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.

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.

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.

Rhapsody by Amybear - Week 1

The supplies for Rhapsody have been on my pressing table for over a month.  As soon as E. Mears was finished, I started getting the Rhapsody project ready for stitching.

Marking the canvas was easy... with one exception.... the designer suggests putting the letter and number designations onto the canvas.  Well... I put in half of the letters and then decided that I placed them too close to the actual work area.  Not really an issue and but if it really starts to bother me I have Ceramcoat ready.  Then I started putting in the numbers -- with the amount of space available not an easy task, so those numbers went onto the edge fabric.

The stitching has barely been started but I am sure that this will be a fun project with all stitching done with one strand of Watercolours on 18 count canvas.  My color selection is trying for a tropical look - but - with overdyed threads the result isn't always what I expect.

Rhapsody - Week 1

Green Pinwheel - Needlepoint

This sweet piece was a gift for my mom a few years back.  It is stitched using floss on 18 count canvas. I mounted it in an oak bank.

Gleneagle Needlepoint - The End

Gleneagle - Completed 20 February 11

Here is the final photo of Gleneagle.  This was my first Jean Hilton project and it was all that I had expected ... I was challenged and had fun.

What's next??

Gleneagle Needlepoint Stitching

When I started Gleneagle (19 December 2010) my goal was to be finished by the end of March.  I thought that was optimistic.  As I stitched, I got more than a little obsessed and most of my free time went to working on this project.  I hope to finish the border (and put in a round of slanted gobelin) this weekend.

Here are the photos -- along with my stitching changes and missteps -- for the last six patches:

Spider Patch

Another fun patch -- yes, they are all fun!!  I worked this very much as directed.  The multi-colored Cross & Tuck left a little too much canvas showing on the right edges where it meets the Sprat's Head so I added a row of backstitch to each section.   In the corners I went with a framed scotch in place of French knots or Rhodes, the Milanese is 8 strands of floss and not 10 as suggested. Last, when working the Double Tied outer border I started the gobelin one thread closer to the Sprat's on each side and stitched the basketweave in the same direction in an effort to eliminate exposed canvas.

I have never been a fan of the Spider stitch with the raised spokes  and have always wrapped the opposite direction to make it smooth.  Glad I went with Ms. Hilton's directions.  Love it!

Walento Patch

This patch was stitched without any changes, only some color adjustments.  With only 3 perles for color group A, I used the accent to make up the difference in the shading.  The center did cave in a bit from the basketweave going in different directions, oh well.  Still, it looks great!

Pinwheel Patch

Another fabulous finish!  The only change I made was to mirror image the diagonal cashmere -- all else was as directed.

Eyelet Patch

The Eyelet Patch is very straight forward.  The only change I made was with the Tied Mosaic -- I used 2 strands of floss rather than 3.

Rice Patch

For the Rice Patch, the instructions for the corner triangles include dark A but I didn't want it to be quite that busy so I substituted dark B to quiet it down.  I also lightened up the half scotches from dark A to light A.  The diamond shape surrounding the center waffle was done with one strand of #5 border perle in four way continental.

Beware!! The chart does not have the placement of the center waffle in the center.

Star Patch

I had done a good bit of ripping and re-stitching by the time I started the Star Patch - my last patch.  I changed the colors to use what I had left.  The Jessicas are done in #3 perle... #5 just looked wimpy.  The center is a mistake stitch variation.... or .... actually a variation of the variation.  I put the center stitch in a couple of times and could not make it look like the photo.  The last attempt came out exactly the same as the first two, so I left it in and filled the center with basketweave.  Ditto on the Jessicas.

Thread Summary:

There will be ample #5 border perle to finish the border and include a row of slanted gobelin over two.
I ran out of #3 border perle and needed two additonal skeins.
I ran out of B dark - my fault due to ripping / re-stitching.
Accent perle - one full skein plus remains.
All other perle was sufficient with no full skeins left.
Floss --all A and B floss have between 2 and 4 full skeins unused.

Two More Patches for Gleneagle

Half of the patches are completed on my version of Gleneagle.  I made a few changes and am very pleased with the way they look.  Here are the latest two.

Plus Patch - Gleneagle

There were only a couple of changes that I made to the Plus Patch.  The color suggestions  for the corner smyrnas were changed from A medium to A very light and the basketweave between the corner smyrnas I changed from B dark to A light.

Star Waffle Patch - Gleneagle

On the Star Waffle patch I did not put in any of the suggested backstitches.  The hesitation stitch in the corners is a great stitch but I charted it so that it frames the center diamond rather than having it appear as lines radiating out from the center.

Next up is the Pinwheel Patch.

Gleneagle - Leaf Patch Complete

Gleneagle - Leaf Patch

Yippie!! It's done!!  I finished the leaf patch on Friday.

This patch was quite a process. I ripped as much as I  left in -- not "perfect" but complete.

The border was another challenge for me. The chart does not show the border as a mirror image -- minor adjustment and easy enough to do. But I had to rip and re-stitch. There are compensating stitches at the bottom of the chart, but not the top. I tried it without any compensating stitches to keep it balanced but it just didn't look right. Ripped it out again.

Bottom line -- my leaf patch border has compensating stitches top and bottom...left is a mirror image of the right.

Colors changes: basketweave next to leaf is the accent (746). Jessicas are A light (224), inside Jessicas is the accent, and border is A Medium (223).

Note: My color selection does not have a perle for A dark (3722) - when the instruction calls for A dark perle I have been changing the colors to be able to keep the texture that the perle provides.

Gleneagle - Leaf Patch

Gleneagle - Leaf Patch

The Leaf Patch has been a challenge for me. The instructions have you start with the chevrons - I chose to start with the leaf in the center. Starting with the chevrons seemed to leave an opportunity for counting errors.

The leaf and chevrons went in beautifully but the diagonal weaving was not familiar to me. I tried a couple of ideas -- ripped them out. After searching my reference books, I found the correct stitch sequence in More Stitches For Effect.

I continue to stitch.....!

 

Gleneagle Needlepoint - Mini Mistake Patch

Another patch is complete!

This is really a fun piece to stitch -- even with all of the ripping.  I stitched the Mini Mistake with a couple of color changes.  Instead of using the dark, medium and light of family A, I used the medium, light and very light of family A - all of the other colors were as suggested.

There are a couple of things I would change (of course)...

First: I would use smyrnas and not spatula stitches in the corners and then add compensating stitches to the knitted plait stitch - by the time I decided this I had much more stitching in than I was willing to rip.

Second: Stitch the basketweave around the center motif before putting in the double straight crosses.  I stitched the crosses first and then had about 1/4 of the basketweave in before I ripped out both and changed the order.

Also: be careful with the chart when getting ready for the scotch stitches.  My piece matches the use of the scotch / basketweave as shown on the Gleneagle cover photo.  The chart shows an extra set of scotch stitches around the perimeter of the center motif for a total of 24 rather than 12.

Next will be the Leaf Patch... I will probably stitch the remaining patches in clockwise order.

Gleneagle Needlepoint - House Patch

Gleneagle - House Patch

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I started this project -- it would have been more logical to begin with the two center blocks.  My second block is the house patch, it is in the lower center position (third row, center block).

I made a couple of changes in the way I stitched this patch vs the directions.  When stitching the houses in the very center, I laid in a four legged eyelet stitch before putting in the 4 houses.  I also changed the shading on the basketweave that surrounds the center houses.  The directions state to use the medium and light values for five rows each.  My color selection  created the illusion that they were out of balance with a very narrow row of the medium.  I ripped those out and stitched six rows in medium and four rows in light, giving a more pleasing and balanced result.  If I were to stitch this again I would consider stitching seven rows in medium with three rows in light.

Gleneagle Needlepoint - Mistake Patch

Gleneagle - Mistake Patch in progress

The Mistake Patch is such an appropriate name for this design. The Amadeus stitches that were in my last Gleneagle update were removed and restitched -- the final sequence of stitches for each side were in the wrong position.  It is amazing how much better they look when stitched correctly!!!

The center stitch is what the designer (Jean Hilton) has called the Mistake stitch.  This is the second version that I have stitched.  I decided to start the stitch one canvas thread closer into the smyrna border and I like the coverage better.

There is a bit of disruption to the Mistake stitch as I fill in the background and am wondering if it would have been easier to stitch the background first.  I do not plan to find out -- I will adjust the center after the basketweave is complete.

 

Gleneagle Needlepoint

Mistake Patch from Gleneagle

Cover photo of Gleneagle

The time has come to work on something that has been on my "to-do" list for years - Gleneagle.

Gleneagle is an amazing Jean Hilton design from 1990.  It is large -- the entire project is 252 threads by 332 threads.  The designer stitched hers on 14 count canvas using a combination of perle cotton and floss... mine is also on 14 using dmc 223, 224 & 225 and 926, 927 & 928 as the main colors.  The border will be 712 and the accent will be 746.

Galaxy by Needle Delights

Galaxy is a counted thread project designed by Needle Delights in Florida.  It took several days -- and a couple of field trips -- to make color choices.  This is the Tahiti color selection with a few changes (starting with changing Tahiti to Cantolupe and more).  I was planning to post a weekly update on my progress but only managed to take these two pics.

Just getting started:



My completed piece:





You can see the original piece with several color variations at http://www.needledelights.com/index.php/photos/3.html