Xmas in July, August, September . . . .

I finally bought a camera to take pictures of what I'm stitching and went nuts last night with it. I can see I need to set up an area where I can pull out my projects and photograph them properly, but this will have to do for now.

I decided to make Xmas stockings for my grandchildren this year and I was well on the way to finishing when the need arose to stitch an afghan for BabyMac and an afghan for my cousin Jillian.

Jillie gets married on Saturday and I am nowhere near done. Okay, I'm about halfway done, but I can't finish in time and get it to her on her wedding day. It will be done and waiting for her when she gets home from her honeymoon in Bath, England. I sent a little something early. In keeping with the Xmas theme, and something I began a while ago with newlyweds I know, I sent them a first Xmas together ornament for their first tree. Lenox, of course, although I was leaning toward the Wedgwood. The Lenox just seemed right, but that has nothing to do with X-stitch.

On to the projects.

I began with a Winter White stocking and it took a considerable time, about a month. A month seems to be the average for stitching stockings. I may be able to bring it under a month, but that would take more free time than I currently have with a full time job and full time writing career.

At any rate, on my first attempt at Winter White I decided to follow the directions and found that using two strands of the silver blending cord was too bulky for the stocking. I changed that midway to single strands and that worked better, working over sparse areas an extra stitch to cover too much white. The effect is prettier with the single than the bulky double. There are also beads in this project and they were easy to stitch in -- and they pointed the right way and were straight. The finished photograph on the package had crooked beads. There is also blue blending filament and that was fun to work with. The effect is very pretty.

Now for the details.

As you can almost see, the silver cording is a bit bulky in this picture and distorts the design. It is also a bit ungainly when seen up close.

Here you can almost see the blending filament and the effect of the single thread of cording. The beads are almost visible, too. I need to work on focus and lighting, but it was my first attempt and I am no photographer. Writer, author, blogger, x-stitcher, and many other things, but not a photographer -- yet. Here's hoping.



I liked the design so much I made the same stocking for one of my other granddaughters, but not in the same family. That would cause too much trouble. You know how competitive kids can be.

There is also an ornament that goes with the stocking and that came out too shadowy. All of the stockings are not finished into stockings. I decided to do that all at once since it seems more logical than dragging out the sewing machine for a quick session, putting it back, and getting it out all over again a month later. I don't have the room to keep it out and set up all the time. I need room for the writing, computers, books, etc. Space is at a premium here, although I have considered turning the living room into an office/craft space but I'd have to get rid of the couch, end tables, and coffee table first -- and the old fashioned 36-inch television set I haven't used in more than a year. I only used it to watch DVDs anyway, got rid of cable 6 years ago.



Back to the task at hand, the other stocking.

As you can see, I decided to use a different alphabet. It's not as ornate as the one that comes with the pattern, but with a name that is 8 letters long, it wouldn't fit, so I adjusted the pattern once again. This one is not quite finished as I stopped to work on Jillie's afghan, but you can see (almost) the difference in the overall effect of using the single silver cord and not the double. I have not put in the snowflakes, beads, or couched the blending filament on a couple of the ornaments yet. It is coming along nicely and close to being done. One good weekend stitching and I can move on to another stocking.

I've only begun outlining, which is not my favorite part of the process, but it does make a difference in designs where outlining defines the stitched space. I'd venture to say that stitching the same project again gave me a better feel for the materials and the design and made things go quicker, and I'd say it is a better job. As in all things, repetition and practice make a difference.




Now for something a little different.

This was the second stocking I made and the one with the saddest story.

I finished Connor's stocking in February and had finished two more stockings when the news came that Connor had died in his sleep. He was 2 years old, my oldest son's only son and twin to Sierra. I have decided to finish the stocking anyway and send it with Sierra and Alanna's and let the family decide what to do with it. Maybe they will hang a stocking for him every Xmas rather like setting a place for Elijah at Passover.

Connor's was a fun stocking and provided a technical issue because of the large snowflakes created by making French knots. The knots weren't the issue; placement was the issue. The back has long neat strands of floss and that problem will be solved by adding a lining to keep the stitching from potential snags and catches when filled.


In the closeups, it is a little easier to see the snow falling. I think this stocking is sweet and funny, just like Connor, which is why I chose it.

A little closer view of the top two critters and the snow.

Aside from the artistry of Winter White, this is my favorite stocking. the grins on the characters is infectious and made me smile while I worked on it -- even when I had to rip out a couple of stitches and re-stitch. There were not so many mistakes on this one. I think that's because I was having so much fun and using different techniques.

I usually prefer artistic x-stitch projects, but there are times when doing something for the sheer joy of it makes the design worthwhile. Whimsy is as important as artistry and there was plenty of whimsy in this stocking.

For now, I'll give your eyes a rest and continue on with the remaining stockings in another post.

There will also be posts of Jillie's afghan and many more projects in the future. I haven't stitched in 20 years and I've found that task lighting is the key to making things easier, especially in counted x-stitch, but that is a post for a different time. I have so much to share: old projects, new projects, hints, and reviews of kits, patterns, and technical support, and, I hope, better pictures once I get the hang of the whole photographing stitchery thing down.

Until then, keep stitching.