Thank You for Letting Me See the Colors was a chart by ANNE Originals way back in 1977. It is difficult to find a picture of it on the Internet or the chart itself for that matter. A generous member of the 123Stitch MB sent it to me. I’m not sure why I was so drawn to it, perhaps the colors or the fact that as I age my eyes are getting worse.

As I went searching for a color picture of it, I found this one on Google Images. I believe it was stitched by Debbie Miller and framed by Jill Rensell Studios. Jill and Amber always do a fantastic job.

I stitched mine on 28ct white Monaco over 2 with DMC threads.

Started stitching Oct 2, 2017
Finished stitching October 7, 2017

This one has been sitting in the prison drawer since 2017 because I really was not sure how I wanted to finish it. I took it out and laced it onto a circle board I had in my stash. I had earlier purchased a beautiful batik print in shades of purple that I decided to use as a background. I ordered an inexpensive frame from Amazon in white. I used the piece of acrylic that came with it coved with a layer of batting then laced the purple circle on that. Using tacky glue, I added the stitched piece to the purple board and popped it into the frame. Happy with how it turned out. Frame is 8″ inside.

She Sights a Bird is #3 in the Loose Feathers for the Birds series by Blackbird Designs. The title of this pattern is inspired by Emily Dickenson’s poem, “She signs a Bird – she chuckles.” It seems perfect for this cat surrounded by three birds. Think of this piece as more of a peaceful kingdom that what Emily Dickenson implies in her poem.

The sugggested fabric is 36ct Oaken by Picture This Plus but I have chosen to use 16ct Regency by Picture This Plus with the recommended threads.

Started Stitching: August 5, 2017

Finished Stitching: August 13, 2017

Sometime during the Fall of 2014, a fellow stitcher on the 123Stitch Message Board posted a project she was stitching for a relative. It was the Queenstown Blue Crab. When I saw the piece, I knew it was something I wanted to stitch for my youngest son. Both of my boys had spent lots of time fishing and crabbing on the Chesapeake Bay when they were young.

I asked her if she was interested in selling her chart and she offered to give it to me. I accepted.

The designer recommended Wichelt Belfast linen 32 ct. Platinum for the fabric with DMC cotton floss. Since I have difficulty seeing 32ct and since the design had only full crosses, I decided to use 16ct Aida. I ordered a piece of 16ct Mercedes Aida from Picture This Plus. I thought it would be the perfect color for stitching this chart. And 16ct over 1 would give me the same finished size as 32ct over 2.

Stitch count: 130 high X 160 wide
Design area: 8.2″ high X 10″ wide

I did not write down exactly when I started stitching this project but the first mention of it was November 2014. I worked on it for a while and then my husband’s health issues caused me to put it aside. I picked it up again in July of 2017 determined that I should finish this one. I also moved the project from qsnaps to my larger scroll frame so I could see more or the gridding at one time.

While all of the stitches are full crosses, there are many color changes.

Now to decide how to frame it.

UPDATE – December 27, 2017

I have finally gotten around to framing this one for my son.

I had a request from my granddaughter that she would like something I had stitched with her father’s name on it. I had recently loaned out one of my Blackbird Design books, Tokens of Friendship that had the chart Forget Me Not. It had been stitched in a beautiful shade of blue. I decided that this would be the perfect thing to stitch in my son’s memory for his daughter.

Rather than using the recommended fabric and floss, I selected a piece of 16ct Doubloon Aida by Picture This Plus and a selection of floss from the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe.

Churn Dash (dark blue)
Blue Sage (light blue)
Western Wall Flower (yellow)
Flower Basket (green)
Faded Barnwood (dark brown)
Primitive Taupe Brown (light brown)

Started Stitching: January 13, 2017
Finished Stitching: January 22, 2017

I decided to frame it with a dark blue frame I bought from Graphix Dimensions, my favorite supplier for frames.

My favorite designers, Barb Adams and Alma Allen who are the Blackbird Design ladies have released a new series of Loose Feather designs. For the Birds! It’s Spring Fever is the first on the nine charts that will make up this series.

One of the most beautiful designs the Blackbird Design ladies have created is ‘Tis the Season which is from the book Joyeux Noel. The book is due to be reprinted and released during December 2015. If you want it, I would suggest you order it quickly as my understanding is that it is a limited reprint. Most local Needlework shops should be able to get it for you.

The recommended floss for stitching this is Crescent Colors Belle Soie silk and it calls for eight colors. Regular price is $7.50 a skein and this was just more money than I wanted to spend even if I found it on sale so I sent searching for an alternative. I came across this blog post  Blogtoberfest… Okay, I’m terrible at this!

She suggested using the following conversion from Crescent Colors Belle Soie silk and I decided to give it a try.

Attic Tea -> CC Pea Pod
Moss -> WDW Bark
Mudpie -> WDW Palomino
Poison Apple -> CC Wild Berries
Pumpkin Carriage -> GAST Brandy
Scarecrow -> GAST Grecian Gold
Tortoise Shell -> GAST Forest Glade
Vanilla Pudding -> WDW Whitewash

I did make one other change. Both suggested colors for the bird seemed to be more shades of dark pink which our cardinals are definitely NOT! Another stitcher suggested Week Dye Works Turkish Red which I decided to use. I had also seen the piece stitched on a darker fabric than the suggested Pear by Lakeside Linens. I selected 16ct Storm Aida by Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie.

The verse at the bottom can be stitched in French or English. I think I will stitch the English version.

I hope to start stitching this soon and have others in the Fans of Blackbird Designs Facebook group join me.

 

Progress as of January 2, 2016

Finished Stitching: January 7, 2016

Framed and hanging in my living room.

We recently had to say goodbye to our sweet girl Katie. I wanted to stitch something special in her memory and decided on Lizzie Kate’s  chart Dogs Leave Pawprints. My plan is to stitch the design, then send the stitched piece and a picture of Katie to Jill Rensel for framing. Jill and Amber work a special kind of magic in framing special pieces.

And our sweet girl.

Fabric: 25ct Lugana probably mushroom

Threads: Weeks Dye Works

• Bright Leaf
• Charcoal
• Deep Sea
• Kris’s bon bon
• Liberty
• Moss
• Sky

Started stitching: November 19 2015

Finished stitching November 21, 2015. Now I just need to sew on the dog bone charm and it will beready to pail off to Jill and Amber to work their magic.