Category: Canvaswork

Canvaswork, Christmas Ornaments, Finishes, Little House Needleworks, Northern Pine Designs, Shepherd's Bush, Works in Progress

Stitching Hermit

Anne S

The title says it all really … in the last 2-3 days since being home I’ve locked myself away from the world and just stitched my little heart out.  It has really done me the world of good and today I feel a lot more relaxed and back to ‘normal’ again (what ‘normal’ actually is!).

I’ve tried to get back into my rotation slot once again, and it’s done me the world of good to have some sort of discipline again with my stitching – it really helps me to ‘focus’ and I get so much more one than I would normally.  The first rotation slot consisted of Christmas ornaments/freebies, and in my 10 hours I managed to finish 2 ornaments, and almost finish another one (I just had to put it to one side because I can’t find one DMC thread I need to finish it … yep, story of my life!!).  The two that I finished are as follows (I won’t show the other one until I’ve actually finished it!):

LHN-The Merry Skater
“The Merry Skater” by Little House Needleworks
stitched on 32ct hand-dyed Belfast linen by Countrystitch ~ colour Haystack
with recommended threads, except substituting DMC 712 with 3865
Started 21 Apr 2014 ~ Finished 24 Apr 2014

Shepherd's Bush-Joyful Night
“Joyful Night” by Shepherd’s Bush
from the 1998 JCS Christmas Ornament issue
stitched on 32ct Lambswool Wichelt linen
with recommended threads, except substituting DMC Ecru with 3865
Note: the chart called for pink DMC for the sheep swirl, which seemed to be an error,
so I replaced with DMC 3865
Started 24 Apr 2014 ~ Finished 25 Apr 2014

Then I moved on to my Canvaswork rotation slot … the last time I started this one (Blue Bayou by Northern Pine Designs) I found the WDW pearl cotton that was supposed to be PC#8 was actually PC#5 (it was mislabelled), and it really showed up with my stitching … so my first job yesterday was to unpick the original pearl cotton stitching … which ended up being a challenge in itself!  Because the waffle stitch has so few threads on the back to weave into, I’d managed to thread through a few stitches adjoining it, and it ended up being such a tangled mess trying to unpick I just ended up frogging those as well … which left me with 3 very small bands of metallic threads left.  Once I started stitching, though, I set the stopwatch going and really got into the rhythm of this one.  It’s one of those projects when you wake up in the morning and turn over to see your stitching on your stitching stand and it makes your spirits soar straightaway!

Unfortunately, though, I hadn’t realised I didn’t have one of the pearl cottons for this design, so I’m a bit stalled now … I originally hadn’t worried too much knowing that I should be able to get pearl cottons locally, until I realised last night that it’s actually an Anchor pearl cotton that I need.  I’ve decided, though, to just try and get a DMC equivalent as I really don’t think it’ll make that much of a difference.  Today I’m going to head out to my local Spotlight to see if they have what I need (although truthfully don’t hold out much hope!!).  If not, I’ll just start up a different canvaswork piece to start work on for the remaining 3 hours of my rotation instead.  Here is how Blue Bayou looks right now, along with some close-ups of those amazing stitches in it so far:

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Canvaswork

Canvaswork Dreams

Anne S

After finishing my Ebb Tide canvaswork piece, I have a major urge to get more canvaswork pieces kitted up and ready to go … I’ve been slowly adding to my thread stash for a number of years now, and it seems I finally have enough in my stash to finally kit a number of pieces up (including more Rainbow Gallery thread stash that arrived this morning from a recent sale). The problem I will have, though, is that I don’t have enough canvas in my stash … will have to do a hunt under the bed for my canvas stash and see what I’ve got sitting around … but sadly not very much I don’t think. Canvas is like hen’s teeth to find ‘down under’, so I always have to order from Nordic Needle (or I used to buy from Nancy’s in Wellington, New Zealand). Looks like a New Year stash purchase may be in order, although I’d better make it a decent one as postage for canvas always bumps the price up astronomically, even though it doesn’t weigh very much it usually ends up being sent in a big box, pffft.  I guess it will mean giving me an incentive to order the remaining threads I need for some other canvaswork projects at the same time … sadly threads like Rainbow Gallery are also like hen’s teeth to order down under!!

Anyway, on close inspection of my thread stash inventory on the PC (assuming it’s correct!), it seems I should have all the threads for the following designs, so the biggest problem I’m going to have is actually DECIDING, ‘cos there are actually a lot more now than I realised!!  WOOHOO!!!!! 😀

Laura J Perin-Flying GeeseFlying Geese by Laura J Perin

Laura J Perin-Holly and IvyHolly and Ivy by Laura J Perin (freebie)

Laura J Perin-Holiday SquareHoliday Square by Laura J Perin (freebie)

Laura J Perin-SpringFling400Spring Fling by Laura J Perin (freebie)

BlueBird200Blue Birds by Laura J Perin (freebie)

Jens Jems-Polynesian Paradise_0001 - CopyPolynesian Paradise by Jen’s Jems (I have the black canvas ready)

GRACE-LG11Grace by Orna Willis (except I want to do the purple colourway)

summerdrinkgreenlarge1A Summer Drink by Orna Willis (I want to stitch both the Lime and Mint/blue versions)

Laura J Perin-Reflecting Pools1Reflecting Pools by Laura J Perin

Northern Pine-Blue Bayou Blue Bayou by Northern Pine Designs (I have the blue canvas cut and ready to go)

1890744Mallard Collage by Laura J Perin

Northern Pine-Earth Spirit_0001Earth Spirit by Northern Pine Designs

Northern Pine-Surf & Sand_0001Surf and Sand by Northern Pine Designs

If you’re interested in getting started with canvaswork yourself, the following are some of my favourite websites for drooling and building up the wishlist:

A couple of additional links for designers, although I haven’t tried any of their designs yet:

Canvaswork, Crazy January 2013 Challenge, Finishes, Little House Needleworks, Northern Pine Designs

Not one but TWO finishes!

Anne S

I lived up to my word and poor old Flossy (well, she’s a babe really, to say she’s only been around for a week or two!) has been put on the shelf for now … the urge got to me yesterday and I spent the afternoon catching up on recorded TV while finishing off two of my WIPs I mentioned in my last post.

First up is Ebb Tide by Northern Pine Designs.  Oh boy, this was a fun design to stitch!  I can’t say I’ll be in a hurry to stitch with Rachel thread again, but once I got clever and used some nail polish across the top of the thread where I cut it, it was a lot easier to use!  It’s the first time I’ve ever done Jessica stitches, and they’re really quite cute, and easy to do once you get the hang of them!  I did them slightly differently to how the instructions told you to do them, as I’d seen them done on some other needlepoint blogs … by tucking the last two stitches inside and underneath the previous stitches, so they sit perfectly.  All-in-all I’m thrilled this one is finally finished … and I spent no time at all popping the next Northern Pine design onto the bars to start a new one!

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“Ebb Tide” by Northern Pine Designs
stitched on Leventeen Blue canvas
with recommended threads

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While I was trying to take a photo last night my camera was struggling a bit to focus … imagine my delight at the colours showing on the viewing screen when it will still a blur … it made me smile so I captured the image! 🙂

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Here is the next design ready for starting … just need to find a couple of the missing threads (geez I hope I actually have bought these ones, otherwise I guess it won’t be started soon! LOL).  If not, I’ll just have to find another canvaswork design to throw onto some bars … I think I always need to have a piece of canvaswork ready to go at a moment’s notice, it gives me such pleasure! 🙂

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Then I decided to put the final stitches into LHN’s Acorn Hill – it didn’t take too long at all to pop the final words into place, and it became my second finish yesterday evening.

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“Acorn Hill” by Little House Needleworks
stitched on 28ct antique ivory coloured Jobelan 
with recommended Crescent Colours cotton floss

After that I decided to go back to old Flossy, and managed to put a few more stitches into the top wings – I didn’t bother taking a progress piccie as there wasn’t really too much to show … perhaps the next time you see her she will be finished … or maybe not … LOL.

Brown House Studio, Canvaswork, Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Northern Pine Designs, Works in Progress

A touch of vertigo and stitching

Anne S

Finally my work project launched recently, but not until I’d had a few weeks of really long hours – including a 2am finish and a few 10-11pm finishes in the final week.  To say I was a touch mentally and physically exhausted at the end of it all is definitely an understatement.  My boss very kindly offered for me to have a few days off work in lieu of all the extra hours I put in … so I decided to take 3 days off at the start of last week, 2 days of which were in lieu from the previous month’s project … only to fall ill on day 3.  I had a wonderful couple of days off where I managed to stitch up a Christmas ornament, and did a whole lot of cooking for the freezer … but then on day 3 I woke up with severe vertigo, and have been bed-bound for almost a week since then.  The last couple of days I’ve managed to sit up in bed and watch TV, but I have only managed to walk over to the doctor’s surgery once yesterday, and came straight back to bed again …  I did, however, manage to put a few stitches into a canvaswork project – it was a nice calming distraction, and didn’t tax the eyes too much with the nice large holes in the canvas etc.

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“Folk Art Topiary”  ornament by Brown House Studio (2004 JCS Xmas ornie issue)
stitched on 28ct Golden Needle Country French linen
with recommended Crescent Colours threads

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“Ebb Tide” by Northern Pine Designs (work in progress)

Today I’m going to attempt to try and finish off another ornament already started, but in truth the fabric holes are really hard to see, so I may give it up as a bad joke pretty quickly … but if nothing else I’ll be catching up with the final episodes of Season 3 of True Blood … I hadn’t watched any of them before, but they were ‘free’ to watch on Quickflix (as part of my monthly membership), so I’ve been glued to the gogglebox watching all 3 seasons over the last couple of days … it looks like seasons 4 and 5 are on there too, so I know what I’ll be doing for the next week or two … I knew there was a good reason to up my internet quota, I’ve certainly been making good use of it at the moment, that’s for sure!!

Canvaswork, Round Robins, Shepherd's Bush, Stash, Works in Progress

Stash galore – and a new start

Anne S

Over the Christmas period while I was at my parents’ place Mum and I went a little crazy with some major sales (ie 40% or more off) happening.  In some ways you could say this was my Mum’s Christmas gift to me, as she gifted me with a “Visa card repayment” which meant I had some additional play money while I was there.  I hadn’t realised really just how much I’d ordered until it all started turning up last week! LOL.  There is still one parcel yet to see, as I sent it to Mum’s address, thinking I was staying there for Dad’s surgery – so I’ll have an extra little treat waiting for me when I return (assuming Mum hasn’t put it somewhere “safe” never to be seen again LOL).  Anyway, without further ado here is the MASSIVE pile of stash that arrived, which also managed to clear off a number of items that have been on my wishlist for years!

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As for stitching, my needle has been very scarce these days – I did have a sudden urge to stitch a few nights ago and opted for the first thing I could find that was already kitted up, was relatively small, and basically could be ready to stitch at a few moments notice (considering I made my “let’s stitch” decision at 9pm at night!!) … I ended up choosing one of the Shepherd’s Bush scissor fobs from my original Crazy January Challenge list.  I still haven’t finished it yet, but I was very good and marked up my rotation spreadsheet to make sure I’m still allocating the right times to each slot.  The front is completely finished, and I just have to complete the back and it’s done 🙂

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Next up, though, is to start (and hopefully finish) my Round Robin piece – which are the Seasonal Topiaries by Passione Ricamo.  This was originally published as a set of freebies on the internet, but I think they’ve been long since taken down, and the design has since been published in a magazine.  I’ve decided to stitch mine on a piece of hand-dyed Pipi Belfast by Countrystitch … and seeing as it’s due to be posted out on 1 February, you know what I’ll be doing the entire long weekend this weekend (thank heavens for that extra day so my goal feels slightly more achievable!).

And on that note, I’ve ironed my piece of fabric tonight ready to start, so I think I’d better so drag the tub of DMC out and start finding the colours I need.  Mind you, in actual fact it doesn’t really matter if I don’t 100% finish my section, as long as I complete all the border pieces … “she’ll be right”!  This is a link of what my round robin will look like – and I love the added verse at the top of the sampler so much that I’ve ‘stolen’ the idea and will be doing the same thing with mine too … the only difference is that I’m moving the Winter tree to be on the left to make the sampler a teeny bit more balanced 🙂

Canvaswork, Finishes, From Nancy's Needle

Crazy January Challenge #4

Anne S

I’ve been in a lot of physical pain with my leg this week, which has meant having to keep it elevated with an icepack on it … the perfect position being sat up in bed … which means the perfect position for stitching, and the chance to complete my canvaswork project.  This also means finish #4 for my Crazy January Challenge for the year.

From Nancy's Needle-Lavender Blue Celtic Knot Quilt
“Lavender Blue Celtic Knot Quilt” by From Nancy’s Needle
canvaswork stitched with recommended threads
(and the project uses almost ALL the thread skeins in total)

It also means plenty of TV viewing time so I’ve started watching season 1 of The Tudors today – along with a few other TV shows I’ve had taped from during the week … all-in-all a very lazy and relaxing couple of days! 😀

Canvaswork, From Nancy's Needle, Works in Progress

Canvaswork updae

Anne S

My weekend plans didn’t quite go as planned, so instead I sat in my room and got some ‘needle’ practice in … and loved every little stitch.  Here’s how my canvaswork piece looks like after a full day today and a few hours yesterday (inbetween sleeping half the day) … another 1-2 weeks and this one will be finished 🙂

From-Nancy's-Needle-13Mar11
“Lavender Blue Celtic Knot Quilt” by Nancy’s Needle

And after that quick little preview, it’s time to settle in for the night and my final 1/2 hour of stitching … then it’s back to hydrotherapy in the morning 🙂

Canvaswork, Finishes

UFO sighting and action

Anne S

As I mentioned earlier today, I went to my first Guild stitching group today.  It was a pleasant experience, and I love the fact that many of them do cross stitch or don’t actually FROWN on cross stitch!  I wasn’t entirely sure what to take with me today, but I figured I was soooo close to finishing Sapphire Star that I really should just pull my finger out and finish it off … and sure enough I managed to finish it while I was at my Guild meeting.  Unfortunately it’s very overcast here tonight, and the photo is taken directly under the bright daylight lamp, so the photo is far from the best (I’ll try to remember and take better ones next weekend) … but nevertheless it’s a finish, and I’m totally in love with it! 😀

Laura J Perin-Sapphire Star

“Sapphire Star” by Laura J Perin
using recommended threads, except substituted Pearl Cotton for
the pale blue Hi-Lights thread used in one of the borders
(I soooo have to take a better photo of this one!!!)

Alas, this wasn’t on the list of my Crazy January Challenge, so I can’t cross off another one of those projects, but it feels wonderful to get this piece finished finally after all this time.  And of course the Shepherd’s Bush needleroll from last night was on the list, so I’m sitting relatively comfortably at 3 out of 15 finishes for the year … and 2 out of 24 Christmas ornaments …

And on that note I need to go clear the mountain of rubbish that’s currently sitting on top of my bed so I can actually get in there tonight … then I just may put a few more stitches into Bittersweet Season, as that is the other ‘WIP/UFO’ that I was working on at the Guild today – a few more nights stitching and I think this one will be finished too 😀

Canvaswork, Crazy January 2011 Challenge, From Nancy's Needle, Works in Progress

January Challenge – Day 5

Anne S

I was very naughty today, as I was in the mood to stay home and do some chores … and lots more stitching … so when it was time to go into work I called the office and asked if I could have a last-minute RDO … no pressure, as I could just as easily jump in the car and come to work, but I’d really appreciate having the day off.  It got approved (yippee!), and I’ve spent the day mostly stitching, but also catching up on some blog reading, helping my elderly neighbour move her paintings around on her lounge room walls (bless her), doing 3 loads of laundry, ironing all the linens for the rest of the January Challenge pieces, and attaching the canvas to the stretcher bars… and did I mention lots more stitching?  … so, all-in-all a very productive day haha.

Seeing as the canvas was nicely tacked down today, I opted to spend a great deal of the day stitching on my canvaswork piece – and I’m amazed at just how fast it’s been stitching on this one, the piece grew at a most phenomenal rate!!  It’s one of those designs that is pretty much entirely in satin stitch and in a consistent pattern, which means once you’ve got one set of stitches done you can pretty much continue the repeats without having to check the pattern … sheer bliss!  So without any further ado, here is the MASSIVE progress on today’s challenge piece (designed by From Nancy’s Needle).

The blank spaces above are for a pearl cotton that I’m missing … but it’s on order so hopefully will be arriving over the next couple of weeks … hopefully …

I’m not sure which project will get started tomorrow … we’ll just have to see which fabric falls into my hands tomorrow night, but I’m out for dinner at a friend’s farewell party so don’t expect too much progress tomorrow, I’ll be lucky if I get a dozen stitches in for a change!

One other thing I did do today was to put Sapphire Star back onto the stretcher bars to tighten up the tension, so that’s not ready to be picked up once again after the 16th of January … 😀