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Sunday, January 3, 2010

On Pins and Needles


Well, the title of the piece is actually Small Token by Blackbird Designs. But I always forget and just call it Pins and Needles.



Start date Jan 2, 2010
Finish date Jan 3, 2010
Total time 8 hours
Fabric 28 count Bayleaf something

I just went with the DMC equivalents instead of the called for Crescent Colours since I don't have any. (All the patterns I've stitched so far call for DMC, Kreniks, or come as a kit, so I don't have any overdyed flosses and I'm not buying them for such a tiny pattern!)

I modified it just a bit because I didn't feel like putting in the year or my initials right in the piece. While stitching the words I ran out of the dark purple/pink when I had the "eedle" in "needles" left. I complained to my brother about how the universe was mocking me. This was the third piece that I could finish in a few hours if I had the required floss/beads/etc. He stared at me, and then said "Just use a different colour. You've already changed so much of it already." I ignored the part about changing many things (because I hadn't), but I undid the "s" and the "ins" and did it all in the lighter pink.

Of course then I couldn't figure out what that yellow stitch in the four purple flowers was. And the chart and model photo were no help. Finally I just threw up my hands and did an Algerian eyelet (thank you hardanger!)

It was fun to stitch and it's always nice to have a HD. But then we come to my main problem with smalls. What to do with them? Large pieces are easy: frame and stick on the wall.
With smalls I can never figure out what to do. If I make pinkeeps and biscornus and put them baskets around the house, my mum complains about the clutter. Depending on the needlebook it either get used to death or put away on the shelf to look good and never be used. *Sigh* Into the "Finished, but now what?" pile it goes.

14 comments:

Annie said...

It looks great. Your changes make it your own (the American Idol tradition!). I'm the queen of 'stitch and stow' myself. Way too many little things to know what to do with them. But I love them all!

Carol said...

This is one of my favorite pieces--love your colors. For me the joy is in the stitching and many of my things end up tucked away in drawers!

Deb said...

It looks wonderful and you certainly didn't lose anything by not using the recommended threads. I hear you on the small things too - I love them, but just don't have places to put them.

Kathy said...

Congrats on your finish. It looks just fabulous. I love the colors you used.

As for what to use it this finish for. Why not find a complimentary fabric and make a pin cushion?

Meari said...

Congrats on your finish. It's really pretty!

Beatrice said...

Wow a start and a finish already! Congratulations it's lovely!

TammyK said...

Great finish. Love the colors :o)

Pumpkin said...

Congrats Blu! I love your 'personalized' version :o) Your brother is a great help it seems. LOL! Don't feel bad about putting it into a drawer. Most of us do that and wait until a later date to figure out how to finish it ;o)

Pauline said...

Thanks for dropping by my blog!

I also call this Blackbird Designs 'Pins and Needles', and it's in my 'to do' pile for this year. Your 'modifications' look like they're part of the chart, I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't mentioned them!

Congrats on 3 finishes so early in the year!

Meadows08 said...

Thanks for visiting my blog! It's great finding fellow Canadian stitchers.

Your colours are great & Pins and Needles look great in the 2 colours!

Terri said...

Blu you are such a speedy stitcher. It looks great.

Candi said...

You have visited and commented to my blog a couple of time and I finally got some time to visit yours!! I haven't found another 23 year old that stitches like me! This is great. Your finish is beautiful. I really like that pattern. I will definatly be back. :)
~*Candi*~

Anonymous said...

It's very beautiful ! I like it very much!

greetings from Hungary:Manka

Gabi said...

This is gorgeous. Congrats with this lovely finish. And your eedles suit perfectly the N. You did a great job with substituting. It's beautiful.