Volunteers Needed

Ok, who wants to volunteer to knit socks like these for me? I'm even willing to take two with different patterns! 

http://www.needlenookoflajolla.com/events/kclarksocks/index.html

Seriously, these are the Kelly Clark mini-socks which Needle Nook of La Jolla are offering as a Sophisticated Sock canvas series.  I think they are very interesting looking.  I'll be curious as to how they are stitched.  Any chance of a preview, Vicky?

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

October

This morning there was a bit of winter nip in the air in Chilly Hollow. It's October 1 and Halloween is around the corner!

For most needlepointers, October is the month when you have to have that big Christmas project to the finisher's place for him or her to work their magic.

It's the month when you need to kick into high gear and finish stitching the pieces you are not sending out to the finisher that you plan to give as gifts this holiday season. It's a stressful time!

I think that is one reason Halloween parties and dress-up costumes and candy is so much fun for adults. We really do need a little fun with the holiday chores breathing down our necks.

The pumpkin above is one of Leigh's Pun'kins, the witch. You can enjoy the others here. They are quite clever in how a strategically placed leaf and vine become the pumpkin cat's ears, etc.

http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp511x.html

How about looking at some fun pieces from Ruth Schmuff's shop? Some are finished, some aren't, but they are all inspiring.

http://www.tistheseason.org/blog/2008/09/trick-or-treat.html

http://www.tistheseason.org/blog/2008/09/more-finishing-options.html


And of course I can't resist adding an old favorite--the Victorian Halloween pieces from Melissa Shirley that Chaparral has done in their own over-the-top manner with finishing to match.

http://www.ndlpt.com/html/series/svictorianh.html

Happy October!




Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Blocked!

Yesterday I stuck the snowman ornament under running cold water in the sink and got him damp all over (not sopping wet).  Then I stapled him to 5x4 inch stretcher bars which is the outside dimension of the scrap of 18 count canvas I stitched him on.  If I'd put him on stretcher bars to stitch, I might not have needed to block him.  No guarantees on that, though.  Interlocking Goblein pulled him quite a bit out of true.  Oddly, this stitch which I normally use in the thinner and more forgiving Impressions, pulled more using Caron's Snow than my more usual thread.  The type and size of thread you use makes a difference in whether you need to block just like the stitch you used does.

I took a chance wet blocking this piece. You never know whether a thread is colorfast.  In fact, cross stitchers who normally wash their background fabric both before and after stitching and who also wash their threads before stitching with them, deal with running colors all the time.    I used a lot of synthetics which in my experience don't run.  The red smile nylon thread was my biggest concern but it only ran a smidge and it isn't noticable in person although you can see it in the photograph.

This sat overnight and dried.  I will reblock today as the lower right corner could be a little less prominent.  But he's going to be much easier to finish as a square than a parallelogram!

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow