All decorated for Christmas!

The stitching is complete, the buttons attached, and Mindy's Country Christmas canvas is ready for the finisher!

I had kept a photo of the canvas taken before I removed the buttons for stitching, and I used this to remind me where each one should be placed. To attach the buttons, I chose four strands of DMC floss in colors which most closely matched the area of the buttons where the holes were located.

I'll try to match the velveteen surrounding the canvas as closely as possible to the camel color of the background, which I think should make the black border really stand out.

This canvas was so much fun to stitch! Not only was it beautifully stitch-painted, it also had enough color changes and pattern variations to keep the stitching moving along. Many thanks to Mindy, for allowing me to blog-stitch this project and for designing it in the first place!

On the home stretch

I'm down to the fourth corner and last two center squares on Mindy's Country Christmas canvas!

In the two center row squares I've just completed, a new color is introduced: Silk & Ivory "Aquamarine." I would have preferred to use Trio, but didn't have any in this color, and the S & I was a perfect match to the painted canvas. I tightened my tension a bit and I really don't see much difference between the S & I and the red Trio next to it.

In the diamond on the left square, I've repeated the diagonal mosaic stitch I'd used in the red diamond in the bottom right corner. The diamond on the center square was filled with a framed Scotch stitch. For the two squares remaining to be stitched, I plan to use a framed Scotch stitch on the left and a regular Scotch stitch in the green square next to it.

When I'm finished stitching the entire canvas, I'll need to work a row of gobelin stitches over two threads around the perimeter to satisfy my finisher's requirement for a seam allowance. Then I can start sewing on buttons!

Rounding another corner

I've been working exclusively on Mindy's Country Christmas, and I think this time you may actually be able to see progress!

I've "hit bottom" and rounded the corner on the right side of the border. I also went on a Peanut Butter binge and stitched most of the tan inner background.

Two more squares were finished and another started. The X on the square at center right was stitched in basketweave. I've also started preliminary stitching on the center square.

The square in the bottom right corner required a little more thinking and counting! I wanted to use a textured stitch in the large red diamond area, but a little different from the mosaic and Scotch stitches I'd used previously --they'll have their chance to shine again in the four remaining squares. Eyeballing the red area, I mentally traced the stitching path and realized that a diagonal mosaic stitch would work perfectly--a complete pattern without any compensating stitches that would have looked awkward. The center triangle of the center left square is exactly the same size, so three guesses what stitch I'll be using there?!

A little here, a little there

I've now finished a little more than half of the matte black border using the Petite Very Velvet and have caught up with stitching the shooting stars. Doesn't the PVV make those stars pop?!

The checkerboard outer border is finished on the top and right sides and about half-way down the left side.

The white outlines of the center row of squares have been stitched with the white Trio, and I added the red corners to the square on the right. These were worked with "Bordeaux" Trio in a framed mosaic stitch: they're five stitches across, and I didn't want to risk a Scotch stitch over five threads on a pillow.

It probably doesn't look like a lot of progress, but it's progress nevertheless! A storm came through here last night and cleared out the humidity, so stitching should be a little more pleasant in the coming days!

Border and background

In the last few days, I played catch-up with the black matte border of Petite Very Velvet. When I felt sufficiently virtuous about the amount I'd stitched, I decided to tackle the issue of the center tan background.

I had considered a decorative stitch for this area, but the more I worked elsewhere, the more I became convinced this wouldn't work. The center squares, with the black and white stitches outlining them, appear to me like patchwork appliqued onto a ground fabric. With each square a different design, and ultimately to be adorned with a ceramic button, adding any more to the background would make the overall canvas much too busy. I asked DH what he thought, and his reply was, "If you want those squares to look like they're floating, then you have to use basketweave on the background." Out of the mouths of babes! (And yes, he is still cute after all these years!)

I kept track of how much Felicity's Garden I used on the background so far, and was pleased to know I'd have enough "Peanut Butter" to finish the whole project! To celebrate, I finished the square on the top left--nothing fancy, just basketweave, because I felt the little medallions in the corners were decoration enough.

Next I'll have to play catch-up with the shooting stars in the background of the border. Working with the Kreinik metallic may be a welcome respite, as the humidity has spiked in the last few days. Stitching with silk/wool blends in this kind of weather leads to a "sticky fingers" syndrome!

Slowly but surely

After my last post, I was asked, "How do you work around the randomly placed stars when you're stitching the black border in basketweave?" Answer: I don't work around them at all. I treat them as I would a name on the cuff of a Christmas stocking or wording on a whimsical door hanger. In this case, when I'm following the up-the-stairs, down-the-pole pattern of basketweave and come to a gold painted intersection, I skip it and move on to the next black intersection. It keeps the stitching smoother that way, and doesn't create any problems when I go back and fill in the stars and dots with my metallic thread.

I finished my first card of black Petite Very Velvet and decided to treat myself by stitching the first square in the top right corner. Pretty straightforward, actually--mostly tent stitches with a green gobelin-over-two section. I added a new thread--Sheep's Silk "Ivory" for the off-white boxes--to the threads I've already used. Then I got to the center large green square--decision time! The centers of all of these squares will eventually be covered with a rather large ceramic button. I decided, just for fun and because it carried the "square" design element of the canvas further, to stitch this area in a framed Scotch stitch. It will give me something textured to look at as I stitch the rest of the canvas!

For square #2, I stitched the corners in Scotch stitches--again carrying out the "square" shape dominant elsewhere. The rest of this square was stitched in basketweave--it, too, will be covered later by a button.

I got a little carried away stitching the second square before doing more border, I confess, but I had another reason: I was trying to let the canvas "speak" to me as I stitched, so I would be absolutely certain of my stitch choice for the tan background when I came to it. There's a fair amount of this background to do, so I need to make my decision soon. I do hate leaving a lot of background for last!

On the border

As I started stitching Mindy's Country Christmas canvas, there were two things I hoped to accomplish. First, I wanted to stay as true to the colors and feeling of the canvas itself. After all, her choice of colors was one of the attractions of the canvas for me, so why change them? I also hoped to keep the Country in the canvas--the design strikes me a bit like a patchwork quilt, and I'm counting on being able to use a variety of different threads from my stash.

And because it's a purely decorative, rather than utilitarian piece, I plan to deviate from my basketweave-only principle of stitching pillows. Alas, it will only be on display for perhaps five weeks a year, and I doubt anyone would lean against a pillow with nine ceramic buttons attached!

I've been reading quite a bit lately about the pros and cons of stitch guides for painted canvases. This canvas is the type that provides a built-in stitch guide for many areas. Looking at the black and white checkerboard outer border, choosing a series of mosaic stitches was a no-brainer. I worked these in Brown Paper Packages "Trio," the three-ply strandable version of Silk & Ivory. The tan thread at the outside edge of the checkerboard is Felicity's Garden "Peanut Butter;" the inside red thread is Trio "Bordeaux."

Moving inward to the black matte shot with stylized stars, I chose black Petite Very Velvet in basketweave as the perfect foil for Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002V. Since the canvas was already painted black in this area, I placed a red Christmas napkin--how appropriate!--in my lap to help me see the holes better. Stitching black-on-black is never easy, but putting a contrasting color such as white or red underneath the canvas really helps, especially when you're stitching at night.

The border inside the Petite Very Velvet was worked in gobelin stitch over two threads with Vineyard Silk Classic "Deep Peacock." I'd bought a skein of this thread purely on impulse this past spring while visiting my LNS. It was such a pretty color, I couldn't resist buying it although I wasn't sure at the time what I'd use it for. Sometimes impulse purchases are serendipitous!

When I've stitched a little bit more of the border--I'm about one-quarter of the way finished--I'll treat myself and start stitching some of the little squares!

Christmas in July

It's just starting to feel like summer here on the Cape, but already I'm looking toward Christmas!

I generally have a lot on my stitching plate working models for myself, but every now and then, a canvas designed by someone else just calls to me. And when the canvas is by an incredibly talented designer AND stitch painter, I feel compelled to seize the moment!

The first time I saw what will be my next project, I just fell in love. I also thought, "Why didn't I come up with something cool like that?" LOL But luckily Mindy, of Mindy's Needlepoint Factory in Oregon (www.mindysneedlepoint.com) beat me to it! It had all the elements I look for in a canvas: a little bit folksy, perfectly balanced, great colors for my family room at Christmas, AND stitch-painted! When you throw in some absolutely darling ceramic buttons for the center of each square, you know why I was hooked!

Best of all, Mindy very graciously gave her permission for me to blog-stitch this canvas, so stay tuned while I unwire the buttons, mount the canvas, and rummage through my stash for just the right threads to bring Country Christmas to life.