My plate broke But I am back…Toppy too…

I am so sorry I have been gone for a couple weeks but my plate finally broke and I just had to let some things go. I have a huge project on my desk right now, but yesterday I felt like I had gotten a grip on it and I could breath.

And to compound things I also got an infection and the medicine almost did me in…this is truly a case of the cure was worse than the disease! I am allergic to penicillin but the doctor assured me it was a new variety and so I tried it. Gave me a shot in the office and I had no adverse reaction, so I took the prescription. Three days later I my stomach was churning and my head pounding so hard I thought some kid was sitting outside my house with his “bass woofers” turned up. Stopped that prescription, called the doctor, he sent a second prescription…took one pill and that was it. I was NOT going to die from the cure! No more meds…if the infection comes back I will deal with it then. This all happened the week-end of St. Patrick and last Saturday (March 24^th ) was the first day I felt normal.

Needless to say, Torin Ailfred O’Patrick was not well rounded for St. Paddy’s day. He was finished stitching, BUT flat.  He  was finished before I hit rock bottom and was headed for the finishing table but only made it as far as the mantle to share his space proudly with the navy (one grandson) on the mantle). Toppy knows next year he will be a well-rounded leprechaun.

Toppy got His finishing touches; gold buckles and buttons …buttons were upright cross/French knots: Small horizontal straight stitch and vertical French knot,  a nice filling stitch.

Remember the marks I made at Toppy’s shoes? This was to remember where the shamrocks had been and I couched shamrock sequins.

Toppy’s bag of shamrocks is needleweaving. First I basketweaved his gold bag , then couched shamrocks and over that needleweaving using a buttonhole  stitch. Start at the bottom with straight stitches and then buttonhole up to desired size adding and reducing stitches as needed. This stitch is worked from left to right; just sink thread on right and carry back to left side. The detached buttonholed may be worked first and then the embellishments just placed in the buttonhole bag.

Toppy wanted his mustache and hair to be his crowning glory. I filled his beard with directional straight stitches and overstitched them to give a fuller appearance; I even filled in the mustache area. Over these stitches I did two very long bullion knots for his mustache and couched it into place.

And his crowning glory…over 1000 French Knots…TMI(too much info)?  That’s just the guess-tee-mate because I piled them on just to give him a thick set of curly locks.

This is my temporary desk piled high with 5 Fed EX envelopes delivered to me during my melt down…I worked when I could and had most completed in time but Tuesday was the first day I felt almost caught up .

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have time to stitch today!  ttfn…sue

Dressed to the nine

Before I begin I want to insert a couple personal comments.

This week Jane over at Chilly Hollow’s blog (http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/) wrote about my blog. What an honor that was, Thank you Jane. I noticed an increase of traffic to my blog but did not realize what was happening until I read Jane’s blog later in the morning. Needless to say, had I more visits to my blog than ever. Thank you Jane. AND Thank you to all of you who took a few moments to visit and read my blog, I hope you will return.

I also had this comment from Deborah Hubbard from South Africa (it is posted to the blog too) but I thought it worth quoting…

“You might like to know that here in South Africa we use the word (not name, but hey) Toppie (with a long aw sound) for an old gentleman. Usually a pleasant one, but it’s also a good word for muttering under your breath if the driver ahead of you shows signs of strange behavior! Either way, it’s perfect for a leprechaun, and I’m pretty sure he knows that and somehow suggested it to you …”

I did not know this but I’m sure Deborah is correct and Toppy picked his name…he just has that look about him.

Okay back to Toppy…

Last week-end Toppy got duds…His shirt is a windowpane pattern stitched in Continental & Basketweave stitches using linen threads. First a dark green outline was laid and then filled with the white. Notice that the pot of shamrocks is being covered, BUT they  will return (that’s the main reason I take a picture of canvases before I start stitching…at my age I could forget what was there or just because sometimes on larger canvases it takes time to start adding the embellishments.)

His suit is Velvet, so soft but requires a wee bit o’ patience to stitch. Very Velvet threads need to be cut short, really no longer than 12-15 inches…a good quick measuring tool is from fingers to elbow. Use a larger sized needle, this will help open up the holes of the canvas and allow the thread to pass more quickly with less friction. Place the needle a ½ inch onto the thread and DO NOT move around in the needle. The pictures on the right show how thread will wear.  Sometimes the thread will break and then the needle needs to be moved in another ½ inch.

Toppy’s jacket is stitched in Mosaic stitch. Notice the letters on my jacket (A-B-C-D). This was the order my jacket was stitched in case one card of Very Velvet did not allow my entire jacket to be stitched. There did not appear to be a change in dye lots but sometimes these subtle variations do not show up until after stitching is completed. Should a new card have been needed it would have been used in ALL of area D.

There is a psychological reason for this…we read words from left to right and we also usually scan pictures from left to right. If the thread needed to be changed and there had been a slight variance in the dye lot it probably would have be skimmed across and areas C & A would have been the last the eye would have scanned and since they are identical the mind would have dismissed the first B-D variance.

The sleeves are padded Horizontal Gobelins. The padding of the sleeves was done with the Very Velvet but #5 perle coton could have been used for the padding to conserve thread usage. See how the sleeves stand up off the jacket?

The pants are also Very Velvet but a darker green and they are stitch in Diagonal Gobelin. You would also stitch these in a special order if using 2 cards of threads. In this case the two outside areas would be stitched first because when finished they well be adjacent to each other. The two inside areas are separated by other stitches and will show less change.

The ideal thing is to not to run out of thread or to have to use threads from two separate cards. Buy enough thread to stitch a piece at the same time! AND this WILL NOT work for obvious dye lot changes in threads. But occasionally it will happen that you have to use more than one card of a thread and if you cannot use either a needle blending or stitch technique to blend these threads together this is another way to minimize the subtle changes that might occur. This only works IF the dye lot change is hardly noticeable or if you are unsure that the cards were purchased at the same time. Remember not to place two different cards of threads adjacent to each other or where they will touch when finished. Also try to place in the most inconspicuous areas. Toppy’s sleeves would have been the best area to change threads  since the stitch also changes and “the mind” would have probably attributed this small color change to light play on the stitches.

So now Toppy has duds and is feel’n mighty proud…next socks, shoes and a hat, then he’ll get some hair too.

Little long today…but

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have time to stitch today!  ttfn…sue

With a sparkle in my eye and a smile on my face

I, Torin Ailfred O’Patrick, Toppy for short now have a smile on my face and a sparkle in my eye.

My mouth is a series of red Cross Stitches over one canvas intersection filled with white Continental stitches for my pearly whites. Great grin, n’est-ce pas? Also every get a hair in your mouth…obviously I have picked up a doggy hair. I know it will be removed now that everyone can see it. But it sure is annoying!

My nose are Gobelin stitches over the Basketweave, the center two longer Gobelins were stitched twice to add move height

I like my cheeks too; they are padded Gobelins with a darker pink floss. The padding is stitched first in Basketweave followed by horizontal Gobelins. I look like someone just pinched my cheeks.

But my eyes say it all! Yes, I’m winking at you with my Gobelin stitched eyelid. I still need eyelashes but then I need a canvas full of hair too. But my green eye is sparkling; four little Continental stitches in black and white surrounded by a Kreinik 008 green Jessica. When stitching a Jessica don’t forget to tuck last stitches under previous stitches; otherwise would have a spiral eye and look like a pirate instead of the noble chief I am.

This week-end I am getting at least a shirt coat and maybe pants…Aren’t you glad I’m a painted canvas, otherwise I might be x-rated.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have time to stitch today!  ttfn…sue

More on the classes

My desk is looking better but still has lots of projects to complete; four down four to go and that is the computer work.  Stitching projects are still holding at four, well maybe five in the nest…millions in the wings (I’m going to live forever if my needlework round-toit projects are any indication.)  I think I will refrain from signing up for another class for awhile but I won’t make any promises.

Many of you are heading for San Antonio and the national ANG seminar (http://www.needlepoint.org/Seminar-11/index.php) … have a great time and keep us posted about all the good times. I’ve always thought they should call it the “Great American Stitch-in.” When I did attend, there was always a place where everyone could gather and stitch into the wee hours of the morning. I learned lots of new ideas, new techniques, found new threads and met many great friends here…I do hope they still have this area…that’s what we are all really about…stitching, learning and sharing. So all you wonderful stitchers have a great time, stay cool and keep us posted on what’s happening.

Here are my first two Christmas presents completed; now if I can just remember where I stash them and to whom I plan to give them. There was one small hitch with the finishing but the framer made it worth the mi$take ; one was suppose to have a blue mat, but two pictures framed for under $100 is very rare (one would be rare), so I’m not complaining.

Here’s the progress on my class, Laura Perin’s, One Long Panel (http://laurajperindesigns.tripod.com/index.htm). I am keeping up with the class and this week I have two weeks to complete the area (our instructor is headed forSan Antonio). I try to make every class or even just a project I do learning experience.

First I started stitching the border, I always pay attention to the where and how I going to anchor my threads, so I sometimes change the stitch order, especially if it does not affect the appearance of the stitch. I did this for the Overlapping Cross stitches in the border. Our instructor for the class suggested we stitch the sides of the border as we go because there has been a discrepancy in the count (more about that later) so I just stitch far enough to complete the next session but I do make sure I have places to hid travel threads and bury threads starts and stops.

I happened to notice while stitching the first panel that I did not care for the green in this overdye with the other thread choices, so I removed it. Yes, I added to my ort jar…gone. Now you might ask why I just didn’t choice another thread with no green…remember this is a class and the threads were in a kit. Purchasing a new thread was an option, but I also could purchase one more overdye with the same dyelot number in case I will need it (and it looks like I will).  So I am manipulating the thread by removing a portion of the thread…

And I am also watching the placement of these stitches. Before stitching areas of the piece, I am really thinking about the order/ direction I am placing the stitches.  I am not only watching where the colors may be placed but I am watching how I place the stitches. I noticed when doing the first panel I could see the travel threads being carried from one stitch area to the next, but if I thought about the placement these travel threads were not so visible. So I made a decision to take the time to plan my stitch order while I was still trying to place the color in a pleasing placement. You can see when I hold the canvas up to the light  the open areas and when you look at the front close up you can see it too.  It may have been unnecessary but it was an interesting study and I will know.

On panel 1 and 2 when stitching with the overdye I placed the center stitch of these areas first and then placed the outside stitches next. I did not pre-plan panel 1 (LP Area 2) this way; the instructor/ moderator suggested this placement to get the stitch in the correct place. So after panel 1 was done this way I decided to repeat it for panel 2(LP Area 4)

 On panel three (LP Area 6) I stitched both sides of the area (Herringbone) at the same time so the overdye was symmetrical, others in the class stitched up one side and down the other (I’ll try and take a picture of this and show next time.) I also tried not the have the overdye cross the open areas where the Rhodes Stars were to be placed. And when I stitched these Rhodes Stars I buried my travel threads.

The rest will have to wait for another day, must get back to the computer.

Those of you heading for San Antonio have a stitching good time and if you have a blog don’t forget to write!

 Thank you for stopping by and spending a few moments with me; hope you have time to stitch today! ttfn…sue

More to the neighborhood

The Neighborhood is getting larger. Another two houses were pretty easy stitching besides the fact that someone in class thinks we should put a sign on the green house that says, “Paint me!” I love the red roof stitch and think it will become one of my favorites. It adds texture and direction…

Remember last time, “this roof was a challenge.”…the brown roof?  In the close up picture you can see it very well. I think that stitch was the challenge of the piece. It might be a toss up between the brown roof and the green roof, both were different but effective. I forgot to include it in the last post but here it is…Susan Jones called it a Byzantine but I thought it was a small Milanese. What’s interesting about this stitch is that depending on how you chose to stitch it the effect with an overdye will be quite different. I chose the method on the left. 

 

 

 

 

I was reading Consumer Reports Magazine (August issue) this week, an article about phone cameras. I think next time I take pictures of this canvas I am going to us my phone Verizon Droid X and my trusty Olympus Camedia C-5500 with its 5.1 megapixels to see the differences. I have looked at purchasing a new camera but I haven’t been able to justify the expense in my mind when this one works and I like it. But we will compare pictures next time to see if I see any differences.

We are having a Heat Warning or Advisory this week-end. I really hope it lets up, I do worry about the elderly and those without air conditioning. No matter what the weatherman calls it, the weather is just plain HOT! So I guess I will be forced to sit in my air-conditioned house and stitch…Oh no, such a burden!

Stay cool and…Hope everyone has time to stitch today!  ttfn…sue

The Neighborhood part 3

The Neighborhood is growing. Two more houses have been completed. I really am enjoying this piece, it is a sampler of stitches for architecture.

See the top house…this roof was a challenge. I liked it but it was a stitch to take care with and then of course it changed direction at the hip of the house. The siding of this house was a 4 way continental but for me was a challenge as I normally stitch on the diagonal and this was stitched row by row so the thread on the back side would not show when viewed from the front. See the difference in the diagrams? I would catch myself trying to revert to “my way” but with the exception of maybe one or two miss-steps I think I did pretty well.

My photo is a bit off, but then I’m a bit off this week too. Holidays always throw me off…I never know what day of the week it is until we have a full 5 day work week. I’m better with Monday holidays than Friday holidays too, so next week I’ll be back on track.

Hope everyone has time to stitch today!  ttfn…sue

The Neighborhood House 2

I want to share my new architectural needlepoint skills, “The Neighborhood” is proving to be quite a lesson in learning. I love the way Susan Jones has subtly marked the corners of the house (A in photo) by starting and stopping the stitches rather than outlining the corner or changing thread color. She also has offset stitches to give dimension (B in photo), and uses overdyes (C in photo) to suggest shading. And the roof stitch of house two (D in photo), while easy to stitch, takes a moment to watch the count; a great shingle stitch.

I love this piece and when I first started stitching this piece had no one in mind, just liked the piece. Now that I am stitching it, I have several people I think would like this as a gift. And that brings up a question: “How many times can you stitch a piece from the instructions you purchase without being in copyright infringement?”  Read U.S.Copyright Law: http://www.copyright.gov/title17/ especially Section 107 Fair Use: http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap7.html  and http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html .

I mentioned that I might want to stitch this piece more than once in the class, and many felt that I could stitch it as many times as I wished from one set of instructions as long as I was not selling them. I pointed out to them, that if this were a painted canvas that would not be the case.

I’ve read the copyright law and I think it is a bit confusing on the subject of multiple uses. I read this as I need a copy of the instructions for everyone I stitch, but it also states I can contact the owner for permission to use more than once. So I did send an email to the source I had and received this reply:

 As long as you purchased the full pattern from your LNS you may stitch it as many times as you wish using your original set of instructions.  You may not make copies of the pattern or any part hereof and give them or sell them to friends nor may you make the design or any part thereof and sell it  –  the design is for your use only to make for yourself and/or as gifts.

Truthfully I was a bit taken back by the responses. I feel like if I stitch it 2 or 3 times I should do something more than pay for the chart-pack once. If it were a painted canvas, I would have to purchase two or three. I know that some designers of chart-packs are adding a special embellishment that will require you to purchase additional chart-packs if you wish to have the embellishment.

AND then there is the question:  What do you do if you want a chart-pack or instruction book that is no longer in print (and you know this for a fact)? What if a shop wants to teach such a piece in a class and they have only three copies of the instructions and 6-7 possible students? What if that original designer has either passed away,  is no longer teaching, and you have tried every means to get in touch with the designer; can you make copies for a class? I think there are many great designs out there that should be taught again and again…they are classics.

I’m not sure where I stand on either issue, but I do know that I think I owe it to the art of needlepoint to do more than buy one chart-pack or instruction book and reproduce it 3 or 4 times. Maybe the answer to both questions is to donate a portion to a local charity or stitching guild of your choice.

What do you think is “Fair use?”

I hope everyone has time to stitch today! ttfn…sue

Joplin Missouri needs stash

I have been so busy this week I forgot to post anything. I got the pictures taken but haven’t had time to write…

Today I was catching up on reading my favorite blogs and I came across this one: Blue Moon River: http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/2011/05/joplin-missouri-quilt-guild-needs-our.html

Now I know many of us are stitchers, but life without stash is not good and esppecially to a group that makes quilts to give to others in need. So please go through your stash and if you have extra threads and material you think they could use please help.

I’m going to go through my stash and my piggy bank too. I can’t imagine life without stash.

 I hope everyone has time to stitch today and this Memorial week-end too! ttfn…sue

Mother’s Day week-end and Mondays

Mother’s Day week-end the best ever!

Saturday spent the day visiting….

Stitching….

Visiting….

Eating….

And the best canvas of the day went to Judi M. visiting her sister Kathie Q. The canvas is from Julie Pischke (http://www.juliepischke.com/)and a stitch guide was designed by Marlene Doak.    It is a Gecko tote and just too cute; those geckos are wonderful. And then of course when I finally set down to stitch (ha-ha-ha) I saw the rest of the canvas. Oh my BIG and cute!!!

Sunday was a food fest…My husband took me to for cinnamon rolls and coffee then it was off to church with our youngest son and his family. Got an orchid corsage from his family…the orchids are beautiful. Then brunch at an Italian Restaurant I have wanted to try for a long time; I had pasta, pasta and more pasta. An afternoon with ice tea, a book and nap…some of my favorite pastimes…then a steak dinner to top off my day. Mother’s Day was good.

Of course I have no idea what happened to Monday…it just came and went…with A LOT of HEAT I might add. I have decided that the weather in the Midwest is different at best. I am not going to complain about the heat…especially since there are friends that are in much more peril than I and trying to keep dry. I finally gave in last night and turned my air on but trust me when the temperatures go back to normal the air is off and the windows and doors back open. I will not miss Spring!

Oh yes, yesterday I spent my day researching laidwork. Most of the information is found in books about Goldwork or metal work. I’m not sure I just didn’t confuse myself more than I was already confused. Now I have about 10 books with book marks all over my work area…I think I’ll just give this a rest, mull over all the information floating around my brain and stitch. Maybe as I stitch some of the questions I have will resolve themselves or become more apparent. I’ll share as time goes on, but today I’m off to stitch.

I hope everyone has time to stitch today! ttfn…sue

Fini…Bunnies coming and going

 

This bunny is back from the finisher and looking just exactly as I envisioned. I love it! This was such a fun piece to stitch but then why wouldn’t it be… 10 count canvas. I can’t tell you the last time I stitched on 10 count canvas but it had to have been some years ago. I always think 14 count canvas is a pleasure and theolder I get so do my eyes.

I couldn’t wait to share with everyone and even though we are not thru St. Patrick’s Day yet I’m going to leave him sitting out. He’s great eye candy and maybe he will inspire me to put my bunnies out before the week of Easter.

 

 

This bunny is going to the finisher this week.  I thought I’d never get the Turkey Work tail stitched and I have sore fingers to prove it. The ear stitch did not come to me until I completed the tail. Funny how stitches will just pop into you head…this is an extended diagonal cashmere variation; I added 1 more over 2 stitch to each unit and I reversed it for each ear.

Now I am taking a day or two to let my fingers stop throbbing and then I am going to start on eggs. Also have a couple St. Pat designs that could get finished if I hurry.

Hope everyone has time to stitch today!  ttfn…sue