Stitching Update....

 

 A Stitch Here... A Stitch There...

It Has been a while, Dear Readers, since I showed you progress on the many petit-point projects I have under way. Above is the mini Christmas stocking kit I started on the "extra day" of my recent travels. I was so worn out once I got home that tackling big projects was beyond me. So I pulled out the little stocking and just added a few stitches from time to time. These stockings are quite small and the stitches add up quickly!

Before too many days had passed I was seeing great progress!

The background is supposed to be "pink" for a girl...

but it is such a pale shade of pink it almost doesn't look pink!

And as I began to recover my energy 

 and look around at all my waiting projects....

(a few too many perhaps?)

I realized that I was so close to completing the 

William Morris carpet that I should just get it done!

All I needed to do was finish the border background

 and bind the edges all around.

Sorry about the darkish picture......

But you can see that the stitching is finished!

Here you can see it has been removed from the frame 

and I have begun to bind the edges.

And as for the Dragon Carpet, Dear Readers, 

I had reached a difficult place and hadn't done much....

I had completed most of the leafy vine sections

 that I was sure I would use as the original chart placed them.

You might remember that the original was very different... 

(no dragons for starters!)

 

 The central medallion was way too small.... 

so I designed the Dragons for the middle...

But on either side of the center there is a

 "golden" figure of something I can't quite decipher.

Is it supposed to be a pineapple...?

A Turtle...?

I just am reluctant to continue with this part of the design!

It needs a makeover....

Which I am starting to attempt to design....

You will be the first to see it when I have it figured out!

But meanwhile, the border needs to be worked on... 

and this frame is too small to do that comfortably....

But, Hey, I just took the other carpet off the bigger frame....

Here are the two frames stacked for comparison.

It doesn't look like much of a difference....

But more space is more space...

so I stretched this in the bigger frame.

Just look at all that extra room!

(Sorry it is a little blurry...)

 

I put the frame in the stand and got to work!

Up until this point I had used the smaller frame like a hoop

just holding it in my lap which was a bit awkward.

 

Now I have room to work on the borders 

as well as the redesigned side sections.

We shall see how it goes!

Meanwhile, I have finished the little stocking kit.....

 

All I have to do now is stitch it to the backing....

I'll add it to the collection of stockings waiting for that step!

 

So you can see, Dear Readers,

a stitch Here and a stitch There 

adds up to a whole lot of 

stitches in Time!

 

Filling The Holes....

 

 Stitches And Stones.....

It Has been a While, Dear Readers, since I showed you a stitching update. This is not because I have done no stitching.... on the contrary, because the evening light lasts so long at this time of year, I have been getting in a Lot of stitching on the Chinese Dragon Carpet. This is the one done on 40 count silk mesh, which is fine enough that I need a magnifying glass and very good lighting in order to stitch. Early mornings are my favorite time, but I have been grabbing moments any time of day up to sunset! Above you can see that the dragons in the center are done, and their background mostly so. I decided that the cream color of the carpet background needed to "intrude" into the central motif in the form of "clouds" around the edges. I was starting to feel that the sharp cut-off of the light blue sky at the gold border would be too abrupt. I have not finished the "clouds" but the blue sky portion is done. There is a hint of gilding at the edges of the clouds as if the sun is reflecting light. And since my "addition" to the design is now well defined... I needed to get the rest of the carpet kit design underway so I could see how it all fits together. I counted VERY carefully out from the center of the carpet to determine exactly where on the original design my design overlapped to determine exactly where to begin stitching the kit designs. The carpet is strewn all over with very ornate leaves and vines..... grapes, I think... and having found a starting point I began stitching the pattern on one side out to where the border pattern begins.

Here I have placed the stitching on top of the kit picture 

(which is just about exactly full size)

so you can see how the overall pattern fits my addition.

I had to adjust the placement of the first leaves along the side.

 But I really wanted to see how they would fit

 where the border pattern begins.

And then I wanted to duplicate the changes

 on the opposite edge,

 so I would not overlook something

 that I had made different from the kit design.

And here you can see it again, overlaying the kit design picture.

I am pretty sure I will be making more changes to the kit design!

But that is as far as I have gotten for now.

 

 

And while I am showing you the stitching updates,

 here is the William Morris design from quite a while back.

I have not stitched on it as much because 

I have been taking advantage of the long days lighting

 to work on the Dragon Carpet.

I did buy a slightly larger frame in the hopes that

 I could stitch the entire carpet without

 having to roll the stitched part too far. 

This said the stitching area would be 9'',

 but really it is about 8 and 1/2 inches... 

so I gained about a half an inch!

Still, it does make a difference.

And what about the "stones" I promised you,

 I hear you asking...?

Well, Dear Readers, the window holes in the Castle facade

 are filled with window frames that are

 supposed to be stone, as is most of the Castle.

All those wooden frames I carefully cut to fit the windows

 need to be painted ... inside and out.... to resemble "stone".

There will be more trim added to the windows

 so this is just the base coats. 

The grout painting will happen last.

And meanwhile, I have been carefully cutting

 the glass panes to fit the window holes...

 and painting the lead lines on them 

with faux "lead line" paint.

The paint goes on sort of blobby. 

I let it dry for 24 hours and then

 trim the lines with an exacto knife.

The left window lines have been trimmed....

the right are not yet finished trimming.

Here I am testing how it fits in the window hole...

There are still several steps before I glue the frames in place.

First, I paint around the outside of the panes with black paint.

 This is so where the edges don't meet the frame exactly

 (all over the place!) 

the light will not shine through and ruin the illusion!

And second, I am adding a tiny hint of colored glass...

 to the quatre-foil windows in particular,

 and also a little bit of yellow and lavender to random panes

 to look like old faded glass.

(I did this with the first windows on the back of The Great Hall ages ago!)

Here you can see the painted glass better....

And in the window frame.

 The glass will be lifted a tiny bit when installed permanently

 so the design better aligns with the window openings...

 but this is just testing the effect of the painting.

Each step needs to be done on each window....

Here three windows are at various stages of completion....

And the fourth window just trimmed today!

Still not painted....

But just look at those glass windows filling those holes!

One step at a time, Dear Readers,

I am filling those little holes... 

whether they be with stitches or stones,

I am making Great Progress!

Stitching Updates...

 

Progress All Around....

Way back in March, Dear Readers, was the last time I showed you any progress on the carpets I am stitching. It seems hard to believe so much Time has flown since then, but truly it also means I have progress to show you! I had just completed the outline of the second dragon, to make sure they were not bumping too closely anywhere. This was especially necessary because I had made an error in my stitching of the first dragon's tail which effectively "lifted" it up towards the second dragon by one whole stitch! You would think that would not matter.... but in the nature of curves and their geometric parabolic trajectories.... it did make a difference. I had to "shift" the hind leg of the first dragon away from the second dragon's face....  But who will ever know that? I was able to make the second dragon's outline much truer to my design (no counting mistakes!) and she now has her outline completed. I added length to her "hair" and "tail fringes" to differentiate from the first. I did not want them to be identical.

I had also made a fair amount of progress with the William Morris carpet. 

The leafy parts of the central section are nearly done, as are the pink tulips.

If you spot the errors, please don't tell me... 

I already know they are there!

Here you can see I have made progress

 on the first dragon's scales,

 as well as the background blue sky.

And here I am continuing with the first dragon's scales... 

adding the golden color.

Here you can see I have completed the gold in the scales

 and started the gold frame which will "contain" the dragons.

Remember this is the part of the carpet that I am designing... 

it is not part of the kit design!

But I am staying strictly with the colors that the kit uses.

As you might imagine,

 I really wanted to see how the dragons fit in the frame.

I did plan for very slight overlap in a place or two with the tails and feet.

Counting the stitches in those long diagonal runs was a challenge!

The gold thread in this kit is two very very similar shades.

They are virtually indistinguishable except when

 they are right next to each other, as they are in this frame.

 The inside row is the lighter gold,

 the outer rows are the darker shade.

Here you can see I have begun the scales for the second dragon. 

I decided to use the paler shade of gold for her scales....

I think it will be subtly noticeable in the finished carpet.

Even more progress on the scales!

And lest you think I have ignored the William Morris carpet...

Here you can see I have begun to work the outer border shapes.

This is where the carpet doesn't quite fit the frame!

For the top edge, I am holding the frame in my lap without using the stand

 while I stitch the top few rows of the outer border.

I will need to "scroll" the carpet when I reach the bottom border.

I am saving that part for last so as the minimize the stress

 put on the already stitched upper edge.

Alas, I have made a few stitching errors on those leaves.... 

(I really should not stitch late at night!)

I am really enjoying stitching both of these projects. 

And I think you can agree, Dear Readers,

 I have made good progress all around!

Stitches And Stems....

 

Sewing And Shaping....

I Reassessed the frame pieces in my pile of different sized pieces, Dear Readers, and came up with a larger frame that almost fits the entire William Morris carpet. It was enough larger that I could make considerable progress with the main design area. This will keep me going for a while! The carpet is a square one, so there is an area of border all around which will need to be scrolled a bit to stitch all of it. I will deal with that when I need to. The design is really coming along and is fun and easy to stitch. I just love to stitch these wool carpets! As for the other carpet I am working on, the Chinese Dragon Carpet, I have also made some good progress. 

Sorry the picture is a bit dark... 

(yes, it is dreary and gloomy here!)

But I was able to get the outline for the second dragon completed.

They are not identical and I wanted to make sure

 their heads feet and tails did not intrude too far on each other!

So far so good! 

But this scale of stitching requires good light to stitch...

 so I must work on it only on the sunny bright mornings!

 

And As for those Stems, Dear Readers,

I am slowly making progress on shaping the shrubs!

 

The next step was to shorten those long downward curved stems.

I used the cut ends to twist around the stem to make branched side stems.

Because this wire is very stiff, I needed to go slowly 

(to keep my arm from getting sore again!)

This shrub is Shrub#1, and you can see how it sits in the Folly Garden.

The next day I repeated those cuts on the other two shrubs.

And glued the branched stems and let them dry thoroughly.

And because branches Branch...(!) 

I then added more stems to each of the added branches...

Here is Shrub#1 again, having the stems added to some of those branches...

And because they are also very very stiff wire.... it was slow going.

This one is Shrub#3...

Once the glue is thoroughly dry

 the stems can be shaped to a more natural curve.

And Shrub#2 getting the same treatment!

And of course, Shrub#1 also getting the glue on those stems.

The wire is so stiff that I can only do a few at a time.

But I'm making progress!

And yes, Dear Readers,

 the Blossom Factory is keeping to the challenge!

I made 10 bunches last week, 

and am well launched on this week...

Stitches and Stems and Blossoms...

Oh My!

Stitching Updates...

 

Slow But Steady...

Because, Dear Readers, I cannot spend All my time making rhododendron blossoms and leaves, only Most of my time, I have managed to make a little progress on the petit-point stitching as well. In the above picture, you can see my first cushion in progress. I had neglected to design it so the shape would end up square, and needed to adjust the outer border in tiny ways so it mostly repeated in a pleasing pattern. But I learned a lot, so the next cushion will perhaps be a better product. I was surprised at how quickly one small section of the carpet could be stitched! It was only the work of a couple days of casual stitching to get this far.

And here you can see it is nearly done!

And because that went so quickly, I started another one right away.

This time I am making the pattern a couple stitches wider on both sides.

 

And because, I know I have mentioned that

 it is hard to stitch the tiny stitches (40 to the inch!)

 of the Baktiari cushions at night, 

I have also been making progress on the William Morris carpet 

which is a much larger stitch size (only 18 to the inch.)

No, I have not found a bigger frame yet,

 but am making do with stitching the area that is available.

The blue background is very easy to stitch

 and really makes the pattern start to stand out.

And as for the Dragon Carpet, Dear Readers, 

it requires that I have both good light for the

 tiny stitches (40 to the inch again)

and a clear mind for the careful design-as-I-go process

so I can judge how it is looking before I get too far off track!

So it has seen even less of my attention,

 but even so, some good progress has been made!

I am keeping the blue scale pattern design

 only a small way ahead of the gold filling part

 so I can be sure it is making the scales look enough like scales!

 This means keeping both needles threaded

 and in play at the same time. 

You just have to be sure to not tangle

 the threads on the underside.

I am feeling quite encouraged by the way they are looking..... 

and only wonder if I am going to need

 to make some "design adjustments" 

to the rest of the body of the carpet as well.... 

hmmm...

we will have to see when we get there!

So that's the stitching update Dear Readers,

Lots of tiny stitches from time to time

  Slowly but steadily adds up to quite a bit of progress!