How Not To Stitch the Pet Guardian Angel Background

Before we talk about the backgrounds for the Pet Guardian Angels, I need to tell everyone who is stitching a pet for the ANG Auction that I've emailed all the instructions out. If you signed up with me to stitch one of these and you haven't gotten your emailed instructions yet, email me at chilly hollowat hotmaildotcom and we'll try again.

Now for the background. The original model photo you saw yesterday has a blue Medici wool tent stitched background, as do all the original Kandace Merric angels. That's what she specified in the instructions. Of course DMC has discontinued Medici so I had to come up with a substitute background thread that would tie all the various angels together. I choose DMC ecru --either floss or perle cotton-- in tent stitches. (Some folks will use another thread that matches the DMC Ecru color and that's ok. We just need the right color and tent stitches to make all the angels a set.) If you are curious about DMC ecru, head over to this blog to see a photo of a skein. It just so happens that Laura Perin is using DMC ecru perle in her latest design. Check out the ecru skein in the middle of the photo. You can even read "ecru" on the label. This looks like the #5 perle. I have a ball of #8 perle cotton in DMC's ecru that I'm going to use since I have six angels and six backgrounds to stitch.

http://two-handedstitcher.blogspot.com/2008/11/just-peek.html

In the photo above you see I've substituted Petite Very Velvet in red and blue for the red and black threads in the original instructions. I also used beads on the jacket instead of metallic threads. You can also see the cat's head already stitched using a fuzzy black thread (Sorry, I don't know the name but it feels like Cashmere) and you see I tent stitched an outline in my ecru tent stitches about 1/2 inch from the angel outline and started filling in with basketweave.

The tent stitches were a mistake. I should not have done anything more except do an outline around the angel for now. If you tent stitch the background first, you may need to rip out if you need to take the stitches for the jacket one thread further across the line you drew for it. I've decided to tell folks not to do the background until last EXCEPT when you are using a fuzzy thread. See the cat's head? The black fuzzies from the head and paw started getting in the ecru tent stitches as I did the background around the head. If you are using a fuzzy dark thread anywhere on your angel, you should do the tent stitches around that area first so that the fuzzies won't stick in your ecru tent stitches. The head and paw are the most likely places folks will want a fuzzy thread, particularly for the dog and cat angels, and that area is less likely to need a stitch that goes over the line that separates the background from the angel itself.

What do you do if you did the background first and your ecru tent stitches have black fuzzies from the angel's head like me? In that case, cut a 3-4 inch length of metallic thread and put it in your needle. Figure out where a black fuzzy thread is stuck in the ecru tent stitches and run the metallic thread through that hole from front to back. Because there is no knot in the end of the metallic thread, it'll go right though the hole and the metallic thread will catch any fuzzy thread and pull it to the back. Be a little careful to not use too fat a metallic thread. You want it to go through a hole already full of ecru thread without damage to the ecru thread.

I also used a length of pink hair tape (the kind you get at the drugstore to tape curls in shape) to gently remove any fuzzies that were loose on top of the tent stitches. Pink hair tape doesn't have much sticky stuff so it won't disturb the ecru tent stitches but it will pick up any loose fuzzies.

If you are curious about pink hair tape, look at this website. It's the second picture from the top labeled "professional hair styling tape." Great stuff for your stitching toolbox!

http://www.adiscountbeauty.com/page66.html

Jane/Chilly Hollow
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

My Medieval Cat Outline

The first step for any pet guardian angel design is to transfer the design to your 18 count canvas. Above you see the outline of the Medieval Cat. I made a copy of the outline from my magazine, taped the sheet to a sunny window, making sure it was straight, then taped the bare naked canvas on top of the copy, again making sure the grain of the canvas was straight.

Sometimes you can line up the canvas so that a long straight edge of the design underneath falls right on the long line of canvas threads. In this case, I lined up the vertical drop of the skirt edge to a thread. You can't always do this, but if you can, line something up. Use a very thin pencil or marker. I used a blue Zig Memory System marker that is colorfast if you take the canvas swimming and that has archival quality ink that won't react chemically later when your canvas is in a museum.

HOWEVER, you will want a similar quality marker in gray or yellow or another very light color. I had to use blue to show up in photos on Blog and I'm having a heck of a time covering the line with my ecru background thread so you don't see blue. I'll tell you what to do if you have a similar problem later, but for now, avoid the issue by using a very light-colored marker.

Trace the outline on your canvas, going slowly and trying to draw on a thread of the canvas instead of a ditch. Be as careful as you can to be faithful to the design (I discovered later I'd drawn one area too thin for the threads that belonged there) but don't obsess over it. I'll tell you later what to do if you drew an area too small.

You may find you need to lift the canvas and peek at the design to see if you missed something, so using masking tape or painter's tape that doesn't stick forever to hold the canvas over the line drawing might be helpful. Once you are sure you have everything transferred, remove the canvas and line drawing from your window (or light box if you have one) and check area-by-area once again to see if you forgot an eye, a paw, a line to show a fold in the animal's face. Once you are happy, put the copy you traced from away. We'll cut out the shape from that sheet like paper dolls later in finishing.

Now get your canvas onto stretcher bars and away we'll go!

Jane/Chilly Hollow
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow