Blue is for Recycling II
by Marcella Pedersen, Regina Stitchery Guild This printed cloth was a garage sale item I picked up that was partially completed. I think I picked this up because of my Belgian heritage, though this might be a Dutch couple. Once I started working on it, I could see why the item wasn’t finished. As you see in the picture of the partially finished piece, the print on the material has cross stitch guides that are not the same size; some lines are narrow, and some large. Not to be done in, I took up the challenge to finish the piece, but it is definitely the worst embroidery piece I have ever finished. I thought all cross stitches were equal. I am still not a fan of cross stitch embroidery.
Blue is for Recycling I
by José Hope, Embroiderers’ Guild of Victoria & Arrowsmith Needle Arts Guild Blue can conjure up thoughts of our beautiful west coast skies or ocean waters in summer but in my heart, I always think of Delftware. This may be my heritage or just childhood memories of my parents’ home. When I found an unfinished tablecloth in one of our local thrift stores, I knew right away what I wanted to do with it. It had been started with one motif partially stitched in six-strand floss, such a shame on this beautiful polished cotton fabric. I carefully unpicked the previous owner’s work and began surface stitching with three-strand variegated blue DMC floss. The joy and peacefulness of bringing an unwanted treasure to life warms my heart. This beautiful tablecloth will reside not in a drawer but on my table so it can be enjoyed by all who visit me. At present, I’m stitching another tablecloth rescued from the second-hand shop, titled Blue Onion (top right), which is larger and from the 1970s. It is stamped cross stitch in two shades of blue!