Hardanger Doily called "INDIA"

I don't know why but, no  matter what I did,
the colors looked "washed out".  They actually harmonize
extremely well with the black fabric and are vibrant and
deep.  Just image what a pretty shawl with a green
loden coat looks like.

This was one of the (if not THE) hardest thing I ever
did in Hardanger.  Although it is not a complicated piece,
working on black fabric was nearly impossible.

This little piece is definitely toward the top of my
"favorite" list because it was such a challenge.

A challenge that turned out very well even though this
picture makes it looks sort of "fuzzy".  It isn't though.

I held it up to the window so you could see the twisted bars
which go around the whole piece.  In the other pictures,
this feature looks sort of like just lines of dashes of thread.

Why the name "India"? Well, I think of  elephants.  The
beautiful embroidered head pieces you sometimes see
elephants dressed with.  And "India" because they have
such beautiful embroidery, designs and colors.


Oh, and although I didn't show any pictures of the back...
you guess it....it looks pretty much the same as the front.

Hardanger - Almost Spring (medium sized)

The size

the details -edging

Details - twisted bars

The whole thing

the center

Details - Bargello work

The Back!

So...what do you think???

Hardanger - End Of Threads

First finish of 2016, started the day after Christmas

I used up lots of left-over threads.
  My thread stash looks alot better now.

Yeah, I'm still working on those pesty tabs

I've done similar pieces but, because there are so many
colors, I left the open work open and simple

This is the back.  It all looks pretty good like this

Christmas Day 2015

This is the 2nd post today!! Enjoy

Kind of a weird thing to do on Christmas Day

Right is Fahrenheit...1pm in the shade

It's the middle of winter??

My "birthday orchid" is loving the sun!

The Christmas Piece

The back

Last Walk Around this year in the little gardens

Winter isn't here yet!

Surface Embroidery - Spring Ride After The First Mowing

I don't often feel I need to write a "statement" but this scene
 is very dear to me.
I've dreamed of doing a piece depicting it for a few years.  Surface
Embroidery gives me the opportunity to express textures like  on the
cream-colored gravel trail, all raked and ready for the season,  The
bark of the trees, the old fence.  The freshly mowed grass. Mowed by
someone that didn't really do it in neat rows.  And the bushes...the bushes
that  spread onto the ground and cover everything behind them.  The
blossoms and blooms look almost fuzzy.  The crocuses under the trees
were left unmowed and nothing can stop the dandylions from popping up
wherever they choose.  

Saguaro - Blackwork Beads and Stones

Inspired by Carol A. Bruno, artist for
Saguaro National Park in
Tucson, Arizona