Tag: needlework

Cross-stitch and Embroidery

Love and strangulation are almost indistinguishable…

wittychild

Okay, so….the anniversary gift I was stitching for my parents was just a wee bit late, say, a week and a half or so.  (But don’t worry, I’m not some slacker child; I did buy them dinner to celebrate.)  So yes, first I was late getting it to them, and now I’m horribly late in posting it, but better late than never, right?

It’s a Solo the Cat pattern by Anchor, found in an old issue of The World of Cross Stitching, and stitched with much cursing of backstitch.  This would definitely have been easier on evenweave.  It hasn’t been washed or framed yet, but that will come…in time.  I had picked Solo because he bears a slight resemblance to one of our cats (very slight – as in, they both have darker markings on a light body, but that’s about it); upon presenting it to them, I realized that I had also done pieces for them in 2004 and 2008 with cuddling cats.  I think I detect a trend.

In other news, the birth announcement I’m working on is almost, almost finished, although I won’t be seeing the new mother for a while, so time is not necessarily of the essence.

And I just received a few new Mill Hill beaded Christmas kits in the mail the other day, so stay tuned….

Cross-stitch and Embroidery

Just for you…Mum!

wittychild

Yes, Mother’s Day was two weeks ago.  I’ve been remiss.  I did, however, manage to get both little stitchy pieces finished in time for the big day, even if I wound up putting in the last ten French knots the morning of.  It was worth the stress, though, and the end result was… ïжак!

(I can’t remember how to ask where the train station is, for example, but ïжак , I remember.  Oy.)

I found this Margaret Sherry design in an issue of Cross Stitcher magazine and knew that I had to do it up.  I did it on 28-count evenweave rather than aida, mainly to make the crazy backstitch just a little easier – and did this ever pay off the night before Mother’s Day, as I was frantically working the lettering.

And lo and behold, Mill Hill released new spring kits in plenty of time for me to stitch one:

This one was from the kitties.  🙂  The kit came with a magnet, but no one would ever get to see it on the fridge, so I finished it as a hanging ornament instead and backed it with some holographic paper I found in my scrapbooking stash.

(As always, clicking on the photos will make them larger – thanks for looking!)

Cross-stitch and Embroidery

Hellooooo, nurse!…er, I mean, Hello Kitty

wittychild

I almost have the feeling that I haven’t been terribly crafty since the holidays – but then I realize, that isn’t strictly true: I’ve been sufficiently productive, but without much to show for it.  For example, a couple of weeks back I completed a set of curtains of which, due to the sunniness of their location, I was unable to obtain a decent photo.  And I’ve been working slowly but steadily, since late December, on a rather large needlepoint picture, effectively adding another UFO to my pile.  At approximately 38,416 stitches, it’s going to take me a while, but it will get done.

Despite these large-ish undertakings, I managed to work up the requisite hand-stitched card for my mom’s birthday at the end of January.

Actually, I’m the Hello Kitty fan in the house, but what better way for her to remember who it’s from?  That’s 14-count Lavender (or Lilac?) Whisper aida cloth, although the next time I attempt one of the charts from that leaflet, I’ll be using evenweave – the freaky-deaky backstitch was annoying, but ultimately with great effect.

craftmas, Cross-stitch and Embroidery, General Sewing

Post-Christmas Roundup

wittychild

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone’s holidays have been relaxing, and that Santa was good to everyone.  (I’m still waiting for those 28-hour days, but no matter…)

I didn’t get quite as much crafty stuff done for Christmas as I would have hoped, but I did manage to complete a few small projects, and, in typical disorganized style, am only now posting them.

After finishing my Bewitched Kitty (remember?), I decided I was, in fact, quite fond of Mill Hill’s beaded kits.  They’re quick, they’re cute, they get the job done.  I found a train for my dad, and a cardinal for my mom.  And the “Noel” diamond?  That’s just because I liked it.

Again, hung with Kreinik holographic thread for maximum sparkle.  And check out the fuzzy thread (Estaz, I think) on the cardinal’s wings!

The colours don’t quite appear true-to-life in this picture – I blame the fact that the flash was off in order to show off the lights on the tree.

What’s that?  Look down at the bottom of the tree?  Well, all right…

I found the craft panel for this at Fabricland when I went for the Mickey Mouse fabric I used on my coworker’s bibs.  My dad was with me at the time: “Hey, it’s Thomas!  That’s really neat looking…it looks like you just cut it out and sew it.  And there are matching ornaments, too!”  “Would you like me to make that for you?”  “Oh, well, if you want to…”  Uh huh.  Of course I wanted to.  I didn’t get the ornaments done, but there’s always next year.  The cat seemed to approve; after ignoring the tree since it had been put up, he made a beeline for the tree skirt and planted himself there for the evening.

I can finish the ornaments in just 356 days, can’t I?

Cross-stitch and Embroidery

It’s a bird – it’s a plane – it’s a UFO!

wittychild

Hey, I did promise that UFO pictures would be forthcoming, didn’t I?

Anyway, I’m kind of proud of this one, if only because I just started it earlier this year after finishing another UFO.  That has to be some kind of record for me.  My UFOs are usually years in the making.

It’s “Too Pooped” from Dimensions, based on original artwork by Charles Wysocki.  My dad picked it up for me when he was out of town on business, and although it does seem like a strange choice for a souvenir, he definitely had me pegged with it.  This kept me occupied way longer than, say, a keychain or shot glass.  Cross-stitch and cats are the perfect (notice I didn’t say “purrfect”) combination.

What a lot of brown!  I was clever and did most of the tree first so that I had fun kitty stripes at the end rather than just brown and more brown.  I think finding the perfect frame earlier in the summer helped motivate me too – all that was missing was the completed needlework.

Our youngest cat routinely positions herself thusly on backs of chairs, arms of couches, etc., garnering cries of “Too pooped!” whenever she does.

Cross-stitch and Embroidery, General Sewing

The best thing since sliced bread? Toast!

wittychild

I made my parents a toaster bag for their anniversary.  A what?  Toaster bag.  Due to a severe lack of counter space in the kitchen, the toaster lives in the pantry when not in use.  In the interest of keeping dust off it and keeping crumb-tray detritus off of everything else, it was generally stored in a repurposed bag from some store or other.  And, you know, the plastic bag worked just fine, but it lacked pizazz, so I decided a sturdy, washable fabric bag was in order.  When I presented it to them they were pleased (really!), and then my mom made an offhanded comment about having a cute toaster embroidery pattern “like the pot you did” (referring to the Aunt Martha’s “Animated Kitchenware” pattern I did on an apron for myself).

Aunt Martha’s “Animated Kitchenware”, alas, is limited to pots and pans and their ilk; no fancy plug-in appliances.  I checked out Sublime Stitching’s “Krazy Kitchen” sheet, but no toaster there, either.  Boo.  And then…I remembered downloading a peanut butter and jelly pattern from Urban Threads some time back.  Of course!  A bread-based design would work just as well, wouldn’t it?

The hearts make it so anniversary-appropriate!  This was my first attempt at crayon tinting, and I’m really pleased with how it came out.

For a better idea of the whole project and its dimensions.

Being used for its exact purpose.

Cross-stitch and Embroidery

Track 29! – Hey, can you give me a shine?

wittychild

When I worked downtown, I made the acquaintance of one of the – if not the – city’s remaining shoe shiners.  He always has a smile and a hello for everyone who passes by his shop, and knows absolutely everyone who is down there on a regular basis.  Heck, he knows me, and I don’t generally wear shine-able shoes.

Last year the newspaper featured a human interest story about him, how he got started, how he came to be in his present location, that kind of thing, and the one quote of his that really stuck with me is “You can’t make a deal with a dirty heel.”  He’s probably right, but more than the accuracy, the saying appealed to me as a potential sampler, although it took me more than a year to get around to doing anything about it.  With an alphabet from Better Homes and Gardens 2001 Cross Stitch Designs and my beloved PCStitch, I came up with this and stitched it up for him:

I tried to keep the colours masculine – doing “dirty” in a shoe-splattered brown was my dad’s idea, and I think it worked perfectly.  When I went downtown for lunch the other day I stopped by his shop to deliver the finished product, and I think he was rather surprised by my humble little gift.

Cross-stitch and Embroidery

Mother’s Day Post: Short n’ Sweet

wittychild

I don’t think I could let a Mother’s Day pass without making at least some small handmade item…that would be too weird.  I knew I wanted to do a stitched card this year, and after flipping through my ample collection of British stitchery magazines, I decided on this one for two reasons:

1) Mumsy likes dragonflies (this sort of stems from the fact that the kitties like watching and chasing them in the back yard, and since the card was supposed to be from the kitties, well, that made perfect sense)

2) It was a welcome break from my latest project, a Charles Wysocki kit called “Too Pooped” which, though enjoyable, has possibly the largest tree ever and is primarily brown and more brown.

Bonus: Now that I’ve finished it, I feel confident that I can one day tackle the Frederick the Literate kit I’ve got stashed away.

Without further ado:

Happy Mother’s Day!

Cross-stitch and Embroidery

Make it “sew”.

wittychild

I want it known that I am not a Trekkie.  Never have been, never will be.  Sorry, Bill, Sue, Rick, and anyone else who doesn’t get why I don’t get them.

*whew*

So, then: what’s a girl to do when her contract at work is up, and she’s grown rather attached to her coworkers, and wants to do something nice for one of them to remember her by?  One doesn’t want to get extravagant, obviously, but to just leave having done nothing didn’t seem appropriate to the situation.  The coworker, unlike the author, is a Trekkie, albeit a TNG fan (Philistine!).  Enter black-lupin (http://black-lupin.deviantart.com) and her fabulous array of mini-Star Trek characters!  This is what I came up with:

(What horrible lighting!  His uniform is partly burgundy, I swear.  DMC 814, if you want to check!)

I wasn’t quite sure I had done Captain Picard justice, but both the recipient and another coworker knew immediately who it was.  I feel so validated.

Cross-stitch and Embroidery

I love my wife, but oh, you kid!

wittychild

So, over the winter I took a Swing Dancercise class through the city’s leisure guide…basically, an hour of aerobics with swing-based footwork and a little choreography thrown in for fun.  I won’t be winning any dance contests anytime soon with what I’ve learned, since this was a no-partner-required deal, but hey, it got me off the couch for an hour a week.  The instructor made it really fun, too, always kept things upbeat.

When I rediscovered Sublime Stitching’s Roaring Twenties patterns in my stash, I decided she needed a little goodbye present, since our last class was rapidly approaching.  One of the dances we had learned was the Charleston, and that appeared to be just what this dancer was doing, so onto a tea towel she went!  (Besides, no kitchen should be without one of these!)

Action shot on my stove:

And a close-up of the stitching:

It’s mostly backstitch, with a little satin stitch and a few French knots thrown in for good measure.  Her dress and gold accessories were done in Petite Treasure Braid metallics, which are honestly the best metallic threads I’ve ever used.  Pricey, but worth it.

And her garter matches her shoes….eeee!!