Finally, Needlework!

On Monday, I finally got to do some needlework. I was very scattered about it, I guess because I'd been away so long I don't know where to start. First, I put one thread's worth of beads on a Christmas angel--the one with beaded wings. Then I tried to to work the Christmas Madonna, but it's on 40-ct fabric (which I got from The Daisy Barrel in Fairborn OH several years ago--it's very near Wright-Patterson AFB) and I was doing over-one stitching on the face, and the light was bad, and my eyes aren't as good as they used to be, so I gave up after a few stitches. That's a sunny-day project.

Because I had been having trouble with the over-one stitching, and because the light was even worse by now, I decided not to try to work on Summer Queen (sorry Danielle!). The thing is, I could have done it, but there was a higher chance of mistakes, and it's really really difficult to take out over-one stitches. And if you don't fix mistakes, then it looks like a pockmarked face.

So I ended up working on the most recent Christmas angel. I had just started this one, and I think I've mentioned that that's one of my favorite parts of a project. I just love to see the stitches "grow" out of the fabric. Here's how I generally start: I find the middle and do one color there, and work my way out. So I started with DMC 677. Can you guess what it is? It's the angel's hair.

You can also see in the picture the needle I was using; it's my favorite needle. It's actually called My Favorite Needle, by Mardina. They do cost from $5 to $6 each, which is on the expensive side. But so worth it! I buy them even though I have "corrosive" hands and so go through a lot of needles (you should throw away your needle when it becomes rough). They are tiny and have a small eye. I like the tininess--larger needles just feel so unwieldy to me. However, I suppose if you have difficulty gripping things, this may not be the needle for you. And you can't thread it with a traditional threader--for me that just means I get to practice threading without one. In case, you know, I ever am stitching after the world falls apart and needle threaders aren't available. Mardina makes an even smaller needle, which I use for beading (the name escapes me). But if you must have a larger eye, I like John James Petites. And if you must have a larger needle, well, you're on your own.

Generally I do one color at a time. Sort of. I start with one, and stitch all the contiguous stitches in that color. Then I choose an adjacent color and do all the contiguous stitches in that color, etc. It cuts down on counting. So next I did DMC 729. I hope you can see it. The designer of this angel (which by the way, is free at www.tiag.com) is Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum, and I think she does the most amazing shading.

You can also see that I've put it on a frame--q-snaps to be exact. Maybe I'll discuss various ways to tauten your needlework in one of these posts. I like my fabric to be taut, even though I can maintain tension working "in hand." I generally only do that when I'm too lazy to get out my box full of stretcher bars, q-snaps, etc. I think it wrinkles the linen.

I did start the next color, DMC 676, but did not finish that. I was planning to work on it on Tuesday, but instead threw all of my clothes out of my closet and put a chair in it, and now have my own private sanctuary to stitch in, or whatever. But no place to put my clothes. But I'm off to stitch now, instead of cooking dinner like I ought to.