Reinventing the wheel AND a blog birthday

Sometimes, the best-laid plans go awry. Such was the case with Cecil's coat, with a windowpane pattern. The windowpane is usually woven into a tweed, which is what I was aiming for. In the photo at left, you can see where I'd started stitching the right-hand side of the coat with the skip-tent technique. Every other canvas thread was stitched with Trio "Natural," with Trio "Black" to follow. Well, the black followed--and created a concentric circle pattern which was definitely NOT what I was expecting. I didn't bother to take a photo--I hate to see grown people cry--or cringe!

While probably more suitable for the coat of a snake-oil salesman, you may actually see this concentric circle pattern eventually on another garment--it's totally neat, but more Carnaby Street than Savile Row--and also for something like a dressing gown or fancy vest.

What to do? Why, paint another canvas, of course! The photo on the right is my second--and final--attempt. I've worked it in a Scotch stitch with Felicity's Garden "Granite," which will later be framed with tent stitches.

I actually started stitching both canvases with the black lapels, belt, pocket flap and buttonholes. No, I'm not totally crazy--I'm familiar enough with black Petite Very Velvet to know its occasional quirks. I've found that approximately one out of four cards of this thread will produce copious fuzz. I tried a little the first time and that was the case, so I kept stitching all the black and, when I was finished, gave the whole canvas a good brushing. Goodbye, black flecks--which would have loved lodging themselves in the soft threads of Trio "Natural" that I used the first time for the top of the sweater vest.

Having pretty much depleted my stash of Trio "Natural," I'll need to switch to another thread to work the sweater, which abuts the coat and must be finished before I can go back to the windowpane pattern.

A Blog Birthday

Tomorrow will mark the beginning of the fourth year of The Cape Stitcher. I'll be on the road early, taking No. 1 son to the airport for his trip back to Kansas--sigh. So I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have visited from time to time, watching my progress in stitching painted canvases. If you enjoy reading about my explorations in needlepoint half as much as I do pursuing them, my time is well spent!

Another man in my life

The Savile Row series began as an exercise in duplicating patterns and fabrics using simple needlepoint stitches. So far I've stitched tweed coats, sweaters imitating Argyle, Aran and fair isle patterns, and a hounds-tooth waistcoat.

The fourth entry in the series is Cecil, another dapper gent who's a bit more of a dandy than his friends. Cecil is dressed in a sweater vest or jumper, as folks across the pond would call it, with a bow tie and a windowpane-patterned coat.

Do come back and check my progress as I bring Cecil to life!

Just in time for Thanksgiving!

As holiday season approaches, one's work schedule often gets knocked into a cocked hat, but I'm happy to report Oliver is ready for Thanksgiving!

To finish his fair isle sweater, I needed to choose a red thread that was neither too bright nor too somber. The winner was Trio "Bordeaux," what I'd call a cherry red, which brightened the sweater considerably.

I'd toyed with the idea of adding a small figural design to his tie and handkerchief, but after finishing the sweater realized that would make the whole piece too busy. I stitched these two areas in a solid lighter cherry red--DMC Satin Floss S326--providing a little bit of pattern by working them in a diagonal mosaic stitch. The canvas was turned 90 degrees to work the knot, then returned to the upright position to stitch the longer expanse of the tie and the handkerchief. I find using two strands of the satin floss doubled in the needle gives me better control of this shiny but somewhat slippery thread.

As a final touch, I sewed on some silver filigree buttons--pretty nifty, don't you think? Oliver is now ready to party, and joins me in wishing all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!

More stitch guide news

Several people have contacted me, asking about the availability of canvases in the Savile Row series. Since these canvases are partially line-drawn and partially painted, I decided stitch guides would be helpful to accompany them. This is especially true for Liam, whose Aran sweater would benefit from a diagram showing stitch placement.

The good news is, Sue Dulle (www.sudukc.wordpress.com) has stepped up to the plate to create some stitch guides for me! She did such a fabulous job on the guide for the ring-bearer pillow, I knew she could work out some diagrams for me with one hand tied behind her back.

Liam's guide is already finished, and Nigel's is in the works. There will be a guide for Oliver, too, as soon as I've finished stitching him--I'm almost there, I promise! And one more dapper gentleman will make up the quartet that I hope to have framed together in time for my first trunk show of 2012!

A little here, a little there

Oliver continues to warm up a little at a time! I finally finished the "Classic Navy" Trio part of the skip-tent stitch for his coat, but will need to add the white for the canvas threads I'd previously skipped.

I've also made some progress on his fair isle sweater, although it's slow going since all of the stitching is in basketweave. I'm using Impressions #1072 for the light gray background, the same white and navy Trio that forms the tweed in the coat, and Felicity's Garden "Granite" for the darker gray.

Those of you waiting anxiously for the tie will, unfortunately, have to wait a bit longer. I need to choose just the right shade of red for the sweater first, since his tie needs to be color-coordinated with the rest of his wardrobe. I will, however, try to stitch a little faster over the weekend!

Moving right along

I knew it was only a matter of time before I gave in to the temptation of working on Oliver's sweater!

I first trimmed his coat at the pocket and buttonholes with Petite Very Velvet. Then it was time for his pin-striped trousers, worked in Vineyard Silk Classic "Pewter" in vertical rows of slanted gobelin stitch over two threads and alternating with single rows of tent stitch.

Next I stitched his shirt, using four strands of white DMC cotton floss in basketweave two threads wide. To keep the navy pin-stripes from overpowering the shirt, I plied down to two strands of DMC floss #823 to work the stem stitches.

The ribbing at the collar and hem of his sweater was worked in a Kalem stitch using Impressions #1072. I'll be using this thread to fill in the background of the sweater in basketweave before I start to add the colors in the fair isle pattern.

Slow going

I've been dividing my time between two gentlemen lately: painting Nigel by day and stitching Oliver by night. Poor Oliver has definitely pulled the short straw, but I decided to show my progress on his coat so you wouldn't think I'd been slacking off!

The right side of the coat is finished, now that the white Trio has been added to the "Classic Navy" in the skip-tent stitch. You can see from the left side of the coat, where a little white has been stitched, how adding the white thread brightens the tweed immensely.

I think the coat will make a nice frame for the fair isle sweater, which is the focal point of this design. I'll try to be very good and get some more details done before starting in on the sweater. This afternoon is the monthly meeting of our local needlework group, so I'm hoping to get some serious stitching done!