The Stuart Lion's Plaid

I decided the easiest place to start on the Stuart Plaid Lion ornament was the plaid section, and I also decided to work all the plaid a color at a time.  This is a bit chancy as the various lines and rows and boxes are of different sizes.  It is really easy to do a block three stitches wide and then do the section above it four stitches wide by accident.  So I am careful to work a vertical column at a time, making sure that the next color I use is done in stitches that are as wide or narrow as previous colors in that section.

In the above photo, I have worked all the reds, using the Trio (Really Red #T312) for the bright red and the holographic Kreinik (Robot Red #003L) for the dark red.  As I mentioned yesterday, I used size #8 Kreinik braid for the single line of tent stitches and the larger size #12 Kreinik braid for the blocks of cashmere or Scotch stitches.  I liked how those two sizes covered these various sections.

I worked the single line in tent stitches first, then stitched the single stitches around the paws and tail, then worked the larger boxes and rectangles for each color.

Once those areas were done (and it took longer than you'd think as there is a lot of red in the plaid) I worked the black squares and lines in the same fashion, using the Felicity’s Garden Cast Iron Black #008.  Felicity's Garden is a silk/Merino wool blend tapestry style thread.  You can't ply it, unlike Trio, but the two thread brands are both half silk and half merino wool.

I love the silky shine of Felicity's Garden and since I have a nice little stash of it, I used it often.  It works well on either 13 or 18 count canvas if you are doing tent stitches.  On the Stuart Plaid Lion, it looks very deep and inky black in comparison to the two red threads.  It's perfect for my purpose, in other words, although there is a bit of black fuzziness compared to Trio which--although fuzzier when unstitched--is less so stitched.  Here is the Felicity's Garden website.  They offer a shaded overdyed Felicity's Garden called Felicity's Garden Duet, a lambswool/alpaca tapestry thread called Newport Harbor which is made up of shades of colors, and Annabelle's Playhouse, which is a wool tapestry yarn.
http://www.rosebud-studio.com/yarn-menu.htm

I'll have a photo tomorrow that shows the black areas stitched and reveals the interesting things I plan for the thin yellow and white lines and the slightly larger blue lines in the plaid.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Woodlawn 2010: More Silk Ribbon Embroidery

Remember the bamboo design all in silk ribbon that I admired so at Woodlawn last month?  I got a message in the Comments section of that message from the piece's stitcher this morning which tells more about the design and the silk ribbon embroidery.

The stitcher writes:
"Thank you very much for your compliments and the attention to this important piece!! This was very special piece for me to stitch. The canvas was a wedding gift from the designer, Keri Duke of Keri Designs. I used 39 spools (5 meters each) of 100 percent silk ribbon from River Silks, a wonderful company that my Parents started in 2003. This is the only kind of ribbon that will withstand this kind of stitching abuse. Since I have been asked about this piece and have had stitchers interested in stitching it, River Silks will be adding this piece to their arsenal of Kits To Go. Your favorite fiber arts store can order it for you. 

For more inspiration and ideas for stitching with ribbon, please visit the riversilks.com and click on "Finished Projects" You will be able to see a wide variety of pieces stitched with River Silks ribbon from First-Timers to Professionals! Can you guess which one is which? After that, please explore the website and learn more about our fabulous ribbons!

Thank you again, please don't hesitate to contact me with questions regarding this piece."

Happy Stitching!
Lynn Krynicki Bayer
"Green Bamboo" stitcher
lynn@riversilks.com
River Silks LTD

Here is the canvas on the Keri Designs website.  By the way, the design is reversed there.  I flipped it in the photo above to show the way I saw it at Woodlawn.  There it was framed in a simple black frame and didn't have the green fabric at the top and bottom that I remember.
http://keridesigns.com/needlepoint_enlarged.php?entry=13&entry_table=entries_13&entry_id=9

The River Silks website.  The bamboo piece isn't shown there in the Kits to Go section yet.
http://www.riversilks.com/Site/Site/RIVER_SILKS_SILK_RIBBON_.html

Many, many thanks to Lynn K. Bayer for answering the questions I had about this piece.  I should point out I have an indirect commercial relationship with River Silks as I write stitch guides and stitch models for Leigh Designs canvases and Leigh Designs is distributing River Silks right now.  But I had no idea who stitched this piece until the comment showed up this morning.

Sure glad we know more.  It was a lovely piece and I am glad that it will be available as a kit.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Test Driving Threads (Part Two)

Once I got home with my new threads and actually started to stitch, I had to decide just where to use Trio and the holographic Kreinik.  I had two Trio skeins, a dark burgundy and a bright red.  I also had a ruby metallic, the holographic Kreinik.  The plaid itself just has two reds so one of the three threads was going to have to be discarded.  So I put the burgandy Trio aside and started some test stitches with the lighter red Trio and the metallic.  Since I had three sizes of the holograhic Kreinik, I had to test stitch with each. So there are actually four threads in the stitching above--one Trio and three Kreiniks.

If you look carefully at this close up, the #12 Kreinik holographic braid is the two fat lines just under the top paw.  Moving down directly under them, you see a line that has the right and left sides stitched but not the middle.  This row is in Trio.  The left side is one ply and the right side is two.  I was testing whether I could get away with one ply in these long slanting stitches.  I decided that for this stitch, I preferred two plies of the three that are in each strand of Trio.   Trio is easy to stitch with, by the way.  Each ply can be easily removed from a strand.  I used an 18 inch length of thread, which is normal for me, without any problems although the last three inches of the thread are worn by the needle and have to be cut off and discarded by the time I finish stitching.  I think the wool texture and the silk shine of Trio is going to look great on the plaid areas.

However, you should read the comments after yesterday's blog message.  Not everyone has an easy time with Trio.  The three plies can each be divided into two parts, giving you 6 plies altogether.  I would not do this myself as Trio is a delicate thread.  Separating it into six plies makes it very soft and delicate and the thread could separate as you stitch.  If you are having a great deal of trouble, try shorter lengths, a larger needle eye, and don't split it into more than 3 plies.

The row just under the Trio row is the #12 holographic braid again. At the bottom of the picture you see a strand of that thread in #8 braid.  Note how the cut end frays.  You will need to be careful on the back side that none of these loose ends wiggle out and show on the front.  This row also shows that occasionally some of the shiny Mylar that gives holographic thread its shine will become exposed.  You'll get a silver "streak" there.  I will have to remove part of this stitch and cut out the streak and restitch but since this is test stitching, I left it.  I know most if not all of the stitches I've done will be pulled out since this is Just A Test.

Using the same close up photo again, look at the red block just above the lower paw.  This is done with the #8 holographic red Kreinik.  I also did a row of tent stitches to the right of this block between the white and yellow lines.  I decided I like the #8 braid better for tent stitches but the #12 braid better for the slanted rows.

At the very bottom of the ornament near the cut frayed thread is the 1/16 inch ribbon.  In this piece the holographic read is a little shinier using the holographic ribbon and the texture is flatter, especially next to any red plaid in the Trio.  I think I am going to use the #8 braid holographic Kreinik for the tent stitched single lines and the #12 braid holographic Kreinik for the longer slanted lines that fill a fatter row.

You have to remember that just because I choose to use the #8 and #12 braid for my piece that yours won't do better in the 1/16 inch ribbon.  It all depends on the stitch you are using, the threads stitched next door to this area, and the effect you want.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Test Driving Threads (Part One)

When I made the long drive to the Woodlawn Plantation exhibit, I took along a list of DMC colors to use to pull the threads I didn't have in my stash already for the Stuart Plaid Lion ornament.  I was particularly looking for threads that matched the dark and bright reds in the plaid area of the ornament.  I searched In Stitches, Needlewoman East, and Waste Knot the same way-- I pulled out my list of DMC colors, then found the two skeins of DMC cotton floss in each shop that were on my list.  Then I could carry the DMC around each shop, matching shades of red in order to pick something I thought would work with the threads I already have for this project.  Once I had found (or not found) something, I could return the DMC floss to its home on the shop shelves.

I ended up with three red threads for the plaid--two red Trios and a red Kreinik #12 metallic.  Trio is a silk and wool blend that can be stranded like Paternayan into three plies.  It is made by Brown Paper Packages, the company that sells Silk & Ivory.  Silk & Ivory is a silk/marino wool tapestry thread that is not dividable.   It is a little too fat for 18 count canvas, so Brown Paper Packages came out with Trio which can be used on 13 count (all three strands) or on 18 count (one or two strands).  Except for the thread being dividable or not, Silk & Ivory and Trio are identical.
http://www.brownpaperpackages.com/

I choose two shades of red in Trio--Really Red #T312 and Burgundy T324.  You can see them both in the Wine Red section of the Brown Paper Packages website.  The color numbers differ online because the threads pictured are the tapestry wool Silk & Ivory line, not the Trio.  I haven't stitched with Trio before so I am eager to try this thread.
http://www.brownpaperpackages.com/colors_Reds.htm

I also bought a spool of the new Kreinik holographic thread in size #12, color 003L which is a ruby red (it's called Robot Red).  Here is information about the threads and small squares of the color on the Kreinik website.  If you can enlarge the page, do so to see the colors better.
http://www.kreinik.com/feature.htm

A few days after my trip, I got an email out of the blue from Dena Lenham of Kreinik asking me if I would like a little of the new holographic thread to play with.  I asked for a second spool of my holographic ruby thread in #8 braid.  I was a bit afraid that #12 was going to be too fat as it really was intended for 13 count canvases.  The Stuart Plaid Lion is on 18 count.  My envelope from Dena arrived last week and I was amazed to find the entire line of #8 braid and also the entire set of 1/16 inch holographic ribbon inside!  Thank you, Dena!  Blog's readers are very grateful that you sent all this for review purposes.

In the photo above, the #8 braid set is on top and the 1/16" ribbon on the bottom.  My #12 spool is in the middle.  The colors are a bit brighter in the holographic ribbon as it is shinier than the braids, whether they are #8 or #12 braid.  But the reds are identical across all three sizes otherwise and the other colors seem to be the same in #8 and 1/16 inch ribbon.  It is just that the ribbon thread shows the holographic Mylar better so it has more reflective ability.

In both photos you can see the frayed cut end of my #12 braid spool, and how curly the thread is when it first comes off the spool.  The curl stays in the thread longer than a perm stays in my hair!  I suggest you cut a twelve inch length, then grasp each end and pull hard.  That will straighten it some. If you use too long a length, the curl will start to kink and knot somewhere in the middle.  Even pulled and stretched, the curl remains and might cause problems in a longer strand.  The curl isn't as prominent in the 1/16 inch ribbon but a short length is still a good idea.  The ribbon will twist and has to be laid to make sure it is flat so that the light will bounce off it well and shine.  I find it easier to lay a thread that isn't too long a length since I only have two hands, one for the threaded needle and one for the laying tool.

I've also decided that once you cut a length and tie a knot, you should trim the raw end past the knot as close to the knot as you can.  The end will splay out into the elements that make up the thread and those loose ends can be pulled into the front as you stitch.

This message is getting a bit long so tomorrow I'll post about actually using these two new threads as I began stitching the plaid area.

Janet Perry has written a review of these new holographic threads.  Here's the link so you can read what she says about them.
http://www.coolcraftsites.com/2010/nuts-about-needlepoint/kreinik’s-holographic-threads-–-product-review/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Clark Gable Finished

I finished the second full quilt block yesterday.  Isn't Clark handsome?  The charcoal to black shading in the kite-shaped areas bothers me a bit and I'm still considering adding either black or copper beads to the square, but Pat's idea of waiting until Vivian Leigh is stitched and the whole row done to decide whether to add beads and what color is a very good one.

I also finished the sashing borders around the first two blocks.  My plan is to stitch the sashing margins around each as the block is done so that I am not resting my hand or arm on finished stitching as I work.  I also plan to work the outside borders later for the same reason.

The photo above is upside down.   Stars can be hung with the first row on top or bottom, as one chooses. You could even hang it with the right or left side as the top but I suspect most of us will choose to hang it vertically.  When Stars is framed, I plan to have it done so that either end could be hung as the top so I can change the view occasionally.

Now I am going to switch to my painted canvas project.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow