Fabric and a floss toss

I've been a little lot naughty lately and new stash has been accumulating rapidly on my craft table.

I fell in love with Evening in the Park by Chatelaine almost two years ago, and last fall I caved and bought the pattern and floss pack for it. Since then I have been searching and searching for the perfect fabric to stitch it on. I accidentally stumbled upon a new hand-dyed fabric website, Under the Sea Fabrics, and, lo and behold, I found the PERFECT fabric. Of course, one can not simply order a single piece of fabric, so three pieces ended up in my shopping cart.

I waited (impatiently) and finally the package arrived! And I was heartbroken -- the one piece I most wanted wasn't in the bundle. I emailed the company immediately and Leslie responded within hours, apologizing profusely. She promised to ship it priority post the very next morning.

So the pieces I got in the first parcel were Sugar Plum Fairies (32 ct opalescent lugana):

and Cosmos (32 ct opalescent lugana):

I have never bought opalescent fabric before, and I'm not sure what drew me to it this time, but the fabrics are brilliant. Now to figure out what to put on these two!!

The precious fabric for Evening in the Park finally arrived (with a sweet card full of apologies and a bonus piece of fabric).

The extra fabric was Cotton Candy (28 ct jobelan):

And here is Ice Princess (32 ct opalescent lugana) with the silks for Evening in the Park:

I love the soft purply blue with lots of sparkles! I think this piece will be a birthday start in August. I hate to wait so long, but I really must finish a few other things first.

Stash, beautiful stash!

I've been rather naughty lately. I went on a bit of a stash buying spree online, and it's all finally arrived!

I ordered a couple patterns from 123stitch.com. I generally dislike Joan Elliot designs -- her fairies and goddesses do nothing for me. However, I stumbled across her Geishas, and I was in love! I have no idea when I'll get around to stitching them, but I just had to have them in my hot little hands! My mom and I both spent several years learning to speak Japanese (for fun), so I bought Red Geisha for her (the colours are so my mom) and I bought Blue Geisha for me. They'll make a lovely set one day I think.

I also ordered some squissors from Mabel Figworthy's Fancies. I joined the year-long hardanger SAL that she's hosting, and thought that if I'm going to be doing so much hardanger, I should have better tools. Aren't they pretty?

Even though I sometimes dye my own fabric (and as a result I have oodles of dyed fabric in my stash), I just couldn't resist buying a few pieces from Sparklies in the UK.

These four are all 18x13 pieces of 28 ct lugana - from left to right, Oceans Depth, Aries, Rain, Basically Bonkers. They're nice, but not quite as vibrant as shown on the website. I chose these ones as potential backgrounds for the dragon charts I have from Fire Wing Designs.

For fun, I also ordered a 1/2 yard grab bag of lugana. Basically I get a hodgepodge of fabric colours picked by Sparklies with a few big pieces and some ornament sized pieces.

The bigger pieces (from left to right) are Dark Goddess (25 ct, 18x13), Misty Morn (28 ct, 18x13), and Pisces (32 ct, 18x27).

There were also a few smaller pieces, but they weren't labelled with names, counts, or sizes. They are quite nice though!

I've also been kind of naughty on the HAED front - a few have landed in my shopping cart during the February sales.

Little Red Riding Hood:

Peacock in Full Bloom:

Rapunzel:

Sharla:

Stitchy Stash From Across the Ocean

Have you ever heard me talk about Stashmas? It's a "holiday" made up by members of a forum I visit frequently. It's celebrated on Dec 1 and members of the forum send stitchy gifts to each other, cause getting stitchy surprises in the mail is AWESOME.

Anywho ... this year my Stashmas present never arrived. I was pretty down about it - mostly because I had taken so much pride and joy in picking out and assembling a great gift for my recipient (which is half the fun!) and then not to experience the other side of the fun took the wind out of my sails. 

My gift recipient loved her gift and was quite upset that I hadn't gotten anything. I refused to let her buy me a Stashmas present - she'd already sent one out to someone else and done her part in the exchange. A few months passed and she just wouldn't let up!! She insisted she needed to send me a thank you gift, not a Stashmas present. Let's just say she's a difficult person to say no to. 

Today -- a package via Royal Mail turned up at my door! I literally *squealed* with glee. I tore off the outer wrapping and saw this:

Shiny purple prettiness with a hand-stitched card!!! LOVE. IT. 

It hurt me a little to rip the paper, but what was inside made me squeal again!

Cirque des Coeurs by Ink Circles and 2 pieces of hand-dyed fabric! So pretty!! I love blues and purples. They are gorgeous. I've been eyeing that pattern for months - it's the perfect complement to Cirque des Carreaux that I'm stitching now.

And then ... 8 spools of scrumptious HDF silk. Not only did she send me my favourite silk in my favourite colours, but she somehow managed to send me colours I don't already have!! (And I stockpiled a lot of silk when I first heard that Vikki Clayton was planning to discontinue her silk thread line.) I'm in heaven!

 

From left to right, top to bottom: Dragon Hoard, Acts of Violets, Isle Green 3209, Isle Green3213, Aquamarine 2431, Alpine, Carribean Evening, and Blackberry.

I'm so happy and spoiled and speechless. Thank you Vanessa!! You made my day, my week, and my month!! Thank you!!

Progress, Framing, and Dyeing!!

For some reason, I just could not put Cirque des Carreaux down. I not only finished the first page, but managed to get almost 1/4 of page 2 done too! I had to literally take it off the q-snap and bundle it away so that I would work on other things. Since CdCx is a multi-page pattern, this counts as a finish for my UCJC! Yippee!

I think it looks great and this picture does a good job of showing off the true colours of the fabric and silk.

I got Jasmine Pixie (by Nora Corbett) back from the framers over a month ago, but I only just got around to hanging it up. I'm pretty proud of this piece, to be honest. It's my first piece that had both fractional stitches and a ton of beads. She's just lovely!

Two weekends ago I got the dyeing bug again, so I popped over to my LNS, picked up over a yard of 32 ct lugana plus a spare piece of jobelan, and went to work! I picked up a few more dye colours as well, so I got to try new things.

I learn a lot each time I try dyeing, and this time wasn't quite as succesful in my opinion. In order to have more pieces to dye, I cut up my yard of fabric into smaller pieces (15x18). As a result, less fabric in the dyeing containers means the patterns on the fabric look different. Important to learn, but dissapointing too. I did get a few decent pieces though.

This piece started as 32 ct ivory jobelan.

I washed it 4 or 5 times after dyeing and colour was still coming out. Red is so hard to dye. :( Definitely not a colourfast piece of fabric. LOL. I almost wish I hadn't washed it so much ... the red isn't as vibrant as I would like.

This piece was originally 32 ct antique white lugana.

This is my favourite piece from this dye session. I'm not quite sure how I managed such awesome mottling with the blue and the teal. It makes me think of mermaids ... hrmm ... might have to go searching for some Mirabilia patterns.

These two started as 32 ct white lugana.

They are pretty, but not overly exciting. Again, I washed out more of the colour than I would have liked. I have a thing for bold, vibrant fabrics I guess.

A new crafty endeavour

I got it into my head that I should have a go at dyeing my own fabric since I love the look of hand dyed fabric so much. I went on a bit of a hunt for dye and I scoured the internet for instructions, hints, tips, tutorials, and videos. I found some RIT dye at Michael's, but my internet research was not as fruitful. It seems that either people don't want to share what works for them because they don't want to lose business OR not many people hand dye cross stitch fabric. I followed what was on the manufacturer's website (the bulk of my knowledge came from there), and also took note of a few other tips and tricks that I had gleaned.

I gathered all of the necessary materials (dye, fabric, measuring spoons, disposable containers, rubber gloves, etc) and gave it a go despite feeling very in the dark about what I should be doing.

I must say I'm pretty damn proud of the results. My fabrics still need names (suggestions welcome), but I didn't keep recipe notes this time around, so I doubt I could replicate these. Next time though, since the initial thrill might have worn off by then, I will take copious notes.

I used either 28 or 32 ct lugana, RIT dyes, and low water immersion techniques.

First try on 32 ct:

I underestimated the strength of the purple dye, and it overwhelmed the initial teal colour I used. This is the most "tie dyed" look that I got.

Second try (28 ct):

I just used purple dye for this one. The dyeing technique is neat -- you cram wet fabric into a small plastic container, pour the diluted dye mixture over top, smoosh it around, then microwave it for one minute. Then you just rinse it out in cold water, wash it in warm water, and rinse again till the water runs clear.

Third try (32 ct):

Just teal dye, but this time I used a small plastic baggie instead of a plastic container. (No microwaving in this technique. I just let it sit in the baggie for 30 minutes.) It seems to give a much more subdued mottled look. In person, this is a much brighter, fresher teal. I can totally see a Mirabilia mermaid on this fabric.

Fourth try (28 ct):

Again I underestimated the strength of the dye. The mixture went on black, washed out kind of purple, and left me with a lovely dark green. I also used the baggie technique on this one. It looks more green in person. I think this piece would work really well with Christmas designs - reminds me of old pine needles.

Fifth try (32 ct):

Here I went back to the plastic container technique. I started with a very light grey dye mixture, then added 3 drops of the purple dye. BUT I didn't mix it together, I just plopped the fabric straight in. I love the subtle purple hints in this. To be honest, in non-natural light, it looks a lot more purple-y/lavender-y. I've already decided what I want to stitch on this one ... definitely Sabrina by Mirabilia.

Sixth try (32 ct):

I LOVE this one! I am so pleased with how it turned out. I actually double dyed it. I created a nice tan dye mixture, shoved the fabric into the plastic container, and nuked it for a minute. Then I carefully removed the fabric and left most of the dye behind, mixed in a little bit of grey dye to darken the mixture, put the fabric back in, moved it around, and microwaved it again for 30 seconds. This gives it a great antique-y look that would be great for a lot of LHN or Lizzie Kate designs.

I can't wait to dye again! Now to figure out what to do with all of this scrumptious fabric!!

2012 UCJC - Day 27

I really liked today's project, even though the stitches started off a little funky.

Today I started a new HAED - QS Blue Butterfly by Ching Chou Kuik. I'm stitching this on 25 ct Night Magic lugana by Sassy's Fabbys, 1 over 1. The picture doesn't do the fabric justice AT ALL. It's not grey, it's actually a very deep, dark teal. It's gorgeous.

The first 100 or so stitches in this piece looked funny to me, and I was worried that the hand dyed fabric was responsible for the weirdness. Although, as I put more stitches in, it seems to be working itself out.

It's very strange to be stitching with so much pink (this is the second project this week that has been nothing but pink so far), but I'm kind of enjoying the happy, bright, bold colours. I think this piece is going to look amazing on the dark background.

To be honest, it shocked me when I printed out the chart ... only 2 full pages and 2 itsy bitsy partial pages. For a HAED, even a quick stitch, it's tiny! This might just be finished this year after all!

4 more starts to go. :)

Edited to add a slightly better photo:

2012 UCJC - Day 19

I missed stitching with silk!!

Today's start was the Oh Bugger Subversive Sampler by Kincavel Krosses. I'm stitching it on a 16 ct aida called Tarnish by Picture This Plus using Carrie's Creations in Mostly Deadly Nightshade.

This combination happened accidently when I was kitting up all my UCJC starts back in November. I was sorting through all of my fabrics and silks, and I put them to the side for a few minutes to do something in the kitchen. When I came back I saw this silk slung across a corner of this fabric, and I loved it. I knew immediately that I wanted to use them for this design.

Though I didn't find much time for stitching today, it was definitely happy stitching.

2012 UCJC - Day 18

This was an interesting one today. I first saw this pattern when it was a SAL on crossstitchforum.com and XandraS was kind enough to mail me the pattern when she was finished. I kitted it up ... and never got a chance to start it. A year and a half later, and here we are. When I pulled it out last night to prep it, I realized I had made some pretty funky (and my funky I mean awful) colour choices. So I spent half an hour (at least) browsing my DMC boxes to create a much more suitable colour palette.

The pattern is "I Stitch Therefore I Stash" out of an issue of Cross Stitch Crazy (no idea which issue though). I used the same fabric I'd originally chosen -- an odd bluey-green piece of 18 ct aida from Picture This Plus called Glacier. I'm using some variegated DMC, solid DMC, and some Kreinik #4 to add some bling! I'm actually really liking the new colours I came up with. It's unusual, but I like it.

2012 UCJC - Day 15

Today is the last day of the Crazy January Challenge. Luckily for all of you -- I'm doing the ultimate version, so there are still 16 more starts to come.

It's amazing ... a few days into the UCJC I was feeling very off-kilter because I found it frustrating to change projects every day. Now, 15 days (and 15 projects) later, I can't remember what I've started. There are SO MANY projects that it's a bit of a blur. I can barely remember what I stitched on yesterday, let alone what I worked on 10 days ago.

The interesting thing is that I no longer find it stressful to switch projects every day. I have a routine. I stitch till about 10pm, then I take pictures and blog about that day's stitching. Around 11:30pm I start prepping my project for the next day, and if I'm still awake enough to stitch, then I'll put in a few stitches after midnight. Rinse and repeat.

Originally I was just going to do the 15 start version of this challenge, so I had saved the "best for last." I have been wanting to stitch Cirque des Carreaux by Ink Circles since the second I saw the pattern several years ago. I've been tossing around colour ideas for ages, but I finally settled on a combination that I really hadn't seen anywhere else yet. I've chosen to stitch this on 25 ct Night Fall lugana (Sassy's Fabbys), 1 over 1, using Carrie's Creations silk in Epiphany. The neat thing (I think) is that I'm doing an almost tone-on-tone version.

This start is also part of the BAP Challenge hosted by Becky over at Becky Bee's Stitching Hive. I'll make a separate page for that challenge.

So, all of the pieces in the first half of this challenge were projects that I'd been dying to work on for ages. In the second half of this challenge, I'm mostly working on kits that I have had in my stash for far too long or on HAEDs that I shouldn't start but am going to anyway. It should be an interesting ride.

2012 UCJC - Day 10

Just a splash of colour ... you'll see.

Today I started Rules for Life by Kincavel Krosses on 18 ct Royal Purple aida (by Sassy's Fabbys) using Caron Waterlilies Tropic Seas.

I didn't really ejnoy stitching this. :( I'm not sure if it's the thread or the fabric that's throwing me off. Both are beautiful ... but the thread is really twisty and funky and my stitches dont look great, and the fabric holes are really small and difficult to find, possibly because it's been dyed. I don't know -- this might have to sit a while before I'll come back to it. But the colours are gorgeous!

I'm super busy at school, so my progress on my starts the past few days has been rather miniscule. I'll try to do better. :P

2012 UCJC - Day 9

Didn't have as much time to stitch today as I would have liked, but I do have a little bit of progress to show.

Today I started Elizabeth by Miribilia on 32 ct Silvery Skies lugana (by Enchanting Lair), 2 over 2 using DMC and Mill Hill beads. I must admit that I just LOVE the fabric I'm stitching this on. I can't wait to see how all the colours come together on it.

I love this design ... but I don't think it'll get much love in the first half of this year. Too many other things to stitch!! LOL

2012 UCJC - Day 8

I have to give a big shout-out to my LNS - Thread & Eye. Kathy and Neale are just the nicest, sweetest people ever!

Today's project is Metamorphasis by Ink Circles. I ordered the chart near the end of November, but it didn't arrive at my LNS till after I had left town and headed to my parents' place for the holidays. I'd already made arrangements with Kathy & Neale to kit up the chart for me so it would be ready to go when I picked it up at the beginning of January. Lo and behold, I get an email just before Christmas from them ... they had everything ready for me, but they had some hand-dyed fabric that would look lovely and would I like to see it before they cut the white lugana I had original planned on using? (Twist my rubber arm!) So they waited for me to pop by in January and they showed me the most perfect fabric! It's a gorgeous buttery beige and the threads looked stunning when I did the floss toss.

So, I am now stitching Metamorphasis on 32 ct Heritage lugana, 2 over 2, using the recommended GAST threads. I'm loving it!

I made decent progress today too. I will be getting back to this one sooner rather than later. :)

2012 UCJC - Day 4

In case you haven't noticed or didn't know, I LOVE LOVE LOVE stitching with silks. This is my fourth project in my UCJC and it's the second one using silks! There are 7 more in the line up as well. I'm seriously addicted to them. Love them!

Today's start uses Vicki Clayton's HDF 2125 on some hand-dyed 16 ct aida (Whimsy it's called) from Picture This Plus. I'm stitching the Tribal Butterfly by Sparklies.

In person the silk is much brighter and shinier; I am already in love with this piece. It looks great and is stitching up pretty fast. Plus, it's such a simple straightforward stitch -- a very welcome change from what I commonly stitch. It kills me to put this one down!

It's STASHMAS !!!

Today is STASHMAS!! It's a "stitching holiday" created by the members of crossstitchforum.com to celebrate all things stitchy and delight in the giving and receiving of stash!

I received my gift from Octoberlace, and it is wonderful! Thank you!!

I received a beautiful piece of hand-painted 28 ct lugana from Crossed Wing, and a smaller cut of hand-painted fabric from Dovestitch. I got a pack of Piecemaker neddles, and she slipped in a Bohin needle (her favourite) for me to try. I got a great butterfly pattern with some simple hardanger in it too. It doesn't end there! I got some Carrie's Creations and Threadworx threads, some thread sorting cards, a notebook and some lovely bags of tea. (Which is perfect, cause I love to sip tea and stitch!) How spoiled am I?!?

Below are pics of the stashmas present that I sent to Noctifyre.

And I stitched my first ever humbug just to commemorate Stashmas!! (This is one of Kell's designs.)

All packages should arrive full of stitchy goodness -- seriously!!

Another start - Tree of Stitches

I always like to have a smaller project on the go, and since my Autumn Tree was finished faster than expected, I just had to go ahead and start another tree! (Seems to be a bit of a theme with me.)

This project is called the Tree of Stitches and was designed by Abi Gurden of TheStitchSpecialists Yahoo Group. It's my first time trying all of these specialty stitches, but the instructions so far are fantastic and I am looking forward to learning more.

I chose to stitch this 2 over 2 on 32 ct lugana in Siren's Ocean by Enchanting Lair. I love the colour and the mottling! So pretty! I'm using HDF silks for this as well (surprise, surprise). The trunk is done in HDF 5271, and the smyrna stitches in HDF White Chocolate.

Part 1:

My very first Smyrna stitch:

Parts 1 & 2:

My precious .... new fabric!!

I found an online supplier (Sassy's Fabbys) that hand-dyes 25 ct lugana, along with a host of other fabrics and counts. Finding 25 ct is a difficult thing, as most companies that do hand-dyed fabric only do 28 and 32 count evenweave. So of course I went a little overboard when I found such pretty things.

I picked up three 18" x 27" pieces of 25 ct lugana in (from left to right) Night Magic, Butterscotch Cookie, and Nightfall.

On the odd occasion I don't want to stitch so small, I picked up some awesome 18" x 13" pieces of 18 ct aida (Royal Purple and Amphibian).

I can't wait to find the perfect pattern for each piece of fabric!