Birdie’s Stitching » Birdie Stitching

UFO Wednesday – Guest Stitcher Joanna

Feb 202013

Happy UFO Wednesday! This week we have Joanna from the UFO facebook group joining us for a guest appearance. Thanks Joanna!

How long have you been stitching?
I have been stitching since January 2010, so exactly three years!
How did you get into it?
I had a brief taste of it in secondary school, when our Home economics teacher showed us the very basics. Then years later when I finished school I decided to take it up as a hobby/obsession!
What’s the largest piece you’ve ever made?
My largest complete piece is a 30 inch x 30 inch fairy riding a white horse- though I will soon be starting my first HAED which will be my biggest by far!

Fairy Riding A Horse – Joanna’s done a beautiful job on this fairy, the metallics really make it stand out.

What’s your favourite piece?
I am torn between my fairy on a horse which was my very first piece, and my portrait stitch of the character “Dean Winchester” from Supernatural. I do also have a lot of cats stitched, which I love.

Dean Winchester from Supernatural

Do you have a favourite designer/style?
I like anything that is cute and colourful, or that is realistic looking. Fantasy and cats are my two main subjects. I also love anything with tongue in cheek humour in it, that makes me smile when I see it.

Misbehaving – This design from Sarah Kay looks adorable!

What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on a portrait piece of the character “Jacob Black” from the Twilight Saga.
Has Wednesday UFO Cross Stitchers helped your stitching?
Absolutely, I find myself working much harder every week to post up a photograph every Wednesday, the “deadline” really keeps me focused on progressing and the fellow stitchers in the group are very encouraging!
What is your oldest UFO?
I have a flower fairy design that is barely begun since 2011, which I can’t seem to find interest in completing – definitely on my to-do list!
Do you have any tips for new stitchers?
Don’t be afraid of your fabric, any mistakes you make can always be fixed – as long as all of your top rows of stitches are facing the same way, you are doing well!

UFO Wednesday – Guest Stitcher Margie

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Feb 132013

Happy UFO Wednesday! This week we’re lucky enough to have yet another guest stitcher. This time, it’s Margie from our Wednesday UFO Cross Stitchers Facebook group. Thanks Margie!

How long have you been stitching?
I have been stitching for about 17 years now.
How did you get into it?
I first learned how to cross stitch in junior high school home economics class. But then didn’t do it again until just before my daughter was born when I went into a craft store & found the stamped cross stitch baby blankets and decided it was time to get back into it!
What’s the largest piece you’ve ever made?
I do have some very large pieces started, just not finished yet. So as far as the largest piece finished, I would have to say it is one called ‘64’ that I made for my husband. It is very large postcard pattern that has some of the lyrics from the song ‘64’ by the Beatles

When I’m Sixty-Four – Margie made this lovely postcard for her husband.

What’s your favourite piece?
I love all of the designs that I have stitched, but I think my absolute favourite one that I have stitched would be one that I put together and stitched for a couple of my best friends. It is a Football Helmet Birth Announcement. I took a couple of NFL football helmet patterns for my friends favourite teams and I changed all the colours to different shades of pinks. I reversed one so that the helmets were facing each other. Then I added all of their new baby’s birth info in between the helmets. I also included my friends’ names under the helmets so that the piece incorporated all of them into the design. They now have a unique one of a kind birth announcement for their baby girl.
Do you have a favourite designer/style?
There are so many amazing pattern designers out there today, so it is hard to choose just one. However, I would have to say that my top 3 are Tilton Crafts, White Willow Stitching and Heaven and Earth Designs.
What are you currently working on?
Currently, I am working on a very special project. It is some stitched squares that will be included in quilts that will be given to the families of those lost in the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. I put together designs for the individual quilts that have the name of the person, their birth flower and birthdate. And for the school quilt, it has a heart bouquet and hearts in all the corners and says Forever in our Hearts and has all of the names of the those that lost their lives in that terrible tragedy.
Has Wednesday UFO Cross Stitchers helped your stitching?
I think it has helped a little bit. Although I do get very busy during the holiday season, so now that the holidays are over, I am getting back into my Wednesday stitching.
What is your oldest UFO?
My oldest UFO at this point is a piece called Elemental Masks by Tereena Clarke from Artecy.
Do you have any tips for new stitchers?
I would have to say first start with small projects. And also, in order to keep your WIP/UFO list short, best to only have a couple of projects going at one time. It is easy to get excited over a new pattern and start it. And then another and another. And before you know it, you have a dozen different pieces started, and no finishes. This is especially true for the larger projects. It’s easy to get side tracked and start other pieces in order to take a break from the larger design. If you are going to stitch any of the larger patterns, maybe have a few of those small 3” x 3” or smaller kits or bookmark kits handy to do when taking a break from the larger ones. If you start another larger project to take a break from the other larger piece, this too will create a long WIP/UFO list.

Stitching for Charity

Margie is currently working on some squares that will be included in quilts and gifted to the families of those lost in the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. If you would like to take part then visit their facebook group – http://www.facebook.com/groups/310784595692711/

UFO Wednesday – Guest Stitcher Cathy

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Feb 062013

Happy UFO Wednesday! This week we have another guest stitcher from our Wednesday UFO Cross Stitchers facebook group. Thanks Cathy!

How long have you been stitching?
I started back in 1990
How did you get into it?
One night while working a 12 hour night shift with an RN, I watched her stitch and loved what she was doing. I asked if she could show me so she told me to pick out a simple pattern and the next shift we had together she showed me how to do it. I did a lot of ripping that night but at the end I had a pretty little heart shaped piece.
What’s the largest piece you’ve ever made?
The largest piece I have done would be the first photo piece I finished up last year. It took me 2 years to get up the courage and then a year to do it (there were a lot of colour changes; the one I am doing now has mostly browns/greys/ and shades of white and beige. My first one was the opposite it had a lot of greens and pinks
What’s your favourite piece?
Next to the photo piece I am doing now it would be my first one, as it was of the little girl I used to look after
Do you have a favourite designer/style?
Not really if something grabs my attention then I will stitch it.
What are you currently working on?
At the moment I am working mainly on the piece I call Miss Cheyenne, as it is half done now and I really am getting anxious to see the finish.

Miss Cheyenne – Cathy’s photo conversion is absolutely stunning.

Has Wednesday UFO Cross Stitchers helped your stitching?
Yes, most definitely.
What is your oldest UFO?
I think that would be a sampler of the INK site (I think that was the spelling of it anyway). I picked two wrong colours and didn’t realize it till I was 3/4 ways through. Now I have to rip-it out and start over.
Do you have any tips for new stitchers?
If you are getting into this hobby make sure it is something you truly love because it is an expensive one to do if you really are not into counting. Most of my friends call me crazy for doing something they think of as too much work; also our daughter loved the way the patterns looked when done and thought she would love to do it – well, she started several times but never finished as it was too much work. So I guess just make sure you will love doing it.

UFO Wednesday – Guest Stitcher Marie

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Jan 232013

Happy UFO Wednesday! This week, I have a special surprise for you all. My first guest stitcher! Her name is Marie and she’s a member of our Wednesday UFO Cross Stitchers group.

What are you currently working on?
My current UFO that I am working on is Dimensions’ “Call of the Wolf”. I started the project for a friend in 2004, but then had a falling out with that friend. The project was tucked away for several years before I decided it really needed to be finished, especially since I saw it every time I went through part of my stash. Now, my brother has expressed interest in the completed project, so I have motivation to get it finished.

Marie is stitching this stunning Call of the Wolf kit from Dimensions which has unfortunately been discontinued.

Has Wednesday UFO Cross Stitchers helped your stitching?
Yes, because I think they provided the final push to get me to start working on my unfinished projects. One day a week for an old UFO allows me to make steady progress while still allowing me to work on more current projects.

Marie’s current UFO project. Her progress is incredible!

What is your oldest UFO?
My oldest UFO is Janlynn’s “Kitten in a Basket”. I started it while I was in high school and have worked on it periodically over the years, but have not yet completed it.
Do you have any tips for new stitchers?
Start out small and simple. Get some experience before starting a larger project. Patience is key with larger and/or more difficult projects. Even if you’re not stitching very much in each sitting, every little bit counts. Have plenty of small, easy projects tucked away if you feel you need a break from the larger projects. Enjoy!

UFO Wednesday

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Jan 172013

So, what I didn’t mention last week due to sheer embarrassment, is that I got the mistletoe leaves wrong five times and had to keep frogging them. When you are counting squares across blank aida with no stitching around it, it’s incredibly easy to do one stitch too many or miss out a row completely. But five times in a row? I am so ashamed.

After a lot of hard work I managed to finally get the leaves right. I know it’s hard to see but I also started on the sky in the background. This piece uses only one strand for the background and I think it creates a really nice effect, a kind of 3d effect where the characters feel more in the foreground. I don’t normally use different numbers of strands to create an effect. Every other piece I’ve worked on has used a half stitch for the sky/background and a full stitch for the foreground.

Mistletoe Kisses

I must apologise for the image quality. Despite having two lights on, my mobile phone refused to take a decent picture (I have no idea why, it’s been fine in the past) and I am missing the charger for my camera. Of course, you can probably see there that I have accidentally used two strands for the sky. That’s right. Another mistake. I don’t have the heart to unpick it this week, so that’s going to be my job for next Wednesday while I work on something much more fun for the rest of the week. (I love new projects, the best part of a UFO is making a new one!) Once Mistletoe Kisses is out of the way I’ll post some pictures of my newest UFO/project.

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