The Big Cheese

It would be impossible to design a series of ornaments based on The Nutcracker ballet without including the Mouse King. His battle with the Nutcracker in Act I is the catalyst for the dream sequence which continues through the second act of the ballet. It was the one ornament I dreaded designing, however, for a simple reason: I loathe mice!

Living in Connecticut for so many years, and now in Massachusetts, it's inevitable that the occasional field mouse will make an unwanted appearance. DH and I have had a long-standing agreement: he gets rid of the mice and I get rid of snakes. Yes, we had several slithering visitors when we lived in Texas!

Gritting my teeth, I began with his pose--one arm raised in a call to battle--dressed him in royal purple and gave him a regal crown. By the time I was finished, I actually liked the little guy, and look forward to bringing him to life!

Jumping for joy!

Little Tea, the Chinese dancer, is jumping for joy because he's finally ready for his performance!

Raiding my stash for a thread suitable for his jacket and pants, I could only come up with Silk & Ivory "Red Hot"--the perfect color, with enough loft to make the figure stand out from the background, but a tad tight on 18-count canvas. I would have preferred Trio here, but decided to make do with what I already had. The jacket was worked in a framed mosaic stitch and the pants in Nobuko stitch. The frogs on his jacket were worked in horizontal oblong cross stitches with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002.

For his ballet slippers, I used black Petite Very Velvet. The hair inside his hat was worked in tent stitches, with the long queue stitched in braided knitting.

I'll be going back to Act I of The Nutcracker for the next ornament in the series--one I dreaded designing but which is fast becoming one of my favorites!

The bling factor

I've finished the background for Tea, the Chinese dancer, and sincerely doubt this ornament will get lost on a tree!

When I had stitched the grid of cashmere stitches, I filled in the tent stitches with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #203--a color the Kreinik folks call "Flame." It's a combination of gold and red, which tones down the DMC floss #873 used for the cashmere stitches as well as highlighting the red of the dancer's costume.

Now to work on the costume itself and give the poor little guy some hair!

Establishing a background pattern

For the background of little Tea's canvas, I wanted a pattern that would accentuate the horizontal line of both his body and the ornament shape itself. A search through my stitch books revealed nothing of interest, so I decided to wing it and came up with a combination of stitches that seems to have done the trick!

Using DMC floss #873, I'm working a series of cashmere stitches--five canvas threads wide and two threads high--that will be intersected by a row of tent stitches. The profile of the cashmere stitches is fairly low, so won't intrude on the central figure.

But before I began the background, I stitched his face with DMC floss in basketweave and gave him his little coolie hat. I used DMC #5 perle cotton #739 for the hat, first turning my canvas 90 degrees to lay long stitches every other slanted row, then righting the canvas to work more long stitches in the opposite direction. I'll come back to stitch his hair when more of the background has been completed.

Time for Tea!

Another divertissement, or independent dance, from Act II of The Nutcracker is that of the Chinese dancer, symbolizing Tea. The male who traditionally plays this role requires the agility and stamina of a gymnast as well as the grace of a dancer. His performance is punctuated by a series of fantastic leaps, which inspired the pose for this ornament.

I've worked out an elongated diamond as the shape of this ornament to accentuate the lines of the dancer. The pattern for the background will hopefully reinforce the horizontal orientation.

This little guy should be a fun stitch, so do come back and watch my progress!

The gang's all here!

Mother Ginger and her brood are ready for their performance!

After stitching the inside of Mother Ginger's hoop skirt in basketweave with DMC floss #414, I began dressing the children with red, blue and pink Petite Very Velvet. The little blue jackets were trimmed with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002.

For their hair, I used various shades of brown Burmilana. Normally I'd use two strands on 18-count canvas, but here I used three for some additional loft. All of the hair was worked in a satin stitch, with braided knitting used for the braids on the little girl in the foreground.

My next canvas will be another character from Act II, so stay tuned!

Yikes, stripes!

I've made good progress on the background of Mother Ginger--enough so to reaffirm my decision to use a dark color here to make the characters "pop."

Mother Ginger herself has now donned a wig, stitched in French knots with Silk & Ivory "Pumpkin." And I've started dressing the children, changing the color of the shirts on the two munchkins peeking behind her dress from blue to red to contrast better with the purple background. The shirts and pants at the bottom were stitched in basketweave with red Petite Very Velvet. The children's faces and hands have also been stitched with DMC floss #948.

I'll be stitching the inside of Mother Ginger's hoop skirt next, so I can finish dressing the kids and give the poor little tykes some hair!