Sinister Craftiness

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!

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!

Last summer I decided to embroider several Hardanger table centerpieces as Christmas gifts.   Originally I planned to make four gifts, but by the beginning of December it was clear that there was no way I’d be able to complete more than three.  Each centerpiece took about two months to embroider, and while I managed to complete the much larger third project in two months as well, life would have been much easier if I had budgeted 3-4 months for it instead.

My grandmother received the first project:  a 20″ (approx. 51cm) square centerpiece based on a 1905 design from the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.  I stitched it on white Hardanger fabric (22 count) with variegated blue perle cotton from DMC.  The openwork took a lot longer than I thought it would; overall the centerpiece is much more “lacy” than I expected it would be.  (See what it looked like before I did any cutting, weaving, or picots.)  I was also learning each stitch along the way, so I believe if I made this centerpiece again it wouldn’t take as long to embroider the basic surface stitches.

The second centerpiece, Mindy, was given to my aunt.  A little smaller than the Vesterheim centerpiece (18″ or 45cm), I used light blue Hardanger fabric and white DMC perle cotton with dark blue perle cotton accents.  This centerpiece was the easiest and quickest of all the projects to stitch.  One aspect of Hardanger embroidery I enjoy is watching the progression of a project:  each set of simple stitches adds to the overall beauty and complexity of the design.  Here’s a look at Mindy in progress.

Third (and last), my mother chose the pattern “Oldemors Kaffeduk” (Great-grandmother’s coffee cloth) from Lillil Thuve’s book Hardanger Design (Orion Forlag, 2000).  The original design is white embroidery on white fabric, but I decided to use Caron Watercolours Rose Quartz for the surface stitches, and cream Hardanger fabric was a better match with those colors.  Further, I added a personal touch:  my mother’s dining room has a view of her bird feeders, to which chickadees are one of the most frequent visitors.  A Cross Stitcher’s Oriental Odyssey (by Joan Elliott) includes charts for a delightful pair of chickadees which fit perfectly in each corner of the tablecloth.

While the tablecloth design was simple, the size of the project (81cm  or 32″) meant there was a lot more work to do than on the previous centerpieces.  The additional cross-stitched motifs also took extra time to complete — a little under one week per chickadee.  The tablecloth was successfully completed in two months, but the pace was much more intense and many other tasks around the house were neglected to meet the Christmas deadline.

I’m pleased with how the chickadee tablecloth turned out.  The cream fabric and delicate blend of pink, cream, taupe and green in the Watercolours skein give the piece an antique look.  I used ecru perle cotton rather than Caron’s Wildflowers Rose Quartz to weave the bars so the openwork would stand out; I noticed that the variegated thread in the Vesterheim centerpiece makes it difficult to see the dove’s eyes and picots.

Even though the goal of homemade gifts ended up becoming very stressful at the end — and I was very happy to be finished! — I’m glad I made the effort.  It’s been a great learning experience and is a fun hobby (relaxing, too, when there’s no deadline to meet).  The only problem now is that I gave away all my Hardanger pieces and have none for my own table.  I still have all the materials to make the Anna table runner, so I may keep it or give it as a gift this year.  I’ll also take some time choosing another pattern for myself, and enjoy the slower pace as well as the eventual results.

At least two people on my gift list will get handmade embroidery for Christmas this year!  Follow the jump for a peek at the newest piece. (more…)

It was starting to feel like handmade Christmas gifts were too ambitious of goals, but the first project is done!  Follow the jump for a few teaser pictures and cryptic details. (more…)

After completing the band sampler, I had the great (or insane) idea that if I could successfully finish one small band of Hardanger embroidery, the next logical step was to make a whole bundle of table runners and centerpieces for Christmas gifts.  Well, we’ll see how far I get with that.  Beyond the jump are small spoilers — teaser photos and a few details about some of the projects I’m working on — so if you want to avoid any hints of what the elf sweatshop is up to, steer clear.  Look for an after-Christmas post describing all the projects in detail with plenty of photos. (more…)