Stars: Clark Gable Underway

I've started the second quilt block on my Stars for the New Millennium piece.  This is called Clark Gable and it is made up of six general steps.  In the photo above, the first three stitches are done and I've completed one of four sides using the fourth stitch.  I'm working this piece upside down or on the side so I can reach everything easily.  My colors are A-violet, B-black, C-terracotta and D-copper.

The first area worked is the center starburst, which is done in C1, which is a lovely Alyce Schroth silk perle in Lt. Rose 241.  I used a different C1 thread this time, thinking that the silk would make a nice central area.  It is surrounded by four plies of my D1 thread, Lume H13, although you don't add the outlines until the second and third areas are finished.

The second areas are all the "kite-shaped" areas in black that surround the central starburst.  These are done in a bargello pattern of upright stitches, mostly over four threads.  The top of the pattern is B3 (Burmilana 3641), the next row is B4 (Gumnuts' Tulips 999), the third is B5 (Felicity's Garden #12), and the tip of the pattern which touches the outside borders is B6 (Tweedie 18 in T491).  I used three strands of Burmilana, two strands of Tulips, but only one of the Felicity's Garden and Tweedie as they are much heavier threads.  The shades of black move from charcoal to deep black from the center out to the tip and the different thread textures come into play in person. This is a subtle and masculine square block in many ways.

Once the black "kites" are in, you fill in the triangular shaped area with A4 (Impressions 6043).  All this went pretty fast but the fourth step, which is patterned couching, took almost as much time as the first three steps combined.  The thread that is being couched is violet A5 (Rainbow Linen R453).  It is held down with one ply each of the black B1 (Soie Crystale 0020) or C2 (DMC 758) worked in a pattern.  There are 15 rows if I remember correctly, and it is a pain to keep checking to see if I'm working the right row as the couching pattern on each row is different.  Still, hopefully I will get the other three sides of pattern couching finished tonight so I can move on to the last two steps which are going to be pretty involved.

In other Stars news:

Donna has stitched her border five times now.  But you are going to be happy with the final version!  Sometimes all that pain is worth it in the end.
http://majtravaux.blogspot.com/2010/03/stumpwork-dreams.html

Sara Leigh has redone her corner design and it looks great to me.
http://remedialstitcher.blogspot.com/2010/03/so-much-to-stitch-so-little-time.html

The biggest Stars news comes from someone who isn't stitching Stars at all.  Glenis just noticed that my photo of Stars in the left column of blog was upside down!  I looked at my copy of the book and the photo there is also upside down.  I wonder how many of the books were assembled this way?  It might have been deliberate, to showcase the design.  When Stars is finished, it won't matter whether the row we stitched first is on top or bottom.  Or it might have been a mistake in assembling the booklet.  I don't know.  It'll be fun to look at all the photos of the book cover we see online and find out if they all have Stars upside down from the way it is worked in the instructions.

Thanks, Glenis.  I've turned my photo upright.  I think you might be Tony's favorite pupil today with your careful observation.



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

Future Fun

I took last night off from needling.  Instead I read through my Stars for the New Millennium book, looking at the directions for the next quilt block, which is in the top row to the right of Marilyn Monroe.  This block is called Clark Gable.  The star pattern for Gable is make up of six sections, most of them repeated four times.  A lot of color B is used in this design which will be a challenge for me as my color B is black.  I expect some fancy footwork to make black-on-black patterns show up.  We'll see how it goes. I'll start this tonight.  I hope to get most of it finished by the time I leave for Easter vacation on Friday.  Blog probably won't be updated on the weekend as I won't have easy computer access and probably won't get any stitching done while I'm away.

The Tardis is going with me as it is a birthday present for my niece.    I'll let you know how she likes it.

I went to the Woodlawn Plantation exhibit yesterday.  I met friends for lunch and a browse among the stitching, then I left them to make a slightly meandering way home via three shops.  I didn't buy a lot, just a blue star-shaped bead at In Stitches, two skeins of red Trio that were on sale to try, my favorite color of Kreinik (4002, a milk chocolate/silver mix), a red Hologram Kreinik to try, a skein of royal blue Vineyards Silks, and a card of red Splendor at Needlewoman East, and a packet of Piecemakers needles,  a skein of navy overdyed Gloriana Lorikeet wool, and a pair of stretcher bars in the size I need for the next project at Waste Knot.  I will update my stash credit number by removing 7 from the total shortly.

The blue star bead is for the Tardis.  Last night I glued a straight pin into the bead hole and today I stuck the decorated pin through the Tardis' door to hold it closed while it is wrapped.  The inner core of the ornament is finishing foam, so the pin will stick there safely and keep the door closed.  I included a photo above.

I also put my next painted canvas on stretcher bars.  But that is a tale for another day.

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

The Tardis is Finished

The back side is a thin black velvet that resembles light weight Ultrasuede.  I am quite happy with it although I could have done a better job on the roof.  Stitching it to resemble the photos wasn't as successful as I'd hoped.  Somehow the angle made the stitches look odd.  I would have done better to have ignored the photos and do stitches to fill a triangular space instead of doing stepped satin stitches.  But that only matters to me and it is a lesson I'll remember the next time I stitch a building.

Hope you like it!

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

Throwing Rocks, Making Ripples

I am sure you have heard the debate about patronizing local needlework shops versus spending money online or in the big box craft stores to buy supplies we need for our stitching at a better price.   You have never heard it described this way, though.  Before you head off to read the article in the link below, the Thistle Threads blog is written by Tricia Wilson Nguyen and all the other folks deeply involved in recreating a17th Century embroidered jacket they have named Faith.  Recently Tricia has been talking about the costs of mounting a museum exhibit, how publishing a book about needlework is done,  and other topics about the business of needlework and museums.  It's a fascinating discussion.  If you want to start reading other articles about this topic, click on the header title to go to Home, then look for the March 18, 19 and then 23rd blog articles.
http://thistle-threads.com.mytempweb.com/blog/index.php/2010/03/last-word-on-pennies/

Every time I mention a new tool, book or thread, talk about some of the lovely designs I've seen here and there, every time I add to my Master Enabler points,  I am sending ripples out into the stitching world, ripples you see and react to as we all bob on the ocean called the Internet.  Hopefully the shops, tool and thread manufacturers, teachers, designers and writers feel the ripples I have made and benefit from them.

Now go make some ripples of your own....

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

Tardis Door Attached

The Tardis' right door is attached!  I poked the four beading wires that were stitched to the hinge side of the door through the main canvas' holes, then twisted the two wires from the top half of the door together on the back side.  After twisting the two bottom wires together, I stitched each pair to the rear of the main canvas.

You may remember I'd planned to use magnets to make the door stay closed but the advertising magnets that are easy to cut aren't strong enough.  I decided I would have to use a pair of my rare earth magnets.  While I looked for them in my stitching tool box, I left the ornament sitting on the table and noticed that the door when it is partly open, looks quite inviting.  So I decided I would let the door be partly open rather than sacrificing magnets to let it open and close. I'm a bit worried that the door handle beads won't stay attached if they are tugged on constantly to open the door. So my Tardis ornament doesn't have a locked door.

Last night I turned under the raw edges of the main ornament and tacked the corners in place.  The untacked edges are sticking out some because I pushed down on the ornament on the scanner bed.  I will spend the rest of the weekend hand sewing the backing on the ornament.  I need to add a loop of #8 perle cotton to hang the ornament with but that'll wait for a while. I plan to start stitching the backing on at the base of the Tardis so I will wait to add the loop so that it is not in my way while I do some of the hand stitching.  I have black velvet for the backing and will use black thread to attach it.  Hopefully the edge will look clean enough I don't need to put trim around it.

Wish me luck.  Finishing is not my favorite part of the process.

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