Totally uncool

This weekend we enjoyed a few wet and cozy days at the cabin. The schools are on winter break here, but there was not much more winter up at the cabin than down here. It was grey and rainy and just perfect indoor weather except for our mandatory patio soccer matches. It’s quite a sight, I’ll tell you, and we’re having loads of fun.

It’s quite interesting how different the days feel when you’re not at home; the pace is slower, you can sit down doing nothing and not feeling bad about it, you have time to make waffles, and just let time float by.

One of the things I enjoyed very much was picking up my totally uncool project- the Slow Silent Stitch Project. Yup, while everyone else is busy repurposing and recycling vintage needlepoint projects, I’m making brand new ones. Totally unhip and uncool. I’m sure that my family appreciates the silent part though, and it is much less messy and unsocial than spending the day with my machine.

This is a scrap project. I threw lots of odds and ends of non-loved colours in a basket, drew up a design, and although I’m sure I had a master plan way back when, I’m making my colour choices as I go. Sounds familiar?

There are many reasons why I fell in love with this particular art form a couple of decades ago, and these are a few:
- Only two tools required: a tapestry needle and a pair of scissors
- Endless design possibilities. Seriously. Endless.
- Very portable
- One piece of canvas lasts forever
- Relaxing
- Mistakes are easily corrected
- Yarn in every colour available

Some designs requires some math skills, like this one fitting a 40*40cm (16"*16") form if I remember correctly

Others are simple shapes drawn directly onto the canvas

You can create a painterly effect or simply fill the shapes with colour like in a colouring book. The stitches totally transform the boring canvas; you just need to envision what it may look like and go for it.

On this canvas I outlined the design with one colour, and am filling in the shapes with whichever colour I fancy using.

When I have yarn left over after finishing a shape, I simply start stitching somewhere else.

The colours are mainly rather muted and soft with only a few pops of brights. The contrasts vary from low to high, making the design appear and disappear.

I really wanted to take it home to finish it, but I managed not to. It’s supposed to be a Slow Project and thus shall not be rushed.

Hmmm, I have been looking for a Slow Project here at home too, didn’t I stash away a blank canvas and some red yarn somewhere…

Pointed needles

Before I got hooked on quilting, I was hooked on needlepoint embroidery. I would work in a very similar way as I do now – I had an idea, drew it up and got to work. I equipped all my family and quite a few others with original pillows, and when I ran out of people to whom I could gift such a time consuming treasure, I put the unfinished embroideries away.

I shared some of them in this post back when I, once again, came across them in a closet and though “oh, that’s too bad, all that work and here they are just laying collecting dust” and wowed to use them for something useful. Did that happen? Not so much.

I wish I had pictures of them all as quite a few of them would make great quilt designs, so I try to get some shots of them when our paths meet.

This is my mother in law’s pillow, one of the last that I finished and made with scraps of wool yarn from other projects.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it.)

I just finished another pillow this week, but the only things they have in common are that they are pillows and they are made by me. Just waiting for proper light to get pictures.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mark stitch stitch

Marking lines on dark fabrics can be difficult, so I tried out a few tools that all should be working. A mechanical pencil, a Clover white marker (which I have previously used on loosely woven dark blue wool very successfully), a blue fabric pencil and a Hera marker.

Of the 4, only the Hera marker would create visible lines, so Hera marker it is. I have forgotten how the lines are to be removed. Water? Steam? Need to be washed?

I am also working my way through stitching ideas Goldilock style. Silver machine embroidery thread (top left)? Too thin. Mouline floss (top right)? Too thick. The blue-greyish thread that I use all the time (bottom left)? Perfect.

The random seed stitching plan is out though. I had forgotten how much work it is to get those stitches looking truly random-ish, so I'll be going for a more repetitive pattern.

The next stitches to be determined are cross stitches. I haven't found the right size and spacing yet, but I trust that I'll know what's right when I see it.

 

I'd better get on with my stitching. Thanks for stopping by!

Task of the day, May 16

Like pretty much every other mom in this country, 16th of May is the day when bunads (our national costumes) are pressed and fitted and flags ironed. Tomorrow is our national holiday and the celebration starts early in the morning, so I'd better be prepared and ready to go.

Daughter’s bunad, Husfliden’s Blue Rogalandsbunad, is my biggest needlework achievement although a bit crinkly from storage right now.

Detail of shawl
and apron
I made it for her confirmation 8 years ago. Starting out way ahead, I got the fabric and everything two years before the big day. A year and a half later I hadn’t even taken it out of the bag (too busy quilting), so I signed up for a bunad embroidery class. That was money well spent, and after working on it for hours every day, it was finished just in time. Mom flew in and helped me assemble the costume, MIL made the shirt and the accessories were a gift from her father – a true family effort.

The teacher was very strict and particular; the wrong side should be as beautiful as the right. Mission accomplished – last year daughter wore her shawl on the wrong side for hours without anyone (not even me) noticing.-)
If I’m lucky I’ll get a picture of daughter and grandson in their costumes before they run off tomorrow morning.


I’ll also be arranging strips of fabric today. I love the fabrics and the format of this project (1m+ wide), so it will be fun even though the schedule is a bit tight. There’s nothing like a deadline to get those creative juices flowing…

Wet wool

My house smells of wet wool today. I finally got my needlepoint pieces out of their dark and lonesome place; I can’t believe it’s more than 11 years since I made them. The good news is that I still really love them. They are all made the same way: I got lots of wool needlepoint yarn from a remnant bin, drew an outline on a piece of paper, then onto the background, and did the rest by ear (or eye in this case) as the piece progressed.

They were all square when I put them away, but have been somewhat distorted during the long wait. The board I used for blocking them is long gone, so I have tried to press and stretch and press and stretch (hence the wet wool smell). It did not work very well, so I have to figure out another way to make them square again.


This piece was so much fun to make!
If I'm not mistaken, this was my first needlepoint piece, and I got the flower from one of Kaffe Fassett's books.
This was a design made by daughter when she was around 10. I tried to match the colours to her drawing.
This is the last piece I finished, with lots of leftover yarn. I still have a WIP in our cabin.

I had an idea that I could use the Mickey Mouse piece for a handbag. Apparently I had forgotten how big they all are; 16”*16” (I made pillows for my whole family and then some). I don’t really want to lose any of the embroidery, so I’ll have to add fabric to the bottom. Maybe they are more suitable for totes, but I really want my Mickey Mouse bag.

Do any of you have any suggestions??

I also found some knitting I did a while back when I just wanted to knit something and these yarns were just laying around the house doing nothing. They are just plain tubes that I intended to cut and sew into bags when felted. Today I threw them into the washing machine, and they turned out great. They are now drying in my dining room and add quite a bit to the wet wool smell. It’s my first intentional felting experience, and I’m looking forward to work with them. I love the texture!