Sinister Craftiness

I knew the petticoat lace would take the longest to finish of all the gown pieces, but I didn’t realize it would take quite so long!

My niece arrived on her February due date after a long and difficult labor.  The baby was fine and perfectly healthy, but mom had a significant amount of recovery to do, and the baby blessing day was postponed accordingly.  That worked out quite well for me, as the last piece of lace was nowhere near complete.  Finally, after four months of work, I finished the petticoat lace last weekend:

I rushed it over to my sister-in-law and her mother, who spent Saturday evening and Sunday morning putting the finishing touches on the christening gown for that Sunday afternoon.

Little Miss seemed to approve of her gown; after all, it was like wearing a silky blanket.

She also liked to stuff the collar in her mouth and chew on it.

As cute as my newest little niece is, this is a stitching blog not a baby blog, so it was time to give her back to her Mom and Dad, and get to work taking photos of the gown.

All that glorious, frothy lace … so much work, but so worth it.  The gown was an absolute pleasure to stitch; I loved the pattern and the materials.

One last photo of my niece and her proud mom:  welcome to the world, little one!

Occasionally I’m asked if I make mistakes while cutting the Hardanger embroidery, and if so, if there are any mistakes which can’t be repaired.

To which I reply, Oh, yes!  Fortunately the Janice Love books have many suggestions to restore almost any kind of cutting accident back to neat, and I’ve usually had great success fixing little cuts here and there.

But while I was working on the christening gown collar — in fact, while I was cutting the excess fabric away from the finished collar, back before Christmas — I slipped and cut into the blanket stitches, front and center.  The collar began to unravel, and there was no good place in that area to reinforce or redo the cut stitches.

I want this christening gown to be perfect, and the collar is a focal point of the gown, so there really was no debate:  I had to start a new collar, and I was now the sadder but wiser owner of a “scratch and dent” or practice collar.

One month later, the second collar is done, and I’m so happy to see that it turned out perfectly:

What about the scratch and dent collar?  From certain angles or placing an object over the unraveled area, I think it will do well as a doily for taking pictures of other stitching projects.  It’s a good reminder to be careful when working on the cut parts of embroidery:  always use a bright light, sharp scissors (I love my Dovos), and take rest breaks whether you think you need to or not.  I was in a rush to finish the collar (it was so close to being done!) and haste combined with fatigue made me clumsy.  For the second collar, I cut a moderate section away from the excess fabric, took a break, then returned to the job.   It took longer but half a day of cutting was better than spending another month to make collar #3.

Now I hope I’ll have time to finish the petticoat lace!  The petticoat follows the same designs as the collar.  My little niece or nephew is due mid-February so the gown won’t be needed until March at the earliest.

Wow!  The sleeves took much less time than I thought they would!  With the over skirt and both sleeves complete, my sister-in-law and her mother will be able to work on the dress over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Taking a picture of the sleeves proved a bit difficult.  Unlike the over skirt, the embroidery stops with a margin on both sides (to sew the sleeve together) which makes the sleeve look, well, unfinished.  This photo shows both sleeves, embroidered ends facing each other.  The pattern photo shows what the sleeves will look like after my sister-in-law and her mother have worked their sewing magic.  I’m excited to see the pieces put together!  Meanwhile, I’ll start working on the dress collar, which has more openwork than the sleeves.  Each piece of this gown is prettier and prettier.

Thanks for visiting!

The over skirt of the christening gown is the simplest to embroider, and would make a nice enough gown on its own if I weren’t able to complete any more pieces, so I worked on it first.  Total stitching time for the skirt:  about three weeks.

I’m using 32 count Monika evenweave (a mercerized cotton/modal blend) by Ubelhor of Austria.  I love this fabric!  It’s perfectly suited for a christening gown:  silky soft with great body and a wonderful drape, holds the shape of the pulled and drawn work exactly so, and irons like a dream.  Wonderful!  I bought it from Nordic Needle where I was lucky enough to catch it on sale plus a storewide shipping discount.  The pattern is stitched with DMC white perle cotton in #8 and #12.

Next:  the sleeves.  The embroidery is more detailed than the over skirt in that there is more openwork, but of course there’s much less to do than on the skirt.  We’ll see how many weeks it takes to embroider the sleeves.

Thanks for visiting!

I’m working on a few Hardanger projects right now.  First, I’d had a table runner pattern from Lillill Thuve’s Vakre Hardangerdesign kitted up for ages, but hadn’t started it.

I began it, but a fiddly part of the center motifs slowed me down and I’ve put it aside for a while until I’m more interested in it again.  I’m realizing why I hadn’t gotten around to starting it.  The fabric (Dublin) and the thread (Watercolours) are a delight as always, but there’s something about the pattern that just isn’t doing it for me.

The pattern that’s really captured my interest right now is one of the winners of the annual Nordic Needle design contest.

I love the pattern, the stitches, and the colors I chose.  I’m using 30 count Legacy Linen in Baltic Green, which looks antique green or blue depending on the light.  Love, love, love Legacy linen:  it’s stiffer than Dublin, but full, feels great in the hand, and so luxurious.  I had really wanted to stitch this centerpiece in silk, but the Baltic Green color proved tricky to match up:  if I found a shade of Trebizond or Soie Perlée that worked well with the linen, I couldn’t find a matching Soie Gobelins, and if I found a suitable Soie Gobelins, neither Soie Perlée nor Trebizond looked right next to it.  The expense of silk, that pesky hobgoblin, also looked like it would be a factor in this medium-sized project, so after tidying up all the spools I’d pulled out of the drawers of the LNS, I chose a shade of DMC perle cotton which is a great fit for the fabric and didn’t break the budget.

I completed the surface stitches in two weeks’ time and am currently slogging through the eyelets.  This pattern features a lacy edge, or as I call it, Zombie Hardanger.  The cutting phase will be messy and scary, but well worth it.

But wait; there’s more!  My sister-in-law (the owner of this birthday biscornu) is expecting her first baby, and we’re going to make a christening gown.

I’ll be using another pattern from Nordic Needle’s design contest to embroider the fabric, and my sister-in-law and her mother will sew the dress.  My new niece or nephew is due mid-February; once the fabric arrives, we’ll get started.

Hardanger brikke “Elise”
from Hardangersøm med variasjoner by Lillill Thuve
Antique white Dublin linen (25 count)
Stitched with Caron Watercolours “Delphinium” and Anchor #8 perle cotton

Back in April I posted about a knitting/embroidery exchange with Knitika, and at long last it’s done!  This little centerpiece measures 14.5″ (37 cm) on 25 count linen.  This is my second time using Dublin linen and I really like it for Hardanger:  it’s soft and supple, with a nice drape to it.  Plus it’s very close to the count of Hardanger fabric, so I can be lazy on the math when calculating supplies.

A closer look at the embroidery:

In exchange Knitika made me not one, but TWO pairs of handwarmers!  I’m so spoiled.

The pattern above is “Aragorn” and the pattern below is “Dashing“.  I don’t know yarn, but I do know these handwarmers are made of awesome. (Knitika, on the other hand, does know her yarn, so check out her exchange post.)

Both pairs are so pretty, so soft and toasty warm.  My hands are very happy.  Thanks, Knitika!

Free pattern from My Aunt’s Attic
Antique white linen (32 count)
Stitched with Gentle Art Sampler Threads “Crystal Lake”

This birthday request was a great excuse to stitch up one of the many lovely (and all free!) patterns that can be found on the My Aunt’s Attic site.  I added Rhodes stitches in squares and diamonds for texture and variety.

Thanks for visiting!

Long time, no post!  I’ve been stitching away for the past month, but nothing is ready to show off yet.

First, an “interspecies” thread exchange.  My pal Knitika agreed to knit a pair of her lovely handwarmers for me.  In exchange, I’m giving her a completely useless Hardanger centerpiece.  I think I’m getting the better part of the bargain in this exchange.

It’s a simple pattern, but the edge proved to be a little tricky. Working on it caused my fingers to stiffen and become sore, so I could only stitch on it just a little, every other day or so.  That slowed the progress down considerably, much to my frustration.  But I finally finished the edge on Monday, and the rest of the surface stitches are flying along painlessly, so I hope I can have this finished soon.

While I was picking away at the centerpiece edge, my materials kit arrived for the class I’m taking from the Northwest Sampler Guild.  This is the Blue Ribbon Sewing Box, taught by Sherri Jones of Patrick’s Woods.  Here’s a photo from the class page:

Isn’t it gorgeous?  Hopefully mine will look something like it.  We’ll get the cherry wood box and scrimshaw pieces at the class.  Meanwhile I’m doing my homework and stitching up the slip pockets and smalls:

Last, my brother mentioned that his wife “really likes those pincushion things you make” and suggested that I make her one for her upcoming birthday.   I’ll show it off properly next week, but for now here’s a glimpse at the birthday biscornu:

Other bits and pieces include:  amusing Thing Two with more Button-up Birdies (stitched, not finished), Crazy January Challenge projects (but nothing significant to show yet) and another pair of peacocks is almost complete.  Lots of nearlys and almosts!

Hardanger centerpiece from Burda Hardanger E344
Flax Dublin linen (25 count)
Stitched with Caron Watercolours and Wildflowers “Sandstone”

We’ve been snowed in all week, so it’s been perfect weather for staying indoors and finishing this little centerpiece.  It measures about 12″ (30 cm) square on 25 count linen, so if it were stitched on Hardanger cloth it would be a little larger.

I love the antique look of the linen and soft pastel variegated thread.  The “Sandstone” palette as it appears in Wildflowers is a very close match to this linen, making it an excellent stand-in for #8 perle cotton.

It looks intricate, but the stitches are all pretty basic and the cutwork is limited to small areas, so it was not a difficult project.  Even so, it seems like a Hardanger project of this size and detail takes me between one month and six weeks to complete.  This centerpiece will be a Christmas gift, and I hope the intended recipient will enjoy it.

Best wishes to all for a very happy Thanksgiving holiday, with safe travels and plenty to be thankful for!

Butterflies, Blossoms, and Bees by Just Nan
Lilac Cashel linen (28 ct)
Stitched with DMC

My exchange partner received my package today, so now I can show it off!

My partner’s wish list favorites included purple, flowers, and butterflies, so Butterflies, Blossoms, and Bees seemed like a good fit.  This design is full of specialty stitches, which made it more challenging than I expected, but the chart comes with easy-to-follow diagrams for each new stitch.

After dithering between a few different finishing possibilities, I decided on a box lid, using Blackbird Designs’ tutorial for fabric covered boxes (part one and part two of the tutorial can be found on the BBD blog).

This was a fun project!  I liked learning the new stitches, and the end result was so pretty.  (I want to make one for myself now!)  I’m so glad to hear that my partner likes it, too.  Thanks to Zeb for setting up this exchange on the Just Nan Junction blog; it was a great way to start out 2010.