Marquoir Story

Marquoir Story by Isabelle Vautier

28ct annabelle

DMC variegated threads

One of my first samplers, done in 3 different variegated DMCs. I was working on them while everyone was ga-ga over the the overdyes, and finished it in early 2006.

note Shortly after, a famous modern sampler model was stitched in the same variegated yellow-gold in the pic (not by me, hehehe) and the rest is history.

Kimono Row

Kimono Row by Joan Elliott

I stitched this for Ken, one of the best people in the world, because of his love for Japanese art, and because, well, I adore the bloke. The four kimonos depict the 4 seasons and their flowers as seen in Japan.

Wisteria Window

Wisteria Window by Stitchworld

14ct aida

This was a project I really enjoyed. It's still unframed! I love all kinds of stained glass hues because of their jewel-like colours, and this particular piece can be tracked to a stained glass piece by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Wish there were more stained glass patterns out there, cos I'd do them in a heartbeat!

Hardanger squares

Hardanger squares made in random then stuck together

I didn't have a source for the pattern as it was taught to me

Oriental Phoenix and Dragon

Serendipity Designs' Imperial Phoenix and Imperial Dragon
by Carolyn Meacham
on (you guessed it) 14ct aida

Companion pieces by Serendipity. I really do like Carolyn Meacham's stuff (have 3 more charts to stitch heh heh). I do apologise regarding the dragon's pic -- it was overexposed with the camera's flash.

Flame of the Forest

A small table top thing aka Flame of the Forest
Nordic Needle (I think Rosalyn Watnemo)
25ct evenweave in cream, with DMC and Anchor variegated threads

I sincerely think this is my favourite hardanger project, mainly because I chose my own colours. (I can't do white all the time!) and it reminded me of tropical trees with huge amounts of shade and bright coloured flowers, called Flame of the Forest, in Penang island where I was born.

Goddess of Mercy

Goddess of Mercy by DMC

on white 14ct Aida

This was also one of my early projects, done for my grandmother. It's actually quite large, almost about 3 feet in length, with some gold threads. Her house is a little dark where she hung it (next to the Buddha altar), and this is the best picture that I can get of it.

Dutch Sampler

Dutch sampler designed by Jane Greenhoff

My first introduction to aida alternatives. And there was, thus, no turning back.

Eightsome Reel

Eightsome Reel by Papillon Creations

on 28ct lugana

I love motifs and the colours blue, green and purple, so added them together. The pattern calls for a monochrome piece or a selection from DMC or GAST (Gentler Art Sampler Threads) floss, but then again, following the rules can be a tad boring... so...

The Knight

The Knight by Brenda Keyes

28ct annabelle in ivory

This was my second piece on something other than aida (in my early stitching days). This is one of four pieces by Brenda Keyes inspired by Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The others include the Wife of Bath, and umm ... umm .. I forgot. Doh!

Big Purple Monster

Hardanger table runner aka Big Purple Monster

Pattern from the Nordic Needle on purple 25ct evenweave

A household project for my parents' table. The cutting wasn't so bad, but the counting and the flowers... phew, I was glad when this is over!

Sea Stars

Sea Stars by Ink Circles

I absolutely love this sampler to death. I stitched it for the DH, who also likes it (Well, he said he would put it into his boat!) and it really cements my opinion that Tracy Horner is the best modern sampler designer at this time of writing. I've had that opinion for a couple of years and it hasn't changed.

A Secret Garden

Patricia Ann Design's A Secret Garden

I stitched this one (a long skinny piece) in record time, and gave it to my mother. It's also about the fastest project I ever did, making me a fan of band samplers.

Floral Retreat

Dimensions Gold Collection
Stitched over 2 on 28ct cream linen
Cross-stitch and half crossed with a varied number of strands
Finished: June 13th, 2007

I stitched this under severe time constraints for mommy, as I needed to get it done before going home for a visit. Fortunately, there are quite a bit of half-crossed involved which sped up the stitching process.

A Bouquet for Cheryl

by Marc Davis, Diane Jourdan, and Kat Zak
Cross-stitch 1 over 1
Fabric: 25ct Sudden Storm by Silkweaver Expressions
Floss: Sublime by Carrie's Creation
Finished: March 19th, 2007

This was supposed to be a gift for my mother-in-law, but at this moment in time, I have no idea where I stashed it!!!

Vis-à-vis

Per Segno Per Filo
Cross-stitch 1 over 1
Fabric: 25ct Sudden Storm by Silkweaver Expressions
Floss: Amethyst by Caron Waterlilies
Finished: 2011

My first venture into the world of hand-dye silk floss, this was a fun one to see take shape. I found a poem and added it with the initials of my friend's parents after her dad passed away.

Dragon Dreams

Stitched 2 over 2 on white 14ct aida
Finished: June 15, 2005

This is a love quilt square that Audrey and I round-robin'ed for the Crafty Coven.

Passione Ricamo

Hand-dyed floss, Dragonfly and Rummed Raisin, from Dye Is Cast
Stitched 2 over 1 on 18ct cream aida
Gold and peacock seed beads
Finished: Dec. 18th, 2006

The top part of the scroll is Passione Ricamo's free chart. I doctored the bottom so that the heart isn't repeated upside down. Stitched for Marina for Christmas 2007 with hers and Steve's initials.

Tiger Reflection

Dimensions Petite Gold
Stitched 2 over 1 on 18ct black aida
Finished: Dec. 18th, 2006

I LOVE this piece. There's something about the colors that draws me in every time I look at it. My first venture into stitchng on black fabric. A Christmas gift for Alex.

Enchanting Butterfly

Dimensions Daydreams
Cross-stitch mutiple strands on 14ct cream aida
Finished: September 2nd, 2006

A simple stitch, I switched out the edges from cream to green. For Helen.

Mates

design by Sherrie Stepp-Aweau

Cross My Heart, Inc
Full and half cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 14ct aida
Finished: April 14th, 2006

Stitched for Satish, who loves wolves. It took a long time before we finally found a wolf cross stitch that we both liked. The simple gray mat and black frame shows off the stunning composition to perfection.

Paddington Bear

Permin of Copenhagen
Cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 14ct white aida
Finished: July 15th, 2006

This is another one of those charts I couldn't resist. Satish loves Paddington Bear, so I stitched this for his office. What should have been a quick 2-day stitch took me a few weeks because I would get so bored with doing the same color over and over again, I'd do 10 stitches and leave it for a week, until I gave myself a mental slapped to finish it.

Purr-turbed

design by Margaret Sherry
Heritage Stitchcraft
Cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 14ct cream aida
Finished: November 2005

I really love her designs. They are soooooooo cute!! Stitched for Peggy for her Christmas present.

Oriental Wisdom

design by Joan Elliott

Design Works
Cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 14ct rustico aida
Finished: July 27th, 2005

Couldn't resist this one. She's just so pretty! We framed her up by using 2 bamboo placemats as the "matting" and laid the stitching on top of these. The color of the bamboo matches the brown shade in her dress perfectly.

There are 3 more to this set, all designed by Joan Elliott... maybe one of these days I'll add another to this collection.

Sylph - Quick Stitch

design by Brigid Ashwood
Heaven and Earth Designs
Cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 18ct cream aida
Finished: August 16th, 2006

This quick stitch consisted of about 50 colors, but the blends didn't come out well at all, especially in her face. The original looked like she got sun-burnt and her skin was peeling. This is a self-adjusted re-colored version around her mouth area, but I still think it looks pretty bad, albeit much better than the original.

I was very, very disappointed with how this one stitched up, and up to this particular piece, every other project has lived up to my expectation and their design photograph. I feel that this could have been charted sooooo much better, and wish that I could take all those hours I've spent on her back. :(

Purr-dicament

design by Margaret Sherry
Heritage Stitchcraft
Cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 14ct cream aida
Finished: July 2004

This was too cute not to stitch, so a gift for a friend it became. :D

Animal Babies Birth Announcement

by Ellen Maurer-Stroh
Cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 14ct white aida
Finished: June 2004

This was originally supposed to be a bear baby, but since Heidi was born in the Year of the Monkey, and her daddy wanted the baby to be a monkey instead, DH and I made some adjustment to the image and voila!

Rose Romance

Dimensions Daydreams

Full and half cross-stitch on 14ct ivory aida

Finished: December 2003

Another Christmas gift, this was a supremely fast stitch.

Celestial Prayer

Dimensions
Cross-stitch multiple threads over 1 on 14ct cream aida
Finished: December 2003

A Christmas present for Alex, this was an interesting stitch. It's hard to tell from the picture, but this is mostly made up of various strands of half-crossed to create the texture of the sky.

Twinkle, Twinkle Birth Announcement

Janlynn
Cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 14ct white aida
Finished: October 2003

Stitched this for the first-born of a very dear friend, this was the first cross-stitch I did that was so cutesy and it was definitely fun. 'Twas a very quick and easy stitch and if I remember right, was the first time I included my initial into a finished piece.

Harmony

Serendipity Designs

Cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 18ct cream aida
This is made up of 3 parts: Cherry Blossoms, Fragrant Camellias, and Lotus Pond
Finished: 2003

As is the trend in this household for oriental stitching, we made this into a scroll as well. This is truly reminiscent of a chinese painting in terms of the subject matter, and we found the most glorious 'emperor' yellow color fabbie to showcase the art.

Footprints Along the Beach

Sunset
Full and half cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 18ct ivory aida
Finished: circa August 2002

For Mei. A very quick stitch with half and whole cross-stitches to give the impression of depth. This is one of my favorite poems, and even having to back-stitch the words couldn't dull the sense of peace they provide.

Oriental Kimono

Bucilla
Cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 14ct cream aida
Finished: circa May 2002

This was a really fun stitch, despite all that dreaded gold metallics, and was stitched for my brother, who is into all things Japanese.

Graceful Butterfly

Dimensions Gold Nuggets
Cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 18ct cream aida
with cotton and gold metallic threads
Finished: December 2002

This was a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law. The gold metallic threads involved were a definite test of patience, and let me say, I failed quite miserably as the air was blue with many a curse.

Above the Clouds

by Teresa Wentzler
Cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 18ct antique white aida
Finished: circa 2002

This was stitched for a good friend. I remember that despite it being a Wentzler, this didn't take me too long to stitch at all... maybe about 7-10 days.

Going to Market

Dimensions
Full and half cross-stitch 2 over 2 on 14ct blue aida
Finished: circa 1999

This was stitched as a Christmas present for my sister-in-law, Rasila. I really loved the effect of the half-stitches in the background.

The Mighty Samurai

design by James Himworth

Dimensions Gold Collection
Cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 18ct cream aida
Finished: circa 1998

This was something I had to stitch on account of it being the perfect companion to Elegance of the Orient. We finished it the same style as well.

Peacock Tapestry

by Teresa Wentzler

Cross-stitch 2 over 2 on 25ct cream lugana,
with blended and metallic threads
Finished: circa 1997

This was my first ever BAP and I absolutely love it to death. All the back-stitching was a major PITA and is the main reason I haven't stitched another TW to date.

Elegance of the Orient

design by James Himworth

Dimensions Gold Collection
Cross-stitch 2 over 1 on 18ct cream aida
Finished: circa 1996

This was another project we made into a scroll because of the Asian influence and also to save on the cost of framing.

Oriental Splendor

design by Lena Liu

Dimensions Gold Collection
Embroidery with persion yarn, acrylic, cotton, and gold metallic threads
Finished: circa 1996

I guess I was really into embroidery back then. We bought this because of the Asian influences in the composition and to this day, it is still one of my favorite pieces.

Japanese Crewel

Circa 1995

Another embroidery/crewel piece. For display, I made this into a scroll, and true to form, my brother fell in love with it when he visited, so a gift it became. ^.^

Bluebirds

Circa 1992

This was my first embroidery project. I loved the composition of the piece and had it hanging on a wall in our bedroom for the longest time till a friend visited one time and really loved it. So I hope it's hanging on HER wall now.