Sinister Craftiness

The Rose Mosaic needle roll is done, and my Crazy January Challenge is one-third complete!

Here’s the pre-rolled, pre-beaded stitching.  I love beading.  Not only do beads add sparkle and richness, when it’s time to bead, that means the project’s almost done.

This week I also made significant progress on part four of the Peacock Mandala, and may be able to finish that section in a week or so.  Looking forward to showing it off, then adding another gorgeous pair of peacocks to the ornate perches.

I worked a little on CJC #9, the Rose Mosaic needle roll:

After that, I felt motivated to pick up the Peacock Garden Mandala and have another go at it.  With such a large project, when inspiration strikes, you run with it!  I stitched enough of one area that I could reward myself with a pair of peacocks.  Pictures soon, I hope.  I’m working on all the tail feathers right now, and I’m not sure how long it will take to finish those.

Have a great week!

Coussinet de la brodeuse by A Mon Ami Pierre
Cream linen (40 count)
Stitched with GAST

Here’s yesterday’s progress on the needle roll.  It’s a fun design to stitch and turning out very pretty.

Rose Mosaic needle roll by M Designs
Sunshine Lakeside Linens (32 count)
Stitched with WDW and Silk Mori

I haven’t stitched a needle roll for a while.  This is one of many lovely needle rolls by M Designs.

Thing Two says yesterday’s butterfly (or is it a moth?) looks like a “creepy spider”.  I think he’ll be happier with it once the wings are filled in.

May Birthday Needle Roll by Victoria Sampler
Confederate Grey Cashel linen (28 ct)
Stitched with DMC and Kreinik metallic braids

This is not the first time I’ve tried to stitch this needle roll:  when I was starting to get back into cross stitch, this kit was my first attempt at stitching on non-Aida fabric.  It was a failure!  Very early in the stitching I miscounted, but instead of unpicking my mistake and starting over, I thought I could adjust the size of the following stitches to compensate, and it would all work out … but of course, it didn’t.

As the design drifted further out of alignment, each “correction” getting worse and worse, I had to admit defeat and set the mess aside.  Since then I learned that successful stitching doesn’t necessarily mean never making mistakes; successful stitchers recognize their mistakes, take the time to correct them, and move on.

I still wanted to stitch this pretty needle roll, so I bought another kit.  I’ve stitched more complicated pieces since then, but because of that first disaster, this needle roll will always be a reminder of how much I’ve been able to progress as a stitcher.

One last look (I promise, this is the last time!) at the anniversary sampler, just back from the framer:

Busy by Shepherd’s Bush
Light Sand linen (32 ct)
Stitched with Soie d’Alger, Gloriana, Threadgatherer silks

Wishing Sheep by Shepherd’s Bush
Pink Whisper hand-dyed linen (32 ct)
Stitched with Soie d’Alger and Threadgatherer silks

Happy Day needle roll by Shepherd’s Bush
Baby Lotion linen (28 ct)
Stitched with DMC and Weeks Dye Works

Here are two more sheep from the Shepherd’s Bush kit series, and a needle roll.   I spent a sunny morning dodging bees and hummingbirds buzzing around the weigela tree to take pictures of these little stitched pieces.

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.

Halloween treat bag by Shepherd’s Bush
Desert Sand Cashel linen (28ct)
Stitched with DMC

Harvest scissor fob by Shepherd’s Bush
Tumbleweed Belfast linen (32ct)
Stitched with DMC, WDW

Halloween needle roll by Shepherd’s Bush
Tobacco Cashel linen (28ct)
Stitched with DMC

Still waiting for my JN linen to arrive, so I’ve been stitching up a basket of Halloween smalls in the meantime.  These three are from the stash I bought at Shepherd’s Bush in July.  So cute, and they stitch up quickly;  what’s not to like about Shepherd’s Bush?  As if these were not enough, they have some darling new designs just in from the St. Charles market.  Thing Two hopes we will soon add the Scaredy Sheep fob to our basket.  I’ve also been working through the Blackbird Designs booklet, ‘Tis Halloween.  I’m going to limit myself to just a few of those stockings; Thing Two has been choosing his favorite designs out of the booklet for me to stitch.

Here’s my little helper in action.  We bought the mini pumpkins from the grocery store, picked up fallen leaves around our yard, and he had fun putting everything in the basket.

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!

Tudor needle roll by Shepherd’s Bush
Ivory linen (32 count)
Stitched with DMC

Last Christmas I bought a pair of these Shepherd’s Bush needle roll kits as stocking stuffers for myself, and I’m finally getting around to stitching them.

My first experience with evenweave fabric was a Victoria Sampler needle roll kit, but that was a disaster.  It wasn’t the fault of the kit at all; VS kits include detailed, easy to follow instructions, but even the best chart can’t protect a stitcher from her own unoordinated idiocy.  I miscounted several times (it took a while to get used to stitching over two threads) but my biggest mistake was attempting to adjust the size of my stitches as I continued, hoping to compensate for the errors, rather than unpicking it all and restarting.  Instead of getting back on track, the mistakes got worse and worse, and I finally had to abandon the project entirely.  That experience taught me the value of unpicking as soon as I realize a mistake has been made:  as irritating as it is to admit I goofed and spend all that time undoing the subsequent perfect stitches to get back to the one incorrect stitch, it’s always worth it to admire the error-free project when it’s done.

So this project marks my return to needle rolls!  These Shepherd’s Bush needle roll kits are cute and easy to make.  Both the kits and finished rolls would make nice little gifts.  I was able to complete the stitching one day, then finished it the next.  For now, my local needlework shop has a great selection of Shepherd’s Bush, and in a few months I hope we’ll have time to visit the Shepherd’s Bush shop in Ogden as part of our summer vacation.  I’ve also ordered a replacement Victoria Sampler kit, and am eager to do it justice this time.