Woodstock Christmas Logo Finally Done—Really!

Beads are the final touch!

The Woodstock Christmas Logo from Purple Palm is done!  I finally just added 28 mm green drop beads from The Collection to the edge.  That gave me the extra bling I wanted in a muted way.

In case you've forgotten, here is what the design looked like originally.  This is an ornament about 4 inches in diameter, on 18 count canvas.

Unstitched

Here is what it looks like now.  I changed the background green to a more Christmas green, darkened the brown of the guitar, and decorated the ornament with a peace symbol.

Done

Now I need to put this away until the county fair in August. I always enter something there, just to promote needlepoint.  After the fair I can send this to the folks I stitched it for, to use on their Christmas tree.  Hope they like it!

I am adding each week's progress report to a tab on the Chilly Hollow Stitch Guides blog. If you want to catch up on what you missed or just re-read everything, it's all there. Click on the Magic Carpet photo on the right side of this blog and you'll go straight there. Then all you have to do is click on the right tab at the top of the page under the header photo. Click on the Magic Carpet photo there to return to Blog's home page.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright June 22, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Woodstock Christmas Ornament Finished—Or Is It?

Woodstock Finished?

Now that the stitching on the Woodstock Christmas Logo piece is done, it's time to make it up into an ornament.  This is a roughly four inch round, by the way, so it can be hung on a tree for Christmas although I would personally probably hang it on a door or off the mantelpiece.  I don't like finishing but I do my own ornament finishing when possible to save money.  

What you see above is the finished piece.  The needle and clear beading thread I used to attached the braid I made from leftover Kreinik metallic are sticking out of the top because once I added the trim, I decided I needed something else.  But what?

I rummaged around in my stash and pulled out 20 or so bead tubes and 2-3 sequins, trying to find the perfect red-green-gold or silver colors, sizes and shapes to make the edge just a little more festive.  I also sent the following photo around to stitching friends, asking them if I should use the red beads, the green or the silver.

Decisions!

I didn't realize unti I arranged the beads around the ornament that I already have two shades of red in the ornament.  I think I should stick with the green and/or silver beads instead of adding more reds to the mix.  But all bets are off when it comes to what I'll end up with.  Guess we'll all have to wait and see what I do. I haven't a clue right now!

I am adding each week's progress report to a tab on the Chilly Hollow Stitch Guides blog.  If you want to catch up on what you missed or just re-read everything, it's all there. Click on the Magic Carpet photo on the right side of this blog and you'll go straight there. Then all you have to do is click on the right tab at the top of the page under the header photo. Click on the Magic Carpet photo there to return to Blog's home page.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright June 21, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Woodstock for Christmas's Ornament, Or, The Perfect Fix for Wonky Beads

With the background, bird and guitar finished, it is time to wrap up the Woodstock Christmas Logo ornament by stitching the little Christmas ornament that dangles from the guitar.

I've always intended to bead it.  So I grabbed a bunch of size 11 and size 14 beads in red, gold and black and started playing around.  The size 11 (sometimes written 11/0) beads turned out to be too large.  I wanted beads jammed close together so size 11 is just too big.  Luckily I had the smaller sizes in all three colors.  So I started and came up with this.

Drunken Christmas Ornament

Ugh.  Not the look I wanted!  So I ripped the beads out and tried again, but this time I put red felt padding on first.  Here is the red padding in position, tacked down with my beading thread.

Felt Padding

Felt is a good choice for solidly beaded areas as it helps hold the beads in position.  Then I added my peace sign, then started putting on beads in horizontal rows.  I ended up with this.

Still Pretty Wonky!

Still not great.  Better but not the right look.  Sigh.  Luckily beads are easy to remove.  Clip the beading thread (preferably over a tray in your lap) and off they come.

Beads Over Padding in Vertical Rows

This time I added the gold peace sign first, then started adding the beads in vertical rows.  Once I finished a row, I went back through it a second time to straight it up.

Done!

The moral of the story is beads are wiggly things, and sometimes you have to try a lot of ways to attach them to get the look you want. Felt is a very good choice in some situations.  You can also pad with cotton makeup pads that can be cut to size.

The only thing left is to check the ornament for missed stitches and then start the process for making it up into a hanging ornament.  Stay tuned.

I am adding each week's progress report to a tab on the Chilly Hollow Stitch Guides blog. If you want to catch up on what you missed or just re-read everything, it's all there. Click on the Magic Carpet photo on the right side of this blog and you'll go straight there. Then all you have to do is click on the right tab at the top of the page under the header photo. Click on the Magic Carpet photo there to return to Blog's home page.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 26, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Woodstock for Christmas Guitar Finished

With the head and neck of the guitar finished, it was time to tackle the tuning pegs, those silver metal things that enable the guitar player to adjust the tension on the strings.

Testing Findings and Sequins

I thought it might look good if I added sequins from The Collection (bottom row) or metal bits from Sundance (top row).  I was wrong.  The metal findings are too prominent, too large and too busy.  The sequins are too plain.  Sigh.

So I put both back in their packages and tried doing a square Rhodes stitch with silver Kreinik.  It just looked odd.   Then I did a cashmere stitch with the Kreinik.  Didn't look any better.  Sigh.

So I did what I always do when nothing works—I stitched the tuning pegs in basketweave with my Kreinik.

Tuning Pegs in Basketweave

That was a tad too plain so I added a few beads on top of the middle of each peg.

The Final Touch to the Tuning Pegs

You probably have noticed that the bird has a beak and a leg and claws now, too.  And I've laid a length of silver Kreinik over the guitar's neck.   The Christmas ornament is the last thing to be finished.  Next time….

Peace and love.  Out!

I am adding each week's progress report to a tab on the Chilly Hollow Stitch Guides blog.  If you want to catch up on what you missed or just re-read everything, it's all there. Click on the Magic Carpet photo on the right side of this blog and you'll go straight there. Then all you have to do is click on the right tab at the top of the page under the header photo. Click on the Magic Carpet photo there to return to Blog's home page.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot. com
© Copyright May 19, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Woodstock for Christmas Guitar

Now that the bird and his stocking cap are finished, I worked my way down the Woodstock Christmas Logo design to the guitar head and neck.    I wanted a stitch that runs horizontally to echo the guitar shape, and that would be harmonious with the background stitch, also a horizontal stitch.  After a bit of tinkering, I found a stitch I thought would work on Mary Legallet's blog.  She calls it Trifecta Columns.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/340725528056971266/

The back row are all whispering to each other that this is a VERTICAL stitch.  So true, children, but turn the diagram a quarter turn and what do you get?  The perfect stitch!

Mary Legallet's a Genius!

I worked it using Gloriana's Lorikeet wool and Silk Lame Braid in a similar chocolate brown.

Guitar, Wool Only

In the photo above you only see the first step, the long stitches done in wool.  I wanted you to get an idea of the stitch flow which will be harder to see in the photo below after I add the silk/metallic Silk Lame Braid because the colors are similar.

Here it is with step two.

Guitar Head and Neck

You'll notice I snuck in the bird's beak, eyes and leg and claws.  Surprise!

I did the beak and eyes before the guitar but I couldn't work the leg and claws until after the guitar itself was stitched.  The beak is straight stitches in one ply of cotton floss.  The leg is a matching shade of DMC's memory wire, couched down.  (It doesn't look as wonky in person, promise.)  The claws are three bullions in the same yellow floss.  I gave the bird bead eyes, just because.

Next time we'll talk tuning pegs, which nearly drove me to distraction.  Small areas are not necessarily easy, after all.  Stay tuned.

I am adding each week's progress report to a tab on the Chilly Hollow Stitch Guides blog. If you want to catch up on what you missed or just re-read everything, it's all there. Click on the Magic Carpet photo on the right side of this blog and you'll go straight there. Then all you have to do is click on the right tab at the top of the page under the header photo.  Click on the Magic Carpet photo there to return to Blog's home page.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 19, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Woodstock for Christmas Bird

Now that I have the background done and the bird on Woodstock Christmas Logo has a Santa hat, I need to stitch the bird's body.  When you need to stitch birds, leaves or scaly critters like dragons, the first step is to pull out your copy of Carolyn Hedge Baird's Needlepoint Stitches:  A Field Guide for Birds.
https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/product/field-guide-birds/

It's a great resource.  Carolyn even has little black silhouettes of birds in various poses, so all you have to do is flip through a section looking for a silhouette that matches your bird on your canvas.  Since the bird I'm stitching is rather small, I looked through the section on small stitches only and decided that one of the Small Leaf Stitches on page 51 would be perfect.  Here's my diagram of what Carolyn came up with.

Small Leaf Stitch

I stitched the bird's breast with white size 8 perle cotton.  Then I turned the canvas on its side and stitched the wing with the same thread and stitch.  The bird's face is tent stitched.  I'll work the beak later on and add eyes later also.  I also outlined the bird's body and wing in stem stitches with glow-in-the-dark white Petite Silk Lame Braid.  Then I stitched the tail with long stitches in both threads.  Next time I will have added the eyes, beak and the leg but I will have to stitch the head and neck of the guitar before I can put in the bird's tiny claws. Until then, Go with the Flow!

I am adding each week's progress report to a tab on the Chilly Hollow Stitch Guides blog. If you want to catch up on what you missed or just re-read everything, it's all there. Click on the Magic Carpet photo on the right side of this blog and you'll go straight there. Click on the Magic Carpet photo there to return to Blog's home page.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 15, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Woodstock for Christmas Santa Hat

Background Done!

I finished the background for my Woodstock Christmas ornament! Hurrah! I like how it looks in the dark Christmas green.  Of course I may have to adjust the shade of brown I choose for the guitar but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, right?

Speaking of getting to it, now that the background is finished, I need to decide what to do next.  I'm pretty sure I want to bead the ornament hanging from the guitar, so that needs to be last.  I find it easier to wait until everything else is done to add beads because threads catch on them.  Since that's going to be last, I think it makes sense to work the remaining parts of the ornament from the top down.  That will keep my hands off areas I've stitched.  Well, except for the background, of course.  I will be careful, however.

That means I will do the Santa's cap next.  I think it makes sense to do the fur on the cap first, then the red part of the Santa hat.  With that decided, I turned the canvas upside down to reach the area easily and worked the white fur with Planet Earth Wool in French knots.  I'd not used this wool before and it is quite nice.  It's a soft thread that is 90% merino wool mixed with 10% nylon, with a light twist, making it a bit thicker than Caron's Impressions.  Once I'd finished the trim around the face and the ball on the end of the cap, I used regular red Very Velvet and a size 18 needle to do long slanting stitches \ \ \ to create the rest of the headgear.

The Bird has A Cap!

The next area I'll work will be the bird itself as I work my way down toward the bottom of the canvas.  Stay tuned!

I am adding each week's progress report to a tab on the Chilly Hollow Stitch Guides blog.  If you want to catch up on what you missed or just re-read everything, it's all there.  Click on the Magic Carpet photo on the right side of this blog and you'll go straight there.  Click on the Magic Carpet photo there to return to Blog's home page.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 11, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Woodstock for Christmas Background

I like to work my backgrounds first when I stitch a canvas. My Woodstock Christmas Logo piece needs to have some background worked before anything else anyway since there is going to be a lot of compensation necessary. Working a row across the middle of the design will help me make sure I don't make a mistake trying to work the background around the guitar and the dove.

I wanted a stitch that runs vertically since that will echo the way the guitar lays.  I like to choose background stitches that resemble a main part of my design whenever possible.  I really liked this stitch that Mary Legallet described on her Whimsical Stitch blog.
http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2018/07/25

But there's a problem.  If you look at the diagram you'll see there are many stitch intersections that are not covered in thread.  I wanted to use a dark Christmas green on my background instead of the olive green that it is painted.  I can't have any empty spots of olive green showing through.  So I had to modify the stitch somehow.  This is what I came up with.



The first row in the diagram (black stitches) I stitched with two plies of a dark green Splendor silk floss.  The second row I used the same Splendor for the long stitches (red in the diagram) but used a similar shade of green in Kreinik size 16 braid for the short stitches (blue).  That adds a touch of sparkle to this piece, which is a Christmas ornament, after all.  It will have to stand out among many other ornaments and Christmas tree lights.

This is how it looks.  Now I want to finish the background and then decide what to do next.  Of course anyone else stitching this can finish the background last if they wish, but I think it's smart to at least have one row established that you can work from as you stitch the top and bottom areas above and below the row.



By the way, I'm listing all my blog stitching articles about Woodstock Christmas on the Chilly Hollow Stitch Guide blog as they are published.  You can go there by clicking on the photo of the flying carpet in the right hand column.  Then look for Woodstock Christmas Blog Stitching among the tabs.  Want to return back here?  Click on the flying carpet again.

I'll see you flower children back here next week.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 7, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Woodstock for Christmas 2019

Purple Palm Woodstock Christmas Logo

Purple Palm Designs introduced a variety of licensed Woodstock music festival logo canvases last year. You can see some of them here.  I think there are others, too.
http://www.knit1needlepoint2.com/shop/Needlepoint-Canvas/Needlepoint-Canvas-by-Designer/PURPLE-PALM-DESIGNS.htm

I've decided to stitch one of them as a Christmas ornament (above) and am going to show off my progress here for those who would like to stitch along.  My Woodstock Christmas ornament is 3 inches around on 18 count canvas.  I've mounted it on 8 inch stretcher bars and am rummaging in my thread stash for supplies.

Stay tuned!  (Or should I say Rock On?  LOL)

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright April 30, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.