The tenth (& last) clue in the Stitching Games 2015 run by stitcherie is “Line Stitch”. Straight stitches are line stitches including those done on the horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. So, I am repeating my last diagonal line stitches (cashmere) on the right side of the piece but in the opposite direction. With this post, I am concluding an interesting adventure. I may never stitch with Panache by Rainbow Gallery again – too difficult to control.
The ninth clue in the Stitching Games 2015 run by stitcherie is “Hello, Mrs. Pot”. And, what lady wouldn’t like to be dressed in cashmere! So, the background (left side) is done in a diagonal cashmere stitch.
The eighth clue in the Stitching Games 2015 run by stitcherie is “apple”. Since I saw others already used the Issac Newton gravity connection, I decided to go with the other apple guy who, as it turns out, introduced apples to the state I now live in (PA). John Chapman, often called Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as the northern counties of present day West Virginia.
The popular image is of Johnny Appleseed spreading apple seeds randomly, everywhere he went. With that in mind, like seeds falling randomly, I created a random stitch pattern for the sides. It’s not irregular continental, oblique beaty, or nobuko. The closest it comes to is Kennan but it is still different from any of the diagonal stitches in The Needlepoint Book by Jo Ippolito Christensen. I’m not going to check other books. Here’s the diagram:
And, the piece:
The seventh part in the Stitching Games 2015 run by stitcherie offered two choices: (1) You can pick one of the clues (but not a technique), do the usual thing or (2) you can play tic-tac-toe!
From the combinations of clues and techniques that were available, I selected couching/laid filling, eyelet stitches, and Lima.
Since Lima is a coastal city in Peru, I stitched the east & west “coasts” of my piece in a couching/laid filling technique from parts of ANG’s Stitch of the Month in March 2005 to create a border. And, because there is a Lima in Ohio I decided to add a couching around each of the circles to represent the Os in OhiO. Lastly, half square eyelets (not sure what else to call them) fit into each corner.
The sixth clue in the Stitching Games 2015 run by stitcherie is “lilliputian”. From Gulliver’s Travels, a race of very small people; also meaning very small. So, the smallest area left on my canvas is the other circle (the one on the right).
I created my own round Amadeus based on my learnings from my Jean Hilton books.
The fifth clue in the Stitching Games 2015 run by stitcherie is “topsy-turvy”.
I actually found a motif called “Topsy-Turvy” in Jean Hilton’s Stimulating Stitches which is a crescent that “wraps around on itself and then keeps on going into a tail”. However, I couldn’t use it exactly as she designed it on this piece. So, I took the crescent concept & with some creative thinking, which she encourages on practically every page, I created my own exotic crescent. It took me several attempts to get the coverage and roundness that I wanted.
And, one way or another, a future clue will tie into the Sprats Head, Chicago Variation (also from in Jean Hilton’s Stimulating Stitches) – in the form of a cross between example C & D to make a circle & balance this pattern on the right!
The fourth clue in the Stitching Games 2015 run by stitcherie is 3.
Initially, I thought a 3-sided stitch pattern but with the 6-sided shapes in the vase, I didn’t think that would work anywhere.
I really wanted to work on the bottom area which is area number 3 when you start with the top area as number 1 and going either clockwise or counter clockwise around the exterior, the bottom is area 3.
It doesn’t end there. I tried 3 thread types. First was Pepper Pot Silk (Tendrils 098) which is a great match to the green bamboo in one and two threads in the Florentine and Satin pattern from SuZy’s Portable Stitches. Two was too thick and one not enough coverage. So, I tried Silk & Ivory (Lime 56) which seemed dull somehow but coverage was great. Then, I tried Vineyard Merino (English Ivy M-1197) which was so close to the bamboo color that it would detract from the focal point. And, by then, I’d stitched enough to see the diamond pattern would conflict with the 6-sided pattern.
The 3s saga continues as I searched for a new stitch pattern. The vertical look of Buildong Blocks conflicted with the vertical bamboo. So, I was thinking horizontal pattern as I thumbed through The Needlepoint Book (looking forward to the 3rd revised edition coming out soon; but, I have too many notes in this one to part with it!). Plaited Gobelin is pictured vertically but easily works in either direction. And, I can mix in rows of the dark Mandarin Floss (M914) used in the bamboo and maybe Needle Necessities/Kreinik #12 braid overdyed with greens and purples unless the sparkles conflict with the vase. But, I am happy with my 3rd stitch pattern!
The third clue in the Stitching Games 2015 run by stitcherie is “Nigel”. Leonard Nimoy had just died & I thought of Nigel 7 right away believing it was from Star Trek. But, apparently not. I see it was mentioned in a Futurama episode. That still didn’t give me any ideas. So, I googled it, discovered it is the brightest star in the constellation Orion, & is a blue-bright supergiant. It appears that I am taking these clues literally because all I could think of was finding a stitch that looked like a star. I went through SuZy’s Portable Stitches by SuZy Murphy. I love the app because it is set up by a list of stitches and by a list of uses. Under the category ‘Starry Skies’, I found the Combined Cross stitch. The thread I selected, Needle Necessities Inc (175), is an overdyed floss with purple that matches the vase & blue like the star, Nigel. They are randomly placed, like the stars, to not create a pattern or a streaky effect.
The second clue in the Stitching Games 2015 run by stitcherie is “football” & why not – it was released on Superbowl Sunday!
I went through SuZy’s Portable Stitches & have 2 leading candidates heading to the Superbowl (a test canvas) – Fran’s Stitch (looks like a lot of footballs) & French Swag (looks like a gridiron). May the best stitch pattern win.
Fran’s Stitch was out of the running when I layer it out on graph paper because it was too large for the area.
I also went through Needlepoint Dictionary of Stitches on my Kindle & found Hex shape which looks like a little football.
So, I tried combining the Rhodes stitches from French Swag & the Hex shape (a slightly smaller one) with Stripes A (from Portable Stitches) but it was too many stripes & no contrast to the bamboo.
The part I like is the Hex. So, I decided to keep it simple and I made the top of what I see as a decorative vase all Hex shapes.
I used Kreinik (045) #4 for the footballs, #16 for the rim of the vase, & #32 for the sides. The thread has a bit of green that complements the bamboo. The purple comes from selected portions of Gloriana Seaweed #088.
Take 2 for the bamboo. I knew I had to redo it after Bill asked me what the other version was (after I told him 3 times). So, I studied images of bamboo & realized my color was way off & had to figure out how to make it more realistic. Hopefully, you’ll agree as does Bill, “It looks like bamboo. ” What will clue 2 be?
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