A Very Pretty Hate Machine

Super ironic that I finished this on the day the marriage equality ruling came out. My hate is focused on bad drivers, people moving my books, listening to people with no knife skills chop carrots, etc... I reserve dismay, shock, and confusion for people who think that marriage is strictly a religious matter or who want to take certain parts of the Bible literally but not all of it (as a mortal, I don't think you get to decide what should be literal and what shouldn't, that's ridiculously presumptive). Not to mention that they've forgotten the whole separation of church and state thing.

Anyway. New pattern in the shop. Sometimes a random, tiny moment of a TV show, movie, or book sticks in your mind for reasons you can't really explain. Such is the case with me and this moment from an episode of Celebrity Deathmatch with Trent Reznor. Steve Austin encourages the glum Reznor with the mantra "I am a very pretty hate machine," (Reznor has an album called Pretty Hate Machine) and thus a smidgen of late 90s TV was forever lodged in my brain. I used to say this a lot when I was younger and wanted to be imposing and intimidating more than anything else. But I was 5'4" and generally petite with a chirpy, expressive voice and an endless imagination so no one was ever intimidated.

I usually stick to DMC floss in patterns that go in the shop, but this seemed like a perfect opportunity for the Caron Wildflowers thread I'd bought a while ago. Hate Machine is a dark red, purple, and blue in person (hard to capture with the camera). I also finished the second corner of the tablecloth I've been stitching. I changed the centers of the daisies to a lighter brown, which I like much better. I don't think I'll change the first corner though, it will just be the test corner. The pink and blue threads in the tablecloth are from the Etsy shop Spiraldyed Fibres. The yellow is from Nina's Threads, and the green is Caron Waterlilies. Everything but the flower centers is done in silk (centers are just DMC).

Just Drawn that Way

 New pattern finished and up for sale in the shop! Doing that fill took so long. Probably at least eight hours.

I wish metallic thread photographed better. Any Jessica Rabbit quote really needed some glitz and it does provide it well. I've altered the bust highlights in the finished pattern.

The metallic went okay once I started doing the one thread folded (with slipknot at the needle eye) method and started using the Thread Heaven conditioner. The silver was way easier than the red though. The red peeled easily to show a bloody silver core. What is DMC thinking? Surely they could use a red core? 

I'm working on and off on this Ink Circles pattern. I also went a bit nuts ordering pretty silk floss from an Etsy seller. The really vibrant ones tend to be less vibrant in person, just so you know. The yellow-orange is really gold-brown in person and doesn't look as nice against the blue as in the photo, but oh well. I was eager to try out the silk floss on something.

Humanitarian Finished

I have finished my Mother Jones quote pattern and it is up for sale in my Etsy shop now. I'm pretty happy with it, though I wish I'd reversed the colors in the border so that the lighter purple comprised most of it.

Oh well. It was fun to design and fun to stitch, and that's important.

I've started on a slightly less fun piece now. An addition to my Dreams and Nightmares work.

What I need are small clips that I could use to clip the excess fabric to the embroidery hoop. This is an old idea, right? Or should I be contacting a manufacturer and making millions? Not sure anyone can make millions with anything related to embroidery...

Stay out of my Kitchen - finished

Well I think I'm done with this piece. I'm certainly done enough that I've posted the pattern on Etsy.

Right now the question is to outline in back stitch (probably all in black), or not? Now, if I'd done this on evenweave and with half-stitches, there'd be no question. 

Only with counted needlework your eye tricks your into seeing roundness. Once you outline it with only horizontal and vertical lines that goes away. I know that some patterns put diagonal outline stitches in even with no half-stitch of color underneath, but I really don't like that.

No idea what I'll start on next. Maybe another blackwork quilt piece (I already have the pattern made). I would like to get back to my Frida Kahlo piece, but I also feel like my shop hasn't been active enough lately. Maybe I'll do another shop piece and then work on Frida.

Four Animals - Finished

My four, sweet animals are all done. I don't mind saying that the mouse is my favorite. 

The pattern is now for sale in my Etsy shop.

The pattern is quite large when stitched on 14-ct fabric (almost 11 inches wide!) and I really didn't want to use Aida as I wanted a softer look. Around here finding linen or Monaco in smaller than 28 ct is difficult, so I just stitched over one thread instead of over two. I was worried that the finished dimensions would just be too small, but I think it's actually a good size.

No idea what I'll be working on next. There's one thing I need to stitch for a Christmas present and something I need to finish knitting for a birthday in a couple weeks. Really I need to focus on doing a good thorough house cleaning now that I'm not saying "But I have embroidery to finish...."

Time is a Drug - Finished!

Well, here it is in all its glory. I did finish it Tuesday night, but ended up going out for a lot of the day yesterday. With Etsy you always want to post patterns Monday-Friday from 9-5, because apparently everyone does their internetting at work now.

Anyway, the pattern is now for sale in my shop. I've altered the corner pieces a bit, to make them smoother and more pleasing, and adjusted the spacing of the text, so people making the pattern will have prettier pieces than me!

I'm really pleased with the colors on this one. I think it would look even better if you did a mix of the dark and light purple on the smaller flowers as well, though I like my way too.

Time is a Drug - WIP 02

I've gotten a lot done since my last post!

Using this many colors in this type piece is new for me and I've been bit unsure about it. Obviously I don't want it to be too busy, though perhaps with such a busy border having some color distinction helps that.

In any case, I do really like the colors I've used and I think I will be using an even darker green for the second part of the text. It would look nicest with the smaller flowers being done in both purples, but it's easier to stitch this way (again, I am super lazy!).

I'm hoping to get it finished and the pattern up in my shop on Tuesday, though you know how that goes... I didn't get much done yesterday, as I was lured up to my sister's house and spent numerous hours playing with the children. Kyla bought Benjamin the board game version of my first computer game, Big Bird's Special Delivery, which I played on our Commodore 128.

The Fashion Club

My pattern for the Fashion Club is now for sale in a set with the Daria, Jane, and Trent pattern. 

I accidentally outlined the stripe on Sandy's shirt and forgot the yellow on Stacy's braids before I took a picture, but oh well. My embroidery will probably never be absolutely perfect. Oh there are some pieces with no real mistakes, but where I've changed the pattern to make it nicer. My brain will always tend to sloppiness, I think. 

When I worked full time, and when I was a dish crew leader at boarding school, then I paid strict attention and worked very hard, because someone else was counting on me. When it's just me, though, and just a way to keep busy and pay for supplies, that's different.

Daria, Jane, and Trent

My pattern of Daria, Jane, and Trent is now for sale in my Etsy shop. I think it turned out quite well, though the magic of backstitch decided "We'll twist these stitches just enough to make Daria look happy!" The universe has a funny sense of humor.

I'm already at work on the Fashion club stitching, and maybe a quarter of the way done already. It will eventually be one big group listing.

I've been so tired in the afternoons lately that I've gotten nothing done because I start falling asleep while I'm stitching. My instinct then is to get up and make lunch because that's involved enough that it wakes me up. I'm very much against napping, since I always feel dreadful or confused when I wake up from one. It's weird though, because sometimes I still can't fall asleep until late, despite barely making it through the afternoon.

You're Standing On My Neck

This is my new project, Daria sprites or 8-bits or whatever they're called. This is a WIP picture, with just the outlining left and the text. 

I've also completed the patterns for the Fashion Club and will be doing Jake and Helen as well. There will be three separate patterns, each with quotes, but sold as a set. I'd like to do Britney, Kevin, Jodie and Mac as well, but I think they'll be much harder to do and I'm quite lazy. Stacy's braids were bad enough!

The quote under the Fashion Club obviously has to be "It's cute, but not too cute."

Understood Betsy pattern

Well, it's another book cover pattern for sale in my Etsy shop! This one for one of my very favorite old children's books. Understood Betsy is an AMAZINGLY perfect work of children's fiction. It should be just as well-known as the Little House on the Prairie books, yet it's not and this saddens me.

You can read Understood Betsy for free, since it's in the public domain. I think it's also still a common title to find in libraries. I really highly recommend it. I didn't read it for the first time until I was an adult, and I don't have or want children, but it was so much fun and appealed to me so much. A good book is good at any age (that does not mean that any book you liked as a kid, or as an adult, is a good, well-written book).

Anyway, here's a sneak peak at my newest project. I'll give you a hint and tell you that there is a third word coming and it is predictable. When the pattern is for sale though I'll also be offering 'clean' versions.

Grateful Dead - Steal Your Face

Remember this awesome embroidery? Well now you can have the pattern for free!

If you stitch it on 18 count Aida it will fit on those four-inch square coasters (the design window is three inches, this will measure just under 3 inches on 18 count).

It's been a long time since I sent this away, but I think I used DMC 304 and 312. In the colored areas (left mostly blank on the pattern, for ease of printing, with there to remind you what goes where) I used half-crosses rather than full cross-stitches, because that way it they don't overwhelm the outline.

As you can see I accidentally forgot the backstitch lines on my piece, and it looks fine without it. That's what happens when you fill in the colors without looking at the pattern (because why would you?) and then get so excited about finished that you pop it in the coaster. You can't open those things back up easily, not without cracking the top window! These are things I have learned.

Just click on the pattern image, then right click it and select 'view image' for easy printing (or saving, or whatever, you know what to do).

Royal Winton Queen Anne - Finished!

Today is an historic day. I have finished my chintz napkin. There are a few little things I might go in and add/fix, but it's pretty damn finished and that's the main thing.

After months of working on and off, horrible hand cramps, unfocusing eyes, pricked fingers and bouts of swearing, I'll never need to stitch that damn pattern again.

If you'd like to stitch it just contact me for the pattern. It's easy enough to get from the china, but mine is already finished and in a handy .jpg file so I'm happy to share.

Now I can rest and get some good laziness in before the next project!

A'th'Cheat

This pattern will be up for sale in my Etsy shop soon. It comes with not one, but two fancy full square borders. Both say "Yeah man, I'll gnaw your face off," along the tops and bottom. The first's pillars with Cheat spots and the second's have some of his many alter-egos. 

I've also created a Homsar pattern that I have yet to stitch, and have gotten a fair bit done on my napkin. I think it will be done in another couple of days. 

For now the napkin has started to put me to sleep, so I've been working on possibly my favorite pattern design ever. Details soon!

Oh, I'm also trying to start a Facebook account and Tumblr account for my store. Both will include information new patterns, contests, notifications of store sales, and pieces by other talented needleworkers. Only bear with me, I can only slightly navigate Facebook.

If you've stitched any of my patterns, please send me a picture of it!

Women are not... Finished!

Well I finished the Women are not.. piece and the pattern is now for sale in my Etsy shop. If I were stitching it again I would do the colors a bit differently, but oh well.

Stitching on The Cheat has been a bit stalled, since I'm just been so tired lately. I know I keep saying it, but after that I really must get to the chintz napkin. The last bit won't take that long and I know I'll be overjoyed when it's finished.

Wisteria Part 3

Thus far, this week have been really busy, with less time than usual available for needlework. On the plus side I found out that there's an embroidery group that meets at a nearby library once a month.

I'm hoping to go, though initially I will probably be a bit careful about which projects I bring. Now, I know some very open-minded older ladies with broad senses of humor, but all the same...

Here's all the new progress on the wisteria piece! I'm getting a bit lazy and cheating by sometimes filling in the one or two squares of something with whatever similar color I'm already using in that area. That's right, I'm a rule breaker!

I got some of the printable Fabri-Solvy to try out. Maybe it will be my perfect method for pattern transfer, so I'll be starting a new non-counted embroidery project soon.

I'm so knackered though that tonight I am going to watch some Bones, eat some leftovers, and drown myself in tea.

Asterix!

Obelix was one of the first patterns I created, and it's certainly taken me a long time to finish Asterix, mostly because he has more small details. Now of course I need to make a new Obelix pattern that's to the same scale as Asterix so they can be stitched together. 

Asterix is also for sale in my Etsy shop.

That may take some time though. I really want to get my next Pratchett quote started and of course there's also the wisteria piece and the chintz napkin to finish. Sigh!

On the plus side, I should be able to get a lot done in the next few days. I'm listening to a really fabulous book, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President. It's about President Garfield and is absolutely amazing so far. Also, Garfield was awesome! I'm not sure why there's no modern motion picture about him (him in general, not just the assassination). I'm sure a tiny bit of my new-found love is that he spoke Latin and Greek (well enough to teach them) and of course it makes me think of The West Wing and President Barlet. Can't recommend the book highly enough though!

Wisteria Progress Two

This piece looks less like a map of ocean depths now that the bee and all that green has been added. I had to change all the colors for the bee (otherwise it would have been bright red-brown and green!), and I'm curious to see how the flowers will look when it's finished. 

With most of it there are so many tiny bits of color, and SO many colors (50) that I just can't just whether those will be correct. With that yellow blob the shades seemed to be reversed from the colors under the pattern symbols and in the small picture of the pattern. It had the darker shade being stitched where it shows the lighter shade. That's the only color I changed, because those shades were so close that it wouldn't have been detectable when stitched.

I finally finished my Asterix pattern though, so I've gotten a good start on that. However, now I'll have to make another Obelix pattern so that his size will be in scale with Asterix's. 

Even with basically having all the time in the world it still feels like there's so little time. I suppose that's always the way though. When my sister and I managed a book store and had few weeks without overtime it felt the same way. Art and crafts are great, but to be honest I'd rather be rushing around in a bookstore, calling magazine distributors to yell at them, dealing with difficult customers, and trying to be tactful towards aspiring (and horrible) local authors. That, my friends, is heaven.

The world moves on...

I think I forget to say that my Unlikely Small Ads pattern is now for sale in my Etsy shop. Madre just got back from Paris and she giggled through each 'ad.' Sometimes I needlessly worry that she won't like the ruder things I stitch, and I'm always wrong (my mom is super awesome).

Another fairly large chunk of my chintz napkin has been filled in. The rest should be faster going, as it's mostly the smaller designs, which are less hassle. Did you know that the words chintz and calico are loan words from Hindi? Now you do!

After finishing a bit more of the napkin I'm going to try to buckle down on the wisteria piece for a while. When that makes me want to tear my eyes out I'll start the next Terry Pratchett quote. I'm thinking now that I should do a quote from each of the books. So far I've done Maskerade and The Last Continent (the upcoming one is from Jingo).

blinding progress

I am slightly kicking myself for deciding that doing a chintz napkin to match the chintz cup was a good idea. This is SUCH a frustrating pattern, because of all the tiny bits of one color spread out in a way that makes it difficult to keep at all organized.

It is going well though and it will be amazingly gorgeous when I'm finished. That's some consolation.

I've been posting some older patterns in my Etsy shop. You can now find the Moody Bastarditis pattern, Not Dumb Luck, Dumb Skill, Reality Continues to Ruin My Life, Never Bored When I Am Present, and Captain Haddock (though those last two are quite new, of course).

The shop has been more successful than I ever dreamed and it makes me really happy that other people actually want to stitch my patterns. I'm going to start work on a "Living in Sin" pattern with a super traditional border. It will give me something less frustrating to work on when I get sick of the chintz napkin.

Oh, if anyone would like the pattern for the Royal Winton Queen Anne chintz, just let me know and I'll send it to you. It's easy enough to make yourself but is tedious and annoying.