Archive for May, 2007|Monthly archive page
Flashback Friday . . . plus a freebie
Filed under: Birds of a Feather, Flashback Friday, Little House Needleworks |
Comments (7) Another slow stitching week for me, so it’s good that I have Flashback Friday to distract my visitors today. Take a look at this:
Designer: Little House Needleworks
Pattern: Moon and Stars
This one was kitted up from my stash, so the fabric is a 28-count blue linen remnant, and the threads were a variety of overdyed flosses that seemed to match the model or that showed up well on this blue background.
This was the first pattern I stitched by Little House Needleworks. The verse caught my eye. So nice!
I wasn’t able to stitch for nearly TWO weeks this month!! Because of that, I was so ready to stitch something–ANYTHING–when I finally had time again a couple of days ago. I tried starting a new project but didn’t have the right thread in my stash. Desperate to stitch something, I decided to stitch up a quick freebie.
And here it is:
Designer: Blackbird Designs
Pattern: Savoir faire (freebie)
Used 28-count blue linen remnant with recommended overdyed flosses.
I did end up changing this pattern, but only slightly. The flower was supposed to have open spots scattered about, but if I would have left these open, the blue would have shown through (the model was stitched on natural linen). Instead, I chose to fill in the flower completely, with no open spots. Also, there were supposed to be blue Smyrna crosses scattered along the vines, but since my fabric was blue (same blue as the LHN project above; it only looks gray here due to my bad photography–WAIT, see my edit below), I decided to skip the blue accent stitches. I think I’m OK with leaving it as it is, but maybe that’s just me being tired tonight. I’ll look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow.
Edited 6/1/07: I decided to add the blue Smyrna crosses, but I had to change the color, because GA Peacock wouldn’t show up on my blue fabric. Instead, I substituted GA Midnight, and I think it added a nice touch. Also, I took a new picture outside, so NOW the color is much more accurate—even better than the LHN photo above.
Also, Maria asked in the comments where I got my pattern. I bought mine from Ebay.
Flashback Friday
I haven’t posted for a while because I’ve been TOO BUSY TO STITCH!! But the tide is slowly turning, and I hope to have new WIPs or finishes to share next week.
Since I missed posting a “Flashback Friday” entry for last week, I chose three to post today. They’re all part of the same Bent Creek kit, and I thought they’d be perfect for this Memorial Day weekend.
Designer: Bent Creek
Kit: The Americana Collection
Stitched 2/2 on 32-ct. Summer Khaki linen
with DMC & Weeks Dye Works floss
Since I like primitive houses, I just had to stitch this house with the flag. Eventually, I got around to stitching the other two designs as well. I guess the “Hurrah” design was supposed to have a button, but I have no memory of why I left it off. At this point, I’m not planning to put it on, but I guess it’ll depend on how I decide to finish these . . . and on whether I still know where it is . . . .
Have a great weekend!
What’s this? A finish??
Once again, a deadline has spurred me into action. I finished this project as a present for a friend, who I’ll be seeing tomorrow.
Designer: Trilogy
Kit: Peace in All Things
(kit included 32-count flax linen, GA floss, and embellishments;
I stitched it 2/2 with some floss changes and left off a star button—check here for details.)
Even though this isn’t quite true to the kit, I mostly like how it turned out. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t use a longstitch on the windows. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve straightened those stitches, and yet they continue to be wavy.
I must confess that even though I own a sewing machine, I have nearly NO sewing skills. I had hoped to play around with the finish, adding buttons here or fancy bows there (other bloggers have inspired me SO much). But in the end, with my deadline looming and my sewing skills lacking, simplicity won the day! So not only is this pattern style “primitive,” the finishing techniques are, too!
I liked the green swirly fabric so much that I wanted it to show on the front, which was a real test of my sewing ability. Since I don’t measure anything, it’s always a happy surprise when my finishes end up mostly even, and this one passed my very forgiving quality inspection.
Flashback Friday
I actually have a new finish as of yesterday, but since it’s Flashback Friday, I’ll just have to postpone that post. Instead, the beautiful weather today and the gorgeous flowers that suddenly seem to be everywhere have inspired me to share this:
Designer: Sheepish Designs
Pattern: Those Blooming Flowers (66th Exemplary)
Stitched 2/2 on 32-count antique white linen.
Now, if you’ll look closely toward the lower right, you’ll see that I claimed to have finished this piece in 2003. Actually, that’s an outright lie. Usually, adding my initials and the date are the very, very last thing I complete on a project. In fact, sometimes I put it off so long that they NEVER get stitched. (This sometimes happens when I’m so anxious to start the next project that I don’t want to spend another minute on the one I’ve just finished! LOL!)
Anyway, it just so happens that there were two times in my stitching career when I went ahead and recklessly added my initials and the year because it was the last CROSS stitches to put into a piece and all that remained were the specialty stitches. Well, wouldn’t you know it, in both cases, I ended up abandoning the projects and not finishing them till YEARS after I claimed that they were.
Truth be known, I probably finished the satin stitches on this piece sometime in 2006, but I was too lazy (or too distracted by the NEXT project) to tear it out and stitch the correct date.
Oh, the other piece that was unfortunate enough to be dated prematurely? It claims that I finished it in 2001. When did I really finish it? Uh, I’ll have to get back to you on that . . .
Flashback Friday . . . again!
By popular demand (well, one person kind of mentioned today’s project in passing), I’m featuring a project that I completed last fall.
(click to enlarge the photo)
Designer: Brightneedle
Pattern: Lo, How a Rose
Found in a book published by Better Homes and Gardens titled
A Cross-Stitch Christmas: Celebrations in Stitches (copyright 2001).
Stitched on 32-count off-white linen using two strands of floss over two threads,
with quite a few color changes.
Although I didn’t know it at the time, this project turned into a lesson of The Floss Colors in the Photo May Be Different Than What They Appear.
I decided to stitch this piece because I was drawn to the seemingly faded pinks and green in the model photo, which made this look like an antique sampler. So I purchased the recommended overdyed flosses and set to work . . . only to find that none of them seem to match the look of the photo. Instead of being faded, these floss colors (at least, in my dye lot) were quite bright and strong. Ah, I thought, the model must have used DMC floss.
So the next day, I trekked out to purchase the recommended DMC colors and set to work again . . . only to find that those colors didn’t match the photo either! Hmmmm.
Upon studying the photo more closely, I decided that the soft lighting used to create such a pretty photo had tricked me into perceiving a different color scheme. Unfortunately, that was the color scheme that had convinced me to stitch the piece in the first place.
After giving it much thought, I decided to try and match the faded look of the photo, so I took a great leap of faith and began rearranging colors . . . and rearranging . . . and rearranging some more. I think, in all, I must have stitched this piece two times over, given all the test colors I tried and then tore out again.
In the end, I used a combination of some recommended DMC colors, some recommended overdyed flosses, and some skeins of non-recommended DMC and overdyeds that just seem to fit the piece. Now that the dust has settled and I’ve had some time away from the finished project (and time to forget all that frogging!), I’m happy to say I’m pleased with the balance between faded and brighter colors, and I think it’s a reasonably close match to the photo.
SBQ: WIPs and UFOs
How many WIPs do you have? How many UFOs do you have? When does a WIP become a UFO?I hadn’t taken inventory of these lately, so this question prompted me to pull out my old projects and size up the situation.
WIPs: I have one, which is typical for me. I stitch by a screaming rotation, so whatever has caught my fancy is usually the only thing I’m currently working on. At the moment, that consists of:
Blackbird Designs, Blackbird Sampler (freebie from Web site).
UFOs: Wasn’t sure how many I had, so I went digging . . . and found five:
Samplers & Such, Tin Topper series: ABC Sampler—I probably only have a half-hour left to do on this small tin topper, but it’s dated 2002! Sheesh!
Drawn Thread, Random Thoughts—This one is probably three-quarters finished, with only some specialty stitches remaining. I love doing specialty stitches when I have time to enjoy them, but I have to do those on a lap frame, and I HATE working on a frame of any sort. Consequently, this one has languished . . . since 2001! (Do I get points for thinking about finishing it lately?)
Twisted Threads, SnowBoy—All done except for the long-stitched stars that embellish the piece. Since I did this over one, I couldn’t get my stars to look like the oh-so-cute ones in the model photo (Exhibit A: the white blob on the upper left side of the red border, which is approximately my fifth attempt), so I put it away for a bit . . . which turned into a long bit. If I were guessing, I’d say this one is approximately four years old now. (Happy birthday to SnowBoy, happy birthday to . . . )
Heart in Hand, 2003 Christmas Keepsake ornament—I’m counting this one, though it’s not really a UFO. After all, the stitching is completely done!! . . . it’s just the finishing that isn’t. (Technically, if I count all of my projects that are completely stitched but awaiting finishing, then my UFOs would number in the 30s!) Anyway, the backing fabric has been attached, and it has been stuffed. However, I still need to sew the opening closed, then make and attach twisted cord.
Finished stitching: Dec. 2005.
Paid someone to attach backing fabric: Dec. 2006.
Target finish: Dec. 2007? (Anybody buying that?)
In my defense, I have been checking into buying a tool to make the cording, but I haven’t had success with that yet.
And last, but not least, my oldest UFO by years and years is:
Mary’s Needlepoint, Woven French Ribbons—Now you guys are definitely going to need to cut me some slack on this one. I started this NEEDLEPOINT project with the help of my friend who originally taught me to cross stitch. That was back when we were spending time together every weekend, and I was relying on her to guide me through it. Here it is, more than 20 years later, and I’ve never worked up the courage to finish this one on my own. And truthfully, I just don’t enjoy needlepoint like I do cross stitch. That said, though, this is still a beautiful project that I think about completing now and then. I have a different friend who is accomplished at needlepoint, and I need an excuse to spend more time with her. Could this one be coming out of retirement . . . ? Stay tuned.
