Sunday, April 28, 2013

Rhapsody in Blue

Wow, it has been a long time since I last posted. I've been stitching a little bit, just haven't had anything newsworthy to share - no pictures, no finishes.  I have to be honest with you; I've been a little depressed.  It just keeps snowing here in Minnesota and I am tired of it!  Early in the week, Tuesday I think, we got about 6 inches and then on Friday our temperatures were in the 70's. Mother Nature has been really fickle this year.

Last weekend and this weekend I attended Spring luncheons for our two local needlework guilds.  Last Saturday was the Needlework Guild of Minnesota's Annual Meeting.  We had a nice brunch at a local hotel and then listened to a talk about Ethnic Drawn Thread by Pat Donaldson.  She compared and contrasted beautiful embroidered pieces from over 14 different countries.Of course, this was of particular interest to me given my desire to learn more about Hungarian embroidery.  One new type of embroidery that I learned about is the Lefkara Lace that is made in Cyprus.  Google it - it is beautiful!

Yesterday, I attended the Spring Luncheon for our local EGA chapter - St. Paul Needleworkers.  A delicious lunch and an interesting lecture by a local designer/teacher/stitcher.  Carol Pedersen's topic was "Ancestral Angst" and she talked about the importance of labeling our stitched pieces with as much information as possible to ensure that generations to come won't be asking "I wonder who stitched this?" Carol also talked about caring for our needlework pieces.  It was very interesting!

Enough chatter - you want some pictures to look at, right?  I had some "finishing mojo" last evening and so while the rest of the family was either at work or at my daughter's lacrosse game (she's the coach), I set out to finish the remaining pieces for Rhapsody in Blue.  Back on March 24, I shared the finished bag with you.  Since that time, we received the finishing instructions for the smalls.  I just haven't had time to finish them!

This was an online class with the Shining Needle Society.  The project was designed by Jackie du Plessis.  Having taken a class with Jackie last summer, I was excited to work on another one of her projects.  Here are the accompanying smalls which I finished last night:


The round disc on the left is a pinkeep.  The rectangular box is a pincushion; look at those tiny pinheads that I stitched!  and then the strawberry serves as a scissor fob.  These pieces are really tiny.  I had to use magnification to put them together!

Here's the whole kit and caboodle:


I also attached my lid to the bag last night (hadn't done it the first time around).  Jackie had us make a hedebo ring to cover the stitching where the lid was attached.  Perhaps you can see it in this picture:


And one more photo of the entire piece...


I won't lie - the finishing was a bit challenging.  But it really turned out beautiful and was worth the time and effort!

Now on to my next project -- I'm nearly finished with my stitching for Ellen Chester's My Lady's Worke Box.  If I could get the stitching done this week, I could try to get it finished next weekend.  We'll see!

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by.

20 comments:

Giovanna said...

What a magnificent set! Congrats on the great finish, and I hope the weather turns to spring soon for you too.

Margaret said...

Wow, your finished set is so beautiful! I love how the pieces look in that shaker tray. Beautiful! Sounds like you've attended some nice get-togethers as well.

CJ in OK ;-) said...

These little pieces are amazing. So tiny and perfect. Congrats on such a lovely finish. CJ in OK

Terri said...

Totally speechless! Just stunning!

Mrs. DillyDally said...

You consistently do such beautiful work and accomplish so much! Am always inspired by your blog posts!

Denise L. Gregory said...

Absolutely beautiful!!

Ann said...

Beautiful work on your Rhapsody pieces--you're inspiring me to get mine put together!

We're having another gray, gloomy day down South. We didn't get snow this winter, but we've had more gray days than usual this winter. I'm like you--I've had enough! Come on sun!

Doni said...

Cathy,
That set is a beautiful work of art! I want to make a set just from seeing yours! Even though the stitches are tiny and the pieces are tiny, I think they are splendid. Much care and fine work were given to these...and it shows!!
Love your work!!
Blessings,
Doni

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

What a beautiful set you've created, Cathy! You should be quite proud of yourself! I love the color and expect it would be even more beautiful and impressive in person.

Barb said...

What a charming group of finishes! It was rainy and cool here today too!

Stasi said...

The finished pieces are spectacular!
You do beautiful work! I especially love the stitched pin heads. Hope spring makes it way to you soon and sticks around awhile.

The Inspired Stitcher said...

Cathy, your pieces are beautiful! I know the crummy weather has everybody down this year...and "they" say there's not such thing as global warming. Um...right! Hang in there, spring or summer one will show up eventually.

Laurie in Iowa said...

Your set is gorgeous. Congrats on finishing it all. I hear you about the depressing weather. After such a gorgeous weekend I can't believe we have a frost warning for the end of the week!

Anonymous said...

Lovely, lovely, lovely :)
The effort to finish was worth it, this set is an heirloom - well done :)

Anonymous said...

Lovely, lovely, lovely.
The effort on the finishing was worth it as you now have an heirloom set. Well done :)

Carol said...

Wow! That is just gorgeous, Cathy--well worth the effort!

woolwoman said...

gorgeous finish on the Rhapsody in Blue - I started to sign up for this class but knew I would stumble on the finishing part. What a beautiful set - enjoy it ! melody

Averyclaire said...

Oh Cathy....what a GREAT finish. Each piece is absolutely lovely. Looks great on the tray. Adore your white and white "doily." Beautiful.

Karoline said...

Rhapsody in blue is stunning, congratulations

Jean said...

Beautiful set, hope your having some nice spring weather now.