Putting a lid on the box

The lid insert for my little Sudberry House box is finished! I must say, it was a fun AND quick project!

Within a 3-1/2 inch circle, I managed to use four shades of blue, three shades of pink, and white and green DMC cotton floss; three colors of Kreinik metallic thread; and Petite Very Velvet velour thread. Stitches included Scotch, gobelin, mosaic, framed mosaic, satin, cashmere and Smyrna cross, with a little basketweave thrown in for good measure.

I'm pleased with the finished product: balancing the light and dark areas within the circle was my biggest challenge, but I think I've accomplished this. Too bad I don't have another box--I could see this design worked in a number of colorways. As I mentioned to a friend the other day, this project was super-easy to stitch because I was using my favorite colors--unfortunately for me, I'm giving it away! I'll try to take a photo when the box is assembled.

Setting the tone

I took a trip to my LNS over the weekend to purchase some thread for the center section of my crazy quilt box lid insert. I'd already done some online "window shopping" of color cards to see what might be available in a velour thread, and hoped Barry at Town-Ho Needleworks would have something that fit the bill.

The selection quickly narrowed to two threads: Petite Very Velvet #V618--a Wedgwood blue--and Fleur de Paris fine mesh velour in a light pink shade. Fleur de Paris discontinued manufacturing this thread some time ago, unfortunately, but I wasn't overly concerned about using it for a personal project. The choice of thread ultimately was based on the tone I wanted to set for the piece: I was striving for a decidedly feminine look that had a touch of sophistication and a little taste of "country." I bought both threads and took them home, but in the end decided the PVV packed a little more of a punch and would better accentuate the "string of pearls" effect I planned to stitch in this area.

My blue color palette in DMC cotton floss includes #3753, 3752, 932 and 931. After working the white areas of the top segment in a gobelin stitch over two threads, I added the darker blue stripe in the same stitch using DMC floss #931. I then moved to the bottom segment, stitching first the white and then the blue in the same color floss in a mosaic stitch.

Next I moved to the ribbon band of rosebuds, working the background in basketweave using
DMC floss #3753. The outside edge of this band was worked in a running stitch using DMC #5 perle cotton #932. After stitching the background of the center segment with the PVV in basketweave, I added the gold "string" using Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002V. The "pearls" were worked with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #032 in Smyrna crosses.

So far, so good--I've balanced the light and dark values within the quilt patches and can start adding the medium values of blue to the unworked areas. Once I've established the placement of the blue shades, I can start working in the pink and hopefully maintain the light/dark balance across the piece.

Thinking inside--and outside--the box

I went rummaging in my studio/office the other day, trying with no success to find a couple of models. They had a somewhat limited audience, and it occurred to me that perhaps I had never unpacked them from our move from Texas three and a half years ago. So I dove into a couple of packing boxes and came up empty-handed in terms of my initial search. But I also discovered a treasure-trove: three Sudberry House boxes of different sizes and a hand mirror, all in their original shrink-wrap. Pretty cool, huh?

There's little more intriguing--to me, anyway--than a brand-new box awaiting a lid insert! And I also needed a present for someone special. So after considering and rejecting a number of design options, I settled on a crazy quilt pattern. I've used the concept for several "Eggs for All Seasons" and enjoyed both the planning and the stitching.

The particular Sudberry House box I'll be using is the company's Petite Round Walnut model, which takes a 3-1/2 inch lid insert. I worked out the design on graph paper, using the trusty compass I inherited from my father to make sure the circle was perfectly round. Through trial and error--there are very few decent erasers in our house, thanks to me--I then worked out the placement of the various quilt segments. Only then was I ready to transfer the design to canvas.

My color scheme will be blues, pinks and white, and while the stitches I'll be using have already been "built in," the colors I've used to paint the canvas are not hard and fast. I've pulled four values each of the pinks and blues in DMC cotton floss and have a few different shades of metallic threads from which to choose, so I'll work out which color goes where as I stitch along.