Why do I needlepoint (gifts)?

Why do I needlepoint? I answered that in my first ("Welcome") post: http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com/2010/06/welcome-first-post.html#0.

But why do I needlepoint gifts?...More...

Gotta do something other than fill my own house with cushions: http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com/2011/02/surely-im-getting-unpacked-bitonly-bit.html.

But, seriously, it's a productive way to express not just my creativity as best as I can manage, but it also has that old-fashioned pleasure of thinking about what might please the other person, designing it, then actually making it myself.

Here, I had the "bright" idea to make Xmas gifts--all alike, to avoid jealousies (yeah, right)--for my colleagues at work. What had begun as sunglasses cases rapidly turned into (half the size) sachets for undies and stockings drawers, and even so I only managed to finish the designing, needlepointing and hand-finishing the subsequent Easter time. (Note to self: NEVER do that, again.)

Really, though, each stitch is like spending time with that person, thanking them, hugging them. Sometimes (often?) it means more to me than it does to them...and for that reason I keep my gifts small enough to be stuck away in the bottom of a drawer, if so desired: http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com/2010/06/most-recent-completed-project-thank-you.html (P.S., she loved it, thankfully, and keeps it in her office, where she can see it).

Why all this mushy stuff? Because looking at my calendar, I realized that, thanks to being innundated with Life and Work, my first Ars acupicturae stellae-Star's Needlepoint Art anniversary went by without me noticing: I did the first post on the 12th of June 2010. Does not seem possible.

Thank you to the "vast" crowd, who regularly follow me, to those who might be regular lurkers, and to those checking in now and again.

Writing for you and sharing my hand-done needlepoint love, StitchPainter thoughts and grids, designs and works with you has been very wonderful for me. I hope it was and continues to be for you, too.

Thanks.

Slow, but sure progress

Slow, but sure, progress on that other "Thank You" gift I mentioned quite awhile ago. (I'm pretty sure the intended recipient isn't sneaking a peek at her gift, because she doesn't read English, so I should be pretty safe!)

The design went through various mutations,...More......

...beginning with something much more detailed and realistic, maybe interesting in and of itself, but the desired impact, message, wasn't there, so, like any sef-respecting modern artist (I do live in my own time, after all, as much as I am not comfortable in it quite often), I pared down, and pared down, and pared down til I got to the essence of what I was wanting to express.

Whether I succeed, or not, in your opinion, you'll be able to see for yourself at the journey's end.

For now, here's another snapshot of the work-in-progress, which I designed with my StitchPainter program.

Can you tell, yet, what it's going to be?

Wordless Wednesday 11

Finally, here's the surprise Thank You gift

Remember when I said awhile back that I was working on a surprise gift, and couldn't reveal anything until the gift was given?

Well, I gave it away, yesterday, so here it is!...More......

It says, "Thanks from the bottom of our [hearts], Star and Mario," and shows a heart speeding across a pale cream background towards the gift and thanks receiver. (I also took this photo AFTER having blocked it...for once!...then framed it...remember, don't use the glass, as it squishes the needlepoint, in fact, you should put a bit of batting behind it in the frame, so it puffs out nicely.)



Here's the design I did in StitchPainter, then turned into a BMP for you. When stitching, I elongated the "tail" of the heart a bit. Note, too, that in my designs the colors are often brighter than I really intend to use, so that I can SEE the tiny squares of color when stitching from the diagram.

Just substitute your own names for ours, and don't forget to add your initials and the date.

It took months and months to design then stitch then block then frame. I always hope that my gifts are appreciated, but, if not, that's O.K., too. I try to make them small enough, so that they can be put away conveniently (worked on an 18-point canvas, this one turns out to be about 8" x 10" / 20 cm x 25 cm ca.), and, anyway, during the stitching process I have the possibility with each stitch to feel closer to the destined recipient, so it's just as much a gift for me, as it is for them.

The next Thank You gift already has reached the first stitching stages.

Stay tuned!