I've finally started on my Frida Kahlo embroidery piece. Got the main bit transferred and I'll just be filling in the background with birds and flowers and vines and such (no monkeys, I hate monkeys).
It's a bit nerve-wracking since I don't have a clear idea of how I'll be filling in the skirt and shawl. It's embroidery though, it's allowed to be loose and free and lovely. It is fairly large as well, larger than I had at first envisioned, but it probably needs to be about this size in order for the face not to look muddled.
Had a nice interlude with my mom today. We ate the soup I made when I was sick (and didn't eat then because my sense of taste was still wonky) and watched an episode of Bones (her fave rave show). Now that my appetite is mostly back I want something completely unhealthy to eat but easy to make.
I have finished my Still Game quote cross-stitch and it may be my most favorite piece so far! I love the colors, I love the borders, I love the font, and obviously I love the quote.
The only thing I'm not pleased with is the purple border above the quote. Initially it was just the lighter purple with the design left open. However, all the other borders use two colors and it started looking weird to me to have an odd one out. So I filled it in and it looks fine and all, I just think it looked better plain.
The first border below the quote turned out much lovelier than I first anticipated. I think it looks very old fashioned, like something my great-aunts would have done in the early 1940s. It is, however, one of those pain in the ass patterns. You can stitch it across without having to break and restart the thread at all, but you have to stitch in a very particular order and not lose concentration. Looks lovely though, doesn't it?
This is what I like most about cross-stitch - the combination of traditional borders/motifs and modern/snarky quotes. It's just so much fun. Plus, quotation pieces can be finished relatively quickly. From the moment I heard this line on the Scottish comedy Still Game I knew I wanted to stitch it.
I'm really pleased with the color combinations in this piece. There will be three different borders under the quote as well and I'm generally planning to use the same colors as in the top borders. The font is basically this half-uncial one with some alterations since I wanted more typical lowercase letters, I love how it turned out though.
I'm always amazed at how different something can look once it's stitched. The purple border ended up looking very argyle-ish, which I adore. I did learn something very vulnerable with this project though. Mainly that it is very difficult to stitch when your nose is leaking like a sieve. I have a bad cold/flu/thing that began with that super watery type of nose running where it just leaks out no matter what. I'm surprised I didn't get any on the project because I was still trying to stitch as much as possible. Now it's all about that typing of wracking cough that shakes your whole throat and some very questionably colored phlegm. Thank god for needlework, in any case.
Today has been unusually productive. I took a shower, did some cleaning, put some stuff in the slow cooker, and did some more cleaning. That doesn't sound like much but for me it's enough to end up with extremely sore legs and it means that tomorrow will have to be much more restful. I have rewarded myself with a nice glass of whiskey (wheat whiskey to be precise, good stuff).
I also finished my Dalek. I think I'm finished anyway. My original pattern included a couple of extra "destroys" in gradually smaller sizes, but I think it's best with just the three lines. All in the all I think the actual Dalek turned out smashingly and is immediately recognizable. It was really difficult making the pattern, especially the circles because of the size and angle changing, so I was worried it wouldn't be recognizable at all. Luckily my critiques are often incorrect.
Also find posted: a picture of my Roman mosaic taken in actual sunlight, proving to all that I am NOT a vampire (you have to pronounce it wahm-pier).
Next I think I'll be working on a quotation piece with different borders above and below it in the fashion of a sampler (similar to my blackwork piece but all cross-stitch). The quote is from the Scottish TV show Still Game and goes as follows: "There's nay disease called 'Moody Bastarditis.' " Hilarious!
Realistically that piece may get put off. I feel a need to return to free embroidery for a while. There's a Frida Kahlo project that I've basically finished the pattern for, and a few other things I'd like to try, as well as experimenting to find the best transfer technique.
Here is a picture of my craft table, which is unusually clean. I don't stitch there though as I can't sit upright for all that long, but it's good for those quick crafts that you really have to sit up for. Plus look how pretty my decoupage job is!
Sometimes I forget that I really only like cream cheese in small amounts, isn't that silly? Also, I am craving some sort of food, but I can't put my finger on what kind. It's maddening.
So what am I up to after my triumphant finishing of the Roman mosaic (for which I shall no doubt soon receive my triumph and lictors)? I thought I'd get as far away from ancient Rome as possible (while simultaneously as close to as possible, if you follow me), and cross-stitch a lovely Dalek from Doctor Who.
Should be finished with him tomorrow, just have some more words to stitch. After running a million errands and thoroughly knackering myself I've been fairly lazy. Do you ever just randomly need to watch some old Simpsons? There are a number of seasons which I can confidently say I've seen almost none of since for many years I had no TV service or was at boarding school where the only TV I watched was Saturday morning WV PBS (all British hilarity).
I'm of an age that The Simpsons is one of those super comforting things. I love That Mitchell and Webb Look and Still Game and Waiting for God, all the lovely British stuff that typically makes me laugh more than the Simpsons does, but I didn't grow up watching it with my whole family. Of course, now I've realized that I laugh at the most random little half-jokes and visual things.
I've long suspected that I may be a bit of a goof, and I'm afraid this only confirms it. The fact that I still crack up at Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes which I know by heart was also a strong indicator.
Well, my friends, it is finished. My biggest cross-stitch piece to date, my baby, my pride and joy Roman mosaic. Not to brag, but I think it is bloody fantastic. The background didn't take as long as feared, which is really also true of the whole project. Before I started it seemed a daunting thing, perhaps in part because it is from a piece of art which I absolutely adore so I was fearful of not doing it justice.
The background is done in a mixture of five different shades and I tried to make it so some sections had more grey, some had more dark green, some had more teal, etc... I wish pictures did it justice because the background colors and the half-stitching contrasting with the full cross stitches just looks brilliant.
Finishing it really energized me too and I've gotten a good start on my newest project. I hope to open up a second Etsy shop in a few months which will be solely needlework and needlework patterns. This new project might be a pattern that I'll eventually sell, though I'm not sure there will be enough interest. I should have a WIP picture of it to post tomorrow. I've also finished a cross-stitch Tintin pattern, which when finished may go to my toddler nephew who loves Tintin.
Here in Charleston we had a few days of clear, dry weather before snow came again. It just seems to accumulate so quickly these days! One minute the sun is out and a few hours later I'm going to bed and notice that there's two inches of snow on the ground. I finally have a car again after about five years of rarely driving and of course that means it's going to snow all the time. Because I haven't driven regularly in so long, and because other drivers are all crazy, I haven't been leaping at the chance to drive on snow covered roads.
On the upside I have been extremely productive lately. Cross-stitch, washing dishes, loads of cleaning, etc... It's especially amazing as yesterday I received my last Christmas present - a Kindle! I grew up libraries and have always loved the feel and smell of books as much as the reading of them, so I was never lusting for a Kindle (or for their effect on book stores and libraries). However, I just can't hold the books anymore and a Kindle means I can read more since I don't have to solely rely on audio books. It will take getting used to, but I think it will be a good addition to my life. I feel quite grand when I'm reading on it.
Well, there's been great progress with my Roman mosaic. I've got over half of the background finished and only a tiny bit of the brown ground area at the bottom left to do. That's the trouble with not having a needlework frame yet - the bottom of anything is especially hard on my hands. After that I just have the white parts of the skull to do, which I've smartly saved for last so it doesn't get stained.
I was working on the mosaic while visiting with my nephew, Benjamin, kept pointing to the skull and saying "Daddy" while giggling. I love the toddler sense of humour. If you misunderstand whatever he's saying (I'm not good at understanding toddler-speak) and repeat back the wrong word he thinks it's hilaaarious.
Anyway, I thought I'd post some patterns. One I've stitched already and one I haven't (but it will be my next quick project). This first one was inspired by a Cake Wrecks post making fun of the way teenagers talk. This particular phrase struck me as hilarious so I stitched it. Only in the pattern I've corrected all the mistakes I made and done some other changes to make it generally more attractive.
The next is a Felix the Cat cross-stitch pattern. I haven't filled in all the black because that's so annoying and boring but I've filled it in around where you'll need to do a little white stitching to show that he has two legs and fingers and all. I think it will look nice when stitched, in any case, and hopefully there are some other stitchers out there who grew up watching (and adoring) Felix cartoons.There's only really a specific group of Felix cartoons I really like though. I love the early early Felix and I love what I *think* is the beginning of the 'new' Felix cartoons they made in the 1950s. Those ones with Poindexter and VaVoom are, for many reasons, detestable to me. I can literally remember my face spreading into a huge grin when the Felix theme song came on after I stuck the Felix tape in the VCR. Cartoon theme songs still hold some unnatural power over me. I hear the first beats of Rescue Rangers or DuckTales or Count Duckula and magically become a happy, giggling eight year old with no problems.
