Little Girl With Doll Purse Continued....

I have the seams embroidered now and I've started on the beading:



I painted the lace and it looks like it blends in and gets a little lost. This issue will be resolved once I bead it. It's truly the beading that makes the stitching, lace and trim pop out!

I was asked what software I used to tint the photograph. I use Corel Photopaint 12. I made a custom brush with 97 % transparency. That adds color to the photo without covering the image with "paint".

Little Girl With Doll Purse

First, I sewed up my latest Button Block into a doorhanger pillow for my mom:



We took this over to mom's last night after dinner and mom loved it! I also took some cookies to my dad that I made during the day.

Once that project was completed, I started stitching on the Little Girl With The Doll purse:



Allie left a comment for me saying that she likes the lace as it is, white. But I really want to paint it. I'm going to do that now so stop by in another day or so to see how it looks.

Also, Part 3 of the Garden Fantasy Cross Stitch Mystery Stitch-Along will be released later this week. There's still time to join if anyone is interested. Click here for more information.

Little Girl With Doll Purse

First, I finally stitched up Button Block #35:



This one will be sewn into a little doorhanger pillow for my mom. I'll post a photo as soon as I get it sewn up.

My next project will be another purse:



I'd like to say a special "thank you" to Cheryl H. for sending me this lovely vintage photo of the little girl with the doll. It was a black/white photo and I tinted it myself with my graphic software.

I'll hand paint the lace pieces but I usually wait until I have some of the stitching done. That will give me a better feel for the right colors.

Poodle Purse Completed!

I got a bee in my bonnet yesterday afternoon and decided to sew up my poodle purse:



The trim on the bottom is a piece of a vintage dress that I bought at a flea market last Summer for $10.00. It was actually what inspired this purse. Be sure to click on the image to see the large version over at Flickr. That dress piece is silver lame with rhinestones and beads. It's quite heavy! The pearl beading on the very bottom was already there.

Most of the rhinestone buttons that I used are vintage as is the brooch on the top right-hand corner.

The seam treatments are my own technique. See my book for more details.

Poodle Purse - Stitching Complete

Just a quick little update on my poodle purse. I finished the stitching on this the other day:



It's very glittery! I had wanted to sew it up today but didn't have the energy so I'll do it when I feel up to it.

For now, I'm off to make some salad for dinner. I'll be back in a day or two when I start another project.

Angel Purse & Ladybug Purse Completed!

I've almost completed the stitching on my Poodle purse. All that's left to do is to add my little signature cat to the bottom left-hand corner. I'll post an update on that when I have it done.

In the meantime, I finished up on the handwork on the both the Angel purse and the Ladybug purse:





I'd like to say a special "thank you" to my long time stitcher and dear friend Kim. The ladybug is one of my little designs and Kim stitched it up for me specifically for this purse. Thank you Kim!

I have a few more that need sewing up as soon as I can get in another sewing day. Perhaps over the weekend. Stay tuned.

I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who left me links and sent me photos of vintage little girls with dolls. I have exactly what I was looking for now and it will be used in an upcoming purse project. Thank you again everyone!

Poodle Purse Update

Just a quick update for today. My Poodle Purse is coming along nicely:



Notice how I softened the harsh corners with silver buttons! That really smoothed it out nicely.

I'd like to ask my readers for a bit of help. I need a pretty vintage photo of a little girl holding a porcelain doll. Preferably a photo that's hand tinted and early 1900's. If any one has a photo or knows where I can find one, please let me know. It's for an upcoming purse.

Thanks in advance!

Beading On Poodle Purse

I'm still in slow motion here but things are improving. I started the beading on my Poodle purse yesterday:



I think I'll add a real feather to the hat. I'm sure I have some pink feathers here somewhere.

I also did a bit of finishing on Friday. I just have to add beads & trims to the Angel purse and the Ladybug purse and those will be completed. Stay tuned for photos.

In other news, Part 2 of the Counted Cross Stitch Garden Fantasy Mystery Stitch-Along will be released on Thursday. There's still plenty of time to join the mystery if anyone is interested. Information on the mystery can be found here.

Poodle Purse - Seams Covered

I've been feeling a little better and have been able to sit and stitch. I have the seams covered on my Poodle Purse now so it's ready for beads:



Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can see the large version. Look closely at the Poodle! I glittered her!

The majority of the seam treatments are my own charted borders. To learn more about my technique, click here. I'm working on putting Volume 2 together so there's loads of more borders coming soon!

One Elegant Crazy Quilt Seam Treatment

Well, I managed to stitch one seam on my Poodle purse:



Today seems to be a good day so I may be able to stitch on it later. It's sunny today which always helps and yesterday, I saw my first Robin of Spring! Actually, I saw 5 of them! I'll be keeping my eye on my yard today for more!

I was asked about the backstitching on the mystery project and if it's necessary to have that completed before Part 2 is released. No, the little bit of backstitching on Part 1 won't affect the placement of Part 2. Part 2 will be released on March 19th.

I'll post another update on my Poodle purse as soon as I get some more stitching on it or as soon as I feel good enough to sit here at the big computer.

Cats & Quilt Series - June

Thank you everyone, for your kind wishes. This will take some time to pass. I've been through this before and it's never in any hurry to go away but it will in time.

For now, I've just released the June Cat for the CATS & QUILTS Counted Cross Stitch series:



Also, the Garden Fantasy Mystery Stitch Along is now under way!

Both project can be found here.