Stitchers Spotlight week 6

This week we are really honoured to have Michiko from Japan as our spotlight stitcher.
Michiko has been delighting Michele and Bob as well as all the stitchers on the HAED BB with her amazing stitching and remarkable speed for over a year now, her work is beautiful.

Psyches Dream (Wall) stitched 1×1 on 25ct 

I’m by nature fond of doing handicraft. And I was doing needle work, such as patchwork and quilting before I encountered cross stitch. Seeing the charts (non-HAED) on the internet led me to stitch. I was interested in it, so I ordered a simple chart, and then I began to stitch. 

One day, I saw the blog of a HAED stitcher and found the HAED web site. I was absolutely fascinated by the wonderful charts, especially Fantasies of the Seas by James C Christensen. But I didn’t have confidence since I had finished the only small charts, so I decided to stitch smallish Sleeping Beauty Stairs by Ruth Sanderson first.
Though it was hard for me to stitch it, I got used to stitching it gradually and enjoyed seeing a girl having a lamp appear.I was sure I could stitch Fantasy of the seas and started it. I finished beautiful mermaids, jellyfish and so on, I saw under the sea world spread. I was thrilled when I was stitching.
At the time, I posted WIP on the Bulletin Board.It’s nice to share the same pleasure with people of different countries in the same place.
I’m motivated more by receiving a lot of kind words. 
Now I’m working on Psyche’s Dreams by Josephine wall.The Colour gradation and detail of Psyche’s Dreams are so gorgeous that I chose it. I also chose this chart because I wanted to have a change of colours in my stitching as I had used many ocean colours in Fantasy of The Sea.
Although the many colour changes in Psyche’s Dreams take me much time, it looks so real and wonderful. I think no other charting is as fantastic as HAED’s. I love HAED heartily.
There are many charts that I want to stitch and I waver whenever I decide a chart. Some people stitch many charts at a time, but I’m a one project at a time person. I’ll continue to stitch HAED. My pleasure is to communicate everyone who enjoys HAED. Bob, Michele and Fudgey gave me this pleasure. I thank them.

  

Beauty on the Stairs (Sanderson) stitched 2×1 on 25ct 

 

Fantasies of the Seas (Christensen) stitched 1×1 on 25 ct

I would like to thank Michiko for writing this and doing such a lovely job as English is her second language, and i think she did a wonderful job (hugs)
 

New Artist at Heaven and Earth Designs

HAED is pleased to announce the release of charts by the newest HAED artist, Tom Cross
who describes himself on his website as  an artist, author, designer and environmentalist.
His work combines the world of fantasy and science and will surely be loved by HAED stitchers
his first three designs can be found HERE along with a brief Biography

There have been some great new charts released over the past few weeks below is a taster of what you will find on the New Charts page

Lift Me Up  … Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
Stardust Breathing .. Schimmel
Dress Of Storms … Becket-Griffith
The Flower Vendor .. Lewan
QS Forest Fairy … Victoria
Cybelle’s Secret .. Craft
Easter lily mermaid … Disney

New Finishes!
There are some stunning new finishes on the Website
both full size and quick stitch charts
Advice From a Caterpillar stitched by Yuka

Qs Buttercup Bunny .. stitched by Bethanna

Vision of Light … Stitched by Rosie

Stitchers Spotlight week 5

This week we meet the amazing Annette, whose Wips are amazing to watch unfold as she completes each page of a chart, make sure as well as looking at the images here , you check out her Online Album…   ( especially the stunning Tahliana) there are a lot more pictures there! below are two Wips as she is so prolific in her stitching

A New Day Has Come (Jody Bergsma) stitched on 28 ct 1×1

Seahorse Garden ( Nadia Tate) stitched on 28 ct 1×1

I think I was born with a needle in my hand.  My earliest memories are sitting with Mum next to the wood stove trying to master the art of knitting.  I first encountered cross stitch when I was in high school and studying needlework.  The only fabric I could get was even weave (Aida was not heard of back in those dark old ages). The only patterns you could get were European and based on folk art. I still have that table runner I cross stitched and if you look closely you can see the crosses all crossing different ways – mind you the back was brilliant.I picked up cross stitch again when my youngest was about 3 (she is now 24) and really enjoyed challenging pieces. I heard about HAED on a Yahoo group I think it was about 2005 (it was probably Jeannie-Maree singing their praises) I decided to check out the site as I was very interested in the Pre-Raphlite section.  While browsing I came across Jody Bergsma and French Kiss (which I still have not started) and knew that I simply had to purchase that pattern come what may.  Little did I know that by purchasing this pattern my life would never be the same again and it would be the beginning of the slippery slide into HAED addiction from which there is no cure.
Visiting the HAED Bulletin Board doesn’t help any either and there is always so much enabling going on – it gives me so much inspiration seeing all those beautiful WIP’s  Once I started stitching over one I was hooked and couldn’t get enough of this stitching and HAED patterns.  I put away nearly all my other stitching to concentrate mainly on HAED’s.  I am still not bored after 3 years.  I have 8 full size HAED’s in my rotation I have just finished Page 7 of  A New Day Has Come – Jody Bergsma and as you can see is just stunning. The colors in real life are just so vibrant and beautiful to stitch.  When HAED first came out with Quick Stitches I wasn’t really interested in stitching any and then I don’t quite know how it happened ( just call it HAED magic) I found myself purchasing Tahliana QS (Nadia Tate) and somehow fitting her into my stitching rotation. I decided to only stitch 1 QS as a time so I would have a finish. Now I have finished Lost City Mermaid (Tate) and Dryad with a Butterfly (CC Kuik). 
I am making it my life’s ambition to collect all the CC Kuik patterns released hehehe or die trying. After finishing Dryad I decided that I couldn’t live without having a CC Kuik in my rotation— so I now have TWO QS’s going at once. Seahorse Garden (Tate) (by the way the puffed up Seahorse is a male and he is showing off) When ever I look over at it on the stand it brings a smile to my face as they are sooooo cute and Green Dragonfly (Her eye is amazing) (CC Kuik). 
Check my album link for all my HAED stitching.I am never in a hurry to finish a pattern as I just love the journey of stitching HAED’s. I get quite sad when I have put in the last stitch.  You stitch for hours and it seems just a jumble of colors.  Then you take a break and step back and it is like magic to see the intricate detail come to life before your eyes.  It never ceases to amaze me.  I will confess that I love to stitch backgrounds and I don’t mind the confetti at all. I am a very disciplined stitcher and rotate after stitching a page of a pattern so that I never get bored. I have a timer and do up a sheet with all the details and times for each pattern. I have to start in the top left hand corner and work across and down the page – sometimes I wish I could cross country stitch to get to the more exciting parts first but I guess the advantage of stitching like this you get the boring bits out of the way first…LOL.I cannot put into words the joy I get from stitching HAED’s. I love the variety of patterns that they offer and I know that with all the time spent stitching that it is well worth the effort. When non stitchers see my work they cannot believe that it is stitched –one lady swore that it was painted. I confess that I have over 200 full size charts and nearly 100 QS’s.  People collect all sorts of things – me I just collect HAED’s.

 

Lost City Mermaid ( Nadia Tate) stitched on 28 ct 1×1

Stitchers Spotlight week4

This week we meet a young HAED stitcher, 19 year old Kyrie who is working towards her first finish by stitching the peaceful Ching Chou Kuik artwork A Restful Night which she is stitching 1×1 on 32 ct jobelan

 

I am one of the younger HAED stitchers on the HAED Bulletin board – the youngest I know of, actually. I’m 19, and cross stitch has managed to take over my life in a wonderful way. My Mum used to cross stitch a bit when she was substitute teaching before I was born, and she kept it up when she needed ‘downtime’ from myself and my sister when we were small. My Dad was often away on conferences, and we would go with him sometimes, and I just about drove my Mum crazy. When I was four years old for something to keep me busy she tracked down some pink and white gingham, marked squares to make letters, and after threading my needle, tying the two threads together, and starting me off – I was hooked. I think I stitched the initials of just about everyone in my family before I filled up that piece of cloth! She figured that it would keep me quiet, but she didn’t bet on my learning how to multitask early… oh well.  I took a break from serious cross stitching when I became a teenager, mostly because I couldn’t find anything I liked. I wasn’t fond of the ‘blocky’ look aida gave, and most kits (which were all that I knew of) seriously didn’t appeal. I don’t do cutesy, not like that! A few years ago though, I found a sampler of native plants from Australia, where I live in an old book. I picked it up, stitching it on aida … and I was hooked again. Very quickly I was down the slippery slope into charts, linen, and silks! It was early in that time that I came across HAED, searching for dragon charts as my fiancé likes them. I was fascinated by the artwork, fell in love with several pieces, and when my dad offered me a gift…well, I caved. I got the Angel Virtues series (by Ann Masiker), and Jody Bergsma’s Froggy Frog World. After that, it wasn’t long before I had a pretty collection growing, and several WIPs! I played around on 25ct for a while before discovering I really didn’t like it, but with some help from the lovely Anna (nutsedge) I discovered 32ct jobelan and have been happily stitching away ever since. My current WIP is QS A Restful Night by Ching-Chou Kuik, and I also have Dance of the Graces by Selina Fenech started, but not much progress yet – apparently one HAED is enough for my brain to cope with, and that’s fine. Something to look forward to! I think the combination of beautiful artwork and charting to match is what makes HAED charts addictive. People have often looked at my WIP and assumed it was a painting, until they noticed the parked threads below! A lot of cross stitched pieces look ‘nice’ but still very crafty when finished. That’s okay, I stitch them too, but HAED charts have a special quality in that they go beyond embroidered art to being artwork themselves. I’ve been asked why I don’t just buy the prints – my response is that it’s much more fun to stitch myself one! A Restful Night had been on my wish list for a long time before I got her. I fell in love with Ching-Chou Kuik’s work as soon as I saw it, especially the big eyed fairies, and there are still several that I own and want to stitch – and many more that are calling to be bought! A Restful Night has a particular serene quality about it though, and the frog is adorable. So, when I first became ill last year I was delighted to find a ‘get well soon’ present from the lovely Fudgey (Jeannie-Maree) in the form of a certain ‘frog ‘n’ fairy’, as it has been nicknamed by my family. It was also one of the first charts I attempted on 32ct jobelan, wanting a small piece to test out coverage and tension. I stitched about 100 stitches and was sure – both that the fabric was perfect, and that I was hooked on this chart! Even the background, which looks relatively solid from first glance, is textured, and the wings have a translucent quality even in the stitched reproduction, which always gets a lot of impressed comments.  I stitch a few other kinds of designs too – the occasional sampler style piece, and I’m rather fond of Chatelaines (though I can’t afford to play with them as much as I’d like), but the majority of my charts are from HAED, and it will probably stay that way. There’s just so much to choose from designer-wise, and such fantastic charting that the stitched pieces impress anyone who sees them – including me, and I’m the stitcher!

a note from fudgey… if you are wondering about all the threads hanging down and what parking is , visit the HAED BB and click on Parking in the Tips and Techniques section where there is a wealth of information from HAED stitchers

Stitchers Spotlight Week 3

This week our stitcher in the spotlight is Denise who has been delighting us with her WIP of Treasures on the HAED bulletin board
Treasures ( Fenech) is being stitched on 18ct Aida

and as an extra bonus a close up of her torso and face

I stumbled upon the HEAD web site about a year and a half ago while surfing the net for new charts. I was really tired of all the Mirabella and Dimension’s that I had completed and was looking for more unique charts to stitch.
When I first found HEAD I almost fell out of my chair and now I am an addict. LOL 
I also love the companionship that I have acquired from the BB. New friends that I can talk “cross stitch” with and their eyes don’t glaze over, like my Hubby’s eyes do.
Treasures is done on 18 count aida – which is the smallest my poor eyes can go, and is the 5^th HEAD that I have started but it has come the furthest. I have promised her to my Daughter for her birthday on June 5^th. I only have about 3 and a half full pages until she is complete. Hopefully I will make my goal and have it finished and framed for her present.
It is going to be so hard to give up something I have spent a year of my life working on ( I thought about just framing a picture of it ha ha) but it’s her first apartment and she is working her way through college so I think she deserves it.
Anyway I chose this chart because I thought it looked like her too, so it has been near and dear to my heart most of the time. I hated doing the chest – BOREING – to say the least. Next it is on to her hair and I am not looking forward to that part of the chart either. 
I also have a good start on Lily of the Valley by Rachel Anderson. This also has special meaning to me since my Father passed away and I can remember as a child playing in the backyard where we always had Lily of the Valley growing wild. I have tried several times to get it to grow in my yard but haven’t had any luck getting them to grow. I saw this pattern and felt a tug at my heart and after completing it, I will stitch across the bottom “In Loving Memory of my Dad”.
Not all of my 50+ HEAD charts have sentimental value as these two and I really appreciated being able to share my stories with you all.

lily of The Valley ( Anderson)

New Artist Released At HAED

Heaven and Earth Designs welcomes  John Patience

John has been a published author and illustrator of children’s books for over 25 years, with more than 150 titles published to date and it is an honour to add him to the HAED artists community

You can read more about John and his artwork HERE on his website
and see his first four lovely charts on his webpage  on the HAED website
John Patience

here is a peek of one of them..

Ben and The Giant

HAED news and website update 2

Welcome to the weekly Heaven And Earth Designs  update 

There has been a lot happening on the HAED website this week
An exciting  new Artist, a  new unique range of charts and some beautiful new releases, as well as a few finished pieces being sent in for display on the website

HAED welcomes Hannah Disney

Hannah’s work is very distincitive and HAED is thrilled to be charting her work , you can read about Hannah in her biography on her website and see her first four charts HERE

Sea Diva ( Hannah Disney)

New Chart Range released

HAED has released a new range of charts this week titled Peek-a-Boos , when you see the charts you will understand the name, in each one the image on the chart will appear be peeking from the  picture at you. HAED would like to recognise the brains behind the creation of this range , Sharon from Australia
The first three are up on the website now, with more to follow in the coming weeks
PAB Crimson Glamour ( CCKuik)
PAB At First Sight ( L Tso)
PAB Turandot ( K Y Craft)

New releases on the site this week

A Peacock and Doves in the Garden ( Bidaeu)
Baby Jesus re released.. ( Koukiotis) 
Gypsy Moth  (Wall)
Clockwork Heart ( Fenech)
From The Other Side ( Tallamy)
Qs Rain Dragon ( Victoria)
Wings of Splendor ( Tate)
QS Empress Ring  from Empress Tarot ( Law)
St Bride ( Duncan)
The Annunciation ( Christensen)

There are also 4 new Stephanie Law Tarot cards charted , the Hannah Disney charts , as well as charts from Dona Gelsinger, Gretchen Raisch, Sarah Pauline, Wendy Kathleen and Ash Evans..

A Peacock and Doves in a Garden (Bidau)

 A very busy weeek at HAED headquarters! All the new charts can be seen HERE

Finshed Cross Stitches

There are 2 new Finished Masterpieces added to the the website this  week, both by prolific HAED stitchers each with more than one finish, in fact i believe they have ten HAED finishes between them!
The first  is from Astrid. She had the background removed from James Christensen’s Isabella and had a custom hand dyed piece of fabric done by Mindy at SugarMapleFabrics the end result is amazing. If you are interested in having a background removed from your chart check the details HERE

The second finish is from Becky, she stitched Karen Middleton’s Blue which is from a lovely series of sketch HAED has charted  , this finish shows how effective sketches can be as cross stitch charts