New DMC Colors

In the continuing feeling of BLEAH I've gotten very little done. I did go camping for a couple days last week though, and that was really nice. I miss being outside a lot, but the weather and my body's issues with the weather makes it hard.

I did, however, buy the new DMC colors like a fan-girlish fool (the box set is a lot more expensive than the individual colors will be when they're released singly). But when you own all the colors you get a bit silly.

Anyway, I thought I'd give you all the rundown on how each new color compares to the ones already out. Basically, there's very little difference, and at least one looks to be absolutely identical (the very bright orange).

The bright spot for me is the nice royal blue. It's brighter and lighter than 311, and a bit brighter than 803. There are so few blues, and I've definitely felt the absence of a better basic blue. The bright fuschia, 3886, is the also a nice edition. There's a brownish-grey, 3895, which doesn't have a close match either.


These pictures make them seem closer to pre-existing colors than they are, but seriously, they're really close and most don't fill a real gap. Wish they'd just done an all blue and purple expansion, as that's where I most often feel I can't find the exact color I need.

Rome - WIP 03

I've been in a slump and not wanting to stitch, I'm afraid. I'm tired of doing the things I can do rather than what I want to do.

I love reading, I'd read lot even if I weren't disabled and alone mostly, but if I were active I wouldn't read over 100 books a year. I'd have other stuff I wanted to do. I'd rather be playing soccer in the park with my niece and nephew, or taking long meandering walks around town to take pictures. I'd rather be working 60 hours a week in the bookstore or really anywhere than creating and stitching cross-stitch so much.

It's just hard, and I'm not doing well coping with my life lately.

In any case, here's my progress on Rome. Getting close to the finish, though taking a break today to finish up reading a library book that's due soon. It's The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox, about the decoding of Linear B, and a woman who deserves a lot of the credit but died and got none. Story of womankind right there.

Rome II - WIP 01

Well, I finally tore myself away from Christmas gifts and started working on the second-stitching of my Roman mosaic. There's just enough done to look super creepy and Halloweeny.

This was the first "pattern from image" that I created, and the largest thing I'd stitched the first time around (probably still the largest, really, in terms of individual stitches). I was still a novice in every way, and didn't think too much about the design once it was done. I altered a few things while stitching, but not much.

Now of course I'm altering plenty, to give it smoother lines and curves, and taking it further from the original mosaic. When I stitched this the first time I only left a border of three or four squares of blank fabric on any side. I didn't use any sort of frame, either. It amazes me now, but that's the only way I knew to do it then.

I need to write down all the Christmas stitching ideas, as I keep forgetting them, thinking I have nothing planned, and then suddenly remember that I have almost everything planned. Sigh! Honestly I'm feeling dreadfully behind on shopping, and I've got two birthdays to plan for before Christmas as well!

Scraps - Finished

So here's the finished Scraps, The Patchwork Girl of Oz. Probably the most appropriate Oz character to stitch!

Here's a secret for anyone using the red iron-on colored pencils for pattern transfer. It doesn't wash off, but you can fade it completely if you let the piece side in the sun for a week. This one needs some more sun time, but I couldn't wait to show it to you.

It's on a vintage handkerchief, which still has quite a bit of room left. I'm considering filled the entire thing with Oz illustrations, because John R. Neill was an amazing artist. I used to copy the illustrations all the time in middle school. Loved drawing them.

I wish I could share what I'm stitching now, because it's really pretty. Sadly it's a Christmas gift and you know how that goes...

Scraps - 01

Scraps is going pretty well, and I'm done with all the black parts. My plan is to the do the patches in the darkest blues, purples, and greens in the DMC range. I didn't want to fully colorize it, but also didn't want to have it be all black and white. Though, now that I'm thinking of it, my other illustrations are just with black thread... Drat.

I've managed to contract a children's livestock disease - hand, foot, and mouth (okay, it's not related to the livestock disease, I just say that to annoy my sister). It didn't go around our areas when I was a child or my mom was a child. She'd certainly never heard of it. This is the second year that my niece and nephew have gotten it.

Benjamin was here the other day, and we ate lunch together, sharing some silverware, before I knew it was going around. Sigh. I should know better than to share silverware with any child, no matter how healthy they seem. My body is not liking it so far.

A great thing is that when he was here I got him to do a little stitching on plastic canvas! He probably would have done more, but I kept correcting him on which side the needle should go in (I know, I'm dreadful). I'm hoping he'll want to add to it (in other colors) on his next visits. 

I was interviewed!

Catherine of Ancora Crafts was extremely kind and asked me to do an interview for the series she's running on her blog. 

Of course I ran around like a mad goose texting everyone I knew (okay, so there are only like... five people I text, but I was unspeakably excited). I'm tell you now because my interview is up!

I had every intention of starting my remake of my Roman mosaic but I really wanted to do another illustration for the stitch-along, so I'm putting it off again. I decided on Scraps the patchwork girl from the Oz books, and John R Neill's lovely illustration.

This time I decided to trace it with my iron on pencil, since I didn't want to Fabri-solvy obscuring the evenweave like it did with the owl piece. Only of course which part shifted and smudged during the ironing? Only the head... only the part with the most detail. Sigh! That'll teach me. This is from The Gnome King of Oz, my favorite of the Ruth Thompson set.

Poisoning Pigeons in the Park

I stitched this ages ago, and sold the finished piece a few months back, but I've only just put the pattern up for sale. I'm really proud of my dead bird based on the classic blackwork bird design.

I've been thinking of putting together some blackwork design packs (of my original designs) with themes, but I'm not sure it's worth it. So many people seem weirdly nervous of blackwork, even though it's the exact same level of difficult as cross-stitch (aka - super easy). 

My current mission is to get a friend to try non-counted embroidery, which she's nervous of. I don't think basic embroidery stitches (back stitch, stem stitch, satin stitch, etc...) are any harder than doing cross-stitch. Really it's just a great relief to mindless follow a pattern printed on fabric, with no need to be constantly counting and checking up and glancing between fabric and pattern.

I have too many things I want to work on right now, one is a big Christmas present (15,000 stitches! It will be my biggest piece yet), then I want to restitch my Roman mosaic, add some embroidery to my mini-crazy quilt, work on my patchwork Aida concept, do another piece for the Illustration Stitch-Along (free choice this month), etc...