For the Birds. . .

I'm all 'for the birds' as they say.  We are enjoying  four little baby chicks that my son Gage and his girlfriend Tyna have started raising.  I know being a 'chicken sitter' will be both entertaining and interesting, not to mention those delicious eggs.  I'd love to have backyard chickens. . . .getting a husband to agree. . . .a different story.

There seems to be no lack of birds to stitch in either needlepoint, cross stitch, or any other needle art you can think of.  So let the love affair with birds continue with a picture of an owl canvas by Charley Harper stitched by a very talented needle artist - Tess from Hawaii.  Thanks for sharing your picture with me.   Tess used Oriental Linen for the body of the owl and Silken Chenille for the Moth.

The texture these threads offer is what makes them so beautiful in this piece.  Another Needle Artist from Austria is Gina from www.stitcheries.org.  Here is a picture of a piece of art that she stitched.

I love her use of our Flax 'n Colors, Silk 'n Colors and Oriental Linen.  Another bird, this time the front of a hand made book I am working on:

The branches are hand dyed silk carrier rods (silk cocoons that didn't reel off properly for silk thread. Finally, since we are just before Easter and still thinking chickens and birds - our dyed easter eggs for this year.

Wishing you all a Happy Easter and Spring!

Still dyeing.  . . .eggs and threads!  Cece

Remembering Gentler Times

Laying on my stomach to smell the early spring hyacinths. . .
Fresh churned vanilla ice cream on a hot summer evening. . .
Playing with the basket of empty glass medicine bottles & caps,  turned into a child's toy to keep little hands busy. . .
Sitting near Grandma's knee as she crocheted, quilted or simply stitched with a needle and thread.


{p.s. Keep reading to find out about our '1,000 likes drawing'}


I just love these old needlework items that belonged to my Paternal Grandmother, Bessie Maybelle Springer Allen.  I remember watching her from my earliest moments as she sewed, crocheted and quilted, always a needle & thread in hand. I was deeply fascinated by the creation of so many lovely things.  Many hours were spent sitting at her knee and simply watching.

Here is another picture of items in a shadow box of her needlework tools.  I just love the way she threaded the buttons on a string!

  
My Sister made me the shadow box and included a picture of me with Grandma at about 18 months.

 So, thank you Grandma. . .



Now, on to the choosing of our recipients for the gifts celebrating 1,000 likes on The Thread Gatherer's Facebook page.   Please comment (on facebook) who or what inspired your interest in the needle arts. It will be interesting to read your answers.  We will see how many comments we get over two days time and I'll have my daughters who work with me choose 5 numbers from the 1 - ??? comments we have.  We will put these numbers on pieces of paper in a jar and draw one at a time.  The first four will receive a limited edition Silken Pearl 15/3 thread, a Silk 'n Colors thread and a Silken Ribbons 7mm.  The remaining number in the jar will receive our '1,000 likes' prize of 10 Silk 'n Colors (a rainbow of colors) and the same items mentioned above.  We have to limit winners to within the US, unless out of country winners are willing to pay the additional shipping costs to get your packages to you.   I'll post on facebook the comment number and your name so you can email me privately your shipping address. 

Good luck to everyone and I hope you enjoy sharing with us who taught or inspired you to love the needle arts.  May you be inspired to share with another the joy of working with needle & thread.

Fondly,
Cece

Silk Chenille for Embellishment & Stitcher's Sugar Scrub

Sugar Scrub

We've been busy lately with a new sugar scrub in several delicious scents, one of which is Blackberry Sage.  The ripe, sweet blackberry tempered with just a hint of herbal sage.  Our sugar scrub is made with a whipped body wash base with added butters of cocoa, mango and shea with two kinds of sugar.  The butters leave your hands feeling ultra moisturized after being exfoliated gently with the sugar.  No silk threads sticking and catching on your smooth skin!  An added bonus is that if you use it as an all over body sugar scrub it emulsifies with the water to leave less oils to cause a 'slippery slope' in tub or shower.  Visit our etsy site www.soaponawhim.etsy.com which is our body care shop Mathair Earth (Mother in Gaelic).

If you are into wool applique or embellishment our Silken Chenille might be just the thread you are looking for to surface couch, make some fantastic spider web roses, or simply make some incredibly tactile colonial knots.  I've been using the Silk Chenille a bit more on some wool applique I've been stitching and I love it.  I just added it to our Thread Gatherer etsy store.  www.linenweaver.etsy.com.

Pincushion and Silken Pearl 15/3

It is always a pleasure to receive an email from a needle artist and learn of yet, another way our threads find their way into your projects.  The picture attached to the email was of this beautiful pincushion crocheted by Maxine Perotto of Rupert, Idaho.  Maxine used our Silken Pearl 15/3 (100% silk thread)in colors:   SP5 111 Old Lace, SP5 012 Vintage Brown and SP5 00B  Ink Black. The value contrast of the colors do make the flower pop.   I love,  love the added touch of the beads around the edge.  Best of all Maxine gifted this to me.  What a lucky lady I am - thanks again Maxine!

A Wool Christmas Stocking

 

 

I Spent part of the Christmas Holiday Making an all wool, embellished Christmas Stocking.  It all started with the circles, simply making a few embellished with beads, Silk Ribbon Colonial Knots, and Silken Pearl Bullion Stitches.   I then had to decide what to do with those circles.  I had a lovely piece of wool I had hand dyed so I made a Christmas Stocking.  I plan to hang other 'dangly' items from the ribbon loop, but for showing purposes I attached the wonderful Christmas 'Nice' scissor fob decoration from the Shepherd's Bush Retreat.  Someone came by the house and said, "You've made a Dr. Seuss Christmas Stocking".  Well, not really my intent. . . .but it is rather playful I have to admit.
I used the new color of 'Red' Seagrass for the straight stitching at the top of the stocking and I lined it with a cute quilting fabric.  It was fun to make. 

Still Dyeing, Threads That Is. . . .
Until Later,
Cecelia

A Christmas Reindeer

 

A Christmas Reindeer

A Design & Kit By Charland Designs

While teaching at the Shepherd's Bush Retreat this fall I purchased this darling and quick to stitch Reindeer Kit from Charland Designs.  Although it came with a different fabric for backing the finished cross stitch I used a different finishing technique using some wool fabric I have on hand for wool applique.  I thought I'd share the results with you. 

 

 

 



Sheep's Silk

Sheep's Silk . . .

                               

Our Sheep's Silk is pictured at one of the local quilt shops where it is displayed near the hand dyed wool for wool applique.  This very versatile thread is perfect for blanket stitch when layering wool for wool applique, needlepoint, and cross stitch on 18-ct fabric especially.  The soft hand and gorgeous  dyed colors are due to the 50% silk and 50% wool content.  If you've never used this thread you simply must try it.  Available in a palette of palest to vibrant hues.  See the colors on our website - www.threadgatherer.com


Sometime later this fall I will have wool dyed to match some of the Sheep's Silk colors and available on our etsy site - www.thethreadgatherer.etsy.com as fabric and thread as a combined set.

Still dyeing - threads that is.

Until Later,
Cece