Lots of Backstitching

One of my nonagenarian stitching friends, Alda, stitched a beautiful piece to give to her daughter. She got all the stitching done but when it came to doing the backstitching, she found it quite daunting. There are several different colours of backstitching - greens and blues - all those different coloured lines!!!

Alda was struggling so I offered to do the backstitching for her. There are about a dozen different coloured lines on the chart. One of the blue lines is dotted. There are also dark pink, red, and fuchia lines. Some of the lines disappear between vertical or horizontal stitches but I think the overall effect was successful. Backstitching just makes the stitches 'pop' and defines the hydrangea petals.

I did the French knots, too, as they were good landmarks for many of the backstitch lines.

I think I'm finished but will have another look before I return it to Alda.

Any stitching I did last week was on the backstitching on this piece. Today I did what I think is the last of it. 

At my stitching day on Sunday I got a lot done on my Live on Little piece - most of the grass under the house. And yesterday at my morning stitching group I got a few more shutters done. 

This piece is great for social stitching because there are great swaths of mindless filling in. 

Another change I made (other than reversing the colours on the star) is selecting a grey colour for the birds.

There just wasn't enough contrast with the colour of the fabric. I still need to do its beak.

The model on the cover also didn't have the dark markings on the birds. I like mine better. Also, see how the star doesn't show well with the light threads on the points?

Stitching models isn't easy. One has to be very precise. When you're stitching your own stuff, sometimes being out a stitch here or there isn't that big a deal. But when you're stitching for a designer, your work is usually what is photographed for the cover of the piece which sells the pattern unless there's a sample made up.

Model stitchers also give feedback on the colour selection and if there are any errors in the charting. On one of Teresa Kogut's new releases, she decided the birds' wings needed to provide more of a contrast than the original I stitched for her.

My original:

Her amended version. She picked out the white on the birds' wings and filled in with the red colour. She discusses this change here, starting at 5:00. She also backstitched the white parts on the foxes so they would pop! Well done, Teresa!

Closeup on the fox backstitching. I don't think she mentioned that in the video.

I've been looking at Instagram and Kimat Designs' websites for previews of new releases for Nashville. Kim and Meagan are taking preorders now so have a look at their Nashville releases here. There are frequent updates.

Finally Fully Finished!

The custom frame I ordered for Winter Rose Manor arrived yesterday. I'm very glad I added an extra 3/4" on each side because the stitching fit with just a few threads beyond the border on all sides.

I need to remember that the dimension I order is not the size of the stitching but the stitching plus extra border for the inset in the frame. 

I started Winter Rose Manor on January 1 of last year. Jennifer, Sharon, Poppy, Marilyn, Barb, and I  decided it would be a stitchalong. Jen1 and Marilyn finished and framed theirs before the end of the year. I got the stitching done by the end of December. Barb is still working on hers. Sharon started hers recently and I'm not sure if Poppy has started hers yet.

To recap, I changed the colour of the house from Conch to CCW Bella Rosa because I wanted it pinker. I also changed Toasted Marshmallow for the baskets and snow to CCW Khaki Mocha. The skeins of Toasted Marshmallow had too much tan colour for my liking. I added Cayenne to the male cardinal's wings to provide more of a contrast with his breast. For the female, I changed her body colour to Palomino. 

Because the house colour was so close to the fabric colour, I outlined the house with CCS Woodrose backstitching. I added all our initials and moved the date from below the tree pyramid to the top right corner. Because of the initials, I moved the snowflakes to space them somewhat evenly around them. 

I'm very happy with the colour of the frame. I ordered it from here and it came in two weeks. I also ordered the glare free 'glass' which is actually plexiglass. I guess shipping glass could be a risk of breakage. I could have also ordered hanging hardware but I had some on hand that I was happy to use.

I had a surprise this morning when I checked Facebook. Teresa Kogut posted a sneak peek of one of the charts she is going to be releasing at Market the first weekend of March - 'Foxes have Dens'. It's party of a new Early American Folk Art series.

I had totally forgotten about stitching this model for her last year. I noted that she has added backstitching to make the white stitching on the fox 'pop'. It looks lovely. She'll be showing her releases for market on her YouTube channel very soon.

A Makeshift Solution

I had an issue in the centre of the star and had to figure out how to solve it. Due to excessive yanking on the thread while trying to remove a slip knot, I severed two horizontal threads. I cut a piece of the linen from a corner and held it to the back and stitched through it to provide new support for the compromised threads. 

It seemed to work. I also used my SnagNabit to try and even out some of the threads that looked quite askew. It's not perfect but good enough for me. The extra fabric on the back doesn't show behind the star.

From a distance you can hardly see my mistake and its correction.

I've done quite a bit on the border since then. I do the green stems/tendrils at the table and at night while watching TV with Skip, I fill in the flowers and will fill in the leaves.

I love all the colours and will keep trying to put a few stitches in every time I do some stitching. This piece is definitely a marathon and not a race.

I have decided on the saying I'm going to put on the bottom of my pincushion mattress. I got it graphed and ready to stitch. 

I'm not completely sold on my initials and the date. I'll put some stitches into that piece, too. Looking at my charting again, I need to change the bottom of the 'U' in 'much' so it looks less like a 'V'.

Skip and I went out for lunch on Monday. It was our first lunch out in ages, possibly since before October 2022. We met a friend of his and had a very nice time. It felt 'normal'. After which we both came home and napped. He got himself to his dental cleaning appointment this morning. Off to the hospital this afternoon to see about what treatment he will undergo next. 

I have enjoyed having Skip feel much more 'with it' and be able to do more things for himself. He needs to continue to do as much as he can embracing the concept of 'if you don't use it, you lose it'. Quality of life is high on the list of priorities.

A Stitching Day and Other Stuff

On Sunday, we got together to stitch at Poppy's. We have decided to make the second Sunday of the month a regular stitching day at one of our houses.

Poppy showed us the Japanese embroidery piece she had completed. It is stunning.

Marilyn took this shot of Jen1 as her mug matched her shawlette. Jen1 LOVES yellow.

I beavered away on a model I was stitching for Lori from Pansy Patch Quilts and Stitchery. It's one of a series of designs she'll be releasing at the 2024 Nashville Needlework Market (a trade show) the first weekend of March. I picked up the fabric, threads, and pattern from her on Friday afternoon and stitched most of Friday night and most of Saturday. Then again at our stitch day on Sunday, and at my Monday morning stitching group, finishing up on Monday night. I took a photo and caught a couple of things I had missed, then sent a photo to Lori for her to check out. She found some more omissions which I easily added. I'll be meeting her at a point equidistant from our respective homes on Saturday for the handoff.

I haven't done a single stitch on my sampler 'mattress' since Friday but earlier last week I got all the outlines done for the various pieces. 

I still don't know what I'll put on the bottom - my name? a pithy saying? just the date? I'll see what my stitcherly friends think I should do. How about "Live Simply, Love Much"?

I did some stitching on my Live on Little and finished the star. I'll stitch some more and take some photos for the next blog post.

Skip and I have enjoyed not having to go into the hospital the past few weeks except for just a couple of non-treatment appointments. Although still fatigued, he's feeling quite a bit better. His condition is slightly improved and fairly stable. Our appointment this Friday will outline the next course of treatment. We think he'll start more immune therapy next week. 

Some Thoughts on the Latest Just Cross Stitch Magazine and Digital Technology in General

The Spring 2024 issue of the Just Cross Stitch Magazine just became available.

I have had a digital subscription for several years - mostly for the Christmas issue. 

Aside from that one issue and the previews in the fall, I haven't been very impressed with the quality of the patterns. My understanding is that the designers are not paid for their work and most of the well-established or popular ones no longer submit their work to this publication. Understandably, artists like to be paid for their work just like anyone else. Now that social media gives folks lots of exposure through their own blogs, FlossTube, Instagram, Etsy, etc., they no longer need to rely on JCS to become known.

All that being said, I did note a couple of interesting things in the latest issue:

• The back page now has images of all the projects contained in the issue, along with the page numbers. 
• There are several very useful pages outlining 'Cross Stitch Basics' with excellent, instructive photos.
• There were a couple of articles about FlossTube (stitching vlogs/channels on YouTube) with QR codes for ease of finding the channels.
• an article on Chantelle Deimling's finishes - lots of ways to finish items other than framing or making a pillow
• a request for readers to submit the URLs of some of their favourite FlossTubers.

In this era of publications going completely digital, hopefully these changes will help maintain subscriptions for both print and digital formats. I, for one, was quite pleased to see this more modern, updated direction. We are almost a quarter of the way through the 21st Century. Many folks of my demographic (65+) are uncomfortable with digital content and resist keeping up with the times.

One magazine I know of that is going completely digital has irked many of the subscribers after the announcement there will be no more print editions. Subscribers threatened to cancel their subscriptions, however, the content is still there.  I would venture to guess most of these folks are just venting, making their opinions known, but ultimately will continue to access the content. I know my public library carries many digital magazines which are accessible (and free) to all.

Change is difficult for many to embrace, but times are always changing and we need to get over it through the stages of loss/grief quickly and get to the acceptance stage and be open to learn new things and technologies. 

I like routines and familiar things as much as the next person but I find it so interesting to learn new things and how to do new things. Maybe it's the educator in me - always looking to expand my horizons - being a lifelong learner. Regardless, the Internet provides so much opportunity to access so much information and knowledge. Folks who can't or won't take advantage of these opportunities really miss out.

Daytime Photos - Still Gloomy Though

I got a photo of the Quaker #6 that I started 2 years ago and finished a couple of months ago.

I got the last square frame at Michaels so will need to get this piece mounted and in the frame along with the others mentioned in the last post. It should look like it goes with this one I completed back in 2020. Same designer, same fabric, same floss (DMC 115), same frame, same size.

I also took my scrappy worsted (mostly), acrylic (mostly) blanket outside to get a somewhat decent photo now that the fringes have been twirled and cut to 3" in length.

Basically I took the two strands of one colour and two strands of the adjacent colour. Like I did with another blanket:

Then both twirled clockwise: (also called 's' twist)

Then the two ends knotted together near the ends:

Then when released, the two colours twirled together the other way. ('z' twist)

To create about the same amount/angle of twist, I did count the number of times I twirled for each pair of colours. 

The fringe twisters are reasonably priced and are available here. I have used used mine for several blankets I've knit, 

some projects I've woven, 

and on the 3 linen stitch scarves I've knit. 

This one was knit with my handspun.

So that's a couple more projects completed. I can start some new ones with a clear conscience.

Winter Woodland

The 'bling' was added today.

I do get a lot of satisfaction finishing these small projects. I'll probably toss it on the 'to be FFOd' pile. 

I have fully finished the car blanket but need to get a shot in the gloom daylight. I have started another one with the same needles and mostly acrylic, mostly worsted weight yarn.

At stitching yesterday, Joanne2 had a lovely array of winter-themed pillows by her front door.

She's stitched pillows to fill a decorative bowl for every season and holiday throughout the year. I recognized this one.

It's a freebie from Stone Street Stitchworks. The design on the blue pillow is also a feebie from their website. 

I also ordered the frame for Winter Rose Manor. When it comes, I'll have to assign some time to mount the stitching to frame it and also finish framing the second Quaker piece - #6 by Monasterium Designs.

I finished stitching it months ago and just now realize I don't have a photo of it in its completed state.

I had hoped to order (online) a frame for 'K is for Knitter' that I started YEARS ago and finished in 2020. the pattern, fabric and accessory pack was a gift from Jen1. I just need to remember to attach the 'key' charm in the space to the right of the kite.

It's been on that aforementioned 'to be FFOd' pile since then. The online custom framer doesn't make frames that narrow (3") but looking at the pattern, it is hemstitched and finished as a bell pull. 

I may already have the hardware and rather enjoy hemstitching so that will be another project to complete. 

 

Another Start

I saw this design for a pincushion 'mattress' a few years back but it was part of a stitching club from Soed Idee from the Netherlands and not available to the general public. 

I liked the alphabet around the edge. It would have been easy enough to design myself, I guess, but I distracted myself and then forgot about it until I recently saw the pattern online. And it was available as a .pdf download - bonus! She has several other patterns for sale in .pdf as well.

I started it on Sunday using my favourite red variegated floss - DMC 115. There are a few specialty stitches and several French knots. I don't mind doing French knots but I hope to substitute some HotFix 'bling'.

I'm using some random 32ct linen from my stash. I wanted to use 40ct but couldn't find any this tea-dyed colour.  And I'm really trying to stitch from my stash. Now that I think of it, I could have dyed some but too late. Rather than use the DMC 115 for the backstitching, I'm using DMC 815 instead. 

I did A to G and the backstitching yesterday at stitching. 

I learned a couple of things with this pattern: 1. the cool way the buttons were attached. 

and 2. the assembly instructions (in Dutch - Google Translate was my friend) suggested cutting several layers of batting and inserting them in the 'mattress'. That way it wouldn't puff up like regular fluffed batting would. This closeup also shows the star stitches in the bottom diamonds.

Last night I finished twirling the fringe on my Excavation blanket.  (bad lighting - so gloomy today)

Basically I took two strands of each colour and twirled them together.  Now I just need to decide how long to trim the fringe, then tie the end knots to that length and cut off the excess. If I don't tie knots, the fringe will unravel.

It's an ugly, narrow blanket - perfect for staying cozy in the car. It did make a bit of a dent in my worsted yarn bin but I think I can crank another one out and use up more yarn.

I Just Need to Add the Bling

I finished stitching Winter Woodland yesterday at our stitching day. I could use a dark interfacing on the back to camouflage the trail of thread on the tree. I just need to add the snowflakes - the 'bling'. 

This was a pretty satisfying, quick stitch.

Last night I finished knitting the worsted (mostly)  acrylic (mostly) Excavation blanket for the car. 

I knit to the width that I wanted and because I wanted extra length, I discontinued the fringes (bottom left), decreasing on one side and increasing on the other side. about 12" was added to the length. Then I knit another triangle to the same width as the first, then rotated it 180 degrees and grafted it onto the other side.

Now I just need to twist the fringes. Of course I didn't use up all my yarn but some crochet videos on YouTube have intrigued me so I may start a scrappy blanket and try out some of those stitches.

I did a bit of work on 'Live on Little' yesterday as well. Will be stitching with the Monday morning group tomorrow and plan to do more work on it.