French Knots, Some Sad Sewing...and Injuries

I'm not sure why I dreaded doing the French Knot popcorn on the Christmas Tree. I think I was remembering all my previous attempts to learn French Knots, forgetting that I had actually mastered them.  French Knots are a bunch of fun!  I used DMC Perle Cotton #8, which was easier than the fluffy stuff I used on the last stocking. (What was that fluffy stuff, anyway?) So these Knots went lickity-split and I just wondered why I hadn't wanted to do them.

 

 I made a quite a few changes to the stocking as I went along - which is one reason it has taken me nearly 2 years to finish it. But it's done and ready for sewing!

French Knots don't really give the impression of popcorn, to me.  They look a lot more like small rose buds. But, that white Perle cotton does pop on that tree. I do like what they add to the overall picture.  I'm also awfully glad that this one is DONE!

This week I also worked on sewing up my Halloween Ornaments. I'm not terribly happy with the result.

 I tried the Flat Ornament Finish that is in the JCS Christmas Ornaments issue. I wasn't sure that the stiff Aida would flex enough to stich it wrong-side out and then turn, so I blanket stitched the ornaments to the turned fabric. The blanket stitching was fun. But I need so much more practice with sewing that opening closed!

 

This ornament had even less fabric with which to sew that opening closed. So before I finish the 3rd one, I think I might open them up, put a little stuffing in them and maybe add something around the edge?  I am definitely open to any suggestions you have on how to improve these. They have no where to go but UP!

 

I did get to work on my Apple project and I preloaded some needles.

 

 

I found a scrap of Aida that was just the right size and shape. Took a trip to Hobby Lobby, bought 18 needles and found a new pair of scissors.

 I didn't get a lot of time to stitch on it this week, but those preloaded needles did come in handy. I think I will really enjoy this new system.

But I learned something. See that speck on the fabric new the 987 needle? Yep, that's my blood. (A-, if you are interested). I bought #26 blunt ended tapestry needles. But "blunt" must mean different things to different people.  Goodness, those were the sharpest "blunt" needles I've ever handled. The scissors are sharp, too. I haven't used such sharp scissors before. So much fun.

 

We've had a unseasonably warm October for Spokane. It hasn't dropped below freezing at night, folks are still harvesting tomatoes! But it's October and that means stews and soups and cider and pumpkin everything!  So I'm off to reheat some stew for dinner.

 

Thanks again for your suggestions last week and any help you can give me on those sad ornaments!



A Finish, Nearly Finished and WIP

I've been working away at my three WIP and have made good progress.

A Finish:

I decided I needed an easy project to work on while waiting in the Dr's office, or for kids at school. These Fall ornaments are from Cross Stitch and Needlework, Sept 2013.  The project was planned for perforated paper, but my son had given me gold and silver sparkle Aida from Christmas last year and it seemed the perfect medium for these ornaments.

 

 

I don't usually enjoy stitching on Aida, but this fabric was fun to use.  The gold filament added to the fabric made it much stiffer, almost like stitching on plastic canvas. And the bonus was, it hardly frayed at all - I didn't have to tape or stitch the edges. That stray coming off the pumpkin was the extent of fraying. 

 

I'm currently finishing these to hang on a wreath in my office. I'll post those pictures when I'm done - learning as I go!

 

 

Nearly Finished:

 

I started Claire's Christmas stocking in Dec, 2012.  I didn't mean to spend 2 years on this project, but that's what happened. The only detail left to put on this one is the French Knot popcorn on the tree. French Knots. I can do them, but painstakingly slowly. So, I've been avoiding this. But it needs to be ready to hang on the fireplace in December, so I need to get to it.

 

I changed the letters on the blocks to Claire's initials. So I had to draw my own chart, which is not something I'm very good at doing.

Claire is a huge Dr Who fan. So I decided early on that I would somehow get the TARDIS in her stocking. And of course, I had to chart that one too. And stitch it over one, so that it fit in proportion with the other toys. That was my first attempt at stitching over one. It was not hard, just an eye strain. I really love how it turned out.

 Here's the all over view. Claire says I can skip the French Knot popcorn - she's not too concerned about it. But looking at it from this view - I can see that it really does need it.  I'll be glad I did it..eventually!

 

I bought the book "Heirloom Christmas Stockings in Cross-Stitch" in order to make these stockings. But the stocking cuffs in the book are rather dull - compared to the elaborate detail of the stockings. So I did some searching on the Internet for ideas - and found the same stockings with elaborate cuffs.

 

It turns out that when the stocking patterns were published in Cross Stitch and Country Crafts magazine, there were 2 patterns: an detailed stocking with a simple cuff and a detailed cuff with a simple stocking. And for some reason, when Better Homes and Gardens published the book with all 9 stockings patterns, they didn't include the detailed cuff. Who knows why - doesn't make any sense to me.

 

Anyway, I ended up scouring Ebay to find all the magazines with the stockings so I could get the cuff patterns. Which led to buying more magazines, because there are some beautiful pieces in them. 

 

So Claire got the Poinsettia cuff.  I have one more stocking to complete for our son. This time I don't intend to take 2 years..but that's what I said about this one.

 

WIP

 

Delightful Fruits, from Cross Stitch and Needlework, March 2013

 

The project called for Black fabric, but I really don't enjoy stitching on black. And I found this Barnwood Lugana from Picture This Plus - it is so beautiful and easy to stitch on. I'm loving this project. But I have a few questions:

 

1. As you can see, there are a lot of color changes in that apple. I'm using the mark grids in the pattern and completing one grid at a time. But I'm still having trouble finding my place when I look back at the pattern. As a result, I've done more frogging on this project than any other project. 

 

So..how do YOU keep track of your location when working in a detailed area with lots of color changes?

 

2. I'm finding that stopping the re-thread the needle with the new color (which is only used for a few stitches) is very time consuming. I've seen some stitchers load multiple needles with all the threads they need.

 

Do you pre-thread needles? How do you store them while you are stitching and how do you label them so you know which color is which?

 

Getting a handle on those 2 areas would make this project flow more smoothly. I'm really enjoying this one and already have my finishing figured out for it - not framing.

 

OK - gotta get dinner on the table. More next week!









Beginning Today

This is my second start at blogging. I need a diary for my stitching, to track my progress. And also a place to just unwind a bit, from time to time.  So, I'm learning as I go..with the intention to improve my blogging skills and my stitching skills.

So, for my first entry: Claire's Christmas Stocking. Nearly complete - just a few more days.