Slow Sunday Stitching - November 27, 2022

Another week of a quick post before I dash out the door to church.   This week I am reading the lessons.  

Hope everyone in the US had a wonderful Thanksgiving (and opps, forgot to wish that to those in Canada last month, sorry.) And if you aren't in North America, hope your fall (or spring) is going well. OK, enough chatter about things not related to crafting LOL.

On the knitting side of things, in addition to getting the ends all woven in on Bob's stocking and both stockings handed off at the family Thanksgiving lunch I got quite a bit (close to 8 inches/20 cm) done on the garter stitch XBF scarf.  I calculate this is close to the halfway point (2/3 of the length) and it's still good travel knitting even as it grows.  

Big news on the needlework front this week,  I got the Unicorn Pillow finished (link to Needlework Rotation post).  Not FFO of course.  I need to buy a zipper and the velvet or velveteen fabric for the back and cording.   But it is stowed safely in the under the bed box until I'm ready to tackle that. 

Next up is Dutch Beauty.   I'm going to be working on the Mama Swan, which is all that I have left on this piece!   Here's where I'm starting (after church today).

Last but not least, I set up the new piece for the challenges for Full Coverage Fanatics (on Facebook).  "Sugar Skull" will be a gift for my co-worker and occasional car pool buddy Victoria.   I'm pretty sure she doesn't follow my blog, so it should be safe to show it here.  I WAS going to start this on Friday and I did get the pattern into a binder and all of the floss sorted, bobbin-ated and bagged.  But when I went to put the fabric on the scroll rods, what I had marked from the stash as a fat quarter had a chunk used out of it and was only 10 x 12 inches.   Running the numbers, that would give me just about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) of margin.   Granted this will be framed close in a vintage oval frame, but that's a little TOO close for comfort.   I prefer a three inch margin.   So I have another piece 28 count pale blue evenweave on order.  It's not like I don't have plenty of other things to work on!

one over one full cross on 28 count evenweave

Linking up with the Slow Sunday Stitching crew - current round up is linked here

FINISHED NEEDLEWORK: "Unicorn" pillow top, 2022 Rotation #5, Slot 1 (not counted thread) complete

 Vintage kit (early 1980s) by Candamar Designs Inc. 

Needlepoint and crewel on 12 point canvas with Paternaya wool and cotton floss, faux goldwork.   Started in 1981.

Will be finished as a box pillow for Alexis for Christmas next year (2023).

goldwork on the horn came out well, I think

Goldwork on the Unicorn Pillow

 First of all, I want to be clear that this is not real goldwork.   That is done with actual precious metal threads and beads.   But it's a close approximation with faux metallic threads and all of the same techniques as actual goldwork and for those of us with limited crafting budgets, it's good practice.  

I have already laid in all of the tent stitch base in eight strands of very fine metallic DMC thread (the old metallic on the spool - not sure it's even being made any more).  That many of the thread strands approximated the diameter of the stranded cotton that I used for the white backgound.  That covered up the painted canvas diagonals, so the first step is to lay those out again.   It's hard to see, but the green basting stitches are where the diagonal couching will go.

Then I started in on the point of the horn; I'm going to work it from point to base.   Each 'twist' of the horn will be one length of the heavy gold cord.   The first section will go all the way around the point of the horn.  From then on each length will go along the base right to left, up the diagonal and across the top again from right to left to the point where the next twist happens.    All of the loose ends will be plunged to the back at the end and overcast on the back to secure them.

Here's the first 'twist' with all the heavy threads taken to the back and the second twist outlined.  I'll continue to work my way down the horn.  Still photos just don't capture all of sparkle and shine of the metallic threads.   It's really quite 'bling-y' in real life!

Slow Sunday Stitching - November 20, 2022

 Hopping on early to activate this post before I dash off to church.  Bells are playing this week for the second (larger) service.  It's been so great to get back to a full choir.   

It's been a busy week crafting wise as it has been an easy work week.  Forecast was for our first snow of the year on Tuesday, so we all got to work from home that day in addition to our usual days.   It was more sleet than snow, so I was glad to not have to drive in it!  Freezing rain is always so nasty.   Give me real snow, please!

First up, I put in some more work on the Blackbird Designs piece.   It's now got 20 hours in.  I do like the purple and yellow flowers in the basket.   All the stems are there now, but lots of leaves, buds and flowers and background circle motifs yet to go on the bottom half of this piece

I've been working on the Unicorn Pillow every Friday for about an hour and a half to two hours to meet the Full Coverage Fanatics (on Facebook) challenges.  This week, I got to my two hours and there was just about 45 min left to finish off the rest of the background, so I put some time on Saturday and voila - all done but the remaining goldwork and making it into an actual pillow.

So this project will continue with the couching on the horn as the 'not counted thread' project and next Friday, I will get a new start on a full coverage piece.   I have two kitted up and will start on the smaller one - a Sugar Skull for a work friend who is of Hispanic descent and loves the 'Day of the Dead"/All Saints and All Souls.  I'll share a picture of the set up and pattern cover next week.  

Remember when I was in the early stages of the project how I was grousing how off register the printing was on this and how much better a hand painted canvas is?   Proof is in the final corner.

Square?  Not in MY book!  Two stitches off over just 14 inches!  BOTH dimensions even.

Knitting.  Thank you to those who recommended in comments and IMs that I should work in the ends on the shawl as I go.   I went back and caught myself up.  This is about 2/3 of the way through the peach colored stripe.   The rows get ever longer, though, so not very far into the knitting at all. 

Unfortunately, I am not as far on getting the ends woven in on my other knitting project.

But the fact that I am weaving them in at all means that the re-work on Bob's Christmas Stocking is DONE.   Which is a good thing since I will have to return both of the stockings back to my sister at Thanksgiving dinner later this week.   Kimi's on the left c 1979.   Bob's on the right.    Kimi's is slightly less dense yarn and a slightly tighter gauge.   I was not so good with my colorwork tension back then either.   But the gauges are not too far off considering there's 40 plus years between them!

All those ends are waiting for me inside Bob's stocking.  I'll be catching up with the SSS crew (link to the current round up) and working on those ends when I get back from church in a bit. 

Rotation Changeover - 2022 Rotation #4, Slot 5 (full coverage) complete

 

Since the Vintage Unicorn pillow has gotten to the point of working on the background in tent stitch, it is eligible for the challenges on the Full Coverage Fanatics Facebook group.  So I'm working on it for an hour or two every Friday night.   And I put in over 12,000 stitches in it over the last three months!  

The rule of the group is that when you are working in tent stitch, you only get to count a half a stitch, but 6,300 plus stitches that are eligible for the challenges is not a number to be sneezed at either!

Just the corner left to go.  Then it will fall back into 'not counted thread' for the couching on the horn, which will be a lot of fun.

Rotation Changeover - 2022 Rotation #3, Slot 2 (not counted thread) complete

Ten hours in on the Unicorn Pillow.   I finished up the cameo borders and put in the base layer of the goldwork on the horn.   

The kit materials for the horn is something very like Kreinik Cord, which is inappropriate for the tent stitch background layer as it is intended to be couched.  The outer metallic covering actually cracked going around the threads of the canvas.   So I pulled that out and found some sewing weight gold metallic thread.  I think it's the old DMC metallic on the spool, not the new 'Effects' type of DMC metallic.   I used it eight strands together in the needle (four looped so as not to have the nasty fraying cut ends to contend with).   The couching thread to outline the 'twists' in the horn will go over the top at the end.

And a close up of the base layer of goldwork.  I used a laying tool to get the eight strands of gold thread to lay nicely.

picture does not capture the sparkle at all

And where I started this round

Next up is Dutch Beauty, starting here.  Plan to work across the center of the nest with the green base before I move the q snaps

Slow Sunday Stitching - July 10, 2022

 Look what happened yesterday!   Here's where I was at when it was supposed to be my bedtime.

Yes, that is the FINAL corner of the FINAL round of the sock yarn blanket!   Of course, I couldn't leave it like that.....

marker is where the graft joins the I Cord border

Took a picture first thing this morning.  I'm so excited that it is FINISHED.

I think knitting will go on a slight hiatus until the weather cools off in a few weeks.   Hot, sweaty hands plus wool yarn is not all that comfortable.

So of course I had to work on the other project that uses wool this week

I made good progress on the Unicorn Pillow since I finished BBD "Their Song" on Monday.  Got the rest of the white background done, the light leaf green edge of the cameo frame done and almost half of the tweedy dark green frame.   This is between six and seven hours. 

No forward movement on quilting this week.  I need to pull out the border fabrics and figure out the width of the inner border on PotC.   I think I'll do that today after I check out the SSS crew (current link party).

Rotation Changeover - 2022 Rotation #2, Slot 5 (not counted thread) complete

 

This project is back on track, more or less.  Besides painting the canvas and re-stretching it on the frame, I started on the white background.  I decided that the durability of tent stitch done basketweave style will be the best for a pre-teen's throw pillow.   I am sure that it WILL be thrown at her brother at least once LOL.

While I love challenging pieces with tons of color changes and intricate specialty stitches, it's very nice to have a 'restful' project like the remaining parts of this one with massive blocks of color and simple rote stitches.

Ugh, where's my seam ripper...... And adventures in paint!

 

I do not love this last of the corner blocks on my "Patchwork of the Crosses".   The other three corners all have some green in them and this one is just 'BLAH'.  Too much neutral and rose pink.   So I'm going to take out the center four pieces and put in green.    It wouldn't have been bad in a bigger quilt where a few 'ugly' blocks can often provide some negative space or 'resting' space.   But in a quilt with only nine blocks (or thirteen if you count the four alternate blocks with the squares), every single block has to work and this one just - doesn't.

Also while on vacation, I knew that since I'm getting towards having the Plaza Sewing Bag about done with it's slot in the rotation, I need to stop procrastinating on getting the Unicorn canvas repainted.   So I got brave, took it off the stretcher frame and lit into it.  First coat.  Goodbye roses, hello unicorn in a forest.   I painted out the borders of the cameo in the blues that are the shadows and ribbons, but the more I look at it, the more I think maybe the two olive greens would make a better transition between the fairly bright blues in the cockade and the dappled tweed teal in the background.  I was glad to see that the pure titanium white did cover where it needed to. 

Will need to dry for 24 hrs before adding another coat.

Rotation Changeover - 2022 Rotation #1, Slot 5 (not counted thread) complete ?

Let's talk about the Unicorn.  First of all - it WILL be finished.  However, there are going to be some changes, because if not, it would be headed for the donation bin.

1) I did NOT enjoy the rose and ribbons in the cockade on the unicorn's head.  I ripped out the entire thing twice and some bits of it several additional times.  There's something about the combination of satin stitch and a canvas ground that just makes it so that I'm not at all happy with the way it looks.  I ordinarily don't mind satin stitch - it's never my favorite stitch because I am very critical of the way the thread lies.  But this project is worse than usual; the needlepoint canvas constrains where you can put your needle too much for my liking.  Usually when doing needlepoint or counted thread on canvas, you would be doing a very geometric type of satin stitch - like the bargello bits at the bottom of the "Four Elements" pieces I did a while back (see them all here - about halfway down the page).  I LIKE satin stitch in those applications.  Bargello on canvas in wool is quite lovely.

I want my stitches to be perfectly parallel, but in a more organic motif like a ribbon or rose, one follows the curves of the shapes.   I need to work on getting the technique down better for sure (also the same issue on my long and short shading).   The next 'not counted thread' project (Eagle in the Pines) will be good for that, I think.

2) I disliked doing the satin stitch on canvas so much that if I have to do four more rose and ribbon motifs in the corners, I know I will abandon this.  I don't want it to become a UFO or be donated.  I still like it overall.  And honestly, the cockade doesn't look that bad now that it's finished.  I just do NOT want to do it four more times.

3) There's an issue with the way that the corner motifs extend out to the very edge of the project.   When assembling a needlepoint pillow (or any needlepoint project that is made into an object instead of being framed) the construction seams are supposed to sit one to two stitched threads in.  That's so no unstitched canvas shows on the outside.  You can even see on the cover photo how the outer motifs are chopped off in several places by the pillow construction.   

4) Speaking of the cover photo. 

Back ground is navy blue, right?   The canvas is painted a dusty purple and the yarn in the kit is teal!  The canvas paint is supposed to be the same shade as the yarn for a couple of reasons.  First, so you know approximately what it will look like.   It's never perfect and the texture of even the flat basket weave half cross will make a big difference as light bounces back from yarn a lot differently than it does from paint. But a well painted canvas gives the stitcher a good idea of the color balance of the finished project at least.

Second, there is always a chance that a tiny bit of the canvas might peak out between stitches.   It's more likely with a textured stitch than with half cross (continental or basket weave), but if the canvas color matches the yarn, your eye won't land on those tiny imperfections like it would if there was a high color contrast (say teal and purple!!!)

5) Materials issues.  The kit supplies are not generous.  And there's no way to match the background yarn.  I mean the kit is nearly 40 years old!  I'm afraid of running out of yarn and even if I could match the color with a similar Persian 3 strand, 2 ply wool tapestry yarn like the kit yarn, dye lots are always an issue.  For everything but the satin stitch, the three ply tapestry wool is separated and two 2 ply strands are used in the needle.

SO, there is a plan.

First - source more teal thread.  The best match as far as type of yarn is the Colonial Paternaya wool, but the color I need is out of stock (the colors on this yarn go in and out of production rather abruptly and erratically), but there's a colorwork knitting yarn, Knit Picks Palette, that has a very similar construction.   It's a two ply softly spun wool that has a lovely heather teal that will give a lot of depth.  One strand of each held together in the needle should work and will double the coverage of the kit materials.

Second - paint the canvas VERY carefully so as to not get any paint on the yarn already stitched.  I have purchased a set of the high quality artist's acrylics needed.  Regular big box craft store paint isn't recommended because it can flake off from the abrasion of the yarns.

Third - I will need to decide if I want to do a flat background (basket weave) or something more textured.   Basket weave will be easy and make the construction of the pillow more straight forward, plus it's nice and hard wearing.   This pillow will be going to my granddaughter and will probably be sat on, leaned against, used to clobber her brother with, etc.  But that's a LOT of basket weave LOL.  

I'll report back on how step two goes when I get up the nerve to tackle it.  But in the mean time, the stitching on this slot is completed and I'm on to the start of 2022 Rotation #2 with the "Modern" slot and a little Victoria Sampler cutwork piece.

Slow Sunday Stitching - November 28, 2021

Happy Thanksgiving to those of my readers in the States!  This year my Thanksgiving cactus is blooming in a much more timely manner.  It's currently loaded with blossoms - there are buds on almost every branch.  The flowers on this one are a pale pink, though they look almost white in the buds.  I wish my smaller Christmas one would flower; it's a shocking fuchsia color if I remember the parent plant correctly.  I've owned it for ten years now, and it's never bloomed and just barely grows in comparison with this one that flourishes.  Same window, same care.  It's odd.

It's been a productive week for more than the plants!  I finished the seventh of the connecting blocks for the Patchwork of the Crosses.  Starting over with the pictures for the second half of the blocks for the center of the table topper

Got to the end of the ten hours on the Unicorn - met my goal of getting the ribbon area all done.  She'll be going away until the next time through the rotation when I'll get the rest of her mane done and hopefully tackle the rose as well.

And got the Plaza Sewing Bag re-started; I'm working on the part that was half done when it was hibernated.  The "Mill Hill" building is now finished.   The names of the shops on the streetscape are the supplies for the project and the shop that sponsored it.   Cute!

I'm going to dive into the "Thread Gatherer" shop after checking on the Slow Sunday Stitching crew (Link to current round up).

Rotation Changeover - 2021 Rotation #4, Slot 4 (not counted thread) complete

Plenty of leftovers in the fridge and lovely long weekend to stitch and putter around.  I do not participate in the crazy shopping.  Everyone is getting gift cards this year!

 I got to ten hours on my Unicorn pillow top this morning.  She's coming right along.  Just the rose and a bit of mane left to go in the center.

And where I started for comparison.  Doesn't seem like a lot, but those ribbons were a very fiddly and 'not fun' bit. 

I'm sort of glad to have met my goal for both time and area and I'm ready to put this away for a bit.  That's the nice thing about a timed rotation.   It's only 10 hours if you are not loving the project or a particular part of a project. 

Next up is the Plaza Sewing Bag (introduced here).  This one also has a lot of intricate and possibly tedious stitching, but again - only 10 hours and I REALLY want the finished product, so it will be worth it in the end.

Working on the shops side of the bag.  Each of the buildings has the name of one of the supplies for the project - so cute.  The left light post and the first building ("DMC") and the middle building ("Kreinik's") are done and the outlines of the two buildings in between are also finished.  

Working on the second building from the left "Mill Hill Beads" with getting the windows filled in.

Slow Sunday Stitching - November 21, 2021

 Slightly better week on the crafting front, though not as productive as some.  I did get quite a bit of needlework finished. 

First up is a stitch along called "Black Sampler November" (#blacksamplerNovember on instagram) hosted by Jacob of "Modern Folk Embroidery".   Any sampler which is stitched all in black, charcoal, or similar is eligible.   I picked "Autumn Silhouette" by Blackbird Designs.  I know I won't get this finished in November, but it will follow "Moon Garden" in my Blackbird Weekend series.  The border matches up!  Of course at this point it doesn't look like much!

In and around the finishing on the Sweetheart Sewing Tin (link to finish post), I got to six hours on the Unicorn Pillow.   So many ribbons!  I am modifying the loops a little bit, the original had several awkward ends floating around.  I'd like to get the ribbons, the mane bits in and under the ribbon, and the upper blue/white tweed background done before I put it away this time.

On the knitting front - no progress on Bob's stocking, but I did get a corner done on the sock yarn blanket thanks to a long zoom training meeting last Thursday where my camera didn't have to be on!  

Linking up with the SSS crew.

 

Slow Sunday Stitching and Happy Halloween 2021

 It's fall, people!  It's finally chilly here.  We had a hard frost last night, so it's time to put the garden to bed.  Very happy with how many tomatoes and peppers I was able to eat, dry, freeze and can.  And loads of salads and fresh veggies this year. I'm thinking of getting enough tubs to do some pole beans next year.  I love both green and yellow wax beans, and even though my peas didn't do too well this year, I'm willing to try some new things next year.  

And my neighborhood is REALLY into Spooky Season!  My little (much more modest houses) neighborhood is right next to an area of large Victorian houses.   They go all out for Christmas, and now have started to really decorate for Halloween as well!

 

So much fun.   We get people from all over town coming to trick and treat, and when the 31st falls on a weekend like it does this year, we will get several hundred kids.   It's going to be a busy evening LOL.

I realized that I was so into the needlework last weekend for #24HOCS that I didn't report on the other crafting. 

I did get quite a bit of knitting in over the last couple of weeks.  The plain area (that will get the duplicate stitch/Swiss Darning embroidery of leaping deer) went VERY fast and I'm already into the colorwork that is just above the heel.

And Lucy Boston "Patchwork of the Crosses" got another connecting block finished.  Number 6 is already cut out and I'll go to work on the basting after I check out the rest of the SSS crew (link to current roundup). 

And last, but certainly not least, this pretty girl has come out to play.   I got her ears done and started on some of the outline stitch fill in on the forelock.  That empty place for the lower ribbon was bugging me, so I filled it in (some outlining to do on that yet.).  It's odd, the pattern has most of the ribbons in satin stitch, but where the ribbon turns under, the instruction say to use basket/continental.   Not sure if I like it yet, but I'll wait until I have all the outline stitch in before I decide. 

Hope everyone has a fun day today, and may all your haunting be of friendly ghosts and funny little goblins. 

Rotation Changeover - 2021 Rotation #3, Slot 1 (not counted thread) complete

 Ten hours in on the 'new' Not Counted Thread embroidery piece.  I'm glad I chose this needlepoint and crewel pillow, I'm having a lot of fun with it. 

After ten plus hours

 

At the start of the ten hours

Now, there was quite a bit of set up in this first slot.  Sorting and organizing the threads again, finding the frame and and repairing the edges of the canvas where the binding had come loose (the edge that shows in the 'after' pic has the selvage, the other three are bound with some kind of plastic seam binding).  Then finally stretching the canvas on.   It's a fixed frame, so I'll probably have to reposition the tacks with my handy dandy Lacis tack gizmo when the canvas stretches out more.  It's noticeably looser now than it was when I started this slot. But at least it's easier to remove the thumbtacks than the staples that I used to use!

I finished the basket weave / continental on the nose, upper neck, brought the blue background around from the neck to the horn, did the blue wool/white cotton background on both the front and back of the neck (there's more above the horn and in around the rose/ribbon cockade). Outline around the neck and head and also got all the mane along the neck done in outline stitch used as a filler.

This coming weekend is the first of the month, so it's Blackbird SAL weekend.   I sort of don't want to get started on the next full slot until after that, so I think I'm going to try to finish up the assembly on the Shepard's Bush Tape Measure cover.  

Slow Sunday Stitching - June 27, 2021

 Hello from stormy Kansas.  This weekend is the airshow at Forbes Field (former Air Force Base, still home to the "Kansas Coyotes", the AF Reserve 190th Air Refueling Wing) and now our local airport.  Plus out at the racetrack, this is the weekend of the big regional country music event "Heartland Stampede".   So of course, we had a major thunderstorm on Friday afternoon - 70 MPH straight line winds and less traumatic/dramatic scattered storms for the rest of the weekend.   There are trees down all over town, but my two oaks just lost a bunch of twigs and leaves.

I feel sorry for the folks that were stuck outside when the storm hit or that had their weekend plans ruined.  Me, I stayed home and stitched LOL.

First of all, earlier in the week at Alexis' Wednesday softball game, I got the center of the second alternate block for Lucy Boston done.   Here are both of them:

I cut out the fabric for the third center, and was going to work on it at her second game this week, but the game was on Friday, so of course, it was rained out.   Her games this coming week are on Tuesday and Thursday, so hopefully I'll have some time this week to work on it.  At the rate we are going, the 'rain make up' part of the season is stretching well into July! (Playoffs were originally scheduled for the 1st and 2nd).

Then yesterday, I got to the fourth corner of round 8 on the sock yarn blanket and the first half of the corner done. Need to finish that up today.

And last, but certainly not least, I made it to ten hours on the Unicorn Pillow.   I got all the back mane outlined and about two thirds of the filling stitching done.

I'm going to keep going on this until I get the rest of the mane filled in before I change out my rotation.  I'm sort of reluctant to put this away.  I'm having fun working on it and it's so much different than the other projects in my rotation.  

Next time, I'm planning on moving over to the ears and forelock - more outline filling on the forelock and more basket weave / continental on the ears.  The horn is metallic - looks like Kreinik Cord in "Gold".  So that will go in last after everything else is done.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the ribbon/rose cockade will work.  The rose is satin stitch, and the ribbons a combo of satin and basket / continental. 

Several people asked last week for a close up of the outline filling.  Hopefully this lets you see how it works.  The dark grey is one strand, the white and the light grey or beige 'shadows' are all two strands, so they stand up from the basket / continental background just a bit.   It's a nice texture.  I love the way that the outline flows around the curves.

Linking up with SSS.