Massachusetts postcard -- finale

With all the little details accounted for, the Massachusetts postcard is ready for the finisher!

The turkey combined two shades of Felicity's Garden in an ancroaching Gobelin stitch for the body and three shades of heathery Burmilana in a long/short stitch for the feathers.

The roof and outline for the barn were worked in tent stitch with DMC #5 perle cotton.  The side and door were formed with slanted Gobelin stitches, the front in a diagonal oblong cross stitch, and the window in a Scotch stitch variation--all with DMC cotton floss.

The flowers at the corner of the frame were worked in satin stitches with Vineyard Silk Classic Bright White, with Burmilana leaves and French knot centers using DMC floss.

I particularly like the colors in this postcard for the "colonial" feel they convey!

Rounding the bend

The dark green lower frame of the postcard is now finished, using Impressions in a diagonal mosaic stitch.  The date at the bottom was filled in with tent stitches of the same Impressions used to work the Nobuko background of the inner scene.

The cranberries at the top of the center scene were worked in an encroaching Gobelin stitch with Vineyard Silk Classic Claret, Bonfire and Sizzle.  The stems were created with tent stitches of brown DMC #5 perle cotton and the leaves with two strands of Burmilana in a satin stitch.

What's in a name?

The answer to this blog post's subject line question is simple:  Petite Very Velvet!

PVV has to be one of my most favorite threads.  When stitching with basketweave, and particularly in darker colors, the individual stitches of PVV blend into one another to create a seamless effect that I really like.  And the loft of PVV creates a higher profile against the Vineyard Silk Classic background here  to make this area of the postcard really look like a banner.

The lower part of the center scene has been worked with Impressions in a Nobuko stitch, one of my favorite stitches.  I think of Nobuko as my "Where's Waldo" stitch:  you know I'm going to use it somewhere in a project--it's just a matter of where.

The lower frame of the postcard has been started on the right, using Impressions again but this time in a diagonal mosaic stitch.  This stitch will be easy to compensate around the flowers in the corner and the date at the bottom of the postcard.

Needle-blending, again

Work on this little postcard began with the sky, which has been needle-blended using three values of DMC cotton floss.

With the canvas turned upside down, I began at the horizon , basketweaving four canvas threads high with four strands of DMC floss 3325 and staggering the bottom stitches so as not to create a line.  Subsequent rows of six canvas threads high were worked in the following recipe:

Row 2:  DMC floss 3325 - 3 strands, DMC floss 3841 - 1 strand
Row 3:  DMC floss 3325 - 2 strands, DMC floss 3841 - 2 strands
Row 4:  DMC floss 3325 - 1 strand, DMC floss 3841 - 3 strands
Row 5:  DMC floss 3841 - 4 strands
Row 6:  DMC floss 3841 - 3 strands, DMC floss 775 - 1 strand

The background behind "Massachusetts" was stitched in basketweave with Vineyard Silk Classic Shell.

Next up!

There's nothing like a small project to either while away some time between larger projects or as a diversion from a work-in-progress.  This postcard designed by Denise DeRusha falls in the latter category.

This will make the fifth in the postcard series that I've tackled, joining Connecticut, Texas and Kansas that I blog-stitched here and Nantucket, which I stitched for a Needlepoint Now column a few years ago.

I'll be back when I have something to show for myself!

Ready to go!

The three postcards, designed by Denise DeRusha and stitched for our son by yours truly, are back from the framer and ready to be mailed out!

As any of you who've tried to photograph a piece framed with glass know, it's a tricky proposition! To avoid a reflection, we propped the frame against a living room chair at an angle. The result is a little dark, but you get the general idea!

I think the framer did a great job--just hope the recipient likes it!

Stitching up a storm

With the completion of Kansas, my three postcards, designed by Denise DeRusha and stitched lovingly for my newly-transplanted son, are ready for the framer!

Sunflowers are the official state flower of Kansas, so I wanted to make these as pretty and realistic as I could. The petals were worked in a satin stitch with Vineyard Silk Classic "Citron" and "Dandelion." The centers of the "faces" were stitched in basketweave with Vineyard Silk Classic "Topaz," and I then added French knots of Sheep's Silk "Gingersnaps" between the centers and the petals.

On to the tornado! I had checked in with regional expert and stitching buddy Sue Dulle for recommendations: there was one operative word in all her suggestions--"fuzzy"! This made sense, as tornadoes are really super-sized dust storms. I practiced on doodle canvas, using several different threads in my stash, and finally settled on Trio "Caviar" which I stitched in basketweave. Using an old toothbrush, I then began to "fuzz up" the stitched area, isolating it with a piece of card stock to avoid disturbing already-stitched surrounding areas. I brushed, and brushed, and brushed some more--and finally produced a tornado!

Many thanks to Denise DeRusha, first for designing these charming canvases and allowing me to blog-stitch them, as well as providing me with what I hope will be the perfect gift for my son!

Amber waves of grain

I thought it was pretty appropriate that I was stitching shafts of wheat on the Fourth of July! In researching photos of wheat on the internet to determine how best to stitch this area, I came across some interesting facts.

The Kansas wheat crop, primarily of winter wheat, averages 300 million bushels a year. In nine out of 10 years, it leads the U.S. in wheat production, bested only by North Dakota in that odd year.

But I get ahead of myself: before I could stitch the wheat, I needed to stitch the background! Denise DeRusha's painted canvas has a wash of pale green in spots that I found attractive and wanted to keep, but how? The center background sections of the other two postcards I've stitched are needle-blended, but using successive values of one color family of floss. I decided to perform an experiment, using three shades of floss of similar intensity but different color families entirely. The result is a little like swirling pistachio ice cream into French vanilla and topping the confection with whipped cream!

I used DMC floss #772 (pistachio), #3047 (French vanilla), and #746 (whipped cream), turning the canvas upside-down and working toward the horizon. I began with two plies of green and vanilla, graduated to four full plies of vanilla, then back to adding green where the canvas was painted that way. Then I started fading to vanilla again, using one ply each of green and vanilla with two plies of whipped cream, ending at the horizon with four plies of whipped cream. I'd never tried this before, but am so happy with the results, I may just try it again!

I then added the wheat, using Sheep's Silk "Gingersnaps," a 50/50 silk-wool blend, in a combination of stem and satin stitches. The little houses on the prairie were added in a Scotch stitch variation with floss. All that remain now are the sunflowers and tornado, and I'll be finished!

A frame, a sky and two turtles

I'm stitching slowly but steadily on the Kansas postcard, getting the basics done while I contemplate the trickier elements!

The frame for the postcard's center scene is finished, using the same DMC floss #920 in a slanted gobelin stitch over two threads and a filler stitch of diagonal mosaic that I used on the other two postcards. Two sides of the perimeter have been stitched in three rows of basketweave to make life easier for my framer.

I added the date in which Kansas entered the Union, changing the yellow as originally painted to navy so all three postcards would be the same. Then came the little box turtles, the official state reptile of Kansas, worked in each of the bottom corners in tent stitch and a satin stitch for the shell.

I've stitched the sky in basketweave, using DMC floss #318, because I don't want this area to detract from either the tornado or the bottom center background--I have great plans for this latter area!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Stitching the Sunflower State

Of the three postcards designed by Denise DeRusha that I'm stitching for my son, I think Kansas may be my favorite! The Connecticut and Texas postcards have arched banners, whereas Kansas has a swirling one which I find very graceful. And the little sunflower peeping over the top of the banner is charming!

While stitching on the other two postcards was fairly straight-forward, Kansas poses a few challenges: I have never stitched a tornado before! I also need to decide how to stitch the lower background in the center, incorporating some of the shading that's painted on the canvas while compensating around the shafts of wheat in the lower left corner.

So I began stitching this canvas as I did the other two: beginning with the banner in navy Petite Very Velvet and a framework of slanted gobelin stitches over two threads, filled with a diagonal mosaic stitch. I lightened the letters on the banner a little, using DMC floss #402, the darkest shade of peach that I'd used for the background of the Texas postcard.

A good start! But I'm back in "paint-by-day, stitch-by-night" mode, so it may be a while before I actually have to deal with that tornado!

Two down, one to go

The Texas postcard now joins Connecticut in the "finished" column! Here are a few observations I made as I completed stitching the center section.

When I added the bluebonnet leaves in satin stitch in the bottom right corner, I knew my approach to the green shaded bottom section was on target: see how the darkest green floss to the left of the star balances nicely with the leaves?

I struggled with the Lone Star, thinking originally that I'd work it in a textured stitch to make it stand out from the background. I ripped out my initial choice--diagonal oblong cross--frankly, because it looked horrid! Then I remembered a problem I'd had last year on an "underwater" project in which my little angel fish disappeared into the vibrant background. The solution to re-establishing the fishy's identity had been to outline it--so I first outlined the star in the darker shade of floss, and in so doing, made it stand out front and center!

I did a little research on the internet to help me choose just the right shades of floss to stitch the armadillo, the official small mammal of Texas. To my surprise, I learned that female armadillos always bear litters of quadruplets--either all male or all female!

I know--I'm a bit of a research freak!--but in looking at photos of bluebonnets to pick the right shade of blue, I realized that there's a little white tip on the flower clusters. So I started stitching with white French knots, then adding the light blue and finally the predominant darker blue.

On to Kansas, to complete my set of three Denise DeRusha postcards!

Needle-blending with a twist

Moving right along! I've continued my "due-diligence" stitching of basketweave around the perimeter of the design area and filled in the diagonal mosaic pattern in the frame. I then popped in the date and the horseshoes in the bottom corners.

While I was working on these areas, I kept toying with ideas on how to handle the bottom background of the center section. Denise DeRusha's painted canvas is shaded, with the darkest green to the left of the star fading to a light green on the right where it meets the peach section. Checking my DMC color card, I luckily found three values of gray-green floss that would work well in the bottom section: DMC floss #522, 523 and 524.

To the left of the star, I used four plies of DMC floss #522. I then turned my canvas upside down, working the section between the star first in four plies of DMC floss #523, then blending in one ply of DMC floss #524 with three plies of #523. I started the largest section of background with this 3-1 combination, subtracting one ply of darker thread and adding one ply of lighter, until I had reached the peach area using four plies of DMC floss #524.

Working the green section this way, I maintained the "spirit" of the original shading without adhering strictly to the colors painted on the individual canvas threads. I like the look, and will keep it in mind for future use! Back to work, so I can finish this second postcard over the weekend!

Looking just peachy!

When I finished the banner on the Texas postcard, I had two choices: stitch three rows of border around the entire design area, to give my framer some flexibility in placing a matte, or do a little work on the center section. The winner is obvious!

You can see from the photo of Denise DeRusha's painted canvas in my previous post that the top of the center section is already shaded with different intensities of peach. I decided to approach this a different way: by needle-blending! Luckily there were two shades of peach DMC floss--#3856 and #402--close enough in value. I started directly under the banner with four plies of DMC #3856, subtracting one ply of the lighter shade and adding one ply of the darker every five rows or so, until I reached the bottom using four plies of DMC #402. Stitching this area in basketweave made it easier to compensate around the bluebonnet on the right.

When I finish playing "catch-up" with the border around the outside, I'll resume working on the frame of diagonal mosaic stitch.

Moving to Texas

I'll never forget the summer of '98 when we moved to Texas: it was marked by 57 consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures! Thankfully, it's a lot cooler here on the Cape as I begin stitching Denise DeRusha's Texas postcard!

Despite time out for a Father's Day celebration, I've made some progress. I'm continuing with the thread choices made for the Connecticut postcard: navy Petite Very Velvet for the banner and DMC floss #920 for the border. When I started filling in the letters on the banner, I opted to tone down the bright yellow, using DMC floss #729, so the colors of all three postcards will blend together when the project is finished.

Back to stitching--I've got a long way to go!

One down, two to go

The Connecticut postcard is finished! It's a good thing I'm stitching these designs by Denise DeRusha for myself, and not as a stitch guide--there were so many small details in the central scene that I lost track of how many different colors of floss I used!

I used a lot of basketweave, primarily because the areas were small. I would have loved to use French knots for the autumn foliage, for instance, but that would have overpowered the factory buildings in front of the foliage. I did use some textured stitches where I could--in the brown factory building, for instance, as well as the factory roofs, foundations and windows.

I easily recognized the different elements representative of the state: the foliage, the factories, the ship and even the stylized mountain laurel flowers in the bottom corners. But the hamburger frankly had me stymied! It took a lot of digging on the internet before I came up with an answer: the hamburger was introduced in 1900 in New Haven! A customer to Louis' Lunch wagon asked for a quick yet hot lunch, and Louis happened to have some ground beef on hand. He formed a patty, grilled it, and placed it between two slices of white bread, cutting the sandwich on the diagonal. Now 110 years later, and in a brick-and-mortar shop, Louis' Lunch still serves hamburgers this way!

On to the Texas postcard!

Establishing a game plan

Before I started stitching my three postcards designed by Denise DeRusha, I needed to figure out how I could best portray the canvases as a set. I plan to frame them, stacking one above the other in chronological order, based on when my son lived in each state. If you look back to my last post, you'll see that the banners and borders are the same for two states, but different for the one that will be displayed first--not a good plan visually! So I opted to make the banners and borders the same for all three.

I stitched the banner first in basketweave using navy Petite Very Velvet. To make a frame around the central scene of the postcard, I worked a gobelin stitch over two threads with DMC cotton floss #920. I then filled in the space between the rows with a diagonal mosaic stitch, since it's easy to compensate around the numbers at the bottom--the year in which Connecticut ratified the U. S. Constitution. Around the outside edge, I stitched three threads wide in basketweave to provide my framer with some "wiggle room" in placing a matte over the canvases.

I've started filling in the letters with DMC floss #3752 in basketweave. When I'm finished, I can start work on the heart of the matter--the central scene of the postcard!

Postcards from home

Last week marked a very proud moment for me: our oldest son began a wonderful new job in his chosen career of emergency management! I wanted to stitch something to commemorate this milestone in his life, but what?

To the rescue came Denise DeRusha, a fellow designer and friend from my Texas days, with whom I had the pleasure of volunteering when her oldest son and my youngest were buddies at the local intermediate school. Denise has a series of postcards representing every state in the U.S., as well as a number of foreign countries, that I had long admired. I'd been looking for the perfect opportunity to stitch some of these canvases, and with my son starting his new job, that chance fell into my lap!

To view the complete postcard series, visit www.denisederushadesigns.com

I've chosen three canvases: Connecticut, his birth state; Texas, his "adopted" state; and Kansas, his new home. I'll be working these up as a set which I'll have framed for him to hang in his new apartment. Thanks to Denise, who has graciously given me permission to blog-stitch these canvases--this proud mother's way of saying "You've come a long way, Baby!"