Sigh

August 20, 2017 whimsicalstitch

Sometimes you are so accustomed to doing a stitch that the most obvious variations evade you. Today's stitch is an example. One of my go-to small space stitches is the Extended Cross stitch. So when I was gently reminded of this oh-so-obvious variation, I felt like I found an all-new stitch*.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Pinterest account. Visit pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday for a library of all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams. — Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Pinterest account. Visit pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday for a library of all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Instagram account. Visit instagram.com/whimsicalstitch to see a library of stitched samples for select #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams. — Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Instagram account. Visit instagram.com/whimsicalstitch to see a library of stitched samples for select #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

The stitched sample is just that...a sample of what it looks like. I used three plies of Lorikeet on 18-mesh to give all of us an idea of the final result. This "tall" version is perfect for a tall, narrow space such as a chimney or fireplace legs. Flip it on to its side and it's an adorable basket. It's a sweet stitch that adds a little something something to an area without overpowering it. Everyone wins.

This stitch diagram, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here.

Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides and stitch concepts for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, and Patience Brewster. 47 guides are currently available and more are in the works!

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Enjoy!

Going in Circles

August 6, 2017 whimsicalstitch

Circles are the most difficult pattern (for me) to replicate. Most traditional circle stitches are never perfect circles. The yet to be named stitch remains a current favorite. Today's stitch is a very close second.

The stitched sample is a sky stitched with Rainbow Gallery's Glisten from a Scott Church Christmas piece. It's sweet, simple, and allows other elements of the piece to stand out. A variation I would like to try (but have not yet) is to add a single bead in the center of the small diamond in between the circles.

This stitch diagram, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here.

Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Enjoy!

Sweetie!

July 23, 2017 whimsicalstitch

It's a baby orange! Three threads. One bead. One small space.

Today's #smallspacesunday is another composite stitch. Part of the magic comes from filling in the open (and not open) spaces with unique threads.

The stitched sample includes City Needlework Silk, Very Velvet, Fyre Werks, and a Sundance Bead. An Upright Cross is added to the intersection where the threads meet. The diamond shaped open space is filled with a single bead and the square shaped open space is filled with another Upright Cross. A trifecta of orange goodness.

Composite stitches offer so many opportunities! Using the same primary design (from the aqua lines), here are just two more possibilities to fill the open areas.

Any one of these stitches work in both large and small spaces. Suggestions include pants, a hat, or a bag. They would make a wonderful architectural element, water, or greenery. It would also be great for a bird body, as you can add multiple colors to bring the feathers to life. It's just such an adorable stitch.

This stitch diagram, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here.

Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides and stitch concepts for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, and Patience Brewster. 43 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Enjoy!

Which Way is Up?

July 9, 2017 whimsicalstitch

Today's #smallspacesunday combines of a wide variety of cashmere stitches...horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. It's quite interesting but you have to pay attention as the alternating directions are not the same pattern. One includes a full cashmere and the other is a diagonal cashmere..

The stitched sample uses four plies of DMC Floss on 18 mesh for a roof on a Melissa Shirley Halloween building. It would work really well as a floor, greenery, grass, or tabletop. Consider stitching one of the Cashmere columns in a second contrasting thread, whether that is color or finish. If I had to do this roof over again, I would add a complementary metallic thread.

This stitch diagram, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here.

Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides and stitch concepts for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, and Patience Brewster. 44 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Enjoy!

Sweet Small Sky

June 11, 2017 whimsicalstitch

Today's stitch comes from a piece Laura Taylor is working on with a student. And it's absolutely charming. It's almost nothing but it's also almost perfect.

The diagram includes two versions of the stitch and illustrates the stitch's scalability. The diagram on the left includes stitches over three rows and one row. The other version includes stitches over four and two rows. The stitched sample on the right reflects the first diagram (over three and one row). It's sweet and simple and I love it.

The stitched sample is from a sky. It would make wonderful water with two different blue metallics, or even two metallics of different sizes. It would also serve well as a sky or mountain stitch. The key is to use a lightweight thread. For example, consider using Elegance on 13-mesh or Petite Silk Lame on 18-mesh. .

This stitch diagram, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here.

Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides and stitch concepts for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, and Patience Brewster. 43 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Enjoy! (And, thank you again, Laura, for letting me "steal" this from you!)

Surprisingly Small

May 28, 2017 whimsicalstitch

Truth be told, I don't consider today's stitch a true small space stitch*. However, as I was examining my needlepoint pieces for #smallspacesunday inspiration, I found this stitch in a small space on one of my (ahem, many) fruit pillows. And, much to my surprise, I haven't covered this exact stitch yet (variations of, yes...this stitch, no). So, win win!

I give you Upright Tied Crosses in its purest form.

The stitched sample is a raspberry from a retired Melissa Shirley fruit pillow. It used DMC Perle Cotton with Frosty Rays as the X on top. The use of two threads was a perfect way to make this stitch pop in a small space.

This stitch diagram, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here.

Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides and stitch concepts for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, and Patience Brewster. 41 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Enjoy!

* I acknowledge this is not what I consider a pattern stitch. I consider #smallspacesunday a theme unto itself. :)

Still Not Too Early

April 30, 2017 whimsicalstitch

It's still not too early for holiday stuff and today's stitch is a wonderful stitch for that most wonderful time of the year. Technically, today's stitch is a small stitch but it works well on most sized spaces.

Click the image to see the **whimsicalstitch.com Stitch Library** on pinterest.com. Includes all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Click the image to see #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday **Stitched Sample Gallery** on Instagram.

This stitch is so deceptive. It can do so much more than your typical small stitch. The stitched sample is from an ornament on a larger Christmas composition and is absolutely perfect.

Yet, this stitch can do so much more than make a sweater, coat, bag, vase, or even a window look good. I can't wait to use it for greenery with the black lines as a green wool, most likely Lorikeet, and the aqua lines as something especially Spring-y such as a pink or yellow Kreinik or Silk Lame.

Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, and Patience Brewster. 35 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Enjoy!

Tiny with a Powerful Punch

April 16, 2017 whimsicalstitch

In case you were wondering, yes, you can get three different fibers into a small decorative stitch.

On most days, I choose a stitch pattern to fill a space, rarely the other way around. Today's stitch is an exception as this stitch came to be as a result of how a canvas was specifically painted. As I mapped it it out, I realized it had many applications and decided to share it with you. An offset 2X3 rectangle is the heart of this stitch. Three different accents are provided on the diagram. Select one (or more) that fits your mood!

This stitch is a great way to draw attention to a small area. The needlepoint world has done a great job in creating ornaments for every season. This stitch would make a great coat or bag for Santa on a Christmas ornament, a great basket for a Spring ornament, or even water on a Summer ornament. As I mapped out the diagram, I could not stop thinking about using this in a 4th of July piece, so I stitched a tiny sample to demonstrate the color combination possibilities.

Cashmere Variation with Petite Very Velvet, Kreinik Metallics Tapestry Braid (#12), and Silk Lame (on 18-mesh) on this morning's #smallspacesunday blog post (http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2017/04/16/tiny-with-a-powerful-punch). #needlepoint #whimsicalstitch #kreinikmetallics #rainbowgallery #veryvelvet #silklame #summerinspring #fourthofjuly #needlepointstitches #excusethecathair #home #love

1 Likes, 1 Comments - whimsicalstitch.com (@whimsicalstitch) on Instagram: "Cashmere Variation with Petite Very Velvet, Kreinik Metallics Tapestry Braid (#12), and Silk Lame..."

This stitch diagram, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here.

Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides and stitch concepts for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, and Patience Brewster. 34 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Enjoy!

Spring into April

April 2, 2017 whimsicalstitch

Happy April! This month will be a hodgepodge of stitch stuff with no overarching theme other than my stitching stream of consciousness.

And, as things would have it, we begin the month with a #smallspacesunday. Today's stitch is a variation on a recent #smallspacesunday. To illustrate how you can always make similar stitches look vastly different, today's version includes a bead.

The bead brings a certain gravitas to this small stitch. It would also be great way to make areas on small canvases pop, such as clothing or wrapping paper on small ornaments. The stitch is also especially appropriate for a small waterway or a waterway in the distance. Have fun with it!

The diagram includes a slightly different beading technique. Today's technique is called Vertical Cross Stitch Beading. You attach the bead twice, from opposite directions, over the same intersection to keep the bead centered and straight. The net result is the bead's center hole will be parallel to the vertical row versus a 45-degree angle. It's a subtle difference, but a nice touch.

This stitch diagram, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here.

Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, and Patience Brewster. 32 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Enjoy!

Sail #2

March 19, 2017 whimsicalstitch

With multiples of the same item on a canvas, I find I number them from left to right and simply name the stitch with that fancy name plus its corresponding number. Hence, we have "Sail #2." I did a little research and determined it's really a Reverse Hungarian, though it will always be Sail #2 or 3-2-3 to me.

I admit to overuse of Woven Hungarian, so this is a great alternative for a small space where you want to add some contrasting finishes or colors. The stitched sample on Instagram is the aforementioned Sail #2 in all of its sailing glory and uses Fyre Werks and DMC Floss (on 13-mesh).

Reverse Hungarian Stitch with DMC Floss and Fyre Werks (on 13-mesh) on this morning's #smallspacesunday blog post (http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2017/03/19/sail-2). #needlepoint #whimsicalstitch #dmccottonfloss #rainbowgallery #fyrewerks #needlepointstitches #nocathairthisweek #home #love

0 Likes, 1 Comments - whimsicalstitch.com (@whimsicalstitch) on Instagram: "Reverse Hungarian Stitch with DMC Floss and Fyre Werks (on 13-mesh) on this morning's..."

This stitch diagram, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here.

Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, and Patience Brewster. 32 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Enjoy!

#whimsicalwednesday blog