Sinister Craftiness

Hootzi Humbug by Just Nan
Golden Sand Cashel linen (28ct)
Stitched with DMC and GAST

A humbug is a pyramid-shaped finish which can be used as a scissor fob, an ornament, a pincushion, or if the cat finds it, a cat toy until it is rescued.  This little guy, Hootzi, is the preview for Just Nan’s 2010 series of four humbugs.  A bad cold kept me from stitching this up as quickly as I would have liked, but once I got better he was a quick stitch and as the chart promises, a fast, easy, and fun finish.  Bring on more humbugs!

• A very helpful humbug tutorial on Plush

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.

Over the Top/In the Tin 2009 series:  Spooky by Just Nan
Peoria Purple Weeks Dye Works linen (30ct)
Stitched with DMC

Hooray; the Spooky fabric arrived!  As you can see, this tin is different from the others.  Instead of a separate stitching accessory, the tin lid becomes a witch hat.  It was easier to assemble than I thought it would be, and after stitching up so many Blackbird Designs and Shepherd’s Bush Halloween projects in soft, muted shades it was a fun change to work with such a bright palette.

The last tin, Glow, will be released in November, and that’s the end of the two-year set of tins.  Next year’s series will be a set of four humbugs; Hootzi the owl is this year’s preview.  I’ve enjoyed the tins, but it will also be fun to move on to a new type of finish.

Halloween by La-D-Da
Just Cross Stitch 2009 Halloween Ornament Issue (September/October)
Natural linen (30ct)
Stitched with Crescent Colours Belle Soie

This little pillow ornament was a quick stitch — so quick, in fact, that I did it twice.  Why?

My LNS doesn’t carry the Belle Soie or WDW linen called for on the chart, so I ordered the kit for this ornament.  When it arrived, I thought the chestnut colored linen was too dark for the silks; I can barely see the stitched pumpkin.  Here’s a photo of the stitched-but-unstuffed pillow ornament.  The linen looks a lot lighter in the photo; actually kind of nice, but even so, the pumpkin doesn’t stand out as well as I would like.  And the linen is much darker in real life, trust me. I also had a difficult time stitching on the dark linen, so I made a few mistakes, and then when it was finished, I just wasn’t crazy about how it looked.  Have you ever had that happen with a project?

As I said, this ornament stitches up fast, and I have a bunch of extra 30 count natural linen with no project on which to use it, so I decided it was worth trying again. (The linen was on sale at my LNS and for good reason; it’s very stiff and scratchy.  Not very fun to work with, but perfect for this re-do, as it has the right sort of rustic charm.)

This time, I’m much happier with how it turned out.  My local fabric shop had just set out their autumn/Halloween fabrics, and I bought a few fat quarters to experiment with this ornament and the Blackbird Designs Halloween stockings.

In other Halloween stitching news:  Trick or Treat?  My Just Nan Spooky tin autoship arrived, but the linen is missing!  I called the shop and learned that they had run out of WDW Peoria Purple.  It’s backordered and they’ll send it to me when they receive more.  Hopefully I’ll be able to stitch up the tin lid before Halloween.  Like all the other Just Nan tins, it looks so cute (Spooky is an especially unique design) and I’m eager to get started on it.

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.

Anniversary biscornu by Just Nan
Opal Rainbow Dreams Cashel linen (28ct)
Stitched with DMC

Which is sweeter:  an anniversary box of gray and smoked salt caramels, or this anniversary biscornu?  Both are intricate confections in miniature, finished far too soon.

Floral Fifteen by Just Nan
Antique White and Mint Green Cashel linen (28ct)
Stitched with DMC

I don’t suppose anybody will believe I was waiting for the lilacs to bloom to finish this biscornu, will they?  Oh, well.  This was a fun project and ought to have been fairly quick:  the panels are small, and the assembly instructions are excellent.  But all sorts of other must-do activities around the house converged (The Gimlet’s WoodBadge training, Thing One’s school musical, and the stove had to be replaced, to name a few), with the result that the fifteen stitched panels sat on the table, marked and in order, for most of the week.

One of the most enjoyable parts of Floral Fifteen was the variety of floral motifs that could be created within the same size of square, using the same color scheme.  The roses are my favorite, but all the panels are pretty.  As with a standard biscornu, it’s very easy to assemble.  For instructions on creating a 15-sided biscornu, see Tintock Tap’s Snowflakes in the Snow tutorial.

I was doing quite well resisting the allure of the Charm Garden Pins until the Grow tin arrived with its pretty leaf pin, and then the Anniversary Biscornu package included the hummingbird pin.  It was looking lonely, so I gave in to temptation and bought the rabbit and frog pins.  Thing Two likes the ladybug and bee pins, which I haven’t bought … yet … and now The Silver Needle has two new pins coming in June, available for pre-order:  a butterfly and a hedgehog.  Luckily there’s plenty of room on this biscornu for more pins.

First, here’s a peek at Floral Fifteen.  The five green panels are complete, and I’ve stiched nine out of the ten white borders.

Not as far along as I’d hoped, but I thought it might take a long time to stitch all these panels, even if they are very small.  (The arrival of two new Just Nan kits, Grow and the Anniversary biscornu, were also distracting.)  This darling felt pincushion, and many more like it, can be found at the The Daily Pincushion on Etsy.  I have a poinsettia one for Christmas and a few other flower/color combinations; they brighten up my stitching area.  Most pincushion designs are available in two sizes and a matching emery can also be made to order.

Last week Bestemor, Thing Two, and I went to Ballard in search of this year’s Syttende Mai pins and discovered a sort-of-new (well, new to us) quilting shop!  The Quilting Loft is small, but it’s packed with beautiful, top-quality fabrics.  We are fond of backing quilts with flannel, and were happy to see a good selection of pretty flannels in patterns suitable for baby quilts or more grown-up projects.  Thing Two was intrigued by the antique sewing machine on display.  There weren’t very many notions or books, but what they had was very good; I found a lovely pattern book which I’m looking forward to using.  We’ll definitely be back!

Inspired by our visit, Thing Two made a set of rotary cutters for himself out of his construction set:

He’s hard at work on the Petits Fours table runner, and eager to get started on a quilt kit just for him which is on its way in the mail.  I had hoped to keep it a surprise for his birthday later this year, but he’s too excited about the quilt; it will be much more fun to make it with his help.  Stay tuned …

Over the Top/In the Tin 2009 series:  Grow by Just Nan
Platinum Cashel linen (28ct)
Stitched with DMC

Grow, the second tin and accessory in this year’s series, arrived last week and I stitched up the pair almost immediately.  The pretty glass leaf pin was included with the set.  With the recent rainy weather, it’s nice to have some flowers to enjoy indoors.  Hopefully my lilacs will get around to blooming by the time I finish Floral Fifteen (more on that in an upcoming post).

After a snowy start to April and a few frosty mornings, the camellia has bloomed!  Hooray!

And what could that be on the blossoms and leaves?  It’s so shiny … so bright … is it … sunshine?

To commemorate the return of flowers and sunshine, I started stitching Just Nan’s Floral Fifteen biscornu this weekend:

It’s a fifteen-sided (!) biscornu; I’ve started with the five green panels, then I’ll do the ten white panels.  Other springy goodies from Just Nan:  a new limited edition biscornu and a peek at the upcoming Grow! tin.

The wonderful hand embroidery blog Needle’nThread is featuring an April sale by The French Needle!  April isn’t over yet, so don’t miss out; head on over to Needle’nThread for all the details.  The French Needle features beautiful French needlework books, charts and kits, and accessories.  I picked up some Rouge du Rhin charts that have been on my wish list for some time.  Now if only those gorgeous scissors would go on sale; you know, the ones that cost more than the first Gimletmobile …

After all that shopping and stitching, the most rewarding stitching I did over the weekend was repairing Thing Two’s blankie.  Blankie is an old receiving blanket dating from Thing One’s baby days, but  afghans were more Thing One’s style.  Thing Two, on the other hand, showed a preference for receiving blankets almost immediately. Luckily there are two of them, and even more luckily, Thing Two likes to have them washed.  Both blankets are starting to fray at the edges, so after an especially big adventure, repairs are occasionally needed.