Little Sistar present...

3 cousins circa 2005

This is based on a photograph I took of my nephews (brother's sons) & my daughter one Christmas at my brother's house. L-R Zachary (almost 6), Fiona (4.5), Schuyler (7). I usually just make a line drawing straight from the photograph, but in this case I had played with some software to create a coloring book type image. Don't ask me which one because I cannot remember, 7 years ago & all...

Below you can see I used my trusty light box & a #2 pencil to trace the image on 100% cotton- Kona. My little sistar has a rusty colored kitchen, so I used DMC Variations floss #69, my spring hoop & an I-have-no-idea-what-size needle. It was completed using only one stitch, outline.

Tracing image on Kona cotton

 

 

Embroidery in progress

The framing process

I put some Warm & Natural batting between the embroidered fabric and the mat board, then folded the fabric like an envelope using hot glue to secure the edges.

Below, I cut out a piece of acid free card stock (the kind used for scrap booking) & attached it to the outside of the frame using hot glue. I wrote a note on the back for my sistar using an acid free pen.

"TO: My amazingly talented little sistar! The best P.A.N.K.* my kid could ever have. Love Tisha (Ba-tricia) & Fiona 12/2012 aprilsongstress *Professional Aunt No Kids"

Backing with acid free paper

 The completed embroidery project ready for wrapping & shipping to Las Vegas, NV.

Project complete

P.S. She loved it!

Ghosts of embroideries past...

So, while I wait for all of my embroidered gifts to be opened so that I can share them here on this blog, I thought I would share my 1st 3 embroidered pieces.

All 3 pieces were done while I was working at the Saratoga National Historical Park in the summer of 1998. I had just completed my BA in History from SUNY New Paltz, & applied for an Interpretive Seasonal Park Ranger position. The other interpretive rangers were well versed in re-enacting, while I was just getting my feet wet as a tour guide. While out at Stop 2- the Nielsen Farm, I was getting tired of reading books waiting for visitors. So, I picked up embroidery & have been doing it ever since.

Blue crewel wool on cotton

Pink and green crewel wool on cotton

Yellow and orange floss of cotton blend

Reverse close-up of above flower

Next posts will be showing off all of the great projects I completed for friends & family.

Christmas gifts for California cousins

The one bad thing about having family & friends "like" your Facebook page & follow your blog means that you can't post projects until after they have received them (unless you are cryptic). OK, they follow my blog because I post it on Facebook.

I can post these though because the California cousins (i.e. my nephews Connor & Aidan, aged 9 & 8 respectively) do not follow my blog & are not on Facebook...

 Here is Aidan's...

Using a light box and pencil to transfer design to t-shirt

For the name I used the "Broadway" font  in all caps. I think the size is 120.

surfboard and name successful transferred

The surf board and tree design I found online for free.



 

crayon tinting on gray jersey

 

I tinted the design using regular Crayola crayons. You can even customize a box of 64!

 

embroidery time

 Using the stem stitch, I embroidered the outlines. I like to use DMC #3021. It is a brownish-gray that reminds me a pencil lines. Plus, it's not as harsh as black.

completed design

 Here is the final design. I can't wait 'til my mom sends me a picture of Aidan & his shirt. I will be sure to post it & Connor's completed shirt too!

Happy Holidays! & keep embroidering... only 6 1/2 days left!

Self Portrait 1975

A few years ago when I started working on the redwork of my unique, spirited daughter & handsome nephews, I also did one of me.

The photographs from that 1975 photo session at Olan Mills are so cute, if I do say so myself. I was 13 months old & started walking that day, right in the studio!

So, I thought a close up of my face would make a good redwork pattern. Unfortunately, I had this frilly, Little House on the Prairie nightcap type hat. The folds & ribbons made it a little difficult to transfer onto the fabric. However, I think the end result came out, well CUTE!

Self Portrait 1975 by Tisha Dolton

(I have to remember to iron before I take these pictures!)

Reworking an old, incomplete piece...

Last month my mom was going through some vintage needlework she had accumulated over the years. She used to do a needlework party plan & taught candlewicking for awhile. In this bunch of stuff, she uncovered a partially embroidered piece that looked like Jacobean flowers. Mom said it came from my aunt's house.

Apparently the woman who owned my aunt's house previously was an artist. She used to go down to NYC to pick up supplies & come back to her home Gansevoort (Saratoga County, NY) to work on her ideas. This piece may have been one of her own designs transferred on to a bit of linen.

I decided to remove the original embroidery, which felt like crewel wool, & embroider the piece myself.

Used embroidery scissors to remove the old stitching

A new color pallet of variegated floss

 I used DMC variegated floss, #92 (green), #99 (burgundy/pink), & #105 (brown) to complete the piece. I wanted different colors but didn't want to have to plan a color way. So, I was lazy & used variegated floss!

Detail of the completed piece

Finished piece

Now that the piece is finished, I need to decide what to do with it. Should I frame it? Should I turn it into a table runner?

Redwork grandkids for competition?

Another project I have been working on for awhile is to create redwork renditions of the grandkids for my mom. My grandiose idea involved me learning to sew and creating an entire queen-sized redwork quilt. Ha!

Well, I had 4 of the 5 blocks done, but never got around to the youngest grandson, until Mom got an email from some quilt guru saying she should submit a quilt or 2 for an upcoming competition.

Breaking out the photo I had chosen of my nephew Aidan's cute face I got to work.

outline on blown up scanned image

traced image on bleached muslin using light box & pencil

traced image on muslin compared to outline on paper

Once the image I wanted had been transferred onto fabric, I was ready to embroider. I used my favorite spring tension embroidery hoop, similar to the Darice hoop, & DMC floss #347.

back of project showing my stitches & spring tension hoop

project in progress using outline stitch

Stem stitch vs. outline stitch... check out this blog!



finished redwork square of my nephew Aidan



With all 5 redwork squares done, Mom can create her grandkids quilt. It won't be very big. She is making 8" or 9" Puss-in-the-Corner for the remainder of the blocks.

I'll keep you posted if it is chosen for competition!

Embroidery to match your fabric...

I can't draw to save my life. & here comes the but; the very big BUT!

I can color & I can trace!

& I can embroider.

So, what do I do when I want an embroidery pattern to match the fabric I am working with? Do I search through my stash of patterns, books, quotes, photos, & other random bits of ephemera? Sometimes, but usually I create a pattern from the fabric. Using the fabric as the base for my embroidery pattern ensures that it will match!

Step 1. Scan the fabric & save it. I save it to my Dropbox account so that I can have it wherever I go. Especially if I'm blogging on the go. Or need a new pattern while at a friend's house for tea.


Ghastlies Witch under embroidery transformation

Step 2. Print out the scanned image to the size you want, then trace the image onto your fabric. I taped the bleached cotton muslin fabric & paper to the window & used natural light. I almost always use regular pencil to trace patterns.

Step 3. Start embroidering. I mainly used an outline stitch with 3 strands of floss. The hair & face I used 2 strands & a modified back stitch. The DNC floss is a dark gray that looks like pencil (I don't recall the number). I used a rather old 6" spring hoop & what ever needle I had laying around.

Ghastlies Witch transformed

Step 4. Give it to your amazing mother to make it into whatever you or she wants! LOL! For me, this is true because I cannot sew. I'll have to take a class one of these days! Mom made it in to a tea cozy.

Embroidered front of completed tea cozy

fabric back of completed tea cozy

If you like the fabric, it is a series called The Ghastlies by Alexander Henry Fabrics. You can buy it a bunch of places, but I like Hawthorn Threads.