Melitastitches4fun's Blog

Heart Swirls by Janet Zickler Casey was a half-day class (8:30-11:30 am). In such a short time, we only got about 1 strand done per area. I heard it takes 30 minutes to teach a stitch and that’s about what we got through. We did spend extra time on the second and third areas (moving left to right). So, we didn’t stitch in the 6th or 7th area.

Once home, I found stitching the Alternating Reverse Gobelin Rectangles in the 2nd area was easier moving vertically rather than horizontally. Once I got the rhythm of the stitch, I moved horizontally on the bottom half.

Compensation was a little tricky in a few spots, especially in the 5th area. But, in several other areas, it seemed like I picked the perfect spot to start because the compensation worked out great.

The 7th area called for a Woven Scotch Variation with long laid threads moving diagonally from NW to SE, but in such a skinny area, I didn’t like it. So, I selected the Mosaic Stripe, which usually uses 2 different threads, but I used the same 3 threads that were used in the first area. Once I got stitching, I realized the right side needed to be higher by 2 canvas threads to match the left side. The over 2 stitches in the Mosaic were with Very Velvet, and the over 1 stitched was done with Neon Rays+ stitched twice because it sunk down, disappearing between the thicker Very Velvet stitches. I filled in with the gold Fyre Werks but not stitched twice because they appear sunken in the first area. I’m very happy with the substitute stitch.

Most of this was finished during the National and American League Division Series games. It is with a heavy heart (pun intended) that we watched our Phillies lose. They had a great first half, mediocre second half, and a disastrous finish. You’ve got to be red hot like this heart in September, not June.

The Kansas City ANG Seminar heart magnet was also perfect to use with this piece. I had a couple of needles working, and so both magnets were helpful.

FYI: I found my KC clip magnet in a pocket of my purse. Now I can’t find a felt bookmark I made for myself. But I found the gold sequins for my butterfly in the cushion of my chair as I recovered a needle threader for the umpteenth time, which is now connected to a beaded fob, so I don’t lose it again. Only one needle went missing during this project. The saying should be, “You find some, you lose some.”