Socks for Bill

Last year I pledged to always have some socks on the needles in an attempt to whittle down my sock yarn stash. Many years ago, a friend gave me a ball of sock yarn which disappeared into my stash. I unearthed it and knit a pair of men's socks. I asked the donor if he wanted the socks and he said yes.

There wasn't a ball band but I'm guessing it was a good quality sock yarn. It was easy to knit identical twins.

A couple of weeks ago he dropped off a couple of blankets for me to donate to the chemo department at our local cancer centre. He also asked if I'd mind knitting him another pair of socks. I had several skeins of yarn for him to choose and he, being of very discriminating tastes, picked the lovely Fleece Artist Kidazzle yarn - 70% merino, 20% kid mohair, 10% nylon. I remember purchasing it at the first KnitEast at St, Andrews-By-The-Sea NB back in 2011 on the recommendation of Cat Bordhi (RIP). She raved about this sock yarn during the Insouciant Sock workshop I took with her. 

I finished the first sock a couple of weeks ago. He requested a longer cuff so this has an 8" one.

I used my favourite Eye of Partridge heel,

and continued it on the bottom of the heel to provide extra thickness in this area that wears out the quickest. I generally do it on all the decrease rounds for the gusset.

I have started the second sock and have about an inch and a half done on the cuff.

I've been doing some stitching when I get a chance during the day but am generally too tired at night to do much. I really want to get the model for Teresa done by the end of April. I haven't touched Winter Rose Manor nor finished the Rudolph ornament. And you know what? I'm OK with that. I accept that I'm a process stitcher.

I do have a project that I want to do, possibly as a prototype for a program for our guild. It's a box made out of embroidery hoops.

Vonna Pfeiffer has a great tutorial on how to make these: 

Basically you glue 5 embroidery hoops together, glue them to a wooden base, and use the 6th hoop as the lid.

A round piece of stitching can be used on the outer lid or like the printed fabric inside the lid above, another piece of stitching inside. Then a hinge is added. Poppy saw another example where ribbons had been added to each side of the lid and attached to the 'box' to prevent the lid from flopping all the way back.

I've ordered a bunch of 4" embroidery hoops, bought the 5" base, and now need to decide what stitched piece I want for the outside of the lid. Poppy gave me some stain for the bamboo hoops. Once the hoops arrive, I'll set to work on assembling the project.

Ready to Assemble

Over the last couple of days, I've been getting ready to FFO the pears project. I took several fabrics to my stitching group on Monday and had them help me select one appropriate for the backs of the 3D pears.

This is what we came up with.

It is fabric that has been in my stash for a couple of decades and should work out well.

I traced the stitching line around the back of each fabric to use as a guide when I'm sewing them together. I also decided to use an actual piece of a twig for the pear stem instead of a rolled up piece of felt.

What a surprise! I had the perfect felted wool in my stash for the leaves and base.

I also prepped the stitching by fusing interfacing to the back. The pattern has templates for the fabric back, leaves, base and a separate one for the interfacing - which omits the seam allowance. It's good to fuse interfacing to the back of stitching before FFOing. It stabilizes the fabric and locks the backs of the stitches in place. There's less distortion of the stitching when stretching or stuffing it as a 3D item.

They're all ready to assemble! Now to find the motivation to do it. I'm great on the planning and stitching. I just seem to have a block when it comes to FFO an item. I guess that's why doing model stitching is so satisfying for me. Once my bit is done, I just send it off to the designer to finish as they want. 
 

Stitching is Done on Redwork Pears

I used Vonna Pfeiffer's trick of using a large needle to stitch with silk. This avoids drag on the threads and fuzzing with the silk threads in particular.

I got all three pears done.

I haven't made a final decision on which fabric I'll use for the backs of the pears. I really don't have anything other than the striped fabric I mentioned in the previous post.

They're all ready to cut apart.

The pattern comes with the template for cutting the fabric for the back. But it's scaled for 36ct and I stitched on 40 ct. The resulting images are 10% smaller (20 stitches per inch vs 18 stitches per inch) so I will scale the templates down on my printer. 

I haven't done any more on the Rudolph ornament. More work needs to be done on the stars and snowflakes. 

I have been working sporadically on the model I'm stitching for Teresa Kogut. I would like to get it finished for her by the end of April.

Skip and I are adapting to our 'new normal'. We have established routines which are very manageable. I don't feel overwhelmed most of the time. We have a couple of days next week with several appointments/treatments but I know we'll manage just fine.

Stitching in Tandem

A bunch of stitcherly friends headed to a lovely stitching retreat today until Friday. So I wouldn't feel so much FOMO, I started another small stitching project, Redwork Pears by Annie Beez Folk Art:

I bought the pattern and the called-for silk floss (Dinky Dyes #258 Cranberry Cocktail) back in the fall when we went on our road trip to Hobby House Needleworks in Pittsford NY. 

I rummaged through my vast fabric stash and found the perfect fabric for this, 40ct Vintage Country Mocha linen. It was a remnant measuring 13.5" x 5.5". I folded it into threes and pressed creases. I will do all three on this piece and cut them apart.

I realize I should have bought the fabric for the finishing first and then matched the thread to it but if I don't already have something appropriate in my fabric stash, I know a couple of quilt shops that, I'm sure, will have something appropriate for the back of the pears. This striped fabric could actually work, too!

The other two designs will take longer as there are way more stitches in them.

Watching Vonna Pfeiffer's vlog the other day, she spoke about what needle sizes she uses (at 48:30) on what count of fabric. Especially when stitching with silk, she likes to use a much larger needle than normally would be used (eg. size 22 on 40ct fabric). That way, the needle parts the fabric threads and allows the silk floss to glide through with a minimum of friction, hence, less shredding of the floss. 

I usually stitch with a #28 needle on 40ct but tried using a #24. It felt a bit ungainly at first but the silk floss really did slide through easily - even using the sewing method.  So take that tip for what it's worth; it worked for me.

Tonight I'll tackle another one. 

Today's sunshine and blue skies really lifted my spirits. Skip even sat outdoors for a while and soaked in some Vitamin D. Spring is coming... 

A Wee New Project

I'm working on two large-ish projects right now. But I wanted to start something small so I could actually complete something in a reasonable amount of time.

I follow a Just Cross Stitch ornament SAL on Facebook but don't participate. The one they're working on for March 2023 is Century Farm Stitching's 'Rudolph' in the 2022 JCS Ornament issue.

I am doing it on 32ct Seaspray linen from my stash - a remnant I picked up a couple of years ago at the now-closed A Stitcher's Garden outside of Syracuse NY. The fabric is stiff and crunchy but it was the right colour. It pops in and out of my spring hoop easily enough. The finished ornament will be about 3.5" x 4.25".

I substituted DMC Blanc for the Ecru and as I'm using only 1 thread over two, and didn't blend the two green colours for the big tree. I only used the darker green DMC 3051.

I didn't  like how the snowflakes looked with the floss and picked them out, so will try #12 perle cotton instead. I will use HotFix 'jewels' on the tree decorations, Rudolph's nose, and the snowflakes.

I have been working on the model for Teresa Kogut which I can't show, alternating with Winter Rose Manor.

Because I chose a lighter fabric, I will need to backstitch around the house and between the house and the snow. It would have been better to orient the fabric so the house would be over the darker mottled part. Oh well. I don't stitch at night as much as I used to so I don't get nearly as much done. However, I did go to Monday morning stitching yesterday, which was fun.

Not Sure Where to Start...

The last week of January and the first couple of weeks of February, I couldn't post the two models I had stitched for Teresa Kogut and Pansy Patch Quilts and Stitchery. The designers hadn't done a pre-Market reveal yet so I had to wait for them. Now I can show you what I stitched for Pansy Patch QS since last summer.

All 9 Houses on Pumpkin Lane are now beautifully framed (by Kimat Designs) and ready for display at Market - a needlework trade show in the greater Nashville TN area. The border chart is available as a free download from her website if you want to stitch all 9 like this. Or even just some of them.

All individual houses are available for pre-order now from your Local Needlework Shop.

This was a HUGE undertaking. I have no idea how Lori stitched the model and all the pillows for the Houses on Peppermint Lane that she released last year.

It was fun but I'm taking a break from any huge projects like this.

I also finished and returned Kindred Spirits by Teresa Kogut which is also a new Market 2023 release.

Teresa finished it on whitewashed barn board in a brown barnboard frame. All the threads are DMC! I love the dimension in the ladies' dresses with the different pattern colours. It was a pretty fun stitch.

Although there was a lot of filling in, it was great to do while stitching socially either at my Monday morning group or online at my Crafternoon chats.

Teresa sent me another model to stitch for her and there's no deadline. I hope to get it done in a couple of months.

For my own stitching, a bunch of us started Winter Rose Manor on or shortly after New Year's Day. I haven't done a lot of stitching on it this month (more about that later) but I did get the rose part of the house completed and am working on the roof.

The pattern called for two skeins of floss for the house but I couldn't locate the second skein. I was able to complete the entire pink part with just the one skein after all - phew! There is some vertical backstitching required from the eave of the roof downwards between the flower and the window. I should still have enough floss to do it, otherwise I'll just substitute a close DMC colour. 

This was not the called-for fabric so the house colour is pretty close. I do plan to pick a slightly darker colour of floss and backstitch down both sides of the house to make it 'pop'. 

In a couple of previous posts I discussed the floss changes I made to the make cardinal's wing and the female cardinal's head, breast, and tail - making them both darker. The Bella Rosa house colour I selected is not the called-for colour either. I just wanted a rosier rose manor.

Jen1 has already finished hers and it is lovely. She put the initials on it of all of us who are stitching along and I will be doing the same.

I really haven't done a lot of stitching this month. Skip had to have emergency surgery and was in the hospital for about half the month. He got COVID in the hospital and gave it to me on Valentine's Day. I still had it when he was released last Saturday. I have almost completely recovered except for a stuffy nose and phlegm-y cough. In his fragile medical condition, he's not bouncing back as well - still LOTS of fatigue and a bad cough which we are treating with OTC cough syrup.

In light of Skip's current and future medical situation, I have resumed all responsibility for running our household, much like any homeowner who lives on their own does. I am very grateful we purchased a big, new snowblower so I can clear the driveway without having to depend on anyone else. We were too late this fall to hire a company to do our snow clearing so the new device is working well. We got a big dump of snow last night (~20cm/8") and it was still nice and fluffy this morning (freezing rain is coming this afternoon) so I got out there early and got it all cleared (double driveway, walkway to four front door and back yard, back yard patio, and about 180'/60m of our neighbours' two sidewalks and our own - all in about 45 min. After having COVID for a week, I didn't have enough strength to get the machine started with the pull cord so had to run around and find the extension cord to start it electrically. As soon as I hit the button, it started right way. Winning! That extension cord is now in place ready to be used as needed.

I also shoveled a path on our back deck and stairs so I can take kitchen vegetable scraps out the the compost boxes as needed. I wanted everything clear by 9am which was was when the garage door repairer was going to come and replace a broken cable that I noticed yesterday. He also noted we needed new stripping on the bottom of our garage doors so I told him to go ahead and do it. And the homecare nurse showed up during all this. I felt very accomplished managing all the things. I am very motivated by success and strive for it.

Although Skip is not bedridden and can get around on his own, there is quite a lot I need to do to help him and now am managing phone calls on my cell, his cell, and our landline; making testing and doctor's appointments; arranging home nursing care; and taking him to all of the appointments. It has kept me very busy but so far, I have been pacing myself and am happy to do what I can to make him comfortable. I am not a self-sacrificing wife and am taking lots of time to rest, relax, and be kind to myself. He needs physical activity to recover from what he's recently been through so I hold back from helping him in situations where he can help himself. We really are taking care to pace ourselves. Thank goodness for online banking and shopping, too!

Our friends and family have been so kind and helpful - bringing meals, shopping for us while we were isolating with COVID, checking in with me frequently to see how we're doing, sending treats and warm wishes for our COVID recovery and Skip's improved general welfare. We are so grateful to have so many wonderful and concerned friends.

I'm still here and will post whenever I can.

Finally Released

Back in 2020, I stitched this model for Teresa Kogut, Big Folk Flower.

It is quite a departure from her usual colour palette. It's stitched on xJuDesigns Dark Mocha Brown. I don't remember if it was 36 or 40 ct.  Threads are DMC and a couple of Weeks Dye Works with DMC equivalents. Stitch count is 148 x 196.

I stitched several pieces for her since then and often wondered what happened to this Big Folk Flower. 

I remember mailing it back to her during COVID and it took so long to reach her. Since then I never saw Teresa release it and occasionally would wonder about it. I asked about it quite a while ago and finally today I got my answer! It is only available from Kitten Stitcher and will be available there very soon. The pattern comes with a needleminder and the option of a threadpack. Fabric is available separately in various linen counts so the stitcher can select their preferred fabric count to work with.

Teresa has another of my models ready to release for Market the first weekend of March. Here's another sneak peek she posted on her Instagram.

She's going to show all her Market releases on her FlossTube on February 13. I'm looking forward to what else is coming out. Other designers will also be starting to do sneak peeks on their Instagram as well.