Clematis, Clivia and Coral Bells: Brazilian Embroidery from An Artist's Garden

I'm continuing to share pictures from "An Artist's Garden", dimensional embroidery designs by me, Rosalie Wakefield. Many are already aware that our Brazilian embroidery is stitched with rayon floss (Z-twist floss), but any threads will work for dimensional embroidery (S-twist floss). I also often add beads or metallic threads for fun.

This is a picture of Clematis with an interesting lazy daisy weaving technique.

I've also used this flower on a couple of my Millefiori designs. This is #8011 "Snail Mail":

And this earlier design is #952 "Sunbonnet Sue's Sassy Sister"

 

I've added the color photos for a couple of other "An Artist's Garden" designs - first the Clivia:

And "Coral Bells":

If you enjoy these small, easy-stitch designs, you might have fun with Millefiori designs #828 "Flower Patch" and #829 "Veggie Patch" - these are pillow-size prints.....

 

You'll find them all, and many more, at my website www.Millefiori-BE.com.











Enjoy!

Rosalie

Fairy Trees and Umbrellas

The Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery Guild, www.BDEIG.org, each year asks members to vote on a Flower of the Year and a Theme for the coming year. In 2017, the Flower is named "Fantasy Flower" (and it can be as Fastastic-sy as anyone wants). The Theme for the year is "Fairy Gardens".

 

I have the perfect book full of small traceable designs using mostly Glory and Iris - "An Artist's Garden", and here is a continuation of more little designs that I've been sharing in color. (Book available at my website: www.Millefiori-BE.com and also from Amazon) The first flower is the centaurea, commonly called perennial bachelors button or cornflower (perfect little parasols for a fairy...):

This second picture, chives, would make lots of pretty little trees for fairies to shade themselves beneath. 

While playing with my Millefiori dimensional embroidery through the years, I've made other designs that seem to come right out of a fairy garden.



This is Millefiori #926 "Garden Party". Here is a detail photo of the trellis and its climbing roses (made with the Continuous Drizzle, a stitch I worked out at the time).

I had so much fun that I pulled out my beads, ribbon and sparkly threads, plus all sorts of little odds and ends and stitched a beaded version (I used sheer fabrics for the background, layered over the screen-printed fabric). I set it into a shadow box, found a bit of broken mirror and some of my polished rocks and a little rubber duckie and created the pond on the 'floor' of the shadow box:

I have detail photos of this project if anyone would like to see them. That trellis is made with balsa wood (I think I could have found one already finished at the craft store...) and the fence is stitched with flat toothpicks that I painted white. (Yes, I have too much time on my hands...)

 

A few years later I designed Millefiori #969 "Wishes and Dreams":

This design has a couple of little flower fairies -- actually "22-Stitch (give-or-take-a-stitch) Flower Fairies" flitting around:

They are "related" to my famous "22-Stitch (give-or-take-a-stitch) Hummer"

Now I think I'll fly on out of here for the moment. More soon ...

Rosalie

 

 

 



 

 

Calla Lily, Carrots and Cat Tails. Oh -- and a Cauliflower

As promised forever ago, here are more of the little designs from my book, An Artist's Garden, by me (Rosalie Wakefield). I have it at my website, but it's also available from Amazon.com.

There is the calla lily.

And this is a crop of carrots stitched with "Carrot Feathers" greenery.

Next, in alphabetical order, is my design named "Cat, Tails".

Very simple stitching using double cast-on stitches for the cattails. (Uh, oh. Cuthbert doesn't think it looks a lot like his magnificent self.)

Who would have ever thought how easy it is to stitch a realistic cauliflower? Just think! Brazilian dimensional embroidery is not only beautiful, fun and exciting - it is also nutritious!

As I wrote earlier, if you are stitching the patterns in the book, you can save these pictures for reference. They are all in An Artist's Garden, and there is also a fabric print with all of the designs. I made mine into a little "I-Spy" art quilt.

Think what fun it will be to take your scissors (instead of pruning shears), needles, threads and fabric and sit in your garden and stitch!

Rosalie

 



 





The Donut Drizzle - A New Stitch Idea for Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery

This little floral design - my interpretation of Sea Lavender or Statice -  is stitched with Brazilian dimensional embroidery's rayon floss using blanket stitch for the leaves, The Comma (a combination cast-on and bullion that I developed ages ago), and something new -- the Donut Drizzle!

 

I have pictures.

I'm using Frost-weight floss, #220 periwinkle. Here's how.  Make a little "x" on your fabric. Bring the threaded needle up from fabric. Unthread the needle and place it, pointed end down, into a sturdy pincushion. Cast-on 9 loops, drizzle style, over the eye of the needle. Keep the loops nice and even along the needle. Now re-thread the needle (see above).

Slip a pin or needle into the upper drizzle loop (temporarily). Push the threaded needle (holding the cast-on loops) down through the fabric and out.

Next, bring the threaded needle up right next to where you began your drizzle. Bring the threaded needle all the way through and slip it into that upper loop where the pin is inserted. You can remove the pin now.

Holding the loops (so they won't twist), gather everything into a circle, nice and snug. You might need to do a bit of adjusting, but you'll end up with a pretty little circle (or donut) of cast-on loops.

 

This is the flower. It's just a drizzle, gathered into a circle. Isn't that fun?~~

 

To finish, the sea lavender needs a center, so I threaded up a strand of Cire #034 (shaded periwinkle) and made a colonial knot in the center. I like to use a colonial knot instead of a French knot just because it's more dimensional, but it also looks very orderly.  Like an orderly donut.

Cuthbert offers to hold his thumb (well, I guess it would be a finger since cats don't have thumbs) on the knots, but I gave him a nice pet, pet, and told him to go back to sleep. I think it was the thought of a REAL donut that got his attention:

 

Here's a picture of the finished Donut Drizzle with the Colonial Donut (er, I meant Knot) in the center. Give it a try - it's so easy and makes lovely little filler flowers. Yum.

I'm getting hungry . . . 

 Rosalie