Some of my past work

Yesterday I decided to take photos of some of the work I've done in the past. I've always known that photographing completed needlework is challenging, but wow, it's a pain! I had reflection problems, lighting issues, getting a good angle, and all done by a dufus who does not know how to use a camera on anything but the automatic setting. I did get some so here they are.

This piece was from a workshop I took from Marilyn Vredevelt at a CATS seminar in Riverside.  Marilyn called this center technique "lacis." Basically, you make the secure edge with a very tight cross stitch and back stitch, cut every other two threads, and weave the design like filet lace. There is more to it than that, of course, but that's the basic technique. I made a GLARING flaw in it that I didn't know how to fix, but I still learned a lot.

This is called "Heaven and Earth" by Pat Thode of Heartstrings. It was originally designed for DMC flower thread but by the time I found the chart and kitted it up DMC had stopped making flower thread. What I love about DMC is how the same color goes across so many lines so I just used regular floss. This sampler has quite a number of specialty stitches in it.

I liked making the willows with the long dripping leaves!

 The Happiest Celebration on Earth by Stoney Creek. Getting this kit was a challenge. Stoney Creek made up these kits for Disney's 50th Anniversary celebration that were sold only through The Art of Disney and I'm only 30 minutes drive from Disneyland, so I called the 1-800 number and arranged to pick it up. Then I found it it was only sold through the Orlando store! That would have been some drive. My son Tim was going through a roller coaster/amusement park phase and was  very happy I stitched this up.

 I Corinthians 13 Sampler by My Big Toe. This is stitched over 2 threads on 32 count fabric and still is 15" x 24" in design. It used only 2 threads, a blue overdye and a raspberry overdye from Weeks Dye Works. I love, love, love the frame that Bob from Needles & Niceties gave me. It looks like those rosewood frames from the 19th century.




Hopefully you can see this, it's a little washed out. Remember my photography issues? Its from the Abecedarian and has the words "With this work remember me when this mortal body doth decay and lie wormy in the clay to remain until the Lord doth bid me come." Macabre in the midst of a tame little sampler. The letters are all eyelets with a variety of other stitches beside cross stitch. This was actually my to-go piece, the keep-in-the-car-to-stitch-during-your-kid's-gymnastic-or-piano-lessons-or-sports-practice-or-when-they-just-won't-come-out-of-the-freakin-school-and-GET-IN-THE-STUPID-CAR-SO-WE-CAN-GO-HOME piece.

There are more pieces around and eventually I'll get a photo up of some of them. In the meantime I'm still working on that gift. Of course I also signed up for another SAL in addition to the Around the World in 80 Stitches so I'm crazy. But it's a good crazy.

1Corinthians 13 is framed

Here is the finished piece. I had it framed by Bob at Needles and Niceties in Upland, California. He really does a great job. I wrapped it up and gave it to my husband for Christmas.

The color ran! Oh no oh no oh no!

Here is my piece after soaking overnight. It's easy to think that you've just destroyed your piece. Don't panic. This is normal. Your threads were dyed then rinsed, dried, and cut and tagged for sale. A little extra dye remained on your floss. All that color in the water is this excess dye. Just change the water and let it soak more. After soaking a total of two nights (more if it's really dirty, but why weren't you more careful?!) you drain and rinse the piece. Rinse in cool water. Rinse again. Rinse again. When the rinse water doesn't have any suds and looks like you can drink it, rinse it one more time. Now you'll dry and iron the piece.

DON'T WRING OR TWIST THE FABRIC. Lay it on a clean towel. As you can see, my dog Fitzwilliam is carefully supervising this step just in case food suddenly appears on the towel. Then roll the towel and piece like a jelly roll, put it on the floor, and step on it. All over it. Don't forget the ends. That presses out all the excess water. Now you'll iron it dry.

Now, it you've attached stuff to your piece that will melt, you'll need to block the stitching without ironing it. You'll have to look for info on how to do that elsewhere. If nothing will melt, than you can iron it dry. Yes, small glass beads are okay in my experience, though be careful as some of them have coloring added that won't survive the washing step. If you want, you can always add those extras and things that interfere with ironing (ie. big buttons) later.

I have a small ironing board I use only for my stitching. I put a fresh clean towel over it and lay my piece face down on the towel. I heat up my iron to the cotton/linen setting (again, use your good sense for your piece).
Then I press it, one section at a time, until it feels dry to the touch. I've had people recommend that a press cloth be used to protect the piece (one lady uses a plain paper towel). Don't iron it bone dry as you don't want to burn it. Then, when the entire piece is pressed dry, I turn it over and let it sit on the board overnight to let it dry completely.


That's it! Now it's ready to be used in some way.

But it's dirty!

All needlework gets soiled while you stitch on it. The fabric picks up some soiling during the manufacturing process. It gets a little dirty just sitting in the store, even if carefully handled. Then you add the worst part - YOU TOUCH IT WHEN YOU STITCH! The oils from your hands transfer to the threads you use and the fabric, causing light soiling. You can avoid this by washing your hands before stitching and not allowing food anywhere near your project, but it will still get dirty. If you're working on materials that can't be washed, then you must be extra vigilant. However, I try to chose materials that can be washed. So, how do you wash needlework?

Wash it with a nice horse shampoo!

Yup, you read it right. Here's my gallon jug of Orvus. This is a pure quality soap. It's used for washing delicate items (which evidently includes horses). You can buy it as a fabric wash or quilt wash in a smaller container, but if you buy it at the feed store in a big jug like this, it's a lot cheaper. I use a dishpan that is only for needlework, since I know what other people can do with my stuff and I don't want my stitching contaminated.

I put about 1 teaspoon of Orvus in the pan and fill with cool water, then put in the needlework and let it soak for a few days. Yes, that is indeed d-a-y-s.

A Finish!

I actually completed this in November. It's 1 Corinthians 13 by My Big Toe Designs and was a blast to stitch. I picked up the materials from Nordic Needle during a retreat there a few years ago and worked on this on and off for about two years. Now, every project (and needlework is no exception) has three parts to it: Preparation, Completion, and Finishing. Preparation is gathering the materials and planning out how you're going to begin the project, such as starting in the middle vs. in a corner, any color changes from the charted design, over 1 or 2 threads, etc. Completion is actually stitching the project. Finishing is getting the project into its final form, such as framing it or making it into a pillow or something else. It's interesting to me how many stitchers favor one step over the others, such as the folks with 20+ works in progress (WIP) because they LOVE starting a new piece, or the people who won't do any prep work but have their LNS pull the threads, mount the project on a frame, and even select a bag to store it all in (my guess is they are favorite customers). So many stitchers, however, seem to struggle most with the stage of finishing. So many of us have lots of stitched projects sitting in a box or drawer and completely unusable! So, here I am documenting the finishing stage of this piece.



Here it is, fresh and wrinkly from my hands.