Noella’s Christmas Berry
Noella’s Christmas Berry by Just Nan
Angel Blush Belfast linen (32ct)
Stitched with AVAS Soie d’Alger
This summer when Just Nan announced there would be a new enamel box, I wondered if it would be another insect to go along with Lady Scarlet and Bella Bee. Perhaps a dragonfly? A cockroach? But Noella, the Christmas bird, exceeded my expectations: she’s gorgeous. (Not that JN couldn’t design an utterly adorable bejeweled cockroach box if she wanted to. Maybe next year.)
The stitching accessory is a little berry pincushion, sparkling with three different colors of beads, which fits inside Noella. Unlike the wild birds around my house, who eat their fill of fermented berries on the shrubs and then fly smack into my living room window, Noella seems able to handle her Christmas berry with no ill effects.
The berry can be stitched with AVAS or DMC. Happily, my LNS stocks AVAS and sells it by the strand, so it didn’t break the bank to indulge in a little silk goodness.
October 29th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
This is the first finished one I have seen, and I am so glad it was by you since your stitching and finishing never fails to impress me!
Was it difficult to make up?
Beautifully done!
October 29th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Thanks!
It stitches up and finishes fast because it’s so tiny. The finishing is very similar to the Spooky witch hat. Both the berry and Spooky stitched pieces are fan-shaped – somewhere between a quarter and half circle – with a backstitched perimeter.
It’s important that the backstitching and lacing be as secure as possible because those stitches hold the finished piece together. I use an extra long piece of thread so I won’t have to start and stop too often, and I leave long tails at the beginning and end of the threads which I weave into the underside for extra security. Not pretty, but nobody’s going to take the piece apart to look inside. I had a couple of first biscornus fall apart because the backstitches and/or laces popped out under the stress of corners, stuffing, etc. Now I probably overdo it.
Anyway, to finish it you put the backstitched sides together, aligning the backstitches (I pinch the linen hard so the sides are as flat as possible) and lace the backstitches together. When that’s done you have a little cone. I stuffed the berry with cotton balls but used polyfill for the larger Spooky hat, plus a cotton ball or two for the tip of the hat to give the point extra firmness and to keep the bat pin from wobbling.
Then the cone bases are gathered just like the OTT tin tops. Spooky’s cone base is flat so it will fit on the tin. The berry’s stitches are pulled very tight to make a rounded base, and a pretty gold filigree cap covers the berry’s gathering stitches.
Probably more information than you wanted!
October 29th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Heather, your LNS sells it by the ‘strand’??? I hate to even ask you but would you be willing to pick me up just enough to do the berry in and I’d be MORE than happy to repay you or send you something you need? I wasn’t about to spend the $$$ on the silks either. I would love to do them in the silks however if I bought them, it would have pushed my kit up to $100!!!!! Um…no! You can visit me on my blog at http://www.stitchintimesfive.blogspot.com.
October 29th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Hi Lori,
Sure, I can get you the silks, no problem. You don’t need them right away, do you? I’m always looking for an excuse to go to the LNS but can’t guarantee I’ll make it there this weekend.
Each strand is about one meter long and can be divided into seven stitching threads. One strand of each color listed on the chart is more than enough to make the berry. Total cost to kit up Noella in AVAS: $7.70.
Email me (heather -at- sinister-craftiness -dot- com) and we can work out the details.
October 31st, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Heather I tried to email you and it came back that it failed…:(..
Can you try me at xstitchquintmom@msn.com….I can reply and you should be able to get it then. Thanks so much! Lori
October 31st, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Hi Heather,
I found your embroidery site via Solitary Elegance. I didn’t know if you are aware of the Pride and Prejudice samplers by The Stitching Parlor. I am getting reading to start the Daughters of Longbourn sampler.
November 1st, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Thanks for the heads up – very nice! You probably already know that Sampler Girl has several Jane Austen charts, too.
because it’s too small and too basic for really learning how to quilt, especially beautiful machine quilting.
I love your blog; what gorgeous quilts! A real sewing machine is on my wish list … mine is okay, but I think it is also sold in a pink “Hello Kitty” option