Getting Creative with B.E. Designs

This is a Ruth Griffith design for Millefiori:  "Butterflies In My Heart". It's available for you to stitch - should be on my website - but you can email me for more information if you'd like a copy.

Instructions for stitching all of the flowers with our EdMar rayon floss are included, but I thought it would be fun to march to my own drummer, and I'm stitching the design with "sparklies" ... Candlelight metallic fibers, a similar fiber but a bit lighter called "Madeira Glamour" and some beads. Of course.

I'll keep snapping pictures and hope to send you a photo of the finished embroidery before too long.

Ruth has several designs available. Most recently, I posted photos of her "Mini-Roses" design. These designs are just a joy to stitch.

By the way, you might want to visit the BDEIG website and the Seminar 2012 page to see a photo of "Tea Rose", another of Ruth's designs that is being taught by Ruby Scruggs.  Here's a photo:

 If you didn't have a chance to sign up for the class but would like to stitch the "Tea Rose", just let me know -- via email would be easiest.

Rosalie



FREE For You: Another Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery Design

This Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery design is called "Froggie Went A-Courtin'" and is free to you, courtesy of one of our BDEIG instructors, Mary-E. Crichton. Here's the story:

Frank Frog feels amorous as he sits on his cyclamen lily leaf in the swamp. Flo Frog, also feeling The Call of Springtime, doesn’t even mind the flies that circle around Frank. These two little lovefrogs have stars in their eyes as they bask in the shade of Mary-E. Crichton’s Shooting Stars.

This is another of the free "Designs of the Month" which are shared with everyone in honor of the start of our next 20 years (and beyond) as a needle arts guild. The design is posted at the BDEIG website for one month only and will then disappear forever. To download your copy and to start stitching right now, look for the free design here. Please remember that these designs are for personal use only and not to be re-sold.

While you are visiting the website, we invite you to stay around a while and leaf through the interesting pages. If you click "Seminar 2012", you'll find all of the class offerings, and there's still time to join the guild and come to seminar. You can also find a membership application posted.

Rosalie

Ruth's Mini-Roses, My Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery Interpretation

A while back I was stitching a Brazilian dimensional embroidery design by my friend, Ruth Griffith, called "Mini-Roses". I wrote about it here, when I explained that the center roses were stitched with the #15 milliners needle instead of the #1 milliners needle we ordinarily use with Lola.

Well, I have finished it.

I had a couple of different dye lots of #121 moss green (back when it was that gorgeous light moss green color) and I intertwined the border with some pink oat beads that I found.  I had a few extra, so I added them for some of the side flowers:

And I added Iris bullions around each to frame.  Instead of rolled roses, I found some tulip shape glass beads in my Stash of Wondrous Things, and I added more little seed beads for sparkle:

Because we can do whatever we want when we are creating our finished embroidery, I fiddled around with Ruth's Tole Rose, just adding an extra cast-on stitch or two:

And because I don't have the embroidery in its final frame (the picture above isn't as sharp as it could be), here is the original photo:

I'm headed for the craft store to purchase a wooden embroidery hoop. I'll paint it with acrylic paint and add a ribbon around the outside, much like I did with "Meditation", the design Mary-E. Crichton and Gayl Ratigan will teach at our BDEIG Seminar next month. Here's a picture:

Here are a few pictures of how I finished the frame (a purchased wooden hoop), painted with acrylic paint:

After the paint was dry, I re-hooped my embroidery, trimmed it and gathered the back side:

..and finished the back by popping in a circular-shaped piece of mat board:

I always label the back of any embroidery I do - date, designer (or my name if it's one of my designs), Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery.  And I have a nice Micron Pigma Pen where I can initial and date my work on the front:

Then I finished the "frame" with some sparkly ribbon and a glue stick -- and left ribbon tails (which I knotted) to tie a pretty bow for a hanger:

So you see how easy it is to finish your embroidery!

If you are interested in purchasing either of these designs to stitch, they are now available. I'll have mine posted on my Millefiori website (if I ever stop making blog entries), but you can email me for information. I am marketing "Mini-Roses" for Ruth Griffith, and in addition to six brand NEW Brazilian dimensional embroidery designs, I'll also have "Stardust" and "Twitter" ready for you to stitch. Everything should be ready to send by early next week, and I'll put you in touch with Mary or Gayl if you would like your own copy of "Meditation" -- or if you would like to purchase a dozen to teach to your own B.E. classes!

Just a note -- if you are looking for the little flower beads, try Beadcats.com.  You might  find the little rice pearls (also glass flower-shaped beads) at either Shipwreck or Fire Mountain. (I even saw them on ebay)! Or  check your local craft store.  I think there are probably other excellent bead merchants, too; these are just favorites of mine.

Rosalie

A Towhee, A Cat and Water, aka Rain

It is raining today in western Oregon -- actually, it's Oregon Mist and I think people missed it after a week of sunshine when we all planted our flowers.

About the rain:

This is a Towhee testing the bathtub waters, and it is raining here.  I will never understand why birds feel the need to take a bath when it is raining.

But he seems happy as a clam, so I'm glad he's here.

Speaking of water ...
This is a picture of one of my cats, Cuthbert, at the ole' watering hole:

Requesting privacy so he can enjoy his drink. Or just ignoring the photographer.

About this time, Rich came out to the kitchen and asked, "Don't you think you have enough pictures of that cat?"

I ignored him and snapped a couple more.
This one is captioned, "May I please have a straw?"

And this is a picture of Cuthbert saying grace after meals:

And because everyone has so patiently enjoyed pictures of the birds and my cats, I will now entertain you with a brand new post and pictures of my Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery. Thanks for visiting!

Rosalie

Canary, Chickadee, Cat and Brazilian Embroidery

This is one of the canaries who stop by the Canary Cafe in our back yard for lunch each day. (American goldfinch).  We also have house finches (with red caps on their heads). This little canary is having sack lunch.

The chickadees are nesting now. This one is checking with the wife for "carry-out":

And this is Cuthbert, who looks like "the cat who wishes he could eat the canary", but he will have to content himself with just being "His Massive Wonderfulness".

And since I haven't posted any embroidery in a day or two, here is my "Cloud Nine Dogwood", one of my Millefiori Brazilian dimensional embroidery designs that I'll be teaching at our BDEIG Seminar in Portland next month. That border is a stitch I developed which I call the Interlocking Stem Stitch. I use it a lot, and have written instructions in my book, Take A Stitch. I also tried a new technique for "notching" the dogwood petals, which was fun to try.

Bye for now!

Rosalie

This One Followed Me Into My Camera

Laurel. The bees love it. (They didn't follow ...but it's pretty early for bees at the moment.)
     This is Fragaria, or Wild Strawberry. I have it as a ground cover. It makes edible strawberries, but they are very tiny.

This is just pretty. When it blooms, the flowers are tiny, dull yellow, and not nearly as pretty as the leaves.

We have chickadees nesting and singing their beautiful song. This is the chalet:

And this is the penthouse. Both are occupied.

This is Cuthbert, wondering if I'm ever going to stop blogging pictures and start working on my Brazilian embroidery design instructions:

But he's not wondering too hard ...

It's hard to type instructions anyway, when a CAT is sleeping on top of my notes.

          More flowers:

I've never understood why beautiful lilacs always insist on blooming on the highest branches, sending their lovely perfume into the sky. (I suppose I could prune them now and then...)

This is a brave little dandelion, also insisting on staying around:

Scilla are also insistent. After years of trying to make them leave my yard, they keep coming back - more each season.  I've decided to love them.

These are three bachelors (actually perennial bachelor buttons, or centaurea). They seem to be having fun.

And this is another rhodie:

Now I'll go back to work. These flower photos were all taken yesterday when it was getting ready to rain here in Oregon (or it might have just stopped raining for a minute). The sun is coming out this weekend, and I will probably need to snap more flower pictures.  Meanwhile, I should probably get some work done.

Rosalie

A Rhodie Is A Bouquet of Flowers All By Itself

The first one has burst into bloom, all by itself, entirely too full of itself to NOT pose for a picture. (Notice the upturned 'smile' below.)

In a few days the entire rhododendron shrub outside my window will be covered with glowing pink flowers and it will look like Someone turned on a spotlight!   Not to be outdone, this one also popped open and posed for a picture:

This is the Lewisia just beneath my pink rhodie, not caring one bit that it might clash:

The Lithodora just next to it is the most beautiful true blue you could ever find in a garden:

And Sweet Woodruff is just everywhere. It's one of those flowers you have to shop for in the Herb aisle, and it's also a flower that is happy under evergreen trees. When you see it in the shade, it looks like a million twinkling stars.





I'm doing that one close-up, so they look bigger. In reality, they are only about 1/4" across.
       Emmy could care less  . . .

Is it any wonder that I'm so inspired to design flowers for Brazilian dimensional embroidery? !
        Emmy could still care less ....
(--and I have to get back to work. By the way, all of my lilacs are in full bloom, probably other flowers, too.)

Rosalie