I introduced my cotton floche to my product line earlier this year.  You can read about it in my cotton floche blog post.

I have added several new colour combinations and have re-stocked previous colours that sold out.

If you are not familiar with floche, it is a very fine non-divisible cotton thread.  It is comprised of fine strands that are softly twisted mercerized cotton with a beautiful soft sheen.  You would stitch with it as it comes off the skein, without separating into individual strands.  While it is comparable in size to one to two strands of floss, it is not to be confused with floss.

Because of the soft twist, the thread has a nice spread when stitching.  This means it covers well and remains smooth.  It is ideal for fine embroidery techniques.

Floche works well for cross stitch, on 18-28 count fabrics.  I love to use it for open work on 18 count canvas.

Especially beautiful for satin stitching, specifically thread painting.  You might like to try it for long and short stitches and stem stitch too!

Offered in 25 meter/27.34 yard skeins.  There are now seventeen different colour combinations available.  Your comments and suggestions for colour combinations are welcome. Please contact me via email.

Mary from NeedlenThread has written in more detail about my floche on her website.  She is currently stitching a monogram using this lovely product.  P.S. – it is one of her favourite threads!

Give floche a try! I think you will love it.

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Don’t you just love this Smart Phone Case?  It was stitched with my new floche.

I have posted about Kerry’s projects many times over the last several years.  She is a prolific stitcher and always has some project (if not many) on the go.  Well, she recently picked up a new phone and decided to stitch her own case – brilliant!

She chose to stitch on black canvas AND also decided to take progress photos so I could share these with YOU! Fantastic to watch the pattern develop.

As I have discussed previously, stitching on black can be challenging.  It is a strain on the eyes.  Kerry experimented with white paper underneath which definitely helped but it was still a strain.  Unfortunately, many of us are reaching that age when our vision is not what it used to be.  I personally use a magnification light – it is fantastic!

So, the details

• Fabric is 40 count linen, sold as plain weave
• Floche Colour #8
• Pattern from Yvette Stantons “Smoyg – Pattern Darning from Norway, Band #1 on page 38

I was thrilled with Kerry using my new hand-dyed floche.  Colour #8 is the same colour combination as Colour #44 in my perle cottons and floss.  It is VERY popular.  Kerry used this particular pattern as it was the correct stitch count width for the phone case.

So, that’s it.  What do you think?  Are you going to stitch a new phone case?

Thank you Kerry

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I must admit, it was an absolute thrill to see Flights of Fancy published in Inspirations magazine.

I have been a fan of Inspirations for years.  Most of you are likely familiar  with the publication but if not, it features “the world’s most beautiful needlework”.  I signed up for a subscription when I first started my crazy quilting and have been a fan since.  I tried the online subscription for several years BUT went back to the printed version recently.  The photographs are always superb as are the articles.

Issue #102 features Flights of Fancy – Soft Landing on page 77 designed by Nina Burnsides.  It is a gorgeous stumpwork butterfly featuring Colour Complements Colour #49 in the body.  It is described in the magazine as follows:

“The vivid colours of butterfly wings contrast beautifully with sparse outlines in these two elegant studies.  Stitched with stranded cotton and glossy rayon thread, the detached wings have wired outlines that enable them to be shaped into numerous positions.  Choose from gently clasped hands with a vibrant black and red butterfly, braided hair with pearls and a green and black butterfly or selection colours to work your own favourite butterfly.”

If you are interested in purchasing the pattern only, it is available in digital format HERE. 

I think you may recall that I LOVE butterflies.  I always add them to my crazy quilting in various forms including either stumpwork, embroidered, iron-ons, applique or metal.

Thank you Nina.  I think I may have to experiment with this myself.

It is Thanksgiving in Canada on Monday so I will be enjoying a long weekend with family and friends.  I will return to posting on Wednesday October 16th.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian customers.

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A lovely example of pattern darning today. 

In April of this year I attended a stitch in.  I had never attended a “stitch in” previously so really was not sure what to expect.  I was in for quite a surprise when they were over 40 women gathered at a variety of banquet tables stitching all sorts of projects encompassing various embroidery techniques.

At one point during the day there was a show and tell and oh my – what a feast for the eyes!  Some amazingly talented stitchers.  There were examples of cross stitch, hardanger, whitework, stumpwork and crewel just to name a few. 

I had just completed my summer collection at the time and showcased above is Colour Complements Colour #53.  It is a BOLD blend of teal blues and lime green.  I was inspired by my Autumn Kaleidoscope colour palette that I completed last year.  I can’t quite remember how but during the day a conversation came up about pattern darning and if I recall there had been a show and tell highlighting pattern darning. 

Karen has kindly stitched this small bookmark using size 8 perle cotton in Colour #53.  It is an adaptation of pattern darning from a free pattern. The background is 28 count linen and the bookmark measures 2 ¼ x 2 ½ inches.  She flipped the design to create a modified mirror effect.  

If you are not familiar with pattern darning (and I was not) it is a weaving technique over and under the fabric threads.  The stitches that show on the front create a geometric pattern.  To create this, you vary the stitch length.

Thank you Karen!

You can find another example using Colour Complements Colour #53 HERE.

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I am always delighted to share various forms of EMBROIDERY on my blog.  It is enjoyable to see the creativity of how customers use my threads.

Jess recently sent me a photo of her own original design.  She was inspired by a doodle she came across on Doodlers Anonymous.  The project measures 10 x 13.5 cm, about 4 x 5 inches and is stitched using a variety of Colour Complements perle cottons on garment linen.

The French knot tail looks great! Thank you sharing Jess.  You can find more posts of embroidery projects HERE.

Please remember, I welcome all my customers who wish to share their projects to send me high resolution photos for posting.  Please email these to me directly at info@colourcomplements.com

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Always a pleasure to show some EMBROIDERY stitched by one of my customers.

Recently I have had an increasing interest in what I would refer to as modern embroidery.  There are a lot of examples of this in both Etsy shops as well as on both Pinterest and Instagram. 

The first sample is a flower pattern designed by Moody Green Embroidery.  Mary Ann stitched this using Colour Complements Colour #44 in a size 5 perle in a 7 inch hoop.  You can see more of Sanita’s designs on her Instagram HERE.

The second sample is a pattern designed by Urban Threads using Colour Complements Colour #10 in 6 strand cotton floss.  This is shown in a 4 inch hoop. 

Thank you Mary Ann.

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A great PURSE project from one of my customers today.

A bit different take on embroidery. I will start by saying I have GREAT customers.  Today is a lovely example of a combination of textiles and embroidery. 

Cheryl knits purses which she then felts following by hand embroidery.  She emailed me several examples to show the details of how she used my Colour Complements threads.  Each purse measures about 12 x 14 inches, all wool with leather handles.  I used to do some felting so I can appreciate the time involved in creating these.  They remind me of a take-off of crazy quilting as she has stitched along the seams as well as created patterns in the central areas of the knitting.   

So, has Cheryl given you some ideas of what you could do with some of your leftover threads?  And, for those of you who knit, a great way to use up some scraps of wool too.  I could see a mini version to wear around your neck for market days. 

Remember, you can find a selection of threads in the shop to stitch your own purse. Thank you so much for sharing these Cheryl. 

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Some lovely embroidered KALEIDOSCOPES today.  These are two patterns stitched by Diane, a fellow Canadian.

Diane has stitched the example above using Colour Complements Colour #10 in a size 5 perle cotton and and Colour Complements Colour #35, also in a size 5 perle cotton.  She has also used Colour Complements Colour #32 below in cotton floss.  Both measure between 13-16 cm in diameter (5 to 6 inches) and the background is a cotton linen blend. 

The kaleidoscopes are from Mary Corbett’s eBook, “Favorite Kaleidoscopes”.  You can purchase the eBook on NeedleNThread here.  The book features 30+ kaleidoscope patterns for hand embroidery ranging in size from 4 to 8 inches.

Thank you Diane!

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I have featured some of Susan’s projects here on my blog previously and want to share “Jewel” with you today. Susan is always stitching something!! This is her original design with the monogram “j” design as a gift for her granddaughter Jewel who turns 7 very soon. She used a variety of my threads throughout the design on a dark purple background and a variety of stitches as well. The design is in a 10” hoop.

Always a delight to see what you are up to Susan. Thank you for sharing. I bet Jewel likes her gift!!!!

Remember, you can always find lots of threads in my shop.

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Natalie sent me photos of some of her experiments using my Very Velvet Petite. Yes, my Very Velvet Petite is coming so make sure you sign up for my newsletter.  Natalie is a designer residing in Slovakia. Her bug is very small measuring about 2cm without the legs and she has used my Very Velvet Petite in blue variations. She plans on using this in a larger project in the future and once completed she will be sharing photos.

She tells me she used a counting technique for her bug on 35 count linen. Her preference is 25 count and sometimes 27 and 28 depending on the project. She has plans to make some larger bugs with beads and crystals as well.  Natalie is part of a group on a social Russian network where she sells her patterns. Sadly, they are not translated into English but you can view her talent HERE.
She also has a Facebook page featuring various albums HERE.

Thank you Natalie.

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