Five down and one to go

Finally. I'm finished with Savannah's Xmas stocking and have only Jordan's to do. This has been a long and full year so far, not that I haven't done other projects, too, but mostly I've worked on the stockings.

Savannah's has a few different features, but not too many. Little tweaks and tricks that make it unique and I think more effective.

The finished stocking

This is what the stockings looks like finished with the blending filament, silver cording, and beads attached.   Although I dislike back stitching, it does enhance the magnolias nicely and brings out the folds of the big blue bow in the center.

 You can almost see the shimmer of the opalescent blue blending filament in the snowflakes in the center and on the bauble to the left.

The beads on the blue bauble to the right and the silver cording on the bauble to the left are better shown here. 

Although barely visible, I did something different with the silver tops of the ornaments. Instead of the provided silver braid used elsewhere to nice effect, I used some Japan silver from Kreinik I've had for over 20 years. Because the Japan silver has a long, smooth shape, it makes a better ornament top and looks almost like the real thing -- or as real as it gets in x-stitch. You can catch a glimmer of the blending filament, same opalescent bluish lavender used elsewhere on snowflakes and the other ornament, outlining the central band of beading on the right. 

 

When you get right down to it, the Winter White stocking is quite lovely and it is worth all the effort to make it. This turned out better than I had hoped with the changes I made, and it will make a lovely gift come Christmas Eve.

Xmas stockings Part Deux

I know. Pretentious that Part Deux, but it works for movies.

On to the next offering in the Xmas stockings, finished and unfinished.

I thought the next pattern was cute, but not as cute as one I remembered from years ago, a white kitten playing with a red or blue glass ornament from a tree. Since I couldn't find that one and had recently spaced on how to find it (the way I found the sunflower pattern for Jillie's afghan), I chose a pattern that had kittens, ribbons, ornaments, and Xmas tree limbs. It was a choice and it turned out so much better than I thought it would.

 Sorry about the angle. It was late. I was tired. I'm not a great photographer. Pick one excuse and run with it.


At any rate, this one is for Ariyanna. The stocking doesn't have the sparkle of the Winter White stockings or the difficulty factor of some of the others, but it is cute. Very cute.

As it emerged from the blob of stitches and showed more personality and nuance, I was happy with my choice. 


I did find the white kitten playing with the red ornament under the tree, but I have no more grandchildren to make stockings for, although I might consider stockings for relatives or friends or someone who would like one for their favorite kid for Xmas.


A closeup view of the cats shows a better view of their eyes, which are gorgeous, and some of the details not visible on this view.

It's not flashy, but it is adorable and I think it will stand the test of time. I hope Nonny, Ariyanna's nickname and a name that fit on the upper section of the stocking, will think so.

This is the ornament that goes with the stocking. It will be cut out in a circle, hence the circular pattern to the stitching, and will be ribboned and added to a few little trinkets inside the stockings for Xmas giving.

Winter White stockings have ornaments that go with the stocking, and a ribbon was included, a green ribbon.  You can almost see it in the shadow of my arm and the camera. What you cannot easily see, thanks to my ham-handed photography, is the iridescent blue snowflake among the background pattern surrounding one of the magnolia blossoms similar to the snowflakes on the body of the stocking.

Since not all the stockings had ornaments, I've decided to do an ornament for Sierra's stocking and not one for the boys, Connor because he's gone and Jordan is much too mature and old for an ornament. He'll get something else in his stocking.

Sierra's stocking appealed to me because of its design of snow woman and birds, but also because of the artistry, which always translates into difficulty.

The shading is achieved with half cross stitches, called satin stitches in Europe (something I discovered on another project).

The coloring is beautiful and I love the birds, but they are somewhat difficult to back stitch. I had even forgot I wasn't finished back stitching this one. Back stitching is not my favorite part of the x-stitch process; I prefer patterns that do not need to be back stitched.

There is a sunflower on the snow lady's hat, some seeds in the divot in the center of the hat, and lots of birds. I do love the birds.

This cardinal is partially back stitched and I do like the suet and seed bell hanging from the tree branch. It reminds me of the ones my grandmother hung on her trees throughout the winter.

The last little bird and he isn't back stitched at all.  I obviously have a little more work to do on this and will finish it once the wedding afghan is done.

I didn't even mind all the changes in the thread colors necessary for some of the birds, but I did decide to leave out the continuation of the branches and trees in the background above the name.

I haven't decided whether to use a bird for the ornament or do the suet-seed bell instead. Maybe a combination of both: bird head and a bit of wing eating from the bell. That might just do it.

The last stocking is Jordan's and it is way more challenging than I realized. Lots of color changes and shifts from half cross to cross stitches, but this one has fine gold wire as part of the design and gold beads for the wreath in the center of the sled that is the focal point and the main theme of the stocking. It's a bit hard to tell just from what I have already done, but it will be beautiful -- if I can stop making mistakes and having to tear out sections to get it right.

Getting off even one stitch on the count is disastrous in a project like this. You can fudge it but it won't look right in the end, which is why I have spent much more time on this one than I usually need to. My x-stitching skills are a bit rusty, but coming along.


In the end, it is all about enjoying the process of x-stitching, even when you want to crumple it up and throw it to the birds and mice to rip apart instead of tearing out a section again and beginning over. For me, it is also about making something that will last for years and may be handed down or even used, a legacy of love in colored thread and even weave fabric that won't end up in a jumble of toys in the toy box or laid out for a garage sale. Personal gifts made with x-stitch and love last forever, not only in the lives of the recipient, but in the memory of the stitcher -- mistakes and all.

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.