Tag: Cross Stitch

Sherlockian Stitches

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Come, Watson, come!’ he cried. ‘The game is afoot.

Not a word! Into your clothes and come!

Like many a Sherlockian*, tonight I will be watching the latest installment, the first episode of the third season, of the BBC Sherlock series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. This is one of my personal favorites, and I could go on and on about how much love I have for this modernization of the Sherlock Holmes stories, but since this is a knitting and stitching blog, I thought I’d celebrate with some links to Sherlockian sites for the knitter, crafter and stitcher.

  • Professor Fonz is not a woman at all. She is a spider. A spider at the centre of a web. A knitlock web with a thousand threads, and she knows precisely how each and every single one of them dances. And she’s knitted an amazingly detailed, colorful, unique, custom Sherlock infinity scarf based on the My Favorite Things infinity scarf pattern by Jill McGee (here’s the Ravelry link). And here’s a cowl version called “The Only One in the World.”
  • The Wallpaper Had it Coming
    “Our wall is not for target practice” Mittens by ampersand designs

    To the right, you can see the famous hideous/fantastic wallpaper as mittens (designed by ampersand designs, who does fabulous, fan-inspired knitting designs not just for Sherlock fans, but for Anglophiles and proud nerds of all descriptions). There’s a slightly different, updated version of these mittens here. But there’s a special place in my heart for these “Johnlock Mittens” by Therese Sharp, which add the faces of Holmes and Watson on the two mittens.

  • And, of course, Knitty has a great hat pattern by Sami Brooker, complete with graffiti happy face. Read her mother’s proud blog entry here.
  • Or cross stitch. This kit by Etsy’s JumblePie is cray cray adorbs, as the kids say, and it’s quite a deal, if you ask me. And the hideous/fantastic wallpaper pattern makes a wonderful bookmark. As does this design.

Sadly, the cross stitch world’s response to this current cultural trend is lagging far behind that of the knitting world, which, let’s face it, loves Sherlock (and Benedict Cumberbatch) and Dr. Who almost as much as it does kittens. Or is that just the internet in general? It’s time for cross stitch and the other needlearts to get their geek on and leap into the twenty-first century. If only someone, somewhere would start charting designs for this untapped audience…. But where would that designer be?

*No really, I wrote a dissertation and published an article and everything. Ah, my misspent youth…

Review of Stitch Graffiti: Unexpected Cross Stitch by Heather Holland-Daly

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Cover of <i>Stitch Graffiti: Unexpected Cross-Stitch</i>
Cover of Stitch Graffiti: Unexpected Cross-Stitch

While there are many colorful and—yes—unexpected cross stitch patterns collected here, perhaps the most revolutionary thing about Heather Holland-Daly’s Stitch Graffiti: Unexpected Cross Stitch is that it has been published at all, and by the well-known craft publisher, Interweave Press, long the bastion of primarily high quality knitting titles. However, considering the recent reinvention of knitting as a hip, urban pastime, it’s not surprising that Interweave would take this project under their wing.

This is a book with a mission statement I can get behind, and it’s worth quoting at some length:

Cross-stitch designs are still printed on gridded charts, but they have moved beyond the teddy bears and country look of the 1980s and the traditional samplers of alphabets and verses that have been passed down through the centuries. Although those patterns still have a place, it’s time to add new ideas. My goal is to bring a new generation of stitchers to the craft and to inspire stitchers of old to pick up a needle and stitch again! I intend to whet your stitching appetite and excite you to share it with a friend, who in turn will share it with another friend, and so on….

Not only are the designs unique and reminiscent of the colorful creations we’ve come to expect from Heather Holland-Daly’s design company, Monsterbubbles, the finishing techniques and display suggestions are unusual as well. Along with traditional types of framing where the stitched piece is centered in a square or rectangular frame with or without a matte, Holland-Daly offers cross stitch that is framed in sandwich frames, or on the diagonal, or extremely off-center.

She also suggests looking for inspiration at your local craft store, hardware store, or swap meet for beads, buttons, paint, and rubber stamps to embellish your projects. You can even find unexpected inspiration around your own home: one of her patterns is stitched into the mesh of a store-bought make-up bag and another on the grid of a fly-swatter.

The book opens with the seemingly obligatory section of basic cross stitch instruction, including a helpful mini-tutorial on using variegated floss, which many of the designs in the book call for. The book also offers many suggestions (displayed as faux Post-It notes) of songs to stitch by, many of which I have in my own music collection (make of that what you will). True to the mission statement of the book, these are contemporary songs, even songs from this century, although the selections, in my opinion, don’t push the envelope of style as far as Holland-Daly’s designs push the envelope of possibility for cross stitch design.

If this sounds appealing to you, check out the Interweave Press site for the book and click on “See a preview online.” You’ll be able to view an extensive selection of patterns from the book so you can see if it’s your cup of tea. You can also purchase the book from that site or from Amazon (tell ‘em Kate sent you!).

Back Cover of <i>Stitch Graffiti: Unexpected Cross-Stitch</i>
Back Cover of Stitch Graffiti: Unexpected Cross-Stitch

 

A Finish: Shepherd’s Bush “Folk Heart Roll”

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Shepherd's Bush, "Folk Heart Roll"I’m so happy to have finished this project. This is one of those kits I bought on an impulse just because I liked the colors and the hearts and the lace and the black checkerboard design and the… well, you get the idea. You’ll have to take my word for it that I’m not much of a “hearts and flowers” gal, but something about this design’s simplicity and “folkiness” spoke to me. After all, there’s no explaining love.

Unfortunately, the kit sat in a bin in my “office” for several years waiting to see the light of day. And then, one day, I needed a simple project to get back into the swing of cross stitch and there it was. After I started stitching, of course, it was completed in no time flat.

By the way, please pardon the hoop marks!

If memory serves, this is the third Shepherd’s Bush needleroll I’ve completed. The other two were Christmas themed and were given as gifts. I can’t decide what to do with this one. I don’t feel like making it into a needleroll because I’m afraid it will just sit around collecting dust, but I can’t think of what else to do with it except perhaps get it framed. With some minor modifications, it would make a lovely birth sampler for a little girl. Any finishing ideas, gentle readers?

Latest WIP: “Celtic Band Sampler”

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Homespun Samplar, "Celtic Band Sampler"

Here’s my latest work in progress, “Celtic Band Sampler” by Homespun Samplar. I’ve had this pattern in my stash now for at least a couple years and it’s long been at the back of my mind to start working on it. I was looking through my pattern notebooks awhile back (all eleven of them!) and decided the time was now. The fabric is from R & R Reproductions. It’s 32-count but for the life of me, I can’t recall the name at the moment.

I have a love/hate relationship with the colors. I love the green and dark rose, but I’m not so crazy about the two shades of mustard/caramel (DMC 831 and 832) or the gray of the lettering. What do y’all think?

Checkerbird Finish

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Heart in Hand, "Checkerbird"
Heart in Hand, "Checkerbird"

I was feeling the need to work on something small and “completable” (yes, I know that’s not technically a real word, but needs must, as they say), so I dug out this old kit that’s been sitting in a plastic tub in my craft room since before the flood.  It’s by Heart in Hand and it’s called “Checkerbird”; the kit came with the chart, fabric and the pillow form. I started it a couple nights ago and voila!

I simply can’t resist anything with pumpkins on it.

The pattern called for Gentle Art Sampler Threads in some of my favorite colors–the bird’s body is Nutmeg, the black is Black Crow, and the green is Dried Thyme. The colors match the pillow form exactly.

An aside: I’d like to send a “shout out” to Gentle Art. They have been so supportive of my fledgling cross stitch design company. They have been generous with samples of their latest threads and have always responded promptly to my emails. No wonder they have such loyal followers in the stitching biz.

Anyway, now that I’ve got this quick and easy pattern out of my system, I can go back to work on the Celtic Band Sampler and some knitting. If any readers out there care to comment, I’d really be interested to know how you decide which projects to do next. Do you like to mix small projects with larger, longer projects? Or do you work one project until it’s finished and then, and only then, proceed to the next one?

March 2008 goals, three weeks later

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Drizzle ScarfIn terms of actually being able to cross things off my list, I haven’t made as much progress this week as last, although I have made significant progress on several projects and I’ve managed to finish the Drizzle Scarf at least (pictured to the right). Mmmmm… so soft and purple….

Because I like longer scarves than most designers seem to think appropriate, I doubled the called-for length of each of the light purple and beige stripes on the ends of the scarf and lengthened the solid purple middle section too. The fuzzy effect is created by mixing Rowan Yorkshire Tweed (sadly discontinued now) with one strand of Rowan Kidsilk Haze (fast becoming one of my favorite yarns) in the “dewberry” color. Here’s a detailed close-up of the striped section:

Drizzle Scarf Close-upThe pattern, in Rowan 38, calls for a bunch of shell buttons to be sewn on the ends of the scarf, but in the interest of getting all of this done for “stitch or cut floss” March, and, more importantly, because I really didn’t think they would add much, I decided not to go with the buttons. However, I do want to go on the record as saying that my administration has always had a firm pro-shell button agenda.

Here’s how I stand with the list so far:

1. “Everything Bag” from Suss Cousins, Hollywood Knits Style (k)
2. “Breast Cancer Ribbin’ Scarf,” my design (k)
3. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, navy (k & c)
4. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, claret (k & c)
5. “Cardigan for Arwen” by Kate Gilbert in Interweave Knits, Winter 2006 (k)
6. Aran Sweater for SIL, from Ann Budd’s amazing Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns (k)
7. “Ewe & Eye Needlecase” by Heart’s Content (xs)
8. “Corinthian Ribbed Blanket,” my “design” (a simple ribbed blanket) (k)
9. “Drizzle” by Anna Tillman for Rowan 38 (k)
10. “Ballerina Top” from Zoe Mellor, Adorable Knits for Tots (k)
11. “Aran Wrap,” my design (k)
12. “Felted Sashiko Chessboard Cover,” my design (k)
13. Jord (that’s the name of the yarn) handbag, my design (k)
14. Chair cushion cover, from Suss Home Knits (k)
15. Blue Basketweave scarf from Vogue Scarves book (k)

As soon as my roommate’s midterms are over and she sets up the sewing machine for me, I should be able to finish nos. 1, 10, and 13. #1 needs a lining, #10 needs the pieces sewn together, and #13 needs both.

Here are some pictures of the current state of #6, Aran sweater for SIL (the book that the pattern is taken from, by the way, is the amazingly useful Knitter’s Handy Book of Sweater Patterns by Ann Budd, and the pattern is titled “Cable Panel Pullover”). The yarn here is also the late, lamented Rowan Yorkshire Tweed:

Karen's Sweater Pre-Assembly
Pre-Assembly

And here’s a close-up of the sleeve opening and funnel neck (inside-out, of course):

Karen's Sweater Pre-Assembly, Neck and Sleeve hole
Close-up with sleeves pinned, inside-out

And here’s a close-up of the sleeve seams (baskstitched):

Karen's Sweater Sleeve, seamed
Sweater Sleeve, seamed

And the wrist:

Karen's Sweater Sleeve, Close-up
Sweater Sleeve, Close-up

I’m planning on finishing this up in the next couple days, so that should be one more in the “finished” column. Yay! Stay tuned. Same stitch time, same stitch channel.

March 2008 Goals, One Week Later

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These were my monthly goals as of March 1st:

1. “Everything Bag” from Suss Cousins, Hollywood Knits Style (k)
2. “Breast Cancer Ribbin’ Scarf,” my design (k)
3. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, navy (k & c)
4. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, claret (k & c)
5. “Cardigan for Arwen” by Kate Gilbert in Interweave Knits, Winter 2006 (k)
6. Aran Sweater for SIL, from Ann Budd’s amazing Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns (k)
7. “Ewe & Eye Needlecase” by Heart’s Content (xs)
8. “Corinthian Ribbed Blanket,” my “design” (a simple ribbed blanket) (k)
9. “Drizzle” by Anna Tillman for Rowan 38 (k)
10. “Ballerina Top” from Zoe Mellor, Adorable Knits for Tots (k)
11. “Aran Wrap,” my design (k)
12. “Felted Sashiko Chessboard Cover,” my design (k)

It’s a week later and here’s what I’ve finished:

Brown Crocheted Scarf
Brown Crocheted Scarf with fringe

No, this wasn’t on the list. Frankly, I forgot about it until it was time for SnB today and I needed a crochet project. Did you know that it’s National Crochet Month? The fabulous Ellen Bloom was there giving out crochet tips and tricks. She is definitely the expert!  I learned, among other things, the “half-hitch double crochet” (OK, I may not have gotten the name right but it’s basically a technique to avoid that little gap/hole in between double crochet stitches).

Unfortunately, I’ve discovered other projects to add to my list. Here goes:

13. Jord (that’s the name of the yarn) handbag, my design (k)

14. Chair cushion cover, from Suss Home Knits (k)

15. Blue Basketweave scarf from Vogue Scarves book (k)

If they weren’t all so close to being done, I’d really despair.

March 2008 Goals

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I am officially declaring March 2008 to be my “stitch or cut floss” month (doesn’t that sound much nicer than “_____ or get off the pot” month?). But what does that mean, Kate?

I’m glad you asked, gentle reader. “Stitch or cut floss” means that I will, come hell or high water, finish all my UFOs by the end of the month. I will start April 2008 UFO-free!

In no particular order, these are the projects that I need to finish–“k” indicates a knitting project, “c” indicates crochet, and “xs” indicates cross stitch, of course. Here we go:

1. “Everything Bag” from Suss Cousins, Hollywood Knits Style (k)
2. “Breast Cancer Ribbin’ Scarf,” my design (k)
3. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, navy (k & c)
4. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, claret (k & c)
5. “Cardigan for Arwen” by Kate Gilbert in Interweave Knits, Winter 2006 (k)
6. Aran Sweater for SIL, from Ann Budd’s amazing Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns (k)
7. “Ewe & Eye Needlecase” by Heart’s Content (xs)
8. “Corinthian Ribbed Blanket,” my “design” (a simple ribbed blanket) (k)
9. “Drizzle” by Anna Tillman for Rowan 38 (k)
10. “Ballerina Top” from Zoe Mellor, Adorable Knits for Tots (k)
11. “Aran Wrap,” my design (k)
12. “Felted Sashiko Chessboard Cover,” my design (k)

Since I finished all those old cross stitch projects, I’ve been trying not to start a new one until I finish the Heart’s Content Needlecase, so that explains the huge discrepancy in the ratio of knitted to stitched projects. I promise to “correct” that in the future. Tomorrow, I’ll fill you all in on how pathetically close I am to finishing all of these. Sigh.

Rapunzel Scarf Pattern Finished!

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Lately, I’ve been really intrigued by the idea of braiding. I was trying to think of some new ways to finish a cross stitch project with braided cord, or how to use braids in a needlework pattern (as in Moss Creek’s  “Julbock Christmas Pocket” from the 2004 Just Cross Stitch Christmas ornament issue).Rapunzel Scarf

Then it struck me–knit a braided scarf! And I’ll name it after Rapunzel, she of the fabled long blonde braid! Silly me, I thought I was the first to think of this name, but it turns out that Anthropologie beat me to it by a couple years–here is a blogger with her own take on the Anthropologie version. Doesn’t this look like a great way to use up some of your stash?

However, from the beginning, I was thinking of braided I-cords rather than strands of yarn, and you can see the (unfortunately shaded) close-up of my version to the right. I thought a nice, neutral ivory would look nice and classic, and maybe even a little blonde. I also chose to up the difficulty factor a bit with four strands instead of the usual three.

Rapunzel Scarf Tassel DetailTo top it off, I added big tassels at the ends (see image at left). At 96″ long, you’ll certainly be able to wrap it around your neck a few times, so even though it’s quite skinny, you’ll still stay warm. Of course, you can make it as long or as short as you want.

For the free pattern, click here (or follow the “Free Pattern” link under the banner above). And please send me any comments or suggestions.

A Finish: Dawn Lewis Christmas Ornament 1994

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In keeping with the season, here’s a little something I’ve just finished, the “1994 Christmas Ornament” by Dawn Lewis of The Needle’s Work:

Dawn Lewis Christmas Ornament 1994DMC colors: ecru, 500, 502,841, 902

(plus unknown gold metallic thread and 00123 cream Mill Hill beads)

Over the years, I’ve completed several of these annual Christmas ornaments from The Needle’s Work. They all feature the same colors and similar designs involving traditional Christmas icons like pine trees, crowns, wreaths, and reindeer, with some whitework and sampler-type details. So far I’ve finished-finished 1992-1995 and 1997-1999.

I haven’t been able to find The Needle’s Work on the web and I’m not sure if they’re even in business. I think Dawn Lewis has gone into the historical sampler business now. It’s great that she’s devoting time to preserving these largely forgotten works of art, but I’m saddened to think she’s not designing anymore since I was always an admirer of her work.

I would love to be able to complete my “collection” with the 1996 ornament and any others there might have been designed after 1999. Every so often I search Ebay, but so far, no joy. So, if anyone out there in cyberland knows anything that might help me, please let me know. Thank you!