Putting a Small Canvas Into a Larger Space

Whenever I have a canvas that is too small for the place where it should go, I automatically think about adding a border -- or three!

This was the case with the little mermaid who needs to fill a larger space on the purse pocket.  I simply took the wave pattern from the painted blue-green sea behind her, turned it into a bargello wave pattern, and stitched the waves  beyond the sea into the empty space I needed to fill, except in a different color.  Presto! A border!

The bargello wave is very simple.  It is four threads high with a pattern of three stitches in a row, following by a stitch that goes up a thread, a stitch that goes up another thread, then a stitch that drops down a thread.  Repeat these two groups endlessly across the line.

My bargello wave is done in a beautiful Gloriana silk called Deep Blue Sea.  Because it is an upright stitch, I had to use six plies of my overdyed silk.  The highlighted waves (which don't match precisely the highlights Ms. Shirley painted but a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do) are in Silk Lame Braid #SL14.  I used the same blue Silk Lame Braid for the letter H in the monogram I put in the upper left corner of the border.

Once the sea waves were done, I did the border waves in solid pink Impressions #2075 (2 strands) alternating with Sparkle Rays in SR31.  Sparkle Rays is a flat ribbon-like thread with iridescent green and gold sparkles woven in with the flat pink thread color.  It is perfect for this piece even though it isn't the same pink as the Impressions because both pinks are in the mermaid's skin and features.  If you are adding a border, pick colors that already occur in the central part of the design and the border will look like it was created by the original designer, not you the stitcher.

I did some random rows in the pink Sparkle Rays to add bling and to help insure I had enough Impressions to do the entire background.  I had a little less than a full skein in my stash and I have to double it in my needle so I have to be cautious with the amount of Impressions I use or I'll run out.

The other two letters in the monogram are in threads I plan to use on the mermaid and her little goldfish but haven't stitched with yet. The green is Sparkle! Braid SK25, which is a thin, strong metallic about the size of #12 perle (I had to double it and do a cross stitch creating the letter R so it would look as thick as the other letters).  The peach and gold is Silk Lame Braid #SL29.  I'll use that on the goldfish later.

I need to finish the pink border next, bringing up my bargello waves to the letters, then doing basketweave around them.  After that I'll probably do the sky behind the mermaid all in tent stitches with a sparkling metallic blue if I have one in the right pale shade in my stash.  I want a lot of Bling in this piece but I think doing a sky in bargello wave as I originally planned is going to be a bit much, so basketweave it is.

Wish me luck finding the right blue in The Stash!

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

The Whimsey Mermaid

As I said yesterday, the Cape Cod Dogs purse turned out great.  My husband likes it so much that he wants a purse done for the granddaughter's birthday....which is in a month.  [a brief pause while Jane runs around her living room, screaming and pulling her hair]

So I picked up a purse from the local crafts emporium yesterday.  There's a pocket on the front, about the right size for a cell phone, that I will adorn with a NP canvas.

This canvas, in fact.  This is a mermaid from the Seaside Whimsey series by Melissa Shirley.  Luckily I had it in my stash already.  Here is the rest of the series.
http://melissashirleydesigns.com/gallery/?index=753&cat=66

The pocket on the purse is around four and a half to four and three-quarter inches square and the little mermaid herself is about three and a half inches square.  So I marked out the area I need to stitch beyond the mermaid to completely cover the pocket. That is the blue corner markings you see above.  Last night I stitched her skin and features except for her eyes.  I think I'll work on the background next.  After all, I only have about two weeks to complete this and get it on the purse and pop it in the mail.  [More screaming from CH, and a few swear words, too!]

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

Remember the Cape Cod Dogs?

While finishing up the Nordic Snowman, I also have been busy attaching this Elizabeth Mumford reproduction canvas to the front of a  corduroy bag I picked up at Target on sale last summer.  Remember Cape Cod Dogs?

My husband likes it so much that he wants me to stitch one for the granddaughter's birthday.  Which is in less than a month!!!!!

Eeeeeekkkkkkkkkkk!

Here is the finished canvas before it was whipstitched into position.  You can re-read my stitching adventure with this piece, complete with swearing at the dog's ear, by using the search box at the top left. Just enter "Cape Cod Dogs" or "Elizabeth Mumford" and my blog entries about this should come right up, last on top.

The silver starfish are from the local crafts emporium's jewelry-making section.  I must have spent $16-17 on the purse and the starfish charms but it does look like a million bucks.

I splurged yesterday on a $12 canvas purse for the granddaughter and instead of working on Stars, I will start stitching a small canvas from my stash to attach to it.  Details tomorrow.

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

The Nordic Snowman Is Done

The Nordic Snowman is done!  Hurrah!  My next step will be to assemble him into a stocking.  Stockings are not difficult although turning small stockings right side out (they are often assembled with the wrong side facing out) can be painful.  I have some nice red velvet for the back side and some pretty blue silk moire for the lining.  I'll pick up trim today as all the trim I have is a bit too fat for this small stocking.

When I finish a piece, I always thinks about what I learned, what went particularly well and what I wish I'd done better.  I certainly learned about how to mix various white threads in a piece in this one!  I also was very careful about the threads on the back side since I didn't want any of the ends on the back side causing shadows behind the white areas.  I stitched most of the whites first and was careful to not put starting knots or weave ending threads in bright colors too close to white areas.  This seems to have worked out well.  I am particularly happy with the fur trim on his stocking although I don't like the fur ball at the base of his stocking as well.  It is a little too prominent.  Next time I might try using a thinner thread than Faux Fur for French knots fur.  I also am very happy with the red bow around the stocking.  There I mixed Kreinik's red holographic thread with a regular dark red Kreinik metallic for shading and it looks very nice.  The new Kreinik holographic thread is very shiny and in the right place, it looks terrific.  It also holds up well with other metallic threads so you can use it for jewels in a gold crown and not have the jewels be overwhelmed by the gold setting.  Holographic Fyreworks from Rainbow Gallery is a similar thread but it only comes in one width so I would choose Kreinik holographic when I could, just because it has the flexibility of a stitcher being able to choose thread sizes.

Hope you have enjoyed watching the Nordic snowman evolve.  After I tackle finishing the stocking and doing some other finishing that I've let pile up, I'll be back working on the next quilt block in Stars for a New Millennium.

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

Bada Bling (or The Sopranos' Needlepoint Magnets)

Yesterday I was surprised by a set of magnets a friend sent me.  I knew they were coming but not what they looked like.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the magnets were half inch rhinestones!  They are called Bada Bling and are available from Dreamhouse Ventuers. Sadly, they aren't on their website.
http://www.dreamhouseventures.com/

The magnets come in a set of two, probably assorted colors like mine.  The back sides are very strong.  I almost tore the packages trying to separate the two sets from each other!  Once I got them apart, the rhinestones serve as a great place to park my needles.  They are not strong enough on the front to hold my scissors securely but on the back they are.  If you don't mind parking scissors under your canvas, the Bada Bling magnets will do a good job.  Just think of it as hiding your sharp, pointy things out of sight, ready to whip them out and use them when threatened. LOL

Here are what the magnets look like in their packages.  The top image shows me using all four to hold Cape Cod Dogs in position as I appliqued it to the front of a tote bag.  Worked like a charm, especially since the magnets are quite strong.  I prefer this to pinning the needlepoint in place in this case since both the stitched canvas and the bag itself are thick and not suitable for holding with regular straight pins.

If you love using stitching magnets like I do, these are definitely worth searching out.  And if you want something more subtle, yet cheerful, check out the Zecca magnets that PFOS have at their shop.
http://pocketfullofstitches.blogspot.com/2010/05/strong-little-magnets.html

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