Happy Fourth of July!

Wishing everyone a Happy Fourth are, left to right, Uncle Sam, Ben Franklin, Betsy Ross, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

These little cylindrical ornaments are from the Early Americans series, which is rounded out with Paul Revere, Johnny Appleseed and a Native American.

Rogues on the road

This weekend, the Crosby Mansion in Brewster, Massachusetts, has been decorated for the holidays as a fundraiser by the Nauset Garden Club.  In the room with a theme of "A Stitch in Time" is a Christmas tree decorated exclusively with my cylindrical ornaments.

More than 60 of these "little people" grace the tree.  They're in good company with samples of hardanger, blackwork, cross stitch, rug hooking and crewel embroidery displayed throughout the room.

I'm told the cylindrical ornaments have prompted questions including "How long does it take to make one?" and "What's inside them--a toilet paper roll?"  At least I'm doing my small part in making needlepoint more visible to the general public while helping to raise money for a worthy cause!

Ready to perform!

The little Mariachi is finished!

His serape was filled in with snippets of Burmilana and Impressions from my stash in Scotch, mosaic, slanted Gobelin and tent stitches.

His mustache and beard were stitched in French knots with DMC Medici wool.  His guitar was created with DMC #5 perle cotton in basketweave.  Kreinik #12 tapestry braid 002 provided the strings in tent stitches and the tuning pegs in Smyrna crosses.

More Mariachi madness

The little Mariachi is warmer now that his shirt is finished.  Using Trio Natural, the body was worked in a framed mosaic stitch and the sleeves in a diagonal mosaic stitch, with wristbands of slanted Gobelin stitches over two canvas threads.

I've started stitching his serape, using a brown Burmilana tweed in an encroaching Gobelin stitch.  Now I can have some fun adding the colored bands!

Snow-day stitching

There's nothing like a snow day to get some stitching accomplished!  The Cape got clobbered with about 10 inches of the white stuff--not that remarkable compared to amounts falling elsewhere recently, but the most accumulation we've seen so far this winter.  We didn't lose power, so life was good and stitching was even better!

The Mariachi now has a face, hair and eyebrows, and I'll add his mustache and beard after doing a little more work around his chin area.

His pants have been worked with Trio Natural in an alternating pattern of vertical slanted Gobelin and tent stitches, with Felicity's Garden Truffle providing the shading.  The bottom of his shirt now has a border of alternating slanted Gobelin and mosaic stitch stripes.  On to the top of the shirt!

A sombrero and sandals

The Mariachi's sombrero has been worked in a woven stitch and tent stitch combination with shades of DMC #5 perle cotton.

Skin tones were added with DMC cotton floss--need to finish the facial features!

His sash was formed with an encroaching oblong cross stitch worked horizontally using Petite Very Velvet.  The same thread was used for his sandals in a slanted Gobelin/tent stitch.

Road trip company

DH and I took a trip to Boston this past week to attend the preview of Disney's newest release, The Finest Hours.  Heaven forbid I should ride in a car for an hour and a half each way without something to stitch, and my current magazine project was too big to take along.  So I unearthed an already-painted canvas of my Mexican Mariachi to keep me company.

The Mariachi is a cylindrical ornament, aka a "roll-up."  The trick in designing these ornaments is to think round while painting on the flat.  When finished, his serape will meet in the back for additional visual interest--no matter how good the finisher, I've never known an ornament that hangs completely straight!

Not enough stitching has been accomplished to take a progress photo--I switched back to the larger piece as soon as I got home--but I'll be back, hopefully soon,.

Jane Seymour: Finale

There really wasn't much left to do to finish off the Jane Seymour canvas--it was just a matter of finding the time to do it!

Instead of adding beads to her double-stranded necklace, I opted to stitch it with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #127, one of the threads I'd used on the Anne of Cleves canvas.  Petite gold beads were used to decorate her English gabled hood.

Anne of Cleves: Finale

To give Anne of Cleves a gauzy-looking veil, I used Silk Lame Braid in a T-stitch.  You may need to click to enlarge the photo to see her tassel--the gold beads I added at the bottom of the diamond ray and Smyrna cross show up in person, less so in the photo.

The last step was to give her a necklace of petite gold beads.  This little gal definitely isn't going to get lost on a Christmas tree!

Anne of Cleves: Back on track

The thread snafu is over, thank goodness, and Anne of Cleves' gown is now completed.  Sometimes "reverse stitching" can be a learning experience!  With the red velvet done, I added the trim at the hem of the dress, again using Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #3221 to outline the area and filling in with DMC floss #729 and Smyrna crosses of Kreinik braid #127.

Next on the to-do list is the veil of Anne's headdress, which is decorated with an elaborate tassel.  I've added the top of the tassel, a single diamond ray stitch and Smyrna cross, so I can stitch the veil around it.

One step forward, two steps backward

It wasn't bad enough that I've only been able to stitch at night, due to painting commitments.  And working under less-than-stellar lighting conditions probably wasn't such a good idea.  Fact of the matter is, Anne of Cleves has suffered a wardrobe malfunction.

I was happily basketweaving away when I noticed a strange diagonal streak on the canvas.  I stopped work, thinking to check again in morning light to see if the streak were still there.  Yup, it was--obviously an irregularity in the way the thread had taken the dye.  So I started frogging, determined to find the spot where the streak began.

To lessen my frustration, I decided to finish the trim on her gown.  The bands over three threads were filled in with tent stitches using three strands of DMC floss #729.  For the bands over four threads, I alternated tent stitches in floss with Smyrna crosses of Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #127.  I'll fill in the trim at the bottom when I've finished with the red velvet.

More progress on Anne of Cleves

Slow going these days--more painting than stitching--but I've managed to get half of Anne's red velvet gown completed.

In between lengths of red Petite Very Velvet, I've been working on the trim as well:  more braided knitting stitches for her sleeves and stem stitches to define the trim around her neck and waist.

I also did a little work on her headdress, outlining the structured area around her face in tent stitches with a Kreinik metallic that combines gold with a hint of red.  Inside the metallic thread I added gold Silk Lame Braid in slanted Gobelin and tent stitches.  The gauzy veil that falls from this hat will be added later.

Anne of Cleves - Progress I

Anne of Cleves' dress, as captured in the Holbein portrait upon which this design is based, has simple lines constructed with sumptuous fabrics:  red velvet trimmed in gold.  For the red velvet, I chose Petite Very Velvet V655, which I'm stitching in basketweave.

The elaborate insert to her bodice was worked in slanted Gobelin stitches with white DMC floss alternating with tent stitches of Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #3221.  More of the same metallic braid was used in braided knitting over one thread to trim the cuffs of her sleeves.

Her face was worked in basketweave with DMC floss and her eyebrows with Burmilana.  The style of her headdress completely obscures her hair.

There's a lot of red velvet and trimming to do, so this is going to take a while!

The German bride

Henry VIII remained wifeless for two years after the death of Jane Seymour.  But the need to secure an alliance with countries supporting reformation and a split from the Catholic Church led him to seek a fourth wife.  His ambassador in selecting a suitable candidate was portrait painter Hans Holbein, who was commissioned to capture likenesses of various noblewomen.

At the German court of the Duke of Cleves, Holbein painted miniatures of the duke's two sisters, Amelia and Anne.  Anne won the beauty contest, and was sent to London for a royal wedding.  Holbein must have used a little "artistic license," however, because Henry didn't find his fiancee the least bit attractive--even calling her a "Flanders mare."  Henry went through with the marriage ceremony but within six months had obtained an annulment.

It was an amicable split, with Anne gaining the new title of "The King's Sister" and several properties, including Hever Castle, former home of Anne Boleyn's parents.  She survived both Henry and his sixth wife, Katherine Parr, and even attended the coronation of Henry's successor, Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon.

This adaptation based on  Holbein's portrait sets Anne of Cleves apart from Henry's other wives in one respect:  no black veil!

Katherine Parr - Finale

Katherine Parr, sixth wife of Henry VIII, is ready for an appearance at court!

I tried a number of different thread combinations on doodle canvas before stitching her ermine stole.  Ermine are clever little creatures--their normally brown fur turns pure white with little black tips to provide camouflage in winter.  I combined one strand of white Burmilana with one strand of white Wisper, working a long/short split stitch.  Two strands of black Burmilana in randomly spaced straight stitches provided the black tips.

The last step was to add "pearl" drops to her locket and brooch with Mill Hill petite white glass beads.

More on Parr

Getting close to the finish line on the Katherine Parr canvas!

The sleeves and underskirt were worked in a staggered cross stitch with Wildflowers "Cinnabar" and Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #005HL.  At the cuffs and hem are rows of braided knitting over one thread stitched with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002.  Decorating the hem border are horizontal oblong cross stitches worked with the black metallic.

The decorative cord hanging down her underskirt from her waist was stitched with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002 in a combination of vertical oblong cross stitches and French knots with a Scotch stitch variation at the bottom.

I've auditioned threads and stitches with which to work her stole--now it's time to actually do it!

Katherine Parr - Part Three

I've been painting more and stitching less these days, so it's taken a bit to get Katherine Parr's overdress finished.

After completing the first pass of the double stitch with three strands of DMC floss #677, I filled in the skipped canvas threads with a tent stitch using Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002.

To celebrate, I worked her necklace and brooch in tent and satin stitches with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #061.  On to her sleeves and underskirt!

Katherine Parr--Part Two

The bodice of Katherine Parr's dress features a white insert, first outlined with a single row of white Petite Very Velvet to give it a raised look, then filled in with alternating rows of stem and slanted Gobelin stitches over two threads using white DMC floss.

The border around the insert was worked in Wildflowers "Cinnabar" with a combination of tent and Scotch stitch variations.  The skipped canvas threads were filled in with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #005HL.

The overdress in Katherine's portrait is a tone-on-tone gold fabric.  The area to be stitched here is much too small to replicate the pattern, but it is possible to achieve an overall tone-on-tone effect.  I've begun work on the first part of a double stitch--essentially oblong cross stitches over two threads-- using three strands of DMC floss #677..

The Survivor

"Divorced, beheaded, died.  Divorced, beheaded, survived."  This little chant helps tweak the memory as to the fates of Henry VIII's six wives.  Here we have the survivor:  Katherine Parr.

Katherine's mother, Maud, was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon when she gave birth to her daughter, so Henry's sixth wife was actually named for his first.  Katherine had been widowed twice by the time she married Henry, and after he died she married Thomas Seymour.  Her fourth husband was the brother of Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife, but Katherine died from complications of childbirth just like her late sister-in-law.  It sure was a small world in the Tudor court!

The inspiration for this adaptation is a portrait that hangs in London's National Portrait Gallery.  Katherine's French hood has been stitched with black Petite Very Velvet, Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002 in a stem stitch, and white PVV and Wildflowers "Cinnabar" in tent stitches.  Her hair was worked with Burmilana and her face in DMC cotton floss.

Kathryn Howard - Finale

Henry VIII's fifth wife, Kathryn Howard, is finished!

To create her fur stole, I first stitched the area in basketweave with some "vintage" DMC Medici wool.  Carefully covering the stitched area around the stole with some cardboard, I started roughing up the wool with a nap brush until I was satisfied with the fuzzy effect.

Her necklace was stitched with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002 and #3503.

The tassel was worked in a variation of braided knitting over three threads rather than the usual two.  The crosses created a pocket, into which I popped a French knot with the red metallic.  It's not a coincidence that the same metallic threads used for Jane Seymour's jewelry were used here, too.  Historians have noted that in a portrait of Kathryn, her jewelry seems strangely similar to that worn by Jane.  They concluded that the jewels reverted to the king after Jane's death, and he subsequently gifted them to his fifth wife.