31 August 2011

A Tish Celebration Needlepoint - Week 1

A Tish Celebration


Some of my favorite needlepoint pieces were designed by Tish Holland.  I like the stylized southwestern look that is uniquely hers -- as well as her stitch and thread selections.

Several years ago I bought "A Tish Celebration", the design size is approximately 20 inches by 40 inches, it is painted on 14 count canvas, and came with a stitch guide (not by Tish).  I have most of the supplies and am just about ready to begin the stitching!

I'm not really sure if this is still available, the canvas is listed on the Sundance Designs online catalog, but no image is available.  Many of the individual elements in the piece are available as smaller, modified canvases -- Bread Making, Chili Harvest, Little Potter, Prickly Pear Harvest, and Three Sisters.

This link will take you to the Tish page of the Sundance Catalog ... Tish needlepoint designs.

25 August 2011

Knitting Bandages for the D.O.V.E. Fund



I have found a wonderful way to keep busy during my lunch break at work - my break is at an odd time and I'm usually alone.  I like to read and listen to recorded books.  I have been reading and listening to the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters -- when listening to a book I can stitch or knit -- something simple that doesn't require much thought.  The past year I have been knitting bandages for the D.O.V.E. Fund -- I have finished three and am working on the fourth.

Football season provides many opportunities to knit bandages -- all those hours in front of the TV usually has me making cotton washcloths or dishcloths, now I will be working on bandages, too.

Information on the group that coordinates this effort can be found at
The D.O.V.E Fund Bandage Brigade

21 August 2011

Rhapsody Needlepoint - Completed!

Rhapsody Completed on August 20, 2011


The stitching on Rhapsody was finished yesterday -- I haven't added a row of goeblin around the piece since I don't know how it will be finished.


Wow!! A fun piece to stitch.  I found a few more errors in the graphs but they are minor and a confident stitcher should see the errors before stitching.


Additional tips for your stitching enjoyment:


The suggested size to cut the canvas is too small -- I didn't realize that until I was well into the stitching.  Cut your canvas 11" by 16" (or larger if you can't find 11" bars).   I staple my canvas to the top of the stretcher bars and there was barely enough room to start and stop along the side edges.  If you staple to the bottom you won't have a problem.


Some of the stitch sequences are somewhat unusual.  Try to bring your needle up into an empty space and down in a full space - this is not always possible.  Also, your stitches will be more defined and lovely if you are able to "wrap" the canvas threads.


The companion piece - Romance - is already in my stack -- I might use the same colors as I used for Rhapsody.

13 August 2011

Rhapsody Needlepoint - Week 2

Rhapsody - Week 2


The Rhapsody project continues!  There are a total of ten different Watercolours that are used in the piece -- all have been stitched.  I can't wait to see how they look as they are repeated.  So far, so good!

This is a fun piece to stitch --- but.... (yes, always a "but") I have found a few errors in the charting.  They will not be a problem for an intermediate/advanced stitcher, however, if you are new to needlepoint you may need a little help.

I started in the center (as suggested) and am working from left to right - one vertical ribbon at a time.  After that is complete I will work from center in the opposite direction.   These are the charting errors I have found so far....

Stitch 8:  has been charted over 7 rather than 6 canvas threads -- there should be an additional straight gobelin at the far right for a total of seven, the slanted gobelin sequence in the bottom left is charted one canvas thread too wide left.

Stitch 10:  stitch 16 should be over two intersections and start directly under stitch 15, stitch 25 should  start in the same position as charted but over one intersection only.

Stitch 14:  stitches 17 through 24 point the wrong stitch direction.

Stitch 42:  the stitch is charted over eight canvas threads rather than nine.  Extend the slanted gobelin on each side by one stitch, dropping the bottom rhodes by one stitch -- add two tent stitches between rhodes stitches.

Stitch 47;  top and bottom straight gobelin -- there should be seven stitches  for each -- add one to each side.

Stitch 65:  doesn't match photo... cross stitch 4/5 should be over 4 laid threads, cross stitch 10/11 should be over 4 laid threads.  Put in stitch 6 and then put in the 4/5 cross over all four threads,  repeat stitch six  and put in the 10/11 cross over all four threads.

Stitch 76:  doesn't match photo... to duplicate the photo, stitch 7 should start one thread lower and end one thread higher  -- it will cover all horizontal threads as well as the giant cross.

07 August 2011

Half Dozen Pillowcases


This morning I finished up six pillowcases.  This uses up all of the yardage that went with the Almost a Log Cabin quilt.  On Thursday, I pressed and cut fabric and yesterday stitched the cases together. This morning I finished pressing the completed cases.

All six pillowcases were made using the burrito method, the finished size of each is approximately 20" x 32".  Fabrics were cut as follows:  body - 28" by width of fabric (wof), cuff - 10" by wof, and trim - 2.5" by wof.  I used a walking foot for all stitching.

Four of the pillowcases are flannel,  with the final stitching of the french seam the thickness of the layers at the trim area is challenging.  Using a walking foot is not enough to compensate for trying to stitch through 14 layers of fabric.  I ended up feeding the fabric through stitch by stitch.  When using flat fabric this was not an issue.

 

04 August 2011

Pillow Shams and Needlepoint

Almost A Log Cabin Pillow Shams


This afternoon I finished pillow shams that go with the Almost a Log Cabin quilt.  The overall finished size of each is 20" x 30".  I bought enough fabric so that I will be able to make about 6 coordinated pillow cases.

Rhapsody - Week 1.5


There were not enough hours in the past week for me to make much progress on the Rhapsody project.  The second ribbon is about 3/4 complete.  I'm anxious to see how the color selection impacts the design.