I hadn’t been doing as much stitching, as it was making my eyes hurt. But now I have new lenses in my glasses, and the mad rush of many houseguests has calmed a bit. That means over the last couple of days I have had time to work on my needlecase! yay!

I realized in the reading of my chart last evening that I need to backstitch around the flowers in the center motif with gold metallic. I’d thought I was done with that one (except for beads & crystals, which I’m going to add last so I don’t catch my floss on them while stitching). *sigh*

This second motif I’m working on is going really quickly. I have to do some more leaves and vines, a couple butterflies, and the filling stitches on the hardanger blocks. I’d better get the whole needlecase done soon, because I have started a bad habit of sticking my needle into the leg of my pants and then forgetting it is there.

Post from: Blisstree

A Needlecase Update!

I examined the pattern more closely, and was relieved to find that the centers of the blocks with the woven bars will have crystals attached. I had been thinking that they looked messy and unfinished, and was worried that maybe I had done something terribly wrong. It took me FIVE of the Rhodes Butterflies before I figured out how to count properly to find the starting position. Five. So, three out of the eight butterflies are nicely centered in their shiny gold squares… I am leaving them the way they are. It will be a good reminder of the value of counting twice and stitching once, as well as something to look back on as a beginning hardanger project after I’ve stitched oodles of them. I just have to do the rest of the woven bars and spiderwebs and attach crystals, and this center motif will be completed.

After that, I have two more sections on the needlecase body, plus the inside motifs (one to hold needles, one to hold scissors); as well as the scissor fob. I have been thinking about what kind of fabric I want to line this with. I don’t really like the floral cloth used in the model, but if I found a floral that calls to me I will have to use it. I’d actually like to find a nice piece of heavy silk that compliments the colors used in the stitching. Anyhow, on to the progress pic I put a dark lilac colored oven mitt behind it so the hardanger would show nicely.

Post from: Blisstree

Needlecase- spiderwebs!

On this progress pic, I’ve done the back-stitching on the left portion of the border. On the right corner I’ve back-stitched just the flower motif. Back-stitching makes all the difference in the world between “great result” and “most excellent wonderful result”. Even though this project looks like it is going to take me months instead of weeks to complete, I think I will enjoy the entire thing. One of these times I will take the fabric off my scroll frame so I can do a proper scan instead of using the digital camera.

Post from: Blisstree

Blended Floss & Egyptian Sampler

Post from: Blisstree

Sampler Border progress

I’m doing something new with Egyptian Sampler, because Teresa Wentzler uses so many blended colors. I bought some project cards, wrote the symbols and DMC floss numbers next to each hole, and then I fill each one with lengths of floss prepped for the needle. I loop each set of threads through individually so there isn’t a worry about not being able to tell which color is which. Then, because there are so many colors for this one, I have the bobbins of floss sorted out by number group into plastic bags.

The chart, project cards, and bags of bobbins, go into my canvas tote, along with the cute embroidered purse (from Hsien-Hsien Lei)filled with such necessary things as scissors, knife, needles, needle threader, laying tool, lip balm, ..

I thought about putting the bobbins in a bobbin box, but then my tote bag isn’t as squishy- and squishy helps when I want to take it places and need to fit it under the seat in the car, or next to me on the sofa when we watch a show. Last evening I filled up my project card with floss, and then stitched while watching the finale of American Idol. Here’s my progress on Egyptian Sampler to date:

Post from: Blisstree

Cross stitch preparations

I decided to use some DMC light effects ‘glow in the dark’ white in place of the ‘white fuzzy stuff’ threads the pattern called for. Mostly because I didn’t want to have to special order one skein of thread. About half the beard is stitched so far, and you can just make out where the bunny ears of the slippers will be. Still enjoying this piece.

Post from: Blisstree

Coffee cross stitch progress

Next it was time to set scissor to cloth. This is as traumatizing to do as it is to see.

Pulling threads is the Moment of Truth- here are two shots, one where I’ve pulled only a couple threads, and one after I pulled them all.

It is at this point that one stitches the various webs and ladders and woven bars and things. This last image is after I stitched the first of four Woven Bars. Once they are complete, then the empty corner spaces get filled with a Spider Web. The completed kloster block on the far left of the piece is filled with Adjoining Wrap stitch.

I’ve been experimenting with thread length with the silk floss, and find that for the kloster blocks and wraps etc, the more usual length is better for me. Less starting and ending of threads and not knowing where to tuck them on the back sides.

Post from: Blisstree

Hardanger in Action!

So I am liberated from the not-flexible daily schedule, and have left it simply as 3 current projects to alternate between. As I get tired of working on one, I can pick up one of the others. This also leaves room in my week to work on small projects if something sparkles with too much allure to ignore.

So what does this leave me with as active projects?
Coffee is Magic
Egyptian Sampler
Lorri’s Needlecase

And now I am off to do some gold metallic backstitching on the needlecase!

Post from: Blisstree

needlework rotation revised

Post from: Blisstree

Stitching Wizard Robes!

I meant to take a picture after I’d stitched the kloster blocks, and snipped the threads, but not pulled them out, and forgot. Gah! Evening stitching is not always the smart thing to do! I did take a couple pictures as I worked the ‘woven bars’:

The first woven bar- I wrapped the wrong direction, not really understanding what I was doing.

Here I’ve completed the second woven bar:

And the finished square:

I decided to ‘call it a night’ and stop stitching after working the two Rhodes Butterflies (which I’d never stitched before either)- because the first one I placed one thread too low, and the second one I squished one thread too narrow. I’m going to leave them as-is, because the errors aren’t terribly noticeable, the backstitch outlining can still be done in the correct spot, and it serves as a lesson to stop stitching when my eyes start getting tired.

Post from: Blisstree

Needlecase update