Thursday, February 12, 2015

Gallery Post - Bookmarks

My other ruling passion is reading.  And I have made myself and others many bookmarks over the years.  Unfortunately, I didn't always take photos.  But here are just a few that I did photograph.

Celtic Knot Bookmark: stitched on a scrap of mystery linen using some old Needle Necessities variegated floss.  I am very fond of Celtic motifs since I am of Irish descent.  And I liked the soft colors of this Needle Necessities fiber, moving from cream to sage to a very muted mauve.  As with most of my bookmarks, this one is lined with a very soft piece of cream flannel from an old bed sheet.  Waste not, want not!  Or to be more politically correct, reduce - reuse- recycle.




My own design: Riona's Bookshelf bookmark: stitched on a scrap of mystery linen with odds and ends of leftover floss.  I have stitched variations of this design many times: it is a great way to use up leftover bits of fiber and fabric.  I frequently pair it with a gift card to Barnes and Noble as a gift for birthdays or Christmas.  It's always fun to change it up a bit, changing the knick-knacks and bric a brac on the shelves, using different colors on the book spines.  This one has a spider plant, a geode, a kitten and an art glass bottle as well as books.









Handblessings Autumn Leaves Bookmark.  This is a very old free chart and was fun to stitch in variegated flosses.  The border is reminiscent of Celtic motifs, which made it a must-stitch piece for me.










Another Handblessings Autumn bookmark: also a free chart.  A much less complex one, since it is just leaves stitched in a simple repeat.  












My own design: Sampler bookmark.  It's a little hard to tell from the photo, but I used a series of different specialty stitches to make up this pattern and the same Needle Necessities fiber as in the Celtic Bookmark.









Shamrock Bookmark:  This was a kit from Textile Heritage Collection.  It was a bit of a fussy piece since there were seven different shades of green involved, with very subtle variations.  Separating the flosses and matching them up to the proper symbols was a bit of a challenge.









I have stitched any number of other bookmarks over the years but have given so many of them away without recording them.  I plan to rectify that in the future.  There are a few that I fully intend to stitch again for myself, like a lovely tapestry style bookmark from Cedar Hill, the Acanthus and Rose bookmark, which I gave to a former secretary and three dragon bookmarks designed by Vickey Macky which were lost in an exchange gone bad.  I also have a number that I intend to stitch for a first time: T Wentzler's Renaissance Bookmark, Pamela Kellogg's Flowers and Berries and Grapes bookmarks.  And somewhere, tucked away in one of my many books, is a Puffin bookmark, also from the Textile Heritage Collection, also never photographed.

I collect interesting bookmark patterns, whether the source be on-line freebies, magazines or purchased leaflets or pdfs.    I find that bookmarks are a useful way to use up narrow scraps of linen and partial skeins or cards of interesting fibers thereby delighting my frugal soul.

7 comments:

Dani - tkdchick said...

Those are all wonderful bookmarks!

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

I do enjoy your Gallery posts.
I have only stitched one bookmark for my son's TA.
I love your bookcase design.

Julie said...

The bookcase one is fabulous, I love that, great design, well done.

Maggee said...

Lovely collection there! My family is a family of AVID readers... tho some prefer to hold a book and others prefer to hold a Nook! Books rule!

Kristin said...

Love your collection. When I was younger I couldn't leave a book store with out a new bookmark so I have several that I use regularly. I would like to stitch one sometime though.

Linda said...

Gorgeous bookmarks Regina.

Linda

rosey175 said...

Your gallery posts are always filled with delight! My favorite of this bunch would be the Shamrock Bookmark, though your Riona's Bookshelf is pretty awesome too. I like that you switch it up. I have yet to stitch one because I often wonder what to do about the back.