Sunday Project - Lighthouse

Several years ago, my husband went on a business trip to the East Coast. He visited a beach city, Newport, RI, I think, and wanted to bring me something back. The only store he could find that had needlepoint was a Michael's so he bought me this Dimensions kit. It is printed on 12-count interlock canvas and came with unknown floss. Well, I knew that the only way I'd ever stitch it was to change the threads and try to use a variety of textured stitches! I pulled a pile of threads from my stash and I worked on it for awhile, but then it wandered off to the "when I get a roundtoit" pile.

Last month, I pulled it out and decided to make it my Sunday Project for this summer. I worked on it the first time this past Sunday. I have used quite a variety of threads and very little of the floss that came with. The flowers are all rayon ribbon French Knots, some are deliberately sloppy. Not too many of those left to do, thank goodness. I am NOT fond of doing French Knots! The lighthouse is wool & a little Pearl cotton and it's lights are Flair and FyreWerks, they will become more clear with some backstitching. The paths are a combination of blended floss and Watercolors. All of the green is Silk & Ivory, some in Slanted Gobelin. This week I put in the boats with Neon Rays. They don't look like much yet, need some backstitching. I also worked on the sky quite a bit. It is in floss with Alpaca 18 clouds.

I think I'm going to use an overdyed Kreinik braid for the water, but I haven't decided on a stitch yet. Maybe next Sunday! This is quite an unusual project for me. It isn't Bargello. It isn't aqua & tan. It isn't a geometric. And it isn't charted! But I think it is coming along pretty well.

Crystal Caves: Topaz, Finished

The first Crystal Caves, Topaz, is finished! Actually I finished it last week the night before we left for Reno, but this is the first chance I've had to get a pic of it and do a post. I'm pleased with the way it turned out, but the Kreinik Holographic Ribbon I used doesn't show up well in the photos. I'll have to find out how to photograph it. This pic was taken in a sunny spot, sun coming in the window.

Something I learned: Once I completed the stitching all the way across, I was surprised that it seemed to come much to close to the frame. There should have been plenty of room. I measured again and the canvas was cut the correct size. Hmmmm. Then I thought, check the gauge of the canvas. Well! This piece of brown Zweigart canvas counted 18 stitches/inch acrosss & 17 down! Unfortunately I had used it the "wrong" way, with the selvage at the bottom, because that is the piece I had available. The moral to this story is that the vertical thread count may not be the same as the horizontal thread count. I checked several other pieces of canvas in my stash and they were all either spot on or only off by less than a thread. This brown canvas may have been an old piece I had. I think today's canvas is more accurate than it was 30 years ago! Anyway, from now on I will check the canvas thread count, in both directions, before I cut it!

Just a quick hello!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to check in even though I have no pictures to show you. Oh, I know! I'll post pix of the kitties! I am now in serious packing mode & have lots of things to do around the house to get it set up for DH to live alone for awhile. Kitties get their nails done this week too so they will be easier to handle if they get freaky and also they won't tear up the car upholstery! They are good kitties & I'm sure they will be fine.

Here is KC, relaxing, and Sweet Pea is guarding the boxes.

Crystal Caves: Topaz, Progress #1

This was originally going to be called Crystal Shower, but I've changed my mind & now it is Crystal Caves: Topaz. I hope eventually to have a series of Crystal Cave Bargello designs! Anyway, this one is about half done. The metallic is the new Kreinik 1/16" Holographic Ribbon and it is soooo pretty! I love the look of this stuff! All the rest is Silk & Ivory. Yes, it looks like a regular Bargello, but if you really look, you will see that the pattern changes at least a little on every dark row! The change is more noticeable, however, on the lightest rows. I'm liking it so far!

My posts will probably be a bit erratic for the next few weeks. I will be going to Reno for the summer so I have to get packed & also get this house ready for DH to batch it for several months. In addition, we have a dance camp we will be attending every night this week! Then when I get to Reno, I'll have to UNpack and get that house liveable again. Whew! I'm already tired! LOL

Stitch of the Month 2010, May-June

This week I caught up on ANG's Stitch of the Month (SOTM). I hadn't done May as it was just a little bit & I didn't want to get everything out just for that. So first I did May's section.
Earlier in the year, I had done the Corner Eyelets and put in too many, but they looked nice so I left them. Well, that turned out OK because when I put in May's Crescent Cups, they went over those metallics Eyelets and look really pretty!
Next was the little Satin stitch design to fill in the corners of the cross. Didn't take too long. I'm curious now to see what comes next to fill in the blanks!

Queen Anne's Lace, Finished

Last week I finished Queen Anne's Lace. I made a few changes and completed the few stitches where I had run out of thread. The changes: I extended the background laid Accentuate all the way to the edge. I also filled in a couple of places in the corners that were blank. I didn't like the blank places! The space at the ends of the Double Fans I filled in with a Rhodes stitch. And the space at the corner below that I did a sort of Angel Wing on the diagonal. Ro gave me some help with that one! It was pretty tricky to figure out! I also added beads inside the Rectangular Jessicas in the center diamond. Now it goes in the To Be Framed pile! I doubt that I will get that done until I get back from Reno in Sept.

Mystery Retreat Project Progress #5

I have been working on the Mystery Retreat Project and this weekend I finally finished the 3rd Section. This section was designed by Debbie Rowley, of DebBee's Designs, and has been a fun challenge. The only real change I made to this section was to the ecru & green sections at each end. The straight lines of ecru Neon Rays were supposed to be squiggly and I made them straight. This piece will now rest for several months. I will be going up to Reno in a couple of weeks for the summer and it is too big to haul back & forth!

Interactive Ribbons Bargello, Finished!

Interactive Ribbons is finished! I put the last stitch in yesterday afternoon. I really like this Bargello. It sure ate up the thread for the background: it used 3 skeins plus 2 strands of the dark teal Silk & Ivory.

Before Interactive Ribbons can be published though, I want to do another one with a slightly different background. I also need a better photo! But first, I will do another new Bargello pattern called Crystal Shower. I will post about that in the next day or so.

Sierra, Progress 2

Sierra is now half finished. I like it except for the 2 squares near the corner with the kind of flowery things in them. When I get to those squares on the other side, I will try something different & then go back & change these.

It may be awhile before I get back to this. Now I need to get to work on Interactive Ribbons & finish the background.