© heavenlycastles.com 1999 to Present
When Ray and I were first married we lived in
West Germany where Ray was stationed with the
US Air Force. Ray had collected all of the pieces
for an Avon chess set, but we had no way to
display it. I hadn’t learned to do counted cross
stitch yet, but we found a store off base that sold
embroidery thread and cross stitch material.
Ray designed all of the motifs to use around the
chess board and I carefully embroidered the
designs. The board turned out really well with
our joint effort, and we displayed the chess set
for years on this cloth.
My mother loved hummingbirds. I did this little hummingbird in the
hoop for her and liked it so well that I decided to make another one
for myself.
These were actually done by my mother when I
first moved into my own home. She knew I
loved mice and she wanted me to have
something cute to hang on the wall in my new
place. She was always doing special little
things like this for both my sister and me.
This clock was made from a mail order catalog kit. It is actually
stamped cross stitch. The colors were stamped on the material to
show how to stitch it. My father put the hexagonal frame together
for me to finish the clock.
Welcome
Embroidery and
Cross Stitch
I started doing embroidery as a very young girl. My grandmothers both did needlework, and my mother also embroidered, so each of them taught me a little about their talents. My mother also had a friend who taught me a few embroidery stitches. She probably had a little more patience teaching me than my relatives did. After I got married I had a neighbor who was doing beautiful needlework pictures. At the time, I had heard of counted cross stitch, but really didn’t realize what it was. I remember my mother telling me when I was younger that she didn’t have the patience to do counted cross stitch, so she didn’t expose me to that craft. After going to a supply sale with my neighbor, I attempted my first counted cross stitch project, and I was hooked. I have almost exclusively done counted cross stitch ever since. This was my first embroidery project. It uses some basic embroidery techniques for beginners. Somehow I made a hole in the material above the butterfly, so my teacher had me fill it in with long white stitches to cover up the mistake. Other than that, it wasn’t too bad for a first attempt by a 7-year-old.
This sampler also came in a kit and was stamped on linen-like fabric. I
bought the kit on sale and did the cross stitch over a short period of time.
We have had the sampler framed and hanging in our dining room for
several years.
I’ve always loved different kinds of flowers. Of course, I would
have to do cross stitch versions of flowers to bring that fresh
feeling to my sewing room.
We were given a really lovely picture frame by a neighbor. This is
the insert in that frame. We had to come up with something to
put in it quickly, so after searching through pattern books, we
came up with this design with tea cups representing the four
seasons.
Who doesn’t love Precious Moments? This is
one of my favorite designs. I couldn’t afford
the figurine, so I cross stitched the design
instead.
Sometimes you just have to do something whimsical. This one always
cracks me up! These little birdies are so cute!
I love giving gifts. These are just some of the
cross stitch projects I have made for other
people. It’s so nice when people understand
how much work you have put into a piece.
My mother always loved birds, so this was the last
big piece I made for her.
My sister keeps this one in her guest bathroom. If
you look really closely around the edges, there are
tiny pearls accenting the inside and outside of the
wreath.
My sister sews a lot, and especially makes
quilts for gifts. I made this for her to hang in
her sewing room. Its vintage style reminds me
of her.
This quilting scene was by the same designer as
the picture above, but for some reason it
became much more difficult to stitch. It took me
so long that by the time I completed it, I donated
it to a local group of crafters to sell in a fund
raiser project they were doing.
The pictures above and below were gifts for friends from church.
Each took considerable time to complete, but they were labors of
love. It is pleasing to finish projects for someone you truly care
about.
My sister and I have
always been very close.
These little dolls
reminded me of us
when we were kids.
With the two dolls sitting back to back, the one on the left
represents my sister and the other one represents me.
Her hair was always darker and mine was more blonde
until we got older. When we had the same thing, she was
usually given a blue one and I usually got pink.
© heavenlycastles.com 1999 to Present
Welcome
Embroidery and Cross
Stitch
I started doing embroidery as a very young girl. My grandmothers both did needlework, and my mother also embroidered, so each of them taught me a little about their talents. My mother also had a friend who taught me a few embroidery stitches. She probably had a little more patience teaching me than my relatives did. After I got married I had a neighbor who was doing beautiful needlework pictures. At the time, I had heard of counted cross stitch, but really didn’t realize what it was. I remember my mother telling me when I was younger that she didn’t have the patience to do counted cross stitch, so she didn’t expose me to that craft. After going to a supply sale with my neighbor, I attempted my first counted cross stitch project, and I was hooked. I have almost exclusively done counted cross stitch ever since. This was my first embroidery project. It uses some basic embroidery techniques for beginners. Somehow I made a hole in the material above the butterfly, so my teacher had me fill it in with long white stitches to cover up the mistake. Other than that, it wasn’t too bad for a first attempt by a 7- year-old. .
When Ray and I were first married we lived in West
Germany where Ray was stationed with the US Air
Force. Ray had collected all of the pieces for an Avon
chess set, but we had no way to display it. I hadn’t
learned to do counted cross stitch yet, but we found a
store off base that sold embroidery thread and cross
stitch material. Ray designed all of the motifs to use
around the chess board and I carefully embroidered the
designs. The board turned out really well with our joint
effort, and we displayed the chess set for years on this
cloth.
My mother loved hummingbirds. I did this little
hummingbird in the hoop for her and liked it so well that I
decided to make another one for myself.
This clock was made from a mail order
catalog kit. It is actually stamped cross
stitch the colors were stamped on the
material to show how to stitch it. My
father put the hexagonal frame together
for me to finish the clock.
These were actually done by my mother when I
first moved into my own home. She knew I loved
mice and she wanted me to have something cute
to hang on the wall in my new place. She was
always doing special little things like this for both
my sister and me.
Who doesn’t love Precious Moments? This is
one of my favorite designs. I couldn’t afford
the figurine, so I cross stitched the design
instead.
I love giving gifts. These are just some of the
cross stitch projects I have made for other
people. It’s so nice when people understand
how much work you have put into a piece.
My mother always loved birds, so this was the last
big piece I made for her.
My sister keeps this one in her guest bathroom. If
you look really closely around the edges, there are
tiny pearls accenting the inside and outside of the
wreath.
My sister sews a lot, and especially makes
quilts for gifts. I made this for her to hang in
her sewing room. Its vintage style reminds me
of her.
This quilting scene was by the same designer as
the picture above, but for some reason it
became much more difficult to stitch. It took me
so long that by the time I completed it, I donated
it to a local group of crafters to sell in a fund
raiser project they were doing.
I’ve always loved different kinds of flowers. Of course, I
would have to do cross stitch versions of flowers to bring
that fresh feeling to my sewing room.
We were given a really lovely picture frame by a neighbor. This is
the insert in that frame. We had to come up with something to
put in it quickly, so after searching through pattern books, we
came up with this design with tea cups representing the four
seasons.
The pictures above and below were gifts for friends from
church. Each took considerable time to complete, but they
were labors of love. It is pleasing to finish projects for
someone you truly care about.
My sister and I have
always been very close.
These little dolls
reminded me of us
when we were kids.
With the two dolls sitting back to back, the one on the left
represents my sister and the other one represents me.
Her hair was always darker and mine was more blonde
until we got older. When we had the same thing, she was
usually given a blue one and I usually got pink.
Sometimes you just have to do something whimsical. This
one always cracks me up! These little birdies are so cute!
This sampler also came in a kit and was stamped on linen-like
fabric. I bought the kit on sale and did the cross stitch over a
short period of time. We have had the sampler framed and
hanging in our dining room for several years.
