Fringe Benefits

Over the past few months my husband and son have been creating magic in our front yard by building raised garden beds and replacing dated framed lattice panels with wooden slats all of which is giving a fresh and modern appearance to the house - and, may I add, some wonderful compliments to the 'carpenters' from our neighbours.  My part in all of this landscaping project is to oil the wooden slats for weather protection and select plants for the garden beds - a job which I have undertaken with much relish.  

I decided to fill the beds with native plants and delighted in the task of visiting the plant nursery to choose suitable plants.  As time goes on and my natives flourish they will form the subject of other posts, but for today I would love to highlight a pretty and delicate flower which, up until I saw it at the plant nursery, didn't realise its quaint size.  It is in fact one of my earliest designs - the Fringe Lily - and I must admit that when I saw it, I just knew I had to buy it (much like a pair of shoes or dress) because it is such a sweet little flower.

There are a cluster of buds on a stem and each flower only blooms once but they don't all bloom at the same time so each new day brings a new and perfect bloom.  It took about a whole week for this particular cluster to complete flowering with about four blooms each day and there are a couple of smaller clusters still yet to flower.  The flower itself is about the size of a thumbnail but what I found absolutely unusual was the pretty frilled fringe around each petal and the gorgeous colour.

My cross stitched design of the Fringe Lily depicts the actual flower perfectly with its markings and colourings and the frilled edge. It contains 9 colours and measures 82 x 73mm (3.2 x 2.9in) in size and there is currently a Fringe Lily card for sale in my Etsy shop on purple cardboard.

I don't seem to recall the flower having a fragrance, but I think we can forgive it for that when it produces such beauty and provides such pleasure.

Ros

'Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.' - Judy Garland

Design Release - Boronia

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and so in keeping with the recognised colour of pink associated with breast cancer I thought it appropriate to release a new design - the Boronia.  

                         

Boronias grow as low shrubs in open forests and woodlands and belong to a family of approximately 95 species Australia wide.  The species of Boronia chosen for my particular design - Boronia safrolifera (or commonly known as Safrole Boronia) - grows mostly in south-east Australia in moist soils but can also be found in protected areas of swamp regions of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland.  It has a pretty and dainty star-like shaped flower ranging in colour from deep to pale pink with a beautiful perfume which is harvested for its well-known essential oil qualities and strongly-scented aromatic leaves commonly used in potpourri.  An interesting fact is that the Boronia was named after an 18th century Italian botanist Fransesco Borone.

My cross stitched boronia measures 54 x 78mm (if stitched on 14 point Aida) or 30 stitch width x 43 stitch height dimensions and consists of 9 colours.  Small white and lemon french knots placed in the centre of each open flower complete the design.  Easily and quickly stitched, this design would be beautiful for any floral enthusiast.

Ros

'Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength' - Francis de Sales

Jo-an-Ray

About 10 years ago I decided to undertake the ambitious project of cross stitching a picture of my parent's house (my family home) for their 50th wedding anniversary.  Apart from the fact they had lived all their married life in this house and that it had undergone two major renovations, this robust house had also survived two catastrophic floods - the 1974 flood where the waters totally inundated it and the 2011 flood where it peaked at just under the roof.  I also wanted a sentimental keepsake for my parents as I knew that eventually they would 'move on' to retirement accommodation and this would provide memories for them.

The cross stitch program I have enables me to import a photo which will automatically convert it into a chart and then tweak the colour if needed.  I should add here that this was the third cross stitch house project undertaken (the others will be the subject of future posts) so I felt confident enough with the task of emphasising the shading and lighting required to create a realistic interpretation of the 'real thing'.  There were many computer hours spent on perfecting the 34 colours used, but many, many, many more in the stitching process which comprised of a total of 64,518 stitches and 362 stitching hours (yep I kept track!!). Framing completed the work beautifully and it hung proudly in their lounge room and was one of the very first items to be whisked out of the house with the threat of another flood in 2011. 

After the flood my parents did indeed 'move on' to retirement village accommodation and hung their family home portrait proudly in their lounge room.  But the fate of the actual house is an interesting story with it first being sold to an investor for rental purposes and then later sold to a developer where it was duly demolished to make way for construction of a newer and modern house.  We had heard from old neighbours and friends still living in the area that construction of the new building was well underway so the other week my Mum and I went to visit the site and inspect the progress and simply could not believe our eyes.

With the scaffolding it's a little difficult to get a true appreciation of the size, but let me tell you that this massive construction is actually two (2) three-level houses and with a pool in each backyard, there will be hardly any grass.  The neighbours have been practically built out with very little light or air flow or privacy.  I will post an update when the houses are complete.  

It really is hard for me to comprehend that 60 odd years ago a simple, small 2 bedroom hardboard house sat in the middle of this large quarter acre block and now all these years later 2 massive houses occupy it.  To think that I used to ride my bike around the house and then later when I had my drivers license and bought my first car that I could park it at the side of the house (of course Dad's car got the covered garage).

Jo-an-Ray was a 'play' on my parent's names of Joan and Ray and a very good family friend made a plaque with this name on it for them when they were first married and it was attached to the front of their house all the years they lived there.  When they sold the house, we made sure the plaque went with them.  It has been cleaned up and now sits proudly on the brick wall at the entrance to the new home and my cross stitch of the family home is proudly displayed in its new place on the lounge room wall.  It is indeed a beautiful family heirloom.

Ros

"We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves, otherwise we harden" - Goethe

A Crazy Weekend

Crazy Quilting that is!!  A couple of weeks ago a few of us ladies from the Guild group decided to treat ourselves to a 3-day stitching weekend not only to 'get away' for a break but to take advantage of learning the skill of crazy quilting which one of our very clever stitchers is quite adept at.  We went armed with all our requirements of fabrics, beads, buttons, threads, laces, braiding, sequins, etc. really quite unsure of what was entailed even though we had studied our friend's work of art, but came away at the end of the weekend totally 'hooked' and inspired by what everyone else had accomplished.

On Friday night (after dinner of pizza of course) we set about machine stitching together shapes of fabric which would become our background.  

The idea is to choose a patterned fabric with at least a couple of different colours and then choose 2 or 3 colours from that and then match fabrics in a couple of different shades from those colours.  You can see by my piece that I chose pink, blue and white to work with.  Varied shapes are then cut and added to make an interesting and balanced patchwork.  You can also see that on my piece I added a strip of lace with a partial open weave for dimension showing the coloured fabric underneath. What really looks great is using different fabric textures or a single 'special' fabric to highlight and draw the eye's attention.  As this was my first practice piece I only used fabric from my stash so there was nothing really special about the fabric.  We had pre-determined the finished size and when we reached that point, machine stitched two rows of straight stitch around the edge and after trimming to size zigzagged the edges to avoid fraying.  I should add that this had all been stitched on a square of calico large enough to be placed in an embroidery hoop ready for the next exciting stage.

Now the next part is where imagination and creativity comes into play because by using all embellishments at your disposal you cover the seams however you wish.  Different threads were experimented with and stitching techniques used in association with beads and braids to give - what I think - a beautiful finish.   Let me say right now though that my crazy quilting piece is nowhere near finished as there is still a lot of work to do and it is quite time-consuming but seriously addictive.  It was so inspiring to see what ideas and techniques the other ladies had used and which could possibly be applied to our pieces of work.  The great thing about this was that everyone's work was so different and unique and I found the style and colours everyone chose to use really did reflect their individual personality.

The one thing that our friend/tutor kept telling us when we would become unsure on our next step was that with crazy quilting 'the rule is that there are no rules'.  Now that's what I call freedom.

Ros

'The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet' - Aristotle

Early Signs

I'll admit it - I'm a bit old-fashioned when it comes to protecting the furniture in my house as I prefer to use doilies so that vases and ornaments don't scratch the wood or laminate top.  We were having an overnight visitor the other night and so, in order to make a 'good impression', dusted the furniture (long overdue I might add!!) and chose new doilies from my collection.  As always I came across a couple of models I stitched when I was only very young and still learning the correct techniques from my mother and grandmother.  Usually I just overlook them, but this time I carefully examined them with a much more appreciative 'eye' and realised how craft and working with needle and thread has been in my DNA from a very early age.

The mauve and pink doily on the left contains only lazy daisy stitch and was worked in double-strand variegated thread while the teddy bear doily consisted of straight, lazy daisy and satin stitches.

This dog design formed the end of a runner - duplicated at the other end - and consisted of lazy daisy, satin, stem and backstitch.  It has been stitched in single thread and washing and wear and tear appears to have taken its toll with some of the threads coming loose, but a look at the back of the work .... well, let's just say, I still had a lot to learn about carrying the thread and finishing off neatly.

I can tell that this yellow floral doily was a slightly later work as the neatness (both front and back) is considerably improved with smaller stitching technique and skill.  Once again this doily only contains satin, stem, straight and back stitch.  

I might add that I crocheted the edging for each and every one of these doilies also - yet another indication that crafting for me was definitely a keen interest.

As basic and simple as these stitchings are and considering I would only have been around 10 years of age when they were worked, it gives me a great deal of pride to display them.  

Ros

"With courage you can stay with something long enough to succeed at it." - Earl Nightingale

Design Release - Strawflower

Today I am excited to release a design which I have been working on over the past couple of weeks - the Strawflower.  I am also just as proud to mention that this design was inspired by beautiful strawflowers that I have growing in my garden at the moment with the photos below being proof.

Blooming in differing shades of both pale and bright colours they certainly make a striking display in the garden.  What has amazed me though is that, although they flower best in the hot summer months, these beauties have thrived during our winter and in a position that hasn't been receiving much sunlight. 

Strawflowers are found Australia wide growing in many different habitats from rainforests to deserts to subalpine areas and provide a food source for butterflies, bees and insects.  They are a herbaceous shrub growing to a height of up to 80cm high and have lovely leafy green foliage.  But what makes these little beauties so special is the different texture of their petals (or bracts) which are stiff, papery and dry making them a perfect long lasting flower.  Touching them actually does feel like very light cardboard yet they are quite strong and it is because of this texture that they are ideal as dried flowers and for use in the cut flower industry.

Replicating the sharp edges of the strawflower was a challenge when designing this flower and my aim, as always, is to be as authentic as possible so some stitchers may find the design a little intricate.  This is probably the only wildflower design where the availability of different colours for a flower have been included in the one design and therefore a total of 13 colours have been used.  

But with such an array of colours to choose from to portray the Strawflower, it was just too difficult for me to decide on just one.  Or......maybe.....it was just an excuse for the artist in me to experiment with colours and my stash!!!

Ros

'Flowers are those little colourful beacons of the sun from which we get sunshine when dark, sombre skies blanket our thoughts' - Dodinsky

A New Look

Just like any makeover - be it wardrobe, hair and styling or a home and landscaping project - it can be exciting but just a little daunting, overwhelming and yes ... apprehensive too, which of course can put the whole idea into the 'too hard basket'.  Such has been the case for me at Gumleaf Stitch Designs.  For a while now I have been wanting to update the website, but with matters on the 'home front' being rather intense and time consuming, tackling such a project just took a back seat.  

But the time now felt right to tackle this makeover head on and so I have been fortunate to find a great web designer and between the two of us, have collaborated ideas and created - what I believe - to be a website with a fresh and modern look.  A new design layout displays each cross-stitch design to its full advantage as well as a slide show on the Home page.  The Order Information page has been updated to include shipping details, a returns/refunds policy and revised postage and handling costs.  Money orders or cheques are no longer accepted with payment to be made securely with Paypal or for Australian customers the option of a direct deposit, all details of which are outlined on the Order Information page.  A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page and Your Privacy page has also been added as well as a special form on the Contact Me page which can be filled out and forwarded should there be any questions requiring clarification.  There is a Check-out Page whereby you can preview all purchases made.  

As with all major changes, there will always be a few tweaks and fine-tuning to be made as time goes on when you discover that something has been overlooked and, yes, at the moment, that is the case.  But at this point in time I feel quite confident to reveal Gumleaf's new look.  Of course, the main change is a beautiful new logo - a creative twist courtesy of my clever web designer. 

I invite everyone to check out the new look website and because your feedback (both positive and negative) is valued, it would be very much appreciated if you could contact me should any problem be encountered so it can be rectified promptly.  

I am going to end this post with what I believe to be a very apt quote.  

Ros

'It always seems impossible until it's done' - Nelson Mandela