Grab The Confetti!

Because we're celebrating a finish this

The Great Escape by Bee's Needleworks is almost entirely composed of specialty stitches, some of which were great fun and others were mind-numbingly boring.
The next project is a Hardanger-A-Long. I'm still debating whether to sign up or not. I've had zero luck finishing any of the HALs I join.

Title	The Great Escape
Designer	Bee's Needleworks
Start date	September 21, 2011
Finish date	June 4, 2012
Total time	18.5 hours
Fabric	28 ct white jubilee
Floss	DMC 317, 318, 413, 414, 415

A Bit of Confusion

I was plodding along on part 14 of The Great Escape. And I mean plodding. The signpost is composed of Van Dyke stitches which gave the Wheat-Ear stitches (wings) a run for the title of Most Boring Stitch. Well, the stitch isn't boring, it's just having to do a billion of them that made me lose interest.


The Great Escape
28ct white Jubilee, DMC 317, 318, 413, 414, 415
Eventually I got to the text and that's when I got confused. I wondered why there should be a sign if the town was a metre away. Because to me, "1 m" equals "1 metre". "1 mile" would be "1 mi". Adding to my confusion was my belief that the UK is metric (apparently Mousehole is a place in Cornwall).

A bit of research later: Apparently the UK still uses miles for distance, and "m" as an abbreviation. And it's illegal to use "km" for distance! The mind boggles!

For my own sake I'm wondering if a bit of modification to "mi" isn't called for...

Setting the Scene

I finally got caught up with parts 10-13 of The Great Escape. It's all background all the way. I had no idea that I'd fallen so far behind.


The Great Escape
28ct white Jubilee, DMC 317, 318, 413, 414, 415
The only new stitch was the Star Flower stitch, which is that giant square stitch on the left. It's a modified Jessica stitch and was easy to stitch.

Some of the straight stitches (the grasses) are ridiculously long. I stitch this in-hand and it was such a pain trying to make sure they had a decent tension!

Cynic with a Pretty Heart

For someone rather cynical about Valentine's I end up stitching something every year. This year is Abi Gurden's freebie for members of the Stitchspecialist group. It's called Heart of My Heart.


I like how the little stick figures are gender neutral. They could be a boy and a girl or two girls or two boys. All the hearts are various specialty stitches. There isn't a single cross in this piece.

I didn't have a suitable red in Perle cotton for the hardanger portion, so I used 2 strands for the Kloster blocks and 1 strand for the weaving. It came out surprisingly well. Good to know that other kinds of thread work. The problem is that I can still see bits of the fabric sticking out where the Kloster blocks were cut and the slide-the-needle-under-and-massage-the-threads-over technique isn't working. *sob*

But the most shocking thing? I switched out the beads for French knots! A couple of them are wonky, but for the most part they look pretty good.

Finishing this is not going to happen for a long time because I want a heart-shaped ornament and I'm not the least bit confident about such a non-four-sided figure.

Title	Heart of My Heart
Designer	Abi Gurden
Start date	February 9, 2012
Finish date	February 11, 2012
Total time	6.75 hours
Fabric	32ct peach whisper
Floss	CC Cherry Tomato, Ruby Slipper, Goldfish, Bandana

A Rash Confession

Part 9 of The Great Escape, came out today, and I actually got it done!

Next up will be all the background detail.


The Great Escape
28ct white Jubilee, DMC 317, 318, 413, 414, 415
This week's stitch is the Queen Stitch. And I do confess, I don't understand why so many stitchers have trouble with it. I found it easy. Of course, these Queens are tiny at four vertical stitches, so maybe the bigger ones are difficult? *hides from the irate mob*

Self Delusion

I've been running behind on the latest part of The Great Escape, and thought the next part would have been out yesterday. So I grabbed my needle, parked myself in front of the computer* and stitched away madly in an attempt to get caught up before the next one came out. The idea being as long as I didn't know it wasn't out it wasn't out. Yes, yes. I know.


The Great Escape
28ct white Jubilee, DMC 317, 318, 413, 414, 415
Buttonhole Stitch. Wikipedia informs me that if it's stitched close together it's a buttonhole stitch and if there's space it's a blanket stitch. One of the great stitching mysteries is resolved! As far as the stitch goes, I've done it so many times I could go so far as to say that I'm a pro at it.

Unrelated news item #1: I've been horrible, just horrible about leaving comments. I mark the posts I plan to comment on, and a few days later realize that there are too many, clear all the posts, and then rinse and repeat. I've still gawking at everyone's work, but mostly I've been stitching. So I hope apologies in the way of frequent stitchy pictures will be acceptable. *stares with puppy-dog eyes*

#2: Thanks for the inquiries about the missing floss, but I have to head to the LNS because I've run out of the Kreinik for Lily of the Valley, so I'll just grab it them. 'Sides which, it would take atleast 3 weeks for it to arrive by mail!

#3: Three weeks and I've fallen off the no-new-stash wagon. But what a way to go! As a PSA I would like to point out that Zinio makes the magazine available at just under CAD$6. Since Joan Elliot charts retail at about $14, this is a clear steal. The other charts in the magazine leave me apathetic, but Lady Bird Fairy alone makes it worthwhile. Now all that's left is to curse the fact that I never found this website while the Flower Fairy series was coming out.

*In front of the computer because I'm unwilling to print out a chart every two weeks for a minor change that takes about an hour to stitch.
And for the curious: Part nine isn't out yet.

Like the Real World

This part of the Great Escape featured the Wheat-Ear Stitch, which went on and on and on. Just like the wheat fields in Manitoba that go on and on and on for miles as you drive by.*


The Great Escape
28ct white Jubilee, DMC 317, 318, 413, 414
I found the Wheat-Ear Stitch very easy, but there are a billion of them in the wings, and I was sick by the twelfth one.

*Full confession: I've never seen fields of ripened wheat. I only seem to go to rural Manitoba in the winter, when all you can see is miles of bare flat land. I'm just extrapolating the miles of wheat.

More Feathers

Part 6 of The Great Escape. This wraps up the breast feathers. I believe it's the wings next time.


The Great Escape
28ct white Jubilee, DMC 317, 318, 413, 414
The penultimate breast feather is the Oyster stitch. This was... weird. I spent the whole time convinced that I was stitching it absolutely wrong, even though I wasn't. I think it was the multiple wrapping.

The last row is the Breton stitch. This was alright, I guess. It's a very narrow stitch and takes a lot of individual stitches to look good. There are 10 Oysters and about 30 Bretons as a comparison.

Eye See

More of The Great Escape.


The Great Escape
28ct white Jubilee, DMC 317, 318, 413, 414
Sprat's Head stitch in between the eyes. I've done this once before and it's a pretty easy stitch. I've never done the Jessica stitch before; I just know that Chatelaine stitchers mention it all the time as being not too much fun. Personally I loved it! I think it was the circular symmetry. And the Diamond Eyelet in the middle was old hat. Yawn.

Not Going Crazy

Friday night I was all gung-ho to stitch the next part of The Great Escape but it didn't show up. I decided that I was confused about which week it was and mourned my dying memory.

Imagine my surprise when it showed up today! I am vindicated!

Here is an overexposed and atrocious photo in celebration.


The Great Escape
28ct white Jubilee, DMC 317, 318, 413, 414
Straight stitch is dead easy. But the counting? There was so much frogging and I'm still not sure if that left eyebrow is in the right place. On the other hand I can always redo once the eyes are stitched in...

Trouble Ahead?

I tackled part three of The Great Escape . And since people unanimously demanded biweekly pictures that's what'll happen. Along with my babbling about the stitches :D


The Great Escape
28ct white Jubilee, DMC 317, 414
Two completely new stitches this time: Sorbello (third "band") and Cretan Catch (bottom "band"). When I glanced at the instructions I thought that the Sorbello stitch would be more difficult but it turned out to be easier than the Cretan Catch. I think the Sorbello stitch is very pretty. I'll have to remember it for future use. I'm apathetic about Cretan Catch

So I may be about to hit a snag with my grey owl. There aren't that many grey DMCs. I'm aiming for an owl with maybe 4 or 5 greys. That's two up there and I'm not sure there's sufficient contrast. (Admittedly this photo is taken in atrocious light.) I'm going to let it sit until the entire owl is done and hopefully it will look cohesive.

In unrelated news I'm wondering what's going on with my mail. The government swears it sent me a letter two weeks ago and I haven't received it and I'm waiting for some mail from the US that was mailed a month ago! Curse you Canada Post! (I think CP's sloth can be added as a certainty along with Death and Taxes)

Easy

I just got around to part two of The Great Escape .


The Great Escape
28ct white Jubilee
It involves two stitches. The Feather Stitch (middle vertical), which I have done before and is ridiculously easy, and the Basque Stitch (lower right and left), which I have never done before and is also easy!

I got a bit confused because the chart had the feather stitch start in a different place than the instructions, but after squinting at the model I went back and fixed it.

So a quick question: parts come out every two weeks and I plan on stitching them the weekend they come out before the next one comes out. Now should I post pictures every time or should I save them up for one a month? There are 18 parts...

A Longish Post With Lots of Pictures (And Some Whining)

Exactly what the title says so you may either want to skip my inane ramblings and look at the pictures or grab something to drink ;D

The topic of discussion the last stages of finishing Tree of Stitches and the woes I encountered. So yes, I've finished it! *Dances in relief*


Tree of Stitches
28ct white Jubilee, CW Bermuda Reef, WDW Peony, MH 42010
All new stitches this time:


Fancy cross which is a Herringbone Square over a Leviathan. I love it! It's so pretty and I did it with one strand to make it look a bit more delicate.
Tied Windmill. Another stitch that I like! Abi mentioned that there might be a need to "nudge-and-stitch" to get the middle cross, but I had no such issues.
Leaf stitch. After the last two stitches this was kinda boring but easy. No falling leaves just because.

One look at the overall tree, and I decided that my Jerusalem stitches didn't fit in with the rest since they looked too thin. So frog and redo in two strands and the whole tree looks pretty full.

Now is the bit where I whine. A lot. I knew straight off that Horace the Rabbit and his flower were not making an appearance, but I wasn't too sure about Lester the Owl. So I gave him a try.

Snag 1: I couldn't get a decent Knit Stitch, which is what makes up his body. Several tries and I gave up. Then I dug up my various dictionaries of stitches to try and find a replacement. I tried Ceylon stitch, blanket filling and finally settled on the Triangle stitch.


And yes, he's yellow. I thought it would fit in with the otherworldly theme I was going for.

A step back and I found snag two: My eye kept being drawn to the owl. I've always planned on having the tree being the focus so that wasn't good. I still like the owl. He's just so cute. But sadly he was ruining my plans for this design. So I frogged him and his branch.

Next was trying to randomly fill the space with the surrounding stitches while not making it too crowded. I'm actually very very pleased with what I managed.

And then it was beading. Now I'm rather odd in that I enjoy beading. I find it very soothing, and in a project where the placement is more of a guideline? It was sheer joy. I went with tiny clear beads since I wanted a raindrop effect.


So what's next? I have two packages crawling their way to me. Whichever arrives first will be my next start. Until they arrive I'm off to put hours into a UFORR.

One last look:

Title	Tree of Stitches
Designer	Abi Gurden
Start date	August 6, 2011
Finish date	September 25, 2011
Total time	23.5 hours
Fabric	28 ct White Jubilee
Floss	Caron Waterlilies Bermuda Reef, Weeks Dye Works Peony, MH 42010

Rapid Growth

Having finished off two WIPs (and started something new) I tentatively have my eyes set on finishing Tree of Stitches (so that I can start two more things).


Tree of Stitches
28ct white Jubilee, Caron Waterlilies Bermuda Reef, Weeks Dye Works Peony
Continuing my stitch by stitch ramblings from last time:


Cushion stitch. I've done this before and I love it. It's such a dimensional stitch. I stitched it with 2 strands to make it extra high.

And then the Jerusalem stitch. This was completely new to me, and I didn't like it. And after the joy of the cushion stitch I just hated it even more. This was where I stalled. Eventually I managed to drag myself to finish it off. At two strands it was too thick and at one it's too thin. Let's chalk this stitch as one I'll be avoiding in the future.


Four new stitches in this picture. Going clockwise starting from below the Jerusalem stitch. There's one called a Floral stitch. It puts me in mind of kloster blocks from hardanger. I was really tempted to add some sort of modified eyelet for the center, but since I was stitching the "petals" in two strands it would have been too thick and I was too lazy to go to the trouble.

Then the Norwich stitch (bottom right). Where has this been all my life? It's such a lovely stitch! I love it! I changed it a tiny bit to look more symmetrical.

Star stitch. This reminded me of the Jerusalem stitch. A "+" bracketed by something else, but I found this much easier going and therefore I like it a lot more.

And ending with a Rhodes square. I've done a fair bit of these before and I love the way they stitch up!

Tree of Stitches is still available over at the Yahoo Group Stitch Specialists. I'm not sure when it'll be taken down but I'm betting pretty soon since The Great Escape has already started running. So if anyone is planning on grabbing it I would suggest hurrying. You can always just hoard it for the future. *glances at Castles in the Air, the 2010 AAN Christmas Tree and others...*

It's Not Really A WIP

The Great Escape is the new SAL from Abi Gurden of The Stitch Specialists.


And since it's only a small part every two weeks (which doesn't really take very long) it's not a proper WIP...

Not really...

Is anyone buying this?

I finished two things so I deserve a reward?

Whatever justification I come up with, the reality is that I've started it. I have dismal luck with ongoing SALs. I lose interest at around the halfway point and then wait for about six months after the end to finish. Maybe I'll have better luck this time.

Initially this was going to be a white owl on a dark background (Hedwig!) However this requires that I have a piece of dark fabric of suitable size that is not earmarked for some other project.

Second option: try to make it look like a sketch, so greys on white.


The Great Escape
28ct white Jubilee
Part 1 is the Montenegrin stitch in DMC 317. It's incredibly dense and kinda odd, but still easy. It's much more interesting very close up than afar.

Tree of Fantasy

When I first saw pictures of Tree of Stitches I thought it was a pretty neat design. And then I had a vision of it in Caron Waterlilies Umbria (#204 here) on muddy green for a Halloween tree and I knew, just knew that it had to happen.

Unfortunately Umbria melts into only green fabric I have in stock completely. So I went in a completely different direction.

The trunk is in Weeks Dye Works Peony and the foliage in Caron Waterlilies Bermuda Reef which is a lovely green/blue. I haven't quite decided what colour the owl and rabbit are going to be, but I'm sure it'll be something unnatural and cartoonish.


Tree of Stitches
28ct white Jubilee, Caron Waterlilies Bermuda Reef, Weeks Dye Works Peony
Since I'm in the mood to do so I'm going to review each part.


After the cross stitch trunk and branch the first stitch was the Leviathan Stitch (aka Smyrna but I like the word leviathan more), which I've done a couple of times and is rather fun. The next was French Knots (Colonial Knots were an alternative, but I went with French). I found following the chart for the placement difficult so I just winged it to look like the diagram. (This would come back to bite me late). While I'm not going to rush out to stitch something entirely in French Knots, I've definitely gotten more comfortable and I don't think I'll be avoiding it anymore.


Next is eyelet stitches. I did this one with one strand and having done tons for hardanger this wasn't any issue. The next was Rice stitch and while I had no problems with the stitch I have to confess that I just don't like it. Not sure why. About five seconds after the last rice stitch I realized that I have extra space between the french knots and rice stitches. The model has no such space. I might go back and add in a few eyelets but I'm going to hold off until the whole tree is done. If it looks lopsided then I will add something, if not why bother?

Tree of Stitches is by Abi Gurden. It's still available over at the Yahoo Group Stitch Specialists. It'll be up until September which is when the next SAL (an owl) begins.