Sinister Craftiness

Christmas Treat Bag by Shepherd’s Bush
Natural linen (32ct)
Stitched with DMC

Tall Stocking by Shepherd’s Bush
Elf Green linen (30ct)
Stitched with DMC, WDW

It’s stopped raining and we are lucky enough to have a little daylight today, so I can finally take pictures.  The pendant is another one of the Shepherd’s Bush shop exclusives.

So far the cats are being kinder to the Christmas tree than they were last year:  they haven’t tried to climb it or swat ornaments off the branches.  Most of the ornaments in swatting range are heavy pewter, so the cats can’t do any damage to those ornaments even if they do succeed in knocking them loose.  A lesson learned from last year!

Thanksgiving needle roll by Shepherd’s Bush
Antique Ivory linen (32ct)
Stitched with DMC and Needle Necessities

Christmas Sheep by Shepherd’s Bush
Cranberry linen (30ct)
Stitched with DMC

Here are a couple of Shepherd’s Bush smalls I stitched up over the holiday weekend.  The little sheep pendant is a shop exclusive, a souvenir from this summer’s vacation.

I’ve also made a start on Holy Night, a new Shepherd’s Bush design for Christmas.

It’s progressing nicely.  Lots of pretty overdyed flosses, and it’s stitched on 19 count (Cork) linen, which is certainly easier on the eyes than Belfast!  The sheep are stitched with with RG Petite Alpaca,which makes them soft and fuzzy.

My Jill Rensel mats arrived this week, so I took 2000 Years Ago and In A Stable to the framing shop.  It’s always a little scary handing your “babies” over to somebody else’s care, but they did a super job with my niece’s band sampler last year, so I’m hopeful that all will turn out well, and I’ll have two lovely sets to display for Christmas.  They should be ready in about two weeks.

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.

May Flowers by Blackbird Designs
Lily of the Valley:  Sea Fog R&R linen (30ct)
Tulip Border:  Apple Brown Bindy R&R linen (30ct)
May Basket:  “Woo”steria Blend R&R linen (30ct)
Backing fabric:
At Water’s Edge by Blackbird Designs for Moda Fabrics
Stitched with:
Crescent Colours, Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Weeks Dye Works

After griping about nasty surprises with fabric recently, I have to say it’s fun to try out so many different R&R linens with these stockings.  My favorites this month were Sea Fog (green), and “Woo”steria Blend (blue-grey).  As for my favorite May stocking, well, it has to be one of my favorite flowers, the lily of the valley.

Vonna at The Twisted Stitcher has just posted a great tutorial on finishing these little guys.  (I must confess to the quick and dirty route of using a sewing machine to stitch them up.)

The Blackbird Designs blog reports that their new holiday project book, Joyeux Noel, is on its way, and the August stockings are not far behind.  As much as I love getting new things, I’d like to get June and July’s stockings finished before August shows up!  (If I don’t get distracted by all the cute Halloween stocking designs in the meantime.)

2000 years ago
the angels sang
shepherds watched
wisemen came

2000 years ago by Shepherd’s Bush
Vintage Country Mocha Belfast linen (32ct)
Stitched with GAST, WDW, DMC

Thought I’d do a little Christmas stitching while I wait for the new Halloween designs to arrive.  These four designs originally appeared in the 2000-2003 JCS Christmas Ornament Issues, but have since been reissued by Shepherd’s Bush.  I picked up this chart, along with the reissued In A Stable, and all the charms during my visit to the Shepherd’s Bush shop last month.  The mats for these were darling, so I’m considering splurging for them.

March of the Daffodils by Blackbird Designs
Spring’s Arrival:  Korty’s Special Blend R&R linen (30ct)
Quaker Fragments:  Linen WDW linen (30ct)
Wild Clover:  Linen WDW linen (30ct)
Backing fabric:
At Water’s Edge by Blackbird Designs for Moda Fabrics
Stitched with:
Crescent Colours, Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Weeks Dye Works

April Showers by Blackbird Designs
April Showers:  Old Mill Java R&R linen (30ct)
Oh Sweet Pea:  Korty’s Special Blend R&R linen (30ct)
Spring Wreath:  Old Mill Java R&R linen (30ct)
Backing fabric:
At Water’s Edge by Blackbird Designs for Moda Fabrics
Stitched with:
Crescent Colours, Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Weeks Dye Works

Two more months of stockings done!  I backed these springtime stockings with the pastels from At Waters Edge.  Between this set and the darker Madeira colors, the year of stockings should be covered.  My favorite of this set is the April Showers stocking:  the color palette is so delicate and pretty, I like tulips, and rain is a part of life here.  (In fact, it was raining while I took these pictures.)  I haven’t received the June and July stockings from my autoship program yet, so once I finish the May set, I can pretend I’m caught up.

As if there weren’t enough cute stockings this year, the soon-to-be-released Blackbird Designs book, Tis Halloween, features 13 stockings in addition to other Halloween projects.  Other Halloween goodies on their way in the mail include Just Nan’s newest Charm Garden pin, Pumpkin Jack, and the next tin in this year’s series, Spooky.  Not sure when the BBD book will show up; I think the Just Nan things are arriving in shops August 24 … but have forgotten where I saw that tidbit.

Trimming the Tree by Miss Crescent’s Crowne
Just Cross Stitch 2009 Christmas Ornament Preview Issue (July/August)
Fairy Dust linen (32ct)
Stitched with Crescent Colours
Doves:  Just Another Button Company
Fabric:  Madeira by Blackbird Designs for Moda Fabrics

I wasn’t able to finish this ornament before we left on vacation, so here it is now.  An interesting side note to the finishing process:  the twisted cording is made out of twine and perle cotton.  Since the “threads” are different sizes, the usual square knot won’t work to keep them secure while the cord is being twisted.   Instead, use a sheet bend to hold the two together.  It’s handy having a scoutmaster around the house!  (He learned how to tie a sheet bend when he was a scout, but this is the first time he’s ever had to use the knot.)

By the Chimney With Care by Blackbird Designs
Auld Lang Syne:  Parchment Legacy linen (29/30ct)
Winter Carnation:  Linen WDW linen (30ct)
Happy Birthday:  Natural linen (30ct)
Backing fabric:
Madeira by Blackbird Designs for Moda Fabrics
Stitched with:
Crescent Colours, Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Weeks Dye Works

Love is in the Air by Blackbird Designs
Sweetheart Sampler, February’s Violet, Be Mine
Parchment Legacy linen (29/30ct)
Backing fabric:
Madeira by Blackbird Designs for Moda Fabrics
Stitched with:
Crescent Colours, Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Weeks Dye Works

It looks like laundry day:  the January and February stockings are finished, and the March stockings are well underway.  Throughout the year Blackbird Designs will be releasing a series of little stockings, three designs per month, so at the end of the year there will be 36 stocking ornaments.  It would be easy to stitch up just one or two for a gift tag, posy holder, treat bag, or small gift, but they are all so cute and stitch up so quickly that I’m officially addicted and will try to do all of them.

They are all stitched on 30 count linen; the charts suggest various types of R&R linen, but my local needlework shop doesn’t carry that, so I used Legacy linen instead, one of my favorites.  For the backs of the stockings, I bought a Layer Cake of Madeira (a Blackbird Designs fabric, of course), so there are a lot of lovely patterns to choose from, and the colors coordinate nicely with the stitched pieces.  Finally, I attached loops of 4mm silk ribbon for hanging.

Meanwhile, The Gimlet is thrilled that an outdoor project has been removed from his to-do list.  Our dilapidated, lichen- and moss-encrusted fence looks like a mess from a distance, but the shabby chic photo possibilities are too good to pass up, at least until all these stockings are done.

A week ago Thursday I was about to finish this ornament from the new JCS Ornament Preview issue when the school nurse called to tell me that Thing One might have broken his arm.  And she was right!  A “fun” morning at the doctor’s office followed, and we’ll make a second trip to the doctor this week to put the cast on it.

If that were not enough, The Gimlet and I were supposed to fly to Sacramento, California the next day for a wedding.  After we determined that Thing One felt well enough for us to go (he wanted to go on his end-of-school cruise and a dance Saturday night, so if he felt well enough to party, surely we could go to the wedding), we packed our bags and left.  I didn’t get as much stitching done on the plane as I had hoped ( it’s a short flight) but I did make a start on the Blackbird Designs stockings.

These stockings are stitched with Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Weeks Dye Works, and Crescent Colours, all on various kinds of overdyed 30 count linen.  I’m going to back them with Blackbird Designs fabric; unfortunately the stockings are a little too large for Charm Pack squares but the Layer Cake squares should be just right, with a nice variety of related patterns.

Hopefully this week will be a little less exciting, and I can get some more stitching done.  I’m bringing the BBD stockings with me to the cast setting; I’ve been told those take a long time.  (Meaning the appointment; the stockings stitch up pretty quickly.)

English Christmas cushion by Shepherd’s Bush
Natural brown linen (32 count)
Stitched with DMC

Here’s the second stocking stuffer kit I treated myself to last Christmas.  At the time, I was so busy with handmade gifts that I wasn’t able to make any of the holiday decorations I had hoped to stitch.  This year I’m starting early, beginning with this needle roll, and there are two larger projects by Victoria Sampler and Theresa Wentzler which I’m hoping to begin soon so they’ll be ready to display come December.

This needle roll is a little different from the Tudor one in its use of a few specialty stitches:  herringbone, pattern darning, and pulled thread.   I also like the beads sewn to the lace points.

By the way, this is my favorite dish for keeping beads handy while I’m working.  It’s curved just right so the beads naturally gather together and stay in the center, not threatening to escape all over the table.  It’s originally a sauce dish; I bought it and several other different ones at Shiga’s Imports.  They’re the perfect size for holding beads, blending filament, floss bobbins, orts … pretty much everything.  They look great, too!