The Grid (With Skulls)

Life continues to be exciting here in CH, so I was dead tired last night and ignored Cha for the easy stitching to be had on the new iPhone case I'm creating.  I've almost finished the grid that is the first step in SharonG's brocade variation stitch.

I'm using one ply of JL Walsh silk/wool (it comes in a strand that breaks down into five plies).  I'm stitching one side of the case at a time.  In the photo above you see two skulls floating on top of the background pattern and that I have started a border at the top.  The black thread is Silk Lame Braid which I love/hate.  The effect is lovely but I find I have to use short lengths as this thread unwinds as it goes in and out of holes.  I'm going to switch to a size 20 needle the next time I work on this project as I think it might protect the thread better than my current size 22.

Which reminds me--you probably will want to take a look at Gay Ann Rogers' latest technique tips on her website.  Gay Ann is a counted canvaswork teacher who creates beautiful, feminine designs, particularly samplers and "smalls" which are the little scissor and needle cases that needleworkers love.  This time her tips are all about thread tension.  It is a Must Read for anyone who wants to improve their stitching.  If you have never visited GAR's website before, have fun exploring.
http://www.gayannrogers.com/site_2/Techniques_13.html

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

Powerless

Last night we temporarily lost electricity due to a big series of thunderstorms that moved through the area, so once again I didn't work on Cha's tail feathers.  Instead, once the power came back on I started to count the SharonG brocade stitch to see if it worked within the 5x6 inch space I am going to stitch for an iPhone case.  If you click on yesterday's link to the Stitch of the Month project SharonG did and look at brocade variation stitch, you'll see it is a framework of over two stitches that build up a block.  I counted out the blocks and then worked out how many would fit into the space without too much compensation.  I will put a border at the top and bottom of the case to fill out the area, and have started putting the stitch on one side of the iPhone case.

I also counted out the main motif I choose (which luckily has a border included) and have done a little stitching there, just to see how it would look.  Luckily this was a quick stitch as I didn't have a lot of time before bed once the power came back on.  The chart I am using is below.  No laughing!  I am stitching this for someone who really likes scary things and I remember how obsessed with Egyptian history and mummies I was at her age.  This chart is from Goosefairy.  I suspect it is a knitting chart as knitters, much more hip than I ever will be, are into knitting skulls on their scarves/gloves/sweaters/hats.  If you google "skull charts" you will be overwhelmed with various sizes, shapes and patterns of skulls and bones.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/67828223@N00/3268797153/sizes/z/

Keep your fingers crossed that nothing interferes with my working on Cha tonight!  Else I'll be stitching purple skulls again.

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

Last Night Was Crazy

Barbara Russell's "Lady" from the African Fashion Series

Last night was too harried to work on Cha's feathers so I started blocking out the new project.  Since Glenis is threatening to die from curiosity about the Next Project in the Comments, I'll talk about it a bit here.  I am going to stitch an iPhone case as a gift.  I don't own a smart phone of course (cell phones don't work reliably in CH) but I know someone who does who needs a case.  I'm going to use a simple pattern on top of a fancy background in purples and blacks. (My victim, ah the gift recipient, wears a lot of black with either purple or pink accents.)

The first thing to do when you want to make something like this is to figure out the dimensions. I used Google to find out the size of iPhones.  They are roughly 4 1/2 inches high by almost 2 1/2 inches long so if I block out a space that is 5 inches high by 3 inches wide, that should allow any iPhone, even one inside a rubber case, to fit.  I might want extra space at the top to have a snap or piece of Velcro to close the case.  Rummaging in my stash,  I found a piece of "pewter" (i.e., light gray) 18 count canvas that is 7x8 inches.  I put it on stretcher bars, marked the center of each side with a tiny dot of blue marker at the edge, and printed out the instructions for the background stitch I plan to use.  Which is this.
http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2005/nov.php

My next steps will be to print out the charted motif I plan to put on top of the background and then figure out if everything fits inside the 5x3 space (or perhaps 5x6 since I could create a long rectangle I can fold in half and just stitch up the bottom and one side to make a case).  Those are all the hints you are going to get today.  I plan to work on Cha's tail feathers tonight, assuming things calm down enough.

By the way, the photo above is of one of Barbara Russell's new pieces.  Deborah (who collects African-themed canvases) stumbled across Ms. Russell's new African Fashion series and sent me the link.  The canvases are so spectacular that I had to share.  To see the whole series, click on New Designs at the link below.  If you  love African design, also look at the Clarice Collection for more canvases inspired by the continent and its people. Thanks for sharing, Deborah!
http://barbararusselldesigns.com/browse.html

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

From Background to The Next Thing UPDATED

Cha's background is done!  HURRAH!

While stitching all those zillions of tent stitches, I've been busy thinking about Cha's tail feathers and the next project.  I'm not ready to reveal either item yet, so I'll distract you with some of the fun stuff I've found on the World Wide Web, ok?

The DMC blog is starting a new project, a needlepoint flower.  This project is suitable for someone who is relatively new to NP and wants to move from endless tent stitches (Boy, can I relate!) to projects that use a mix of stitches and colors.  Since the DMC threads used for the project are easily available to most folks, this is a good learning project.  Here's the link to part one.
http://dmc-threads.com/?p=3166

UPDATE:  Part Two
http://dmc-threads.com/?p=3204

Part Three
http://dmc-threads.com/3217/needlepoint-stitchalong-part-3/

Pepita Needlepoint has been busy building a needlepoint news site that automatically finds and posts links to stories about needlepoint.  The stories seem to be grouped into three columns, one for forum mentions, one for feeds from NP blogs, and one for items from online newspapers (this time of year it's full of county fair stuff and ads to sell NP via Craigslist).  There is some advertising because Pepita needs to pay to have the site hosted.   I'm not sure how interesting this is going to be but trend-watchers may be interested in this.
http://www.needlepointnews.com/ 

Rachel at VirtoSew has written a well-thought-out article about copyright, theft, and chart sharing on her blog.  It's worth reading on its own merits but I am posting about something I've already talked about recently to remind us all that those who steal impact designers, who stop designing because they can't profit enough, and then we have fewer design choices.  It hurts us all in the long run.
http://www.blog.virtuosewadventures.co.uk/wordpress/2010/08/03/piracy-isnt-cool/

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

Laura Perin Fan Alert

Scarlet Thread has posted photos of all the colorways available for Laura J. Perin's new One Long Panel design. They are kitting the chart, canvas, threads and beads for $45 if you are interested in each of the colorways (aqua, peach, purple, pink or blue) but if you have a local shop to buy from or want to make up your own colors, this link is just to show off the pretty color combinations.
http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/ScarletThread/-strse-2144/Laura-Perin%2C-Needlepoint%2C-Canvaswork%2C/Detail.bok

I promised to post the link here and have updated my July 28 posting where I promised this but it's been pushed off the main page so I thought I'd better make a separate posting, else you counted canvaswork folks will think I a) forgot and/or b) don't love you as much as your painted canvas friends!

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