A Wonderful Tale

The graveyard had been booked for a wedding on August the 8th, so this reporter’s Bride Z. Illa had to leave her Vera Wang gown hanging in the trees on the vines.

Her satin pumps were left resting on top of a tombstone, and her crown of violets and the hand-tied bouquet of exquisite flowers were placed with care in the mausoleum, so that the flowers remained fresh and perky.

Dapper Dan with his Dazzling Dentures, took off his wonderful tattered Armani jacket, loosened his bow tie and set down his walking stick.

He placed his fedora on top of the pumpkin and made himself comfortable for the night. After all, he had eternity to spend with his Bride!!!

The bridesmaids and groomsmen were not unhappy to have and extra night above ground.

Rhett scampered amongst the leaves and fallen debris in the graveyard, and the crow left the nest to perch on a nearby tree.

You see....Lisa, as wedding planner extraordinaire, had pre-booked Shady Rest Garden of Good and Evil for her bridal party last night.

And so, tonight is the night for this reporter’s wedding.

Weather:
Steamy and humid.
Thunderstorms are marching through.
The power has been out in the neighbourhood for most of the day (seriously).

The ceremony begins at 11:00 PM.

Instead of Kir Royal, the bride and groom have requested Vampire Clicquot Cocktails with a shot of Blood to toast their union. The caterer has prepared mushroom caps filled with spider legs, resting on a bed of bone dust.

No photos will be published of the event. The bride and groom have sold their story to People Magazine, so pick up your copy next week at your local checkout counter!

Plans for their wedding trip have not been announced.

Reported Anonymously by:
Susan

August 9, 2010 5:52 PM 

What a face!

I have given my bride her face.  I am off one stitch, but it stays in.  Also, the skeleton side of the face didn't match the charted design, but my canvas may have been painted differently than Amy's.  It still works.  Just cover the white areas with the stitches provided.  It is just a little different.  I don't think the groom will even notice.









Then I tackled the veil.  It is a little tedious, but looks good.  I should have done the background rings before the veil in order to have a better place to bury my threads.  I did some L stitches in the area of her hair instead, since that will be covered completely.  There is a row of black that surrounds the bride.  I chose to leave that alone, but I did cover the gold tips on the veil.

I just may finish her in time for the wedding!

Beautiful Bargello

I took some time away from the bride to work on this piece from a class I took at the Columbus market. Bargello is my first love, so this beautiful canvas has been calling my name.  Once the background is in, the River Silk ribbons lay on top.  


Tonight I will return to the bride.  I think I will stitch her face.  The poor thing is losing half of her face to worry that the wedding won't go well. What kind of cake do you think she ordered?

Say yes to the dress!

I jumped ahead to the dress because I love the stitches.  However, as I proceeded, I found I needed to go back and complete some other areas to make sure the dress worked out.   Here is how it went.

I put in the darker lining of the dress.  I added the continental stitches in the boney leg.  They are hard to see.  Then I added some lining stitches because we would be able to see some of the lining behind the bones.  This is not charted or mentioned, I just thought it would add something to the area once we put the big bones on.  (I will go back and fix the heel of her boney leg shoe.)

I completed her fleshy leg.  I am having trouble laying in the four strands of flesh color.  I will have to improve on that.

When I started the stitch for the bottom of her dress, I started where I could get a full run of the stitch.  I worked down, finishing the bottom of the dress.  

Then I turned the canvas upside down and compensated to meet the bodice of the dress.  French knots will cover the area where the upper dress and lower dress meet.

Dress done except for french knots and other embellishments. 

Keep Stitching!

Moving on with the wedding

I haven't had much time to stitch since returning from Columbus.  I have made time to give Bride Z. Illa some boobs and a shoe.  I was going to stitch lining of her dress, but I decided to stitch the shoes first to make it easier to do the dress lining.  It is kind of hard to see where the shoe starts.  Keep Stitching.

Pumpkin and Bridesmaids

Hi.  As you can see, I have finished the pumpkin and the bridesmaids. The pumpkin is such fun.  It is a free for all.  Just make the stitches wherever you want.  I stitched a row of tent on the top and the bottom with the same thread as used for the veins.  Of course I need to add the straw and give the crow his feathers.  But I must stop for now to get ready to go to market with Amy and Robin.  I am beyond excited.  Jill tells me there in no way to describe the feeling when you go to your first market.  I hope to be able to contain my excitement enough to send pictures and reports to you.  I know I will probably be overwhelmed.  We'll be in touch!

R I P

I got a little more done tonight.  I did most of the RIP tombstone.  I'm leaving the small area that Bride Z. Illa's hand rests on undone because I'm not sure of the placement of her fingers there.  It will be easy to go back and fill in after stitching her hand.  The background is next, but I think I will work on the pumpkin because that will finish the bottom of the canvas. I am really looking forward to stitching her dress as I like the florentine stitch Amy has picked out.  (refer to your color picture.)

I had the privilege of seeing Robin's Meow bag in person yesterday.  She did a fabulous job for a very good cause.  We all got a good lesson on using the DMC Memory thread.  Way to go Robin!

Bride Z. Illa's Brown Tombstone

You can see how I carried the stitch through the dress, (with the grey thread), to make sure the stitch would work on the right side.  I am now working back towards the pumpkin.  I kind of feel like I'm cheating when I do this.  But I don't trust my counting alone.   If anyone knows of an easier or better way, please let us know.  I started up under the brides rump and worked down.  It was easier for me to do it with the crow and his beak already stitched.  I will post another picture when I finish the tombstone.

It worked!

Bride Z. Illa's Second bottom border

I got the second border in.  I wish all the areas went in this fast.  Only those of you with the guide will know what I am talking about here...on the Ray stitch.  Sometimes my Ray stitch thread covered the couching thread and sometimes it didn't.  If you want a uniform look, let the top and bottom Ray stitch lay next to the couching thread as it is in the diagram.  I thought I could get all of them to stay on top, but gave up on that and didn't want to redo it.

I am heading for the brown tombstone next.  It should be a simple stitch, except there is a lot of compensation.  So I am practicing the stitch at the bottom of my canvas so I will get the whole stitch in my head and be better able to do the compensation.  I would suggest stitching the crow and his beak before stitching the tombstone.

Here comes the bride/Green bottom border

I started on the bride today.  The bottom border with the skulls/bridesmaids is the first item to be stitched.  I had a little trouble with the compensation.  After examining the stitch for a while, I decided to do the top row of little stitches to make sure I got to the other edge ok.  If you get to the end of the border and are compensating the small stitch, you are off .  It should count out even.

Then I worked each area between the bridesmaids.

I wasn't sure about the compensation around the rat, so I did what looked positive and left the other areas open.  I would rather go back and fill in than go back and take out.

As I saw how the charted rat was going to fill in, I could go back and fill areas I wasn't sure of.

There we are.  No, I haven't done the bullion knots for his tail and ears yet.  Still practicing!

I had hoped to finish skulls, but I can't find the thread for the eyes, nose and mouth in my Halloweenies threads.  Of all the thread I have in this house, where could it be.   Well, I know where I can get some more!

Celtic Cross and Needlepoint Now

On the second story of the Haunted House you will find this area Amy's is calling a Celtic Cross, (see page 6 of the guide for the second part of the house). It will eventually have three layers of stitches on top, with the first layer being 4 Way Continental. I stitched the 4 Way over the whole area instead of compensating around the middle area. Amy confirmed that this will work just fine as you can still see the canvas so you can do the next layer. So just stitch over the whole thing!

The needlepoint magazine, Needlepoint Now has become a wonderful magazine in the recent past. The current issue has a helpful article about stretcher bars. I will use some of their tips when trying to explain the value of using bars to stitchers who want hold the canvas in hand. Good instructions for tacking your canvas to the bars is included in the article. If you don't subscribe, you local shop may sell it.

I have just learned that I have been putting Evertites together the wrong way ever since I started using them. So Bride Z. Illa will be the first canvas mounted correctly. So far I haven't had any big problems as a result of poor mounting. What was I doing wrong? See the picture below. The frame on the left is correct. The bars are flush on the ends. The one on the right I pushed in too far. Now, I always made sure the frame was square. But if you put them together with the ends flush, you can be sure the frame is square. I tightened the screws just till they pushed against the wood on each bar. Remember to tighten each and every bar the same number of turns each time you need to tighten the canvas.

Happy Stitching!

The end of May

Can you believe another month has passed.  I am still working on the bricks of the Haunted House.  I hope to finish them by the end of the week.  Then all I will have to do to catch up is the raised stem areas.  And there are a lot of them.   But again, no guilt.  I am thrilled I got so much done.  Because, ready or not, the Bride is on her way.  And she is a real beauty.   I have looked over the guide, and Amy's finished product, (pictured below), and I think she will be a tad easier for us to stitch.  She is just as great as Stirha and Frank, but doesn't look as difficult.  So this will be one that we can actually finish in a month...except for when you go on vacation, or to your nephew's wedding, or whatever.  Again, we will do what we can and move on.  These are going to be the best cast of spooky guys you will ever see or have the privilege to stitch.  Just like the Nativity series, it is a classic one-of-a-kind collection!

Whew!  I got carried away.

So, may I introduce you to Bride Z. Illa.

She is half human, half bones but doesn't seem to let that bother her.  She is anticipating a wonderful June wedding.  I love the double wedding ring background.  And see her lovely brides maids at the bottom of the canvas.  They don't have to worry about getting the perfect dress!

So just do a little more work on the Haunted House this week and then enjoy the wedding!

Amy Reports

The enforced entrapment of the snow and ice in Memphis has given me the perfect excuse to stitch on the Haunted House. I have finished the stone arches over the windows and am starting on the slats of the balustrade. The challenge of stitching old, dirty, broken, stonework has been interesting. Normally when we look at threads to pull for areas on a canvas we aren't looking for that description. The combination of the woven stitches that I have finally settled on and the rough texture of the Wool Crepe has been perfect. Of course, that doesn't mean that I didn't have to stitch it, take it out, stitch it again, take it out again, and then re-stitch it one more time. Just on the slats alone I struggled with width, length, shape, snagging issues, and which part is worked first and which is worked last. The process is much like the same one that everyone else follows, with the added complexity of knowing that you have to describe and diagram every step of the work when you are finished. I love every minute of the journey through each of my needlepoint projects. They all become very personal and I always hate to see them end....although, it is nice to have those finished pieces to enjoy and share.

My needle needs to fly because "the" Bride is waiting and "the" Groom is arriving today or Monday!!!  Amy

Little Coffins!

Jill has all of the Haunted House canvases in boxes. Because most people are getting the Evertite bars with the canvas Jill is using long skinny boxes with black tissue paper. So Amy's classroom appears to be full of little coffins! I'll get a picture of them on Monday. Also, the Bride Z Illa canvas arrived today from Kelly Clark. So Amy put yet another Halloweenie on the rack, (stretcher bars). This bride is half human and half bones. Can't wait to see her dress!