Santa arrived early!

The postman delivered a special treat on Halloween:  my Amanda Lawford stand-up Santa, all ready for the holidays!

This 15-inch-tall Santa was blog-stitched a year ago, but languished with other completed projects for lack of a bell to adorn the tassel of his hat.  I finally found the right size and sent him off to Needle Nicely (www.needlenicely.com) in Vero Beach, Florida, for finishing.

His seam cording and velveteen back were perfectly matched to the DMC perle cotton background and he stands straight and tall on a level base.  It's a simple yet elegant finish--just the kind I like!  Thank you, Needle Nicely!

Finally--a finish!

My Amanda Lawford Santa is finally finished, after working on it for more than a year.  It's by no means my first finish of 2015, but the other completed projects were for my Needlepoint Now column.  This Santa is my very own, so he had to take a back seat from time to time  so I could make a magazine deadline working someone else's canvas!

One small detail needs to be attended to before I can send him to a finisher:  he needs a real bell dangling from the end of his cap.  It's probably easier to find a jingle bell in November than it is in March, but I'll do a little hunting and hopefully find one soon.  Then I need to decide on a finisher, one who knows the meaning of the word "simple" and resists the temptation to slap a bunch of bows on him and hide all my stitching.

I'm waiting for a canvas that I've ordered to arrive--another project that will take some time but one I'm really looking forward to.  So stay tuned!

Decorating Santa's tree

It's been way too long since blog readers have seen this jolly fellow:  an Amanda Lawford Santa.  I started stitching him well over a year ago and had made great progress until I came to a screeching halt.  Not for lack of enthusiasm about the project, mind you, but overwhelmed by the size of it.  I had previously finished two very large projects, the Peaceable Kingdom angel and the Toyland Rocking Horse, when I picked up Santa.

All but the tree and the bow on a present was completed when Santa got sidelined in my office/studio.  I just plain ran out of steam!  Feeling incredibly guilty, I picked him up again recently in hopes of finishing him this year.

The bottom photo shows the tree as it was painted.  It's now been worked with four shades of Impressions in a combination of satin and long/short stitches.  Two strands of Impressions were used throughout to let the tree hold its own against Santa's substantial beard.

French knots of Kreinik #12 tapestry braid 032 form the garland.  Hot pink, purple, and royal blue Kreinik braid were worked in Smyrna crosses and a Leviathan variation for the ornaments.  And yes, Virginia, those little sparkles of gold really are beads!

A wild and hairy guy

Santa has a beard--a lot of beard!  This section took quite a bit of time to stitch, but I'm happy with the result.

The beard was worked with DMC Medici wool, the same thread as Santa's hair and eyebrows, using two strands of white and gray in a long-short/split stitch.  I actually stitched the gray areas first so I'd know where to fill in with the white.  The only tricky places were around the Christmas tree, where upright Gobelin stitches over one or two threads were all that would fit.

His cheeks look rosier now that he has his beard in place!

Hemming, not hawing, for Thanksgiving

At this point, you may well be thinking, "Is this crazy lady still French knotting?"  Yup--and a sea of French knots is now tickling the tummy of Mr. Penguin!

With the hem of Santa's robe done, so is my stash of Vineyard Silk Classic "Bright White" for the trim, with one sleeve still to go.  A trip to my LNS is in the near future, but until then, I'll need to move on to another area.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  And a Happy Thanksgivukkah to all my Jewish friends!

More trimming

Still in French knot mode!  For the trim on the teddy bear's sweater, I chose Trio "Natural."  It contrasts well with Santa's hair adjacent to it.

For the trim on the first sleeve, I used more Vineyard Silk Classic "Bright White" just like the trim on Santa's hat.  The top right side of the canvas is now completed!

Raising some eyebrows

With all the relatively "flat" stitching done on the Santa canvas, it was time to move back up to his head.  First off, the wisps of hair peeking out from under his hat needed to be reinserted.  I'd stitched over them while working the face, but I used the photo of the original painted canvas to determine the correct placement.

The eyebrows were next, worked in long-short/split stitches with two strands of white "vintage" DMC Medici wool.  Santa's hair was stitched the same way.

There are many different "whites" produced by thread manufacturers--some are creamy, some have a gray cast, and others are pretty bright.  A white thread stitched by itself may appear bright, but take on a different look when combined with other colors--Felicity's Garden "Snow," for example, really isn't that white when used next to gray and black thread as it was for Mr. Penguin in my previous post.  To distinguish the trim on Santa's hat from his hair, I changed both thread and stitch, using Vineyard Silk Classic "Bright White" in French knots.

One plump penguin

Mr. Penguin is finished!  While the beak was worked in a few tent and slanted Gobelin stitches, the rest of his body was formed with encroaching Gobelin stitches--a lot of them.  Three shades of Felicity's Garden, a 50/50 silk/wool blend, were used--Cast-Iron Black, Baby Squirrel and Snow.

His eye was formed with tent stitches using Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #005 and #032.

Two strands of white Burmilana created the stripes on his scarf.  I used two strands of Impressions #7030 to fill in between the stripes in a satin stitch to provide a higher profile against the red Petite Very Velvet background.  One strand of Impressions stitched on top of the background supplied the fringe.

Details, details

With the last of the stars and twinkles completed on the left side of Santa's robe, I decided it was time to give him a belt.  This was worked in a diagonal oblong cross stitch using Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002.  Nice and sparkly!

Then it was on to the trunk of the Christmas tree, where no one single thread in my stash seemed to be the right color.  Time to needle-blend!  I picked two Burmilana threads, one solid and one tweed, and combined a single strand of each in a packed stem stitch worked diagonally with the canvas turned 90 degrees.

Now it's really getting interesting--I made my way down to the penguin!  His hat was worked in a diagonal mosaic stitch with one strand of Trio "Shamrock"--the same shade of green as his gloves but with a different texture.  The band on the hat was added in basketweave with Petite Very Velvet V604 and the top was filled in with DMC cotton floss in a satin stitch.  Mr. Penguin's body is going to take a while to stitch, so stay tuned!

Tassels, gifts and gloves

More Santa progress!  The tassels were worked in Vineyard Silk Classic and Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002.  The cords were formed with stem stitches using "Gothic Grape," and the knobs were a combination of cross, Scotch and satin stitches using "Cherry Tree" and "Ceramic."  The tassels themselves were stitched in encroaching Gobelin with "Lavender," "Deep Wisteria" and "Gothic Grape."

Since Vineyard Silk Classic creates a nice profile against the Petite Very Velvet background, I used more of it on the gifts to the left of the tassels.  The bottom box was worked in stem stitches with "Ceramic," the middle box in stem and slanted Gobelin stitches with "Deep Wisteria," and the top box in basketweave with "Cherry Tree."  I stitched the center ribbon in slanted Gobelin stitches with the Kreinik metallic but will wait until later to add the bow.

Still more Vineyard Silk Classic was used for the gloves with "Cactus" and "Black Forest" for the shading.  I debated over the stitch for the gloves, finally deciding to use basketweave since the areas around them would be worked in decorative stitches.

Now where was I?

Poor Santa took a back seat for a while as I stitched another piece to make a deadline, but he's back on track now!

Progress to date includes a finished Nobuko background and all the red Petite Very Velvet on the robe completed.  The stars and "twinkles" are done on the right side of the robe as well.  Down the center of the robe, I added "buttons" of Smyrna crosses using the Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002.

For a change in color, I think I'll work on the tassels next!

Celestial navigation with a twist

For almost a week now, I've been working the red background of Santa's robe, steering around, not by, the stars!  One of these days, I'll figure out exactly how much Petite Very Velvet I need for a project--either I wind up short or over-buy.  This time I think I got it right.

 Three cards were available at my LNS, and by the time I crossed over the center line of the robe, working right to left, I still had a fair amount of thread on the second card.  Here's where I ended when the second card was finished.  After stitching the Nobuko background down to the hem on the left side of the canvas, I'm ready to start that third card of PVV!

Seeing red

Santa now has two sleeves, worked in Petite Very Velvet V631 and Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002 and #102 for the stars.  With the smidgen of PVV left, I stitched the section of robe above his belt.  Only six inches of PVV left--time to hit my LNS!

In preparation for the trip, I worked the Nobuko background down to the hem of the robe on the right side.  After stocking up on PVV, I started in on that side, working the red to the right of the tassel down to the hem.  I moved up to the area below Santa's left glove and will finish this side of the robe before adding more stars.  It's a darned good thing I like the color red!

One arm full of presents

There's a lot of Santa's robe in this design, and I wanted to keep up with stitching it.  After adding a couple more inches to the Nobuko background, I worked the same red Petite Very Velvet and two Kreinik metallic braids to finish Santa's left sleeve.

With the exception of the trim on the teddy bear's sweater, which will be done later, all the presents in this arm are finished.  The little bear received a sweater worked in satin stitch with Trio "Shamrock" and "Really Red."  The snowman now has a top hat worked in satin stitch with black Silk & Ivory and a scarf worked in satin/Scotch stitches using navy Burmilana and some "vintage" DMC Medici wool.

The wrapped presents were all stitched with DMC cotton floss and Kreinik braid using diagonal mosaic, framed mosaic, slanted gobelin and tent stitches.  On the purple package, I used Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #013 and #021 in overlapping oblong cross stitches to work the stars.  A colorful assortment of presents, don't you think?

A star-spangled hat

Happy to report Santa's second cheek stitched up pretty well, after needle-blending it with two values of pink DMC floss.  In needle-blending, you need to remember that two pieces, stitched with the same combination of plies, will never look the same.  When you combine two plies each of two different values, your chances are 50-50 as to which value will rise to the top as the floss plays through the needle.  I finished stitching Santa's nose and mouth, then decided to work on his hat.

Funny, the things we inherit from our parents!  I have my father to thank for whatever artistic ability I may have.  From my mother, I inherited a dislike for the colors red and yellow mixed together, which is basically the way the stars on this canvas are painted.  Not a problem!  I outlined each star with tent stitches and worked each "speckle" in cross stitches with Kreinik #12 tapestry braiid #002, then filled in the center of the stars with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #102.  The result:  super-twinkle!

The fancy collar on Santa's robe that peeks out on each side of his shoulders was worked in a diagonal mosaic stitch with Vineyard Silk Classic "Berry."  I outlined this area with the #002 braid and filled the centers with #102 braid using either a Leviathan variation or Smyrna crosses.

The teddy bear's body was stitched in basketweave with Burmilana, with the muzzle and sole of his foot stitched with Petite Very Velvet.  Black Burmilana was used for his mouth and the pad on his foot, while Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #005 worked up in Smyrna crosses provided the eyes.  I used the same black metallic for the snowman's face, after stitching his body in basketweave with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #5760.  Orange DMC floss in a satin stitch formed his nose.  So far, so good!

Needle-blending: not just for skies

I started work on Santa's face by stitching the flesh tone in basketweave with DMC floss #950 and the shading around the eyes and nose with DMC floss #3773.  To soften the look of his blue eyes, stitched with DMC floss #931, I used DMC floss #3799 instead of black.

When I'm noodling over how to stitch one area, I often move to another section that's a no-brainer.  So I stitched the red of his hat with Petite Very Velvet #V631, with shadows provided by DMC floss #815.

With that accomplished, I moved back to his cheeks, which are painted differently from most I've seen--not a solid color, but rather shaded from dark on the outside to a light sheen in the center.  To replicate this look, I decided to needle-blend them using DMC floss #818 and #776.  Starting with four plies of DMC floss #818, I worked the center area in basketweave with all the outside stitches staggered.  Then with four plies of DMC floss #776, I filled in the darkest areas, again staggering the stitches closest to the center every other canvas thread.  The last step was to fill in the remaining stitches with two plies of each color floss.  Satisfied with the effect, I can now stitch the second cheek!

Chipping away at the background

I'm taking a slightly different approach to stitching the Amanda Lawford Santa canvas.  There was so much background stitching for the Toyland Rocking Horse canvas, I got a little bogged down at times.  So while there isn't that much background on this canvas, I decided nevertheless to work as much of it as I could first before getting into the really interesting areas.

My choice of thread and stitch for the background was predicated on the design itself.  I wanted a neutral color that would make the colors pop but not make all the white in Santa's hat and beard disappear.  Texture, too, was a factor:  I'll be using a variety of threads on this canvas and wanted a background thread that wouldn't be used elsewhere.  The answer:  DMC #5 perle cotton Ecru.  I'll need to buy a fair amount of thread for the rest of the canvas, and perle cotton offers the added benefit of being economical.

And yes, I'm using the Nobuko stitch again for the background!  I wanted a little texture to contrast with the central design but not detract from it.  The Nobuko stitch is non-directional, compensates easily, and--for me, anyway--works up quickly.  It also won't be used anywhere else in the central design.

Now that I'm a little over half-done with the background, I can treat myself by working on Santa's face!

A new project!

Now that the Toyland Rocking Horse canvas is finished, it's time to start something new.  This chubby-cheeked Santa designed by Amanda Lawford has been waiting patiently in the wings, and he's finally getting a place in the spotlight!

Like all of Amanda Lawford's canvases, this 15-inch Santa is exquisitely stitch-painted--a big plus.  The design incorporates a lot of bright, festive colors so the stitcher can move around the canvas and not get bogged down working with just a few threads.  And front and center in the design is a penguin--a popular figure at our house year-round.

I've started work on the canvas by drawing an outline around the Santa for the background.  After tracing an oval onto onion-skin paper, I darkened the line with a black Sharpy.  I slipped the onion-skin paper under the canvas, lining up the black outline with the canvas threads themselves, and carefully drew the border for the background onto the canvas with a gray FabricMate permanent marker.  Now I'm ready to start stitching!