Monday, October 24, 2011

Cache Pots for the Cat Topiary Garden

Two Cache Pots
I decided the next area I would tackle on the cat topiary garden would be the two big cache pots that flank the garden gate.  I had the perfect thread--a beautiful overdyed silk 12-ply floss from Gloriana called Deep Blue Sea.  The photo above shows the left cache pot with the stitch I choose from Brenda Hart's Favorite Stitches, page 35 underway.  This stitch isn't named in Brenda's book but I have seen it other places.  It is done in two steps:  first the framework which you see above, then the circles are filled with straight stitches.


Careful study of the photo will show you that the right pot has a different thread.  Yes, when I stitched the left pot framework, I discovered the Gloriana silk that looked so perfect in the skein had too much green in it to actually work well for the pots.  So I switched to two shades of medium blue in DMC cotton floss for the right pot.  The lighter blue that makes up the bulk of the cache pot on the right is 825 but I used the darker 311 for the edges of the pot where the paint is darker.  I stitched the framework and the central circles in the correct shade of DMC cotton to echo the shading on the big jar.

Right Cache Pot Finished
The final area to stitch in the cache pots is the lip around the top, which I did in padded satin stitches.  The second photo shows the right cache pot finished.  I pulled out my Gloriana silk from the left cache pot and hope to have it stitched by the time you read this.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

HeartStrings Limited Edition Santas

Did you know that HeartStrings has released the last limited edition Santa in their series?  Pat Thoade wants to retire!  Did you know that Thread Garden is having an Artists Collection trunk show and has one of each of all of the limited edition folk art Santas for sale at the trunk show twenty percent off discount?  I couldn't get the link to the Limited Edition Santas on the Artists Collection to work but maybe it'll be working again by the time this publishes. Or maybe the link has been turned off as these designs disappear when they sell out....
http://www.artistscollection.net/Artists_Collection/HeartStrings_Gallery.html

These designs aren't on the Thread Garden website but you can email to inquire about the year's Santa you want.
http://thethreadgarden.com/Home.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Laura Plays with Leaves

Laura Perin's newest fall design is a winner.
http://two-handedstitcher.blogspot.com/2011/10/need-pile-of-leaves-to-play-in.html

http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/ScarletThread/-strse-3126/charted-needlepoint%2C-canvaswork%2C-Laura/Detail.bok


Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com