A snowy long weekend allowed me time to do some finishing work.
I’d had no luck finding fabric at any Michael’s recently. Initially, when JoAnn’s closed, it looked like Michael’s were stepping it up on the fabrics. But, they didn’t restock. So, when I found fat quarters (18″ x 21″) at Walmart awhile ago, I grabbed a few solid colors including the purple (solid pansy) on the back of this one. It’s a pink canvas but the one long light thread that was couched in the piece is a light purple.
My preferred finishing process is a stabilizer (tacked into place on the canvas with invisible thread) and one layer of felt glued onto magazine board. Then, I attach a loop to the stabilizer side. And, both sides are.attached to each other with cording sewed in place.
It’s taking awhile to get through the 4 pieces I’d piled up because we’ve watched a great show on BritBox called Riot Women and lots of football games. Since there are 4 pieces, I progressed in stages across each one until I got to attaching the cording. My fingers need to rest between each one.
I finished Peace, 3rd in The Cabochon Series by Susan Portra first.
Here’s my four finished cabochons on the banister.
In the background, currently, two Dawn Donnelly pieces flank my owl which Bill loves! And, the owl has a buddy (gifted to Bill many years ago from the ladies in his Binks office)! I rotate among different pieces on the staircase.
The two small ornaments are my grandmother’s which I realize I have not blogged about – yet.
Filed under: Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Peace
Tiara by Rainbow Gallery is next on my list of threads that I don’t like!
Good news is that laying the long lengths of pearl in advance of couching was not difficult except for the thread. Tiara separated at the ends and was catching. I’m not getting a break with nasty threads.
I worked on the background during a Zoom call, during football games, and a movie. It’s interesting to see Susan’s choice to do the denser tent stitches on the sides and skipping every other for the more open pattern on the top and bottom.
The cabochons went on easy enough.
It’s now added to my finishing pile. And, I won’t allow myself to start the next cabochon until this one is finished. So, I’ve got to find time!!
Peace from the Cabochon series by Susan Portra is coming along nicely. I counted the tent stitch blue border in advance of our Saturday Stitch-in because it requires concentration.
I added the pink Fyre Werks outline during the Stitch-in yesterday.
As in a previous cabochon, I substituted French Knots with cross stitches of various lengths (over 4, 3, 2, and/or 1) depending on the number of available intersections. I got the idea from Painted Canvas Embellishment: An Idea Book by Carole Lake and Michael Boren (Bands and Borders Over One).
Not wanting to start anything more difficult later that night, I added the bugle beads and all the long laid diagonal stitches. There were no instructions to stitch one row and then couch. So, I laid all the threads. Hopefully, I won’t regret that! I do have enough in case I need the remove it but I should be ok.
I am contemplating a T-stitch for the cabochon squares. The instructions leave them unstitched. Thoughts?
Peace is the third in The Cabochons series by Susan Portra. It’s on a light pink canvas but the blue and purple save it from being too pink.
I forgot to get a photo of the threads first. So, you see the Rhapsody boxes.
Our ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter Stitch-in was Saturday at Fireside Stitchery. There were 3 men stitching and not either of the 2 guys from our chapter!
Linda and I searched for red threads for Bring the Joy Santa that is a painted canvas the chapter is working on. Then, I started looking for threads for a counted project we’ll be starting in March but couldn’t decide on anything. Then, I got to stitch the Fyre Werks into Peace which was easy enough.
Shortly after I got to the blue tent stitches, I realized that the basted border wasn’t going to hold the entire design as charted. I had to move the motif down by restitching the basted border. Luckily, I had enough canvas to move the border up 6 canvas threads. By then, it was about time to head home anyway. Four hours flew by!
Here’s the rebasted border and my progress.
Counting the tent stitch blue border requires more concentration than a Stitch-In allows with our conversation and distractions of lovely painted canvases and walls of threads!
Filed under: Other People's Designs, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Charity, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Desire, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Faith, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Harmony, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Hope, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Joy, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Love, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Passion, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Peace, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Purity, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Rapture
From my 2024 Year in Review post, I had said,
Goals #21-28 for 2025 are to kit the eight pieces in The Cabochons series by Susan Portra that I have acquired and at least get started stitching them (to make this a realistic goal).
Final Goal #29: Don’t get any more goals!!
Well, I need to update this as follows:
Goals #21-31 for 2025 are to kit the eleven pieces in The Cabochons series by Susan Portra that I have acquired. Thanks to a recent Ebay auction, I obtained 3 more.
Final Goal #32: Don’t get any more goals?? Or, should I just let this one go?
All of the kits have the bead packs. One of the designs has all threads (Love), and four of the pieces came with canvas. Oddly enough, one of the designs doesn’t say to use Rhapsody, but I’ve got to use Rhapsody in all of them. I was able to find 5 skeins of the now discontinued thread, Rhapsody, on Ebay and/or at Janna Needle Art. However, I will have to modify the threads to match the replacement color of Rhapsody I selected for 5 of the designs.
There are at least 2 in the series that I am missing: #11 and #12. I don’t know what they are called and have a search on Ebay to alert me if any Cabochons are posted. Does anyone have any idea what they are named and/or does anyone have them to sell?
I don’t think I posted the ones I got from Alex-Paras NeedleArts. Here are those and the other designs – all now ready for kitting.
To date, I have:
I bought some threads for four of the kits that are using the suggested Rhapsody thread from Karen at Nimble Needle in NJ. She gives a 10% discount to ANG and EGA members. And, she had the current issue of Needle Pointers available for people to look through right next to the front door. Nice of her to support ANG!
I do have to substitute DMC for Anchor and substitute for two discontinued Fyre Werks but I think there are Fyre Werks Soft Sheen threads that will work.
As I search for colored 18 count canvas and work on kitting them all, I will start on the Love design, which is done on white canvas and came fully kitted.
Filed under: Needlework and Textile Guild of Media, Other People's Designs, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Faith, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Love, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Peace, Susan Portra, The Cabochons, Rapture, Tiny Weaving
One of my Christmas presents this year was a Susan Portra design, one of The Cabochons, called Peace.
It joins 3 more in the series that are in my stash, including Rapture, Love, and Faith.
And, the Tiny Weaving kit comes complete to create 2 different types of woven tapestries. But, more on that another time.
I didn’t quite finish stitching Bill’s card case. Hopefully, tomorrow.
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