Spiders and Rats

In case you haven't noticed, I skipped ahead to the bottom of the canvas.  The guide is not necessarily  written in stitching order.  So I will go back to the cauldron, hands, hair and fire.  Here are some pointers on the spiders.  I think my are a little large, but I'm keeping them.  Just don't get carried away wrapping the spokes.  Then on the legs.  I stitched the top and bottom legs first in order to get the spacing right.  One trick I noticed after I was finished that keeps the spiders looking the same is to make sure there are five green threads between the two bottom legs.   Two of mine have like seven threads but they are still scary.

Now on to the rat.  Make sure to follow diagram 35 for this.  You may have to cover one of the green tent stitches near his rear end to follow the pattern.  That is ok.  Just lay your stitch over it and keep going.  Amy has charted out the face of the rat very nicely for us.  Follow that chart.  After you have finished the charted diagram there will be some silver threads showing to the left of his face.  Go back and stitch these in the background color.  It makes his face really cute and tiny.  And don't forget to stitch his whiskers.

I have not yet added the dreaded bullion stitches for his ears and the gecko's tails.  I am still  practicing them on another canvas.  They may be the last thing I do on all of the canvases!  Maybe I can get a  private lesson from Amy on making bullion knots.

Have a great week!

Bottom border of blocks and green background with spiders

Robin is right.  It was a wonderful day here in Memphis.  My stitching station affords me the pleasure of looking out into our backyard.  The daffodils are coming up around this garden figure made by my Mother-in-law.  Isn't it sweet?

I got a lot done today.  And still managed to get my husband to take me out for dinner.  I worked the bottom border.  This is another case of "ignore the painted canvas".  It is a fun and easy area to stitch.   I used a size 26 Bohin tapestry needle to stitch the green corners so as not to open the holes to much.   Then I  worked on the green background that houses the geckos.  I will make spiders tomorrow.

Below you will see my helpers.  I don't know if they are just sunning under the Daylight lamp or really interested in what I am doing.  On the left is Joel and on the right is Ethan (I believe you have met Ethan before).  They are named after the film makers, Joel and Ethan Cohen.  Sometimes Joel sticks his paw down to where I am stitching.  Ethan just sits and blinks his eyes.  They are otherwise known as "the boys".

Keep stitching!

Where's Robin?

Hi Everybody...
I have been enjoying Peggy's Stitching.

Looks like Stirha has put her spell on me. I will be posting soon.

Please enjoy this beautiful Friday. It's going to be near 70 degrees in Memphis today. Sweet!   Robin

Tips for Stirha's belt

Stitch the belt in this order:  First stitch the gold buckle following diagram 17.  Look under the green crescent diagram at how the area is done in basketweave.  Part of the buckle is covered up by her leg.  I had to go in and put in more dress on the right side of the buckle, covering up a couple of gold intersections.  Second, stitch the black part of the belt.  Here it is with these two steps done.   

Third, stitch the crescent stitch as shown in Diagram 17.  I learned all of this the hard way by stitching the belt buckle as painted.  If you want the crescent to come out right you need to basketweave the gold under it as charted in Diagram 17, under the crescent numbers and lines.

I sure hope this makes sense and you don't end up stitching it and then ripping it out like I did.  (Loss of valuable time!)  I think Amy's is a lot prettier than mine, but that's life.  I may have pulled mine too tight.  Try not pulling real tight and I bet your's will look great.  The crescent is really fun to make when the gold is done right to begin with!  I used a size 24 Chenille needle to do the crescent.

Shading the dress.

Hello,  I hope you all are enjoying our project.


I have finished the dress except for the outline stitches between her arms and down her knee.  The first time I thought I had finished the dress I took a long look at it and realized that the arms seemed to merge together.  See the first photo at left.  Look at her wrists to see what I mean.  So I took out the dark thread and replaced it with the lighter.  What a difference a few stitches make.  The whole arm moves forward now in the next photo.

When I add the outline stitches between the arms they will have even more definition.  So play with the colors as you go.  With the way the canvas is painted, and Amy's expert tips, we can give Stirha some nice arms.  I wonder if hers jiggle like mine do now.  What's up with that!

Starting on the dress.

As I said earlier, follow the chart for Stirha's face.  I have still not added the bullions for her jaw and nose as I need more practice there.

I have moved on to the dress because I love composite stitches.  The deal with the dress is you have to break it down into sections.  Amy's tip about how the dress drapes and how to change the pattern is very important.  After you put the "shadows" in, stitch each section separately.  I have put in the first step of the composite here.  The  painted green spots are not necessarily correct, so count them out from the diagram to set the cross stitch.

I will stitch the full composite stitch in the area under the belt and to the left of the solid orange lines first.        

                                   

After a couple of hours...here is the composite stitch for the section below the belt and to the left of the basketweave break in the pattern.  Don't get to caught up in the shading.  It will turn out pretty no matter what you do.  That is the fun of overdyed threads.

Bullions

Thanks goodness for Amy's DVD #1, Tips, Hints and Knots.  I have been practicing making bullion knots with the aid of the DVD.  I am having success but not good enough, in my opinion, to put them on Stirha's face yet.  Amy offers a great tip for making bullion knots that I will share with those not getting the tip from the stitch guide.  It is to use a Milliners needle.  "The eye is very near the size of the shank of the needle necessitating very little loosening to slide the eye of the needle through the wraps."  This works quite well.  Now if I can just do it without poking myself with the sharp tip!