The Lion sleeps tonight

Greetings buds.  The Lion, Harry Tyler's to be specific, is on hold.  Although I love the colors of Weeks Dye Work's linens, I have a problem stitching them.  My tension is never good, but not as noticeable on a stiffer coarse linen.  The heavier threads in the weave don't collapse when I tug a little.  A softer linen tends to stretch out when I hold in hand and stitches are pulled in leaving a little space between, collapsing the weave. Normally it's not an issue but light floss on dark linen shows this much more and wasn't covering well. 

 

Barrick's 1848 Sampler was stitched light on dark (32 count Belfast Charcoal) and look how nice their flesh tone stitches are. 

 

 

So I compared the two and I could see I wasn't going to get good coverage for the large lion area.  They are the same count, and look how skimpy the bottom ones look on the WDW Gunmetal.
 

And now for the real truth.  I cut the linen too short.  Had no choice but to start over!  

But now I know to always use a heavier linen for light floss on darker ground. 

 

But did I stop there?  Hell no.  I kept looking at Harry's photo and thought the blue should be darker.  Should I try to order something online and hope I like it?  No.  I dipped the Charcoal into a mix of two blues and it's richer, deeper, good.  I'm hoping  the stitches will fill better and that I cut it correctly.  But honestly, I may set it aside and work on a small sampler.  Sometimes being sidetracked throws me off-track. Tomorrow will tell.

 

January is coming to a close quickly!  Enjoy what's left.

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

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A place for my ponies

Finally!  My ponies have been wandering around for quite some time, not able to find a good resting place.  The bag wasn't working, too large for a hanging pillow, what to do?  Well today I was working on the final few boxes I found, and while searching the new computer for the old files, came across the ponies circled.  ????  What the hell, give it a try. 

So I made the label and I was gobsmacked.  You have no idea how long I've waited to use that word.  And this is the time.  WHY did I not think of this before?  The poor ponies have been hidden in the dark, waiting, and it never occurred to me to try a padded round lid finish. 

 I will lose some of the stitching but that's fine with me. 

Then I remembered the stack of tall rounds waiting for labels and tried the larger size.  Bingo.

 

I don't want to use this very tall box and it belongs to a set I plan to label, so I will check HL for this size in the short series and if not, will use the smaller short and lose more of the stitching.  But at least I finally have a solution to displaying my ponies.

Whiskey for me and beer for my horses!!! 

Black Velvet Roasted Caramel will do just fine.

 

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It was bound to happen

Chocolate.  On my linen.  For years I have been eating, drinking, snacking while stitching, without incident.  Today, it all came to an end.  Hard to believe that a tiny piece of Dove dark would be overlooked.  I examine the red foil to make sure there aren't any loose tiny flakes, lick the outside edges that hold that delicate chocolate dust, so for a tiny crumb to get by me was more surprising than it showing up on the linen.  Wasn't even in an area that my fingers would have been.  Nevertheless, there it was.  I used warm water to drip through the linen, hoping it would take the chocolate with it.  It didn't completely and like a dodo, I rubbed it a little.  So there is a small lighter area now, and I believe the leaves from the tree will hide it.  I'll work that side and see what happens, before flipping the linen over (the back side is not nearly as bad).  A lighter spot on a solid like Belfast's Charcoal would be very noticeable, but the very slight variations in this overdyed helps hide it.  I guess I'm so used to using my almost indestructible unbleached rough stuff, that I am too lax in the care of my projects.  Well....  too bad.  I'm not changing.

Heart drawing

Hello people.  I didn't think I would get this many entries!  In addition, 17 email entries, one of which was chosen.  Amy Komack.  I will contact you for your address as soon as I'm finished boring everyone with this post.

 

Next project.  One of two and I hope to decide this evening.  My husband is in the other room screaming at the Steelers, a little distracting, but I think I can handle it.

 

As the slump continues, I thought one color of thread would be easier on me.  I am continually making changes and that is not the thing I need to be doing right now. 

So this design popped into my head.  Harry Tyler's Lion.  I have the GAST threads, pulled a 32 count natural linen, and this piece fell out of the pile.  Hmm.  That Gunmetal that I worked with to tone down that unusual blue.  Reverse the design and use 644 on the dark ground.

 

The other option (leaning to) is R&R Reproductions 1739.  It is really primitive and that means LOTS of room for errors.  I would change the thread colors for a little more definition, and not be too concerned about messing up.  Either one, a good choice.

 

 

That's it folks! 

 Thanks for visiting.

 

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Heart to heart

Who wants Kathy Barrick's Black Heart?
Leave your name/initials in a comment or email me (click on the postcard).

A quick offer to be mailed out Monday, so Sunday at 8pm I will draw a name if more than one.  You can also order this chart on her Etsy site https://www.etsy.com/shop/kathybarrick.

 

 

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Heart-burn

Some times, finishing goes smoothly.  Other times, it burns more than a flash.  I had no problems tracing a heart, centering, sewing the backing. 

But that damn cleavage always is an issue with me.   It's fine until the stuffing enters.  All worked out in the end but it was a real test.  I passed.

 

 

 

 

Finished the heart using my usual method of just folding paper and cutting a heart shape until it fits.  Real technical.  I hate measuring.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once it's close, I hold it up to the light and pin

into place, trace on the backside with a Frixion pen.  I always leave a decent allowance since I can sew it closer if need be. 

 

 Instead of leaving a side opening, I sewed around the entire heart and used my envelope method for the back.  Because of the fricking cleavage, I seamed a short section at the top and the very bottom instead of having two halves.  Pressed the seam allowance in and clipped the excess.

I used the 1" thick quilt batting cut to shape, decided to add another layer of it, then steamed. Carol of http://stitchingdream.blogspot.com/ wrote about her favorite bagged fill and once I bought it, there was no going back.  She recommended Touch of Silk and I love it.  Never thought there would be a difference but there is.  I steam and smash the fill until I get the density I want which would always flatten, almost melt, the batting.  This brand will condense the fill and give a nice feel, but doesn't harden like the other.  In fact, you could actually remove it and pull it apart to re-fluff it, even after steaming.  The quilt batting (yardage type) worked well so I didn't use this product for the heart, but do for a lot of finishes.

 

So what's next?  Another small sampler?  Or heart?  Not sure, but I am certainly loving my new bench.  Magnifiers, tools, and baskets with projects, all hidden but handy. 

 

Have a good weekend!

Thanks for visiting.

 

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