Ta-da!!
A Note on the final product: I decided not to stitch the square border around the edge that’s called for in the pattern. I just liked it better this way. I thought the border detracted a bit from the design. Come to think of it, I can’t remember the last pattern I stitched exactly as designed. Hmmmm….
So, I’ve been making a lot of progress on “Portrait of Santa” — it’s like I’m possessed with the desire to get this pattern out of my life forever. As you can see, he now has a complete hoodie, eyes, eyebrows, and most of a forehead, as compared to here. He’s starting to look a lot less creepy.
Here’s a close-up of the upper right (Santa’s forehead and wreath) so you can really see the progress:
I almost hate to say it, but this pattern is growing on me. The colors–the deep reds and pinks in particular–are very vibrant and I especially like the contrast between the two–the bright reds and minty greens, with a little of the sage green of the mistletoe thrown in for variety. I’m one of those people who thinks it’s “sad” that the color combination of red and green is reserved for Christmas. Like the other classic “primary color plus secondary” color combinations–yellow and purple, blue and orange–these two colors bring out the best in each other.
Now that he actually has eyes, I like the kind of mischievous look on Santa’s face, his twinkle. Ho ho ho!
Done and done! Just in time for Hallo…er… Thanksgiving?
In celebration of Halloween, I’ve worked up this little design from Bent Creek, “Black Kitty” on 40-count sand linen with two strands of floss over two. I like the nice, thick effect this “overuse” of floss creates.
The cat has been done in DMC 310, classic black, but the rest was worked with Gentle Art Sampler Threads. To create a “halo” effect around the cat, I stitched around the edges of the cat in concentric circles. I don’t know if it actually shows in the final product, but I would still do it again to avoid, for this particular design, that horizontally-oriented variegated look.
Because I am making this into an ornament, I “designed” a little matching pattern for the 
back — basically the same outline and background as for the “Black Kitty” pattern with the word “Boo!” (on the right). It’s a little surprise for anyone who checks out the back of the ornament.
And here they are together side by side:
And in the process of sewing up the two halves for final finishing:
Now if I could only find my polyfiber fill and twisted cord maker… maybe they’re hiding as part of a Halloween prank they’re playing on me. Trick or Treat!
“A Portrait of Santa” by Donna Vermillion Giampa
Like Frankenstein’s monster, this project has been an albatross around my neck for about twelve years.* I’m not kidding — twelve years. The copyright on the pattern says “1992” and I think it was bought shortly thereafter. A friend of mine, a lover of old-fashioned Santas, bought it thinking she was going to stitch it. I “borrowed” the pattern from her and she’s never seen it since.
A friend of mine, Anna of Stitch Bitch, had a UFO once of a rooster that she was making for her mother to match, if I recall correctly, a recently redecorated kitchen. That was about ten years ago and I believe the “Frickin’ Chicken,” as it came to be known, is still unfinished. Likewise, I am dubbing this project “A Portrait of Satan.” This nickname is, of course, no reflection on the quality of the pattern itself, which is excellent.
This pattern is a perfect example of bad stitching timing. I was initially attracted to this design because of all the intricate details of Santa’s face and the holly and mistletoe. I, too, love the look of old-fashioned Santas. I’m not religious, so when Christmas season comes around (as it is relentlessly does) Santa is a traditional cultural figure I can relate to. This Santa reminds me of the Kris Kringle figures from when I was a child and we lived in Germany for a few years while my father was in the Army.
Also, at the time I started “A Portrait of Santa,” I was really into stitching naturalistic-looking, complicated patterns with a lot of floss changes. For example, I was also stitching the Teresa Wentzler “Fruit Bellpull” at the same time (see right). I finished “Fruit Bellpull” in 1996 and it’s now hanging in the entrance to my place, but, alas, poor Santa sat in a drawer for years, forgotten except for the occasional discovery by accident and subsequent guilt trip.
My tastes changed. My patience for frequent floss changes dwindled. My love of simpler graphics and variegated floss flourished. And poor Santa languished in a drawer.
But no more! I am hereby resolving to have this project finished by Christmas 2007 to present as a gift to my poor friend who lent me the pattern those many years ago (whose birthday is today, by the way). It’s time to stitch or cut floss!
Stay tuned….
*Pardon me for mixing my Victorian metaphors, gentle readers. You’ll have to forgive me on the grounds of extreme emotional disturbance brought on by prolonged exposure to the same pattern.
Last night, I went with my friend Jeffrey of Knitting Sinister to a book-signing event at Barnes & Noble for Crazy Aunt Purl‘s Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat Hair: The True Life Misadventures of a 30-Something Who Learned to Knit After He Split. I tell you, it was the knitting event of the season–anyone who was anyone in the world of Los Angeles Stitch n Bitch (are we still allowed to use that phrase?) was there, including Faith Landsman of That is so Queer and Ellen Bloom of L.A. is my Beat. Both are featured as “characters” in the book as well. In fact, Laurie Perry, a.k.a. Crazy Aunt Purl credits them both with introducing her to the wonderful world of knitting.
The event started with a reading from the first chapter of the book, a hilarious and poignant recounting of the day that Laurie’s husband told her their marriage was over. If you are a regular reader of the Crazy Aunt Purl blog, you understand how Laurie can, with seeming effortlessness, make a scene like that both heart-breaking and comical.
She then read excerpts that briefly told the story of her new boyfriend, a rebound relationship that didn’t last but allowed her to move on with her new life. There was surprisingly little mention of knitting at the reading, but there were lots of knitters there doing their thing, including the aforementioned Jeffrey (to the right) who is working on a lap afghan using various shades of gold and brown wool he got at the famous La Lana Wools in Taos, NM. I myself brought some beautiful Noro Aurora (color #5) to make a 
simple ribbed scarf. I like to chose easy-to-follow projects when I’m out knitting in public.
For me, the one of the highlights was the Q & A portion of the evening. For example, one of the audience members asked if any of Laurie’s co-workers knew about her knitting-related internet fame and her upcoming book tour. She told an amusing anecdote about asking her boss for time off to go on the book tour and his look of confusion (apparently, he still doesn’t understand exactly why she needed the time off). Then, off the cuff, she mentioned that she doesn’t like to talk about the book at work since “the first word in the title is drunk.” Imagine that in a cute Southern drawl and the word “drunk” stretched out to about four syllables.
She also spoke of mild pressure from the publisher to insert a happy ending–i.e., “Wouldn’t it be great to end the book with you knitting some baby booties?” That line brought big guffaws from everyone and Laurie assured the audience that she resisted such pressure.
Afterwards, we all lined up in what seemed like the world’s must frustrating and badly-planned queue and the author graciously signed a bunch of books (to Jeff: “Marry me!”, to me: “Long live garter stitch!”).
Even though I didn’t get a marriage proposal, I was more than mildly flattered that she recognized me from our couple of brief meetings at SnB and a LYS. She’s the real deal.
To the left, we have the latest incarnation of “A Quaker Study” by Carriage House Samplings, as stitched by yours truly. This is the sum total of my work to date, the whole piece so far, in all its Quakery glory.
Although it’s been a couple months since the end of my last ten-hour rotation (ahem! July! ahem!), I’d really like to emphasize how fast this project is to stitch. Once I started stitching on this project in earnest, I could really see the progress I was making.
This is also one of those projects that looks a lot better “in person,” so to speak, than in photographs. Or maybe it’s just my photography… Or the lighting… Yeah, that’s it–it’s the lighting! Also, for some reason, these photos have a kind of bluish tint to them, at least on my monitor. In real life, there’s no blue in this pattern at all.
Oh, to have a professional photographer at one’s beck and call!
To the left is a photo focusing on the progress made from hours 20 to 30, basically everything below the first row of letters. If you want to see the last progress shot, taken after 20 hours of stitching, go here.
With any kind of luck, another ten hours ought to do it.
As promised in yesterday’s post, today I worked on finishing the lettering for the two Bent Creek designs I just finished. I wasn’t crazy about the lettering for the original designs for a couple reasons: first, they were backstitched (not my preference for lettering), and, second, they said “Full Moon Rising” and “Here Comes the Sun.” Yerp. And I mean that.
First, shouldn’t that be “Bad Moon Rising”? Second, could someone please get that Credence Clearwater Revival song out of my head? And, while you’re in there, could you take care of that Beatles song too?
So, I changed the patterns into mini-language lessons. And, since I only know a few words in other languages, and since there was limited space, here’s the new version of “Full Moon Rising,” which I am renaming “Lune Moon Luna” (the French, English and Spanish words, respectively, for “moon”) for reasons which should become obvious shortly:
And here’s the corresponding “Soleil Sun Sol” (to match the above, these are the French, English and Spanish words for “sun”):
I love these! And I can see them being hung up next to each other in a child’s room. Wouldn’t that be cute? Perhaps one of my future nieces or nephews…
Update 12/25/2013: Here are the Gentle Arts Sampler Threads and Weeks Dye Works substitutions I made if no substitution is indicated, I used the recommended DMC floss colors):
About a million years ago–OK, really only ten years ago–I saw these two Bent Creek patterns in the June 1998 issue of Cross Stitch & Needlework magazine. They were called “Here Comes the Sun” and “Full Moon Rising,” and it was love at first sight. I can’t explain it, but I’ve always loved patterns with suns and moons. Pumpkins and sheep are my other faves. I went right out and bought the fabric for them and then they sat around in my stash for almost ten years.
But no longer! I proudly present the completed “Here Comes the Sun”:
And here, at long last, is “Full Moon Rising”:
Because the designs are so deliciously “primitive” (i.e. there’s not a lot going on), I decided to add a little visual interest by using variegated Gentle Art Sample Threads instead of good ol’ DMC. I don’t think they were calling for many hand-dyed threads back in 1998, but I really think, in particular, they make the sun and the moon look more realistic and colorful. If you want to know what GAST I substituted for DMC, let me know and I’ll post my suggested substitutions.
Tomorrow: the lettering!
Voila! The Mike Nesmith hat! I actually finished it over a week ago, but I needed a large pom-pom maker to complete the look. Even though I’m a stitchgeek (and proud of it), I just don’t have the requisite patience to fashion one of those handmade cardboard pom-pom makers with the circle cut inside the other circle and the slit and the endless
wrapping and the cutting and the gathering and the tying and the re-tying and the …. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I have the smaller sized Clover pom-pom makers, and one day the large ones will be mine as well (oh yes, they will be mine), but for now, my good friend Buster McSinister of KnittingSinister was kind enough to lend me his. Those Clover pom-pom makers are my absolute favorites because they are quick, easy to use, very well-made, and they come in a variety of sizes. Accept no substitutes.
So, here’s a picture of the hat pre-pom-pom with the pom-pom maker:
And here’s what happens when you put the two together:
And here’s the link to the free pattern. Love, peace, and groovy tunes to all my brothers and sisters!
The Lyf So Short 