Just when you think it's taking forever...

Well, I'm finally finished. I put the last couching stitch in the Kreinik #8 braid (gold - 002) and rolled it up ready for washing, pressing, and taking to the framers. There were times I didn't think I'd ever get this one done and did several other projects to ease the frustration, but it is done. I'll take it to the framer tomorrow to get an idea of cost for this and for the companion piece I stitched 20+ years ago. I am glad to have it finished. So very glad, which is not to say I'm not proud of the accomplishment, just that I wished sometimes it didn't take so long.

I thought I'd share more of the individual elements. It's interesting to see how a few stitches and some back stitching can create a recognizable image.

 Like the quail peering out from behind a tree or the birds in the rest of the trees.

More birds and a fish surfacing in the water.

A song bird and a moth.

The two lovebirds at the left corner. Love birds always remind me of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.

A little dragonfly and the letter C illuminated.

The little fellow in the right corner is wearing a kilt and playing the bagpipes, something I didn't realize until I back stitched him.

This was the final step, couching in the gold braid. You can almost see it gleam.

And this is how it all goes together. There is far more back stitching in this piece than any other I've done and a lot of tiny elements that have to be stitched, back stitched, and connected by vines. As frustrating as it was at time, I am glad I stitched it -- and that it is actually finished.

One thing I've learned is not to be afraid or daunted by any project. I may have to rip out sections (which is why I prefer to buy patterns and use my own floss), but in the end it is worth it for the pleasure it gives. 

Happy stitching.

All In A Day's Work

I did more work on the Illuminated manuscript and decided to post some of the details. Feel free to give it a miss. 

This squirrel is one of the two on the bottom half of the piece. He still need an eye.

Also on the bottom on the left hand side is this little dragonfly. I finished him this evening.

A hawk, but not yet back stitched and he goes on the right hand side of the upper portion.

This moth/butterfly is also on the right hand side at the top. He still needs a couple of stitches and back stitching.

A finished butterfly from the left hand side. I am always amazed how the jumble of stitches comes clearer when the back stitching is added. The blobs are flowers/leaves and still need their vines to attach them to the border.

The snake is one of my favorite and a bird begins to emerge on the left while the snake goes after two birds, probably gulls, taking flight from his venomous bite.

I've added some of the back stitching in the main picture at the top of the piece. She is surrounded by birds and flowers and many little bits of life in the grass and trees.

As you can see, there are still more animals and flowers and leaves to go, but the illuminations are coming along after a couple hours of stitching.

Life -- and art -- are in the details. Nothing is insignificant. A single stitch becomes a note of music or the eye of an animal. A line becomes antenna or a leg or the flickering tongue of a serpent. Everything is important.

Happy stitching 

A Little Progress

I have made some progress on the Illuminated Manuscript. I found that by doing some of the back stitching and putting in the Latin words it helped me to figure out where to the put the notes and some of the flowers.

I know the old stitch, back stitch, add embellishments formula and have followed it forever, at least until I did some Sweetheart Tree teenies. Embellishments, like beads, treasures, etc., were put in while stitching and back stitching was also done during the process. I decided to do that here with some pretty good results and a few changes. So here we go.

 

I've concentrated on doing the bottom half. Lots of gold and all those bits of color here and there are flowers with a few animals thrown in. 

 

I love the little dragonfly on the left hand side, but the bird and squirrel are also adorable.

Don't be afraid to change the routine you use. Shake things up a bit and try new things. It's worth the effort.

Happy stitching.

Updates and Beginnings

I've been busy with other projects, but did want to update the illuminated manuscript from the original Cross Stitch & Country Crafts Sep/Oct 1991 issue. It took some research and hunting to find this particular issue.

The pattern calls for 15 x 19 Cream Lugana (25-ct). The pattern includes colors for Anchor and DMC (3 strands) with Kreinik Balger 002 blending filament. The first design was in Cross Stitch & Country Crafts Jan/Feb 1990 issue.

A close-up of the new work shows where the blending filament takes center stage even on the borders.

I've also included the Winter White tree skirt I am making for myself. I don't know if I"ll get done by Xmas, but I'm going to give it my best efforts.

The tree skirt comes as a kit, but I have worked this particular pattern on 2 Xmas stockings for my grandchildren. I am familiar with the design and the materials, which makes the whole process a little easier.

 

 It doesn't look like much, but there are a lot of stitches in what is here. Already I can see it coming together, Xmas bulbs, ribbon, and tree branches. I bought the backing fabric last year and now I've decided to put aside my fears of beginning such  large project and just do it. I think it will turn out beautifully -- and it is the first tree skirt I've ever owned. My parents used a sheet and so did I over the years. Hopefully, this Yule I will have a brand new cross stitched tree skirt for my tree worthy of my collection of ornaments. I'll add a few new ornaments this year that I've cross stitched as well.

This one is a Mill Hill Bead kit and it turned out quite nicely. It won't go on my tree because I gave it to one of my granddaughters to go with her stocking last year. This ornament is stitched on perforated paper and takes very little time at all.

This is one of 12 ornaments from Sweetheart Tree depicting the 12 Days of Christmas. This is obviously 4 calling birds. I don't have all the patterns yet, but I'm working on finding them all. The pattern comes with little tiny flower embellishments to which You add Mill Hill beads, of course. Those are the little red dots.

Although it is nearly September, in some way it is always Xmas/Yule in this house since I began cross stitching again and making gifts for family and friends.

I've set myself a new task that will require some designing on my own. Two Xmas stockings with a rather gory theme -- zombies, skeletons, and all things horrific. The boys who will likely end up with these stockings are big gore fans and the traditional Xmas themes just will not work for them, hence the need to design what I need. I think I have the problem whipped, so we'll see what comes.

Happy stitching.

Illuminating a manuscript

This is where I began yesterday. I decided to do some more work on part 2 of the Illuminated Manuscript from Cross Stitch & Country Crafts nearly 20 years ago. This is the second part of the design, or at least another illuminated manuscript which can be joined with the first part to make a pillow. I prefer the designs separately but with coordinating tarnished gold frames.

This is after today's stitching session. The illuminated letter is a C and begins the next section of the canto, or song, that is part of the design. This project takes a lot of Kreinik gold 002 blending filament and I wish you could see how it sparkles. The fabric is ivory, but looks white with a blue tinge because of the program I use to fix my lack of photography experience.

This will be about half again as big with animals and gold designs all around the outside. As I work with the blending filament, I have learned how to make the designs sharper. That's all part of the learning curve and having done this project before. I think the colors are brighter and the fabric a bit thicker than before, but even colors and fabrics have changed over the past 20 years.

In the end, it's all about enjoying yourself and doing those projects that will either make good gifts or simply satisfy that creative urge.

Happy stitching.

Leopards, Butterflies, and Illuminated Manuscripts

I didn't show the finished Leopard, and now seems to be a good time to rectify that mistake. I suppose I'm the only one that knows the bottom right of the finished piece is one stitch off, but it still looks good. Now more people know my mistake. Oh, well, that is -- in the Chinese version of ultra-perfection -- more proof that I am not infallible and make mistakes, as if I didn't have hundreds of ways of telling that without the Leopard.

 I believe this particular piece was adapted from a painting by Joadoor -- and it was. I suggest checking out more of his work. I googled him and found some lovely work, many of which I wouldn't mind adapting for cross-stitch.

This is the original and I definitely see the differences. I do think the artist adapting the painting for cross-stitch did a good job of rendering Joadoor's striking work.






I doubt you will remember it, but I originally (as in ~20 years ago) stitched a piece from a cross-stitch magazine. It was adapted from an original illuminated manuscript and I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it, and so I stitched it in a feverish week that resulted in the first piece of a project. Now, 20 years later, I am stitching the companion piece to give to a good friend because I think she will appreciate it.

This is the original done ~20 years ago.  My sister Tracy sent it to me, along with a whole lot of DMC floss. The companion piece, published in Cross Stitch and Country Crafts a couple issues later can be mated to this to make a pillow. I decided on the full piece so as not to lose the rest of the work.

All these years later I find the colors are more vibrant than the original, but still beautiful. I have a long way to go to finish this one. Suitably framed, they will make a lovely gift.

While not cross-stitch, this is one of a set of pillow cases I began last year as a gift. Other projects have taken precedence, not only because they are cross-stitch, but because I'm still honing my embroidery skills. Once the stitching is finished, the pillow cases will be washed (to remove the embroidery lines), ironed, wrapped, and sent to someone who loves butterflies almost as much as I do.



I have found that when someone receives a gift that is handmade, it says more than the usual happy whatever day or merry Xmas. It says that you took the time to choose something for the person and stitched it yourself. No matter how small or how complex, the gift that usually ends up in pride of place in someone's heart is the handmade gift. My mother kept horrible clay projects I did decades ago when I was a child; she kept everything. Going through all those paintings, drawings, sketches, ceramics, and thread work is a lifetime of memories, and she kept them all.

Happy stitching.