Erica's Stitches

At the start of this year I set out to make Hardanger bookmarks.  So far, I've done one. The problem?  I picked the wrong fabric to start with.  Although I love the colors of the threads on black, black was the wrong color and I avoided the project and it dragged on and on. Now, my zeal for bookmarks has faded and I'm on to other projects.  Hopefully, I'll get back to bookmarks at some point. This is a variation of this free pattern .  I was afraid that the pattern wouldn't fit on my scrap of fabric so I shortened it by changing the main motif from 4 to 3 and adding two smaller ones on the ends.  It totally changes the shape of the whole bookmark.  I also went overboard with eyelets (but, I tend to do that).

117 bookmarks were donated yesterday! And here is my mini cross-stitch electric guitar (with french knot tuning pegs). ©2011     Erica Cannon

It seems like I've been making bookmarks for months now. I've blogged about the 1st four before.  Now I've finished another 5.  I was going to stop at 4, but ... My EGA chapter is collecting the bookmarks for "Literacy for All Children" and is hoping to donate 100 bookmarks.  Last count they had just over 80.  So, I kept stitching. At a sale I ended up with a length of one inch banding in a package of fabrics which is perfect for small bookmarks. I kept these bookmarks small and simple using the requested themes.  It was fun trying to come up with simple designs and I spent time looking at pictures of electric guitars on the Internet trying to figure out how to stitch one only 6 stitches wide.  I think it turned out recognizable. I'll be dropping off my bookmarks on Saturday.  I'm hoping there will be over 100. Now I can get back to some other projects.

Yes, working on another stitched and painted bookmark.  This is a different brand of bookmark blank - here is the entire front label. Crafter's Pride MAKE IT YOUR WAY Be Original & Creative Perfect For: Painting - Stencilling - Rubber Stamps Needlework - Machine Embroidery This label is what gave me the idea to paint.  But, unlike the other bookmark, it didn't paint well. There's some sort of coating on the Aida cloth that tended to repel the paint instead of letting it soak into the fibers.  I had to use much more than I planned in and paint much closer to the stitching.  Also, the paint tended to glop instead of spreading out.  In the pictures you can see white space under the stitches.  I was afraid to add to much paint.  You can tell as I worked from top to bottom I got better at handling the paint.  I guess you are supposed to do a test area first, but it's impossible on something so small. All in all, I liked the finished boo...

I'm making bookmarks.  I could fill the bookmark form with stitches but I decided to try something different.  I stitched the heart outlines coloring book style and filled in with paint. I'm using acrylic craft paint and watering it down. The paint acts like watercolors and runs outside the lines but I like the effect I'm getting. Here's the finished bookmark. I let all the colors run together.  It's bright and colorful.  Now I'm thinking of painting landscapes and then adding stitches.  Maybe someday ...