Some Hardanger Stitching

Today I decided to play around a little with some of the photos in my files just to see what I could do on my own. What I decided to work with today is Hardanger. This first piece is a small doily done on Hardanger fabric (22ct.) and I use it in a glass lined serving tray my hubby (Bill) made when in high school (he graduated in 1955). The Hardanger is only about 12 years old.

This second piece is a mug mat....... in other words this is supposed to be used under your coffee/tea mug as a coaster. It is stitched on pumpkin colored linen with a varigated thread.

This piece is a guest towel and those who know me know I like butterflies so this butterfly was a special joy to stitch. The towel and threads are peach in color and the fabric is linen.

Three bellpulls I've done all on linen. The one on the left is a Hardanger sampler, dated 1992 and also has some counted cross-stitch across the top with a flower basket at the bottom. Above and below the row of cross-stitch flowers are some pulled thread sections. The rectangular section is drawn thread. The center bellpull is stitched with linen thread and has some sequins added. The tassel at the bottom is a varigated thread. The bellpull on the right is lined with a navy polished cotton and the stitching is done in yellow. I enjoy doing bellpulls as for the most part they don't take too long to make. Of course the time element varies with the size of the fabric and thread (VBG).

Here are some of my Christmas tree ornaments that didn't make it to the tree this year so I've included them here. The green stars are done on green Hardanger fabric. One stitched with green thread and the other with white thread. Love came down at Christmas so the center ornament is pink Oslo (22ct.) with a white heart stitched on it and lined with pink polished cotton. The tassel is of varigated thread. The red "snowflake" is also of a size to be used as a coaster.

The piece on the left is another style coaster and was stitched with varigated thread including the edge stitch. Fringing on Hardanger is fun to do. The piece on the right is a salt and pepper coaster. It is supposed to be used on the table with the salt and pepper shakers. It is a dark natural/tan linen stitched with a dark ecru thread. It really looks brown in the pic but it is not.

Here are two of my favorite pieces and I keep them in my study Bible. The green cross (I know, it looks black) is green Hardanger stitched with green thread. Green in the liturgical church color scheme represents spiritual growth. The bookmark on the right is stitched in green thread on natural linen and I inked my initials and date in the center section with a micron pen. It is fringed on both ends.

The last piece is really the first piece of Hardanger that I stitched. The technique was taught "in house" when I first joined our local EGA. In house means the teacher was a member of our EGA and she taught the class at her home. It is framed and hanging on the wall in my sewing room. I hope you have enjoyed looking at some of my Hardanger pieces.