Still Grumpy

I'm still grumpy this morning.  Our road is closed to traffic but the river is receding and it should open soon.  The road across the river was under quite a bit of water and probably will have to be cleared of debris before it is passable.  See the moss-covered tree with the two parallel horizontal limbs?  The top limb shows about where the river bank is. You can clearly see how far inland the river is from the bank.  The photo doesn't show that the trees on the far bank are standing about 2 feet deep in water.  I took this photo yesterday after the river crested. The water level is dropping now.

I'm also grumpy about the Tardis door windows.  This is how they look today.  I like the spacing on the left door but I think everything is about 3-4 threads too high, so today I'll start at the bottom of the left door, rip out each panel and the window and restitch them lower down.  After I am sure of the placement then I will finish the right door.  Oh, well, since the road is closed I might as well get this right.  Right?

LOL

Everyone stay safe and dry on this dreary and wet Monday.

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

Mismatched Windows

First of all, let me state firmly that I HATE THE TIME CHANGE.

Thank you for letting me get that off my chest.

Secondly, my windows are mis-matched.  Sigh.

I don't know if you read the Comments yesterday or not, but Pamela pointed out in a comment yesterday that the side windows should not be level.  The tiny one on the left should be a thread or three lower than the one on the right for the perspective to be correct.  I agree with her but I'm not pulling it out and restitching correctly just yet.  Remember, I have to stitch the exterior wall around these tiny windows.  I don't know what stitch I will use yet but unless it is tent stitch, compensating around the tiny windows will probably draw attention to the fact that they are not identical and I don't want anyone looking at the side windows.  I want the front windows to stand out.  So I'm leaving things alone for now.  I may indeed pull out the left tiny window later on.  It all depends on what stitch I choose for the walls.

I do have to pull out the window on the left front door.  Can you tell it is larger than the window on the right door?  I didn't realize this until yesterday after I had chosen a stitch for the door panels below the windows, stitched two, then realized that the left one was larger than the right.  I will have to rip out the larger left window and door panel and restitch them to the correct size.  How I managed to count the windows over and over again and end up with two sizes is something only other dyslexics can understand.

But rip out I shall, probably later today.  Right now I'm going to pour more coffee and go stare at the Mindy trunk show (25% off and free shipping!) at the Nimble Needle.
http://thenimbleneedle.blogspot.com/

Then I plan to look at the new congress cloth colors from Zweigart,
http://www.stitchersworkshop.com/blog/?p=203

and stare at Pierrette's stumpwork goldfish and wonder if I'll ever be able to attach the Tardis door using stumpwork tehniques.
http://mystitchinggallery.blogspot.com/2010/03/gracie-ganet-burr-designer.html

Jane, stomping off in the heavy rain for more coffee (sigh)

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

Making It Up As We Go Along

I'd like to point out that I'm no expert in stitching time machines, painted canvases, charts, or anything else you might want to interpret in thread on NP canvas.

I make it up as I go along.  Who knows if I can make the Tardis door open or not?  I don't!

For me, the adventure of trying something, failing, trying something else, succeeding, keeping going until a piece is finished--that's the charm of needlework to me.  Of course we all stitch for various reasons at various times.

But me, I don't explore the Amazon, I don't walk on the moon, I don't do medical research....  I needlepoint.

I'm glad you find it as fascinating as I do.




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

Consulting the Windows Expert

Yesterday was Window Day.  As you know, I like cheating consulting the wisdom of other stitchers, particularly the real experts among us.  So before I decided on how to stitch the lighted windows in the Tardis I pulled out my 2006 and 2007 copies of Needlepoint Now.

Starting in the March/April 2006 edition of Needlepoint Now, Tony Minieri wrote a series of short articles about stitches that work well in rendering architectural features in NP.  I have slowly read through all the 2006 issues through September/October 2006 which is when the series ends for that year.  (There are more articles on this topic in 2007 but I haven't gotten to them yet.)  As I read, I thought about how I wanted my Tardis windows to look.  I know they are divided in half with three small glass panes above and three more below the horizontal line in the middle.  The photos of the Tardis from publicity stills shows the windows in either white or yellow, so I choose yellow as a nice contrast to the blue outside of the Tardis.  It looked like couching some of my perle cotton on top of the Crystal Braid would make nice muntins (which is the fancy architectural term for the grid that divides a window into smaller elements).

One of the stitches Tony recommends is cashmere.  This stitch can be done on the diagonal or in straight rows.  I choose the straight version which is how the windows look in my reference photos.
http://needlepoint.about.com/od/texturedstitches/ss/StraightCashmere_3.htm

I thought it would be easy to make a row of three over three cashmere blocks for the front doors of the Tardis, then leave off the top and bottom of the blocks and just use the slanting lines of the stitch for the side windows on the left.  So that is what I did.  I used Rainbow Gallery's Crystal Braid in sunny yellow CR07 for the glowing windows.  The hardest part was counting each row of blocks to make sure both rows in both windows were the same size. I skipped a thread between each block so there would be room for the dividing muntins for the ones on the front.  I just put the muntins on top of the side windows. There's not room for much window there.

The muntins themselves are done with two lines of #8 cotton perle on the front windows and one line of the same thread on the side.  The side areas don't show up much but that might change once I couch down the pairs.  I didn't get to that last night as I also covered over the rear vertical line of the barely glimpsed side of the Tardis.

Here is the NP Now website where you can browse the table of contents for back issues to see which ones you might want to read.  See where it says back issues cost $7 a magazine plus shipping?  NP Now is having a sale of their back issues which now cost $3 per issue plus shipping.  The sale is until May 1st so if you want a copy of something, now is the time to buy.

http://www.needlepointnow.com/by_year.html

Tonight I'll couch down the muntins with some DMC cotton floss in the same blue, then start reading up what Mr. Minieri has to say about door panels.  

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

Kimono Cyberclasses

I've just learned about a series of three mini cyberclasses that Janet Perry is offering.  The classes (each class costs $27.50) include all the materials you need, from needle and threads to a small canvas from Patt and Lee Designs with instructions by Janet Perry.  The lessons and the answers to your questions are done via email in a Yahoo Group format so that you can choose to get your messages in digest form if you prefer.

The photo above shows the canvas for the first class which will be about using textured stitches.

The second class will be about shading and will feature a different small kimono from Patt & Lee Designs.

The third class will be on using different types of threads to create texture and will feature a third kimono design.

The first class starts April 1 so if you want to learn a bit more about fancying up your needlepoint, or if you know a beginner who'd enjoy this class, head over to Janet's blog to sign up.
http://www.nuts-about-needlepoint.com/textured-stitch-cyberclass

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