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.
This is a 60th birthday gift for a friend, Terry V, who’s as cute as a button.
It’s on 14 count vinyl canvas. I didn’t start on this very early (I forgot about it until Tuesday & her surprise party was last night – fun time) so I kept it small (3&1/2″ square) to get done quickly (several nights & a day of binge stitching). A little DMC & Kreinik to add some sparkle. I have some decorative buttons that I have had stashed away & thought it looked good. And, because I used simple stitches, I got done quicker than I expected & decided to add the background for a finished 5″ square design. Whew!
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?
The first clue in the Stitching Games 2015 run by stitcherie is “pickle”.
I had an idea of a tea tray getting a Chinese motif of either a bonsai tree or bamboos. And, with pickle being green either would work. As you can, I hope, I selected bamboos.
Is there any chance you can see this? I can redraw the design & redo it – I have the whole month. Thoughts?
Ok, I have a serious problem. After just making up a list of all the pending needlepoint projects I have, what do I do? Get started on something new. Why? It sounds interesting. Although I’ve read the rules, I am not quite sure what will happen in the Stitching Games 2015! on stitcherie!
My design is 6″x9″ (minimum 6″x6″) & we’ll get a one word clue or image every month (for 10 months) & use that to inspire us. In Nov, you can finish any other areas. Declare any “background” areas & stitch all year long. Since I have so many projects, I decided just to make a design with 10 areas. After finding out what complicated canvases others are doing & that I am only one not using a painted canvas, I’m not sure if this will work but hopefully it will!
The only finishing item in my stash at least 6″ is the tea tray. So, that’s how I determined the size & here’s my line drawn canvas.
Filed under: Gentle Waves
The background of the waves didn’t blend as I expected. Maybe I used too many blues. And, I think the waves are too symmetrical.
In the positives, I like the surf and sand stitch. I’ll round out the heart next time.
Yes, this will be redone with lessons learned. But, I’m finishing another project as I think about what all to do to improve this design. Thoughts?
Filed under: Melita's Designs
Now that all these have been delivered, I can post this. Just like snowflakes, no two are identical!
They were intended for photos but once I figured out to use perforated paper, it was easy to cut to fit.
I’m encouraged by folks who came by yesterday at New Jersey Needle Festival & commented on how much they like this design. Thanks to Susan (Foxview Needlepoint & Rug Hooking for hosting the event), Trish with Trish Vine Designs (love my project keepers), Karen from Nimble Needle (who brought stuff I hadn’t seen in her shop!), Anne from Mrs. Stitches (I got a signed copy of her design, Florentine Fantasy, which is an advanced class she teaches in Florentine canvas embroidery, pattern couching, and basic composite filling patterns), and other vendors who brought wonderful items (I need to retire so I can stitch more)! Met new people, enjoyed old friends, learned a tad about smocking, and loved seeing all the wonderful needlework and various crafts being done in person.
It’s probably more difficult to see from the photo than in person but the sand near the surf has a slight glimmer to it because I am using Planet Earth Silk Opal (Calm 103 & Oxygen 098 with hints of brown on the beach side of the surf and Cloud 097 which is white on the ocean side of the surf) & that has sparkles throughout the thread. Then, for the dry sand I’m using Rainbow Linen (R405) which is a bit rough. I’m going to go back next & fill in open areas of the water & the sand (the open x space in the Criss Cross Hungarian pattern from SuZy’s Portable Stitches). Can you find the heart draw in the sand!?!
I still have water on the brain. Perhaps that is due, in part, to the 2015 ANG Seminar being in Myrtle Beach!
This is the basic pattern of the water for my next original design. I saw someone use the pattern on Facebook’s Needlepoint Nation for snow and liked it immediately for water! It is the Snow 20 from Stitch Landscape which is almost identical to the Water 25 pattern except that water is completely symmetrical. No wonder I saw water even though it was “snow”! But, I prefer the asymmetrical Snow pattern because water is more unpredictable.
I practiced making a sample which I gave to our (ANG Main Line chapter) charity gift tag effort.
I tried the pattern with basketweave but the threads, Petite Facets and Kreinik Micro Ice Chenille, that I wanted to use isn’t appropriate for that stitch. The threads are too thick. But, I wanted a bumpy effect for part of the waves so I switched the stitch pattern. It was still difficult to stitch with for 2 reasons.
One, the Petite Facets didn’t go through the eye of the needle easily but occasionally it was a little easier. I thought maybe I was imagining it but that is what I just read in the tip from the Portable Stitches app (that I found quite by accident). There is a larger opening on one side of the needle making it a tad easier to go in on that side.
Two, even using a large needle (#13 tapestry), I am opening the hole in the canvas with the tip of the laying tool in order to decrease the wear on the thread especially for the Kreinik Micro Ice Chenille which sheds easily.
I also used Planet Earth Silk Opal that has little sparkles throughout which you can see better when you click on the image and see it larger.
The close-up allows you to see the variations in threads which you can see better when you click on the image and see it larger.
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