I love the way it is turning out.

Phone Pouches in Progress

Remember how in yesterday's post I said that I was longing for colors? Pink and green, purple and green, blue and green. Do you see a pattern there?
Although I should be working on Christmas ornaments if i want them to be finished in due time, this morning at 8 a.m. sharp I was franticly digging through my fabrics, trying to find... spring... Funny creature the human being, at least this particular one, that's babbling on over here: we are having such a gorgeous, sunny, colorful autumn, and what am I doing? Thinking of winter and missing spring...
Oh, well, green I wanted, green it is. With a touch of pink here:

and a touch of blue there (it IS blue, not grey as the photo shows it)

and some more blue touches on the cutting board, to fit around a Flower Fairy.

Embellishing day tomorrow. Starting 8 a.m sharp :)

Learning Reticello

with Lee Albrecht in her International Embroidery Exchange Project.

Ready for the fun part: the gorgeous weaving.

Hardanger petites

It was about a year ago that I decided to make a Christmas tree ornament for my daughter's "trousseau chest" every year, for as long as I am able to stitch. For this year's ornament I envisioned something based on hardanger ... again.  What can I do? Hardanger and Chrismtas just go together :)
So I made these petite beauties:

(Some beads and satin fabric will be used to make them even prettier.)

And a couple of bookmarks:

(design by Mamen)

All of these happened last week. Now I need some color. Maybe something pink and green with roses...