Slow but sure progress

One of these days, I'll figure out how to stitch and paint canvases at the same time! I've been painting my little heart out this week and haven't had a lot of time for the Portsmouth Harbor lighthouse, but I figured I'd better show a little progress lest I become known as a slacker!

I finished stitching the sky, continuing my needle-blending with one ply of DMC floss #3755 and three plies of #3325, and ending at the horizon with four plies of #3325. Based on the photos I've been using, I think the spacing of the color changes turned out just right!

For good measure, I stitched the lantern room, using black DMC #5 perle cotton--a slightly heavier thread to make this area stand out against the sky. The lantern--which unfortunately you can't see terribly well in this photo--was stitched with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #008HL. This lighthouse has a fixed green light which shines 12 miles out to sea--one of only five lighthouses I've adapted to date to have a green light.

When I finish with the details of the tower itself, I'll move on to the surrounding scenery. So bear with me--I'll get there, slowly but surely! (Exiting stage right to the painting table!)

A subtle sky

I began stitching the lighthouse at Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire, over the weekend, beginning with the white of the tower itself in four strands of DMC cotton floss in a basketweave stitch. Then I started in on the sky, using four strands of DMC floss #3755, again in basketweave (left photo).

Over the years, I have either purchased or received as gifts a large number of lighthouse reference books which have served as launching pads for my needlepoint adaptations. Almost all of the photos of the Portsmouth Harbor lighthouse show the tower against a virtually cloudless blue sky, which seemed to be a very appealing portrayal. I decided to needle-blend this sky, too, but using only two shades of floss and staggering the color changes to create a more subtle sky.

In the right photo, all the white of the tower and the railing of the walkway have been completed, and I've begun needle-blending. I first combined three plies of DMC #3755 and one ply of #3325. At the point where I stopped, I was using two plies of DMC #3755 and two plies of #3325. All this basketweaving makes for slower stitching but also a smoother look.

When I finish stitching the sky, I'll move on to picking threads and stitches for the lighthouse foundation and water!

(R)evolution of a lighthouse

From the comfort of my armchair, I'm traveling north today to the harbor at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where a light to aid mariners has shone since 1771.

By the time New Hampshire separated from Massachusetts in 1679 and became a colony in its own right, Portsmouth was already a center of maritime trade and shipbuilding. The first aid to navigation was a crude lantern, fueled by whale oil, hoisted atop a pole over what then was Fort William and Mary (now Fort Constitution).

In 1774, British troops had established a blockade of Boston Harbor to the south. Portsmouth residents retaliated by raiding the fort and seizing a supply of gunpowder, a precious commodity in those days. Legend has it that the keeper of the lighthouse drove a wagonload of gunpowder to patriots at Breed's Hill outside of Boston, where a crucial battle in the Revolutionary War was fought in June 1775.

By 1784, an 80-foot octagonal wooden tower stood in this spot, subject to rain, winds and high water, not to mention being shaken to its foundation by the concussions of the fort's huge cannon. By the time President George Washington paid a visit in 1789, the lighthouse was in such poor repair that the keeper was summarily fired.

The tower was rebuilt in 1804 and stood until 1877, when it was replaced by the 48-foot cylindrical structure fashioned of bolted iron plates that still stands today. This is my first New Hampshire lighthouse, and when I've finished stitching it, I'll have a representative of all six New England states!

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.

Farewell to Vancouver

Point Atkinson lighthouse is ready to shine--on a Christmas tree, anyway!

The lantern room was stitched in DMC floss #666 in satin, tent and gobelin stitches. The guard rail of the walkway leading down the cliff toward the keeper's house shared the same color floss. The tower itself was worked also in DMC floss in basketweave.

The water was worked in DMC floss #312 in gobelin stitches over two threads to provide the suggestion of waves in a very small space. The rocks at the base of the tower were stitched in DMC #5 perle cotton in satin stitches.

For the grass, I chose Sheep's Silk in a diagonal mosaic stitch; another Sheep's Silk in French knots provided the foliage nestled among the rocks. The tree branch to the left and bush to the right were also stitched in French knots, this time using Impressions. Whenever the design area that's going to receive French knots ends at the edge of a canvas, as in this case, I always work the outside row in tent stitches--it keeps my finisher smiling as she seams the sides of the ornament!

Now I'll go back to painting canvases and contemplate where my next project might take me!