Canvas of the Month – February, 2008 -- March 13, 2008

Pictured above is the second in this year’s Canvas of the Month Club by Rainbow Gallery. The design is “Christmas Fantasy” by David McCaskill.

This one took a little longer that the last two that I stitched. I would estimate that it took me about three hours to stitch the whole design.

The design is symmetrical on all sides even though the picture is showing the design wider than tall. There are several layers of interwoven threads for the center section. The outer red area is stitched in red Neon Rays so it takes a while to lay the ribbon just so!

The fibers in the design are Nordic Gold, Neon Rays, Petite Very Velvet, and Petite Treasure Ribbon. The gold just glistens in person and the purple makes the design look very rich!

My daughter and I are stitching these from our LNS, The Stitching Post in Catonsville, Maryland. I’m ahead of her by two now but she’s been very busy with school. She’ll catch up and pass me with her stitching projects this summer!

Enjoy the picture!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Original Comments:

- This is stunning! Nice stitching Cyn!
NC Pat – Needleart Nut

- I like mixing red and purple and this is very pretty. Are you enjoying trying all the threads?
Jane of Chilly Hollow

Originally Posted: March 13, 2008

Canvas of the Month – October, 2004 -- March 5, 2008

In 2004, the Stitching Post in Catonsville, Maryland offered a canvas of the month club. I purchased many of these canvases in 2004 but they were lost in my stash. I’ve found several of them as I’ve been reorganizing my stash. By the way, my goal is to go through at least one storage (40 – 60 gallon) container every month and so far I’m meeting that goal!

The first in the 2004 club that I have stitched is the October, 2004 canvas “Hearts for the Holidays” which was designed by Joan Lohr for Rainbow Gallery. I finished this design this weekend so technically it was finished in March, 2008. Not bad for a four year old UFO! I just noticed that the January, 2008 canvas is also by Joan Lohr!

I am also working on the February, 2008 Canvas of the Month club project which is “Christmas Fantasy” by David McCaskill which I hope to finish this weekend. It just depends on how busy I am this weekend, especially since I’ll be working on Sunday.

I’m also almost done with the Candy Swirl Santa’s face. He just needs his eyebrows so I should hopefully have his face done this weekend and I’ll be able to share a new picture next week.

Yes, I know, I work on multiple projects at one time. This works very well for me as I like to have at least two to three active projects at any one time especially if I’m picking out fibers and stitches for a painted canvas project. I can work on something else while I’m letting my creative brain decide how to stitch a certain section. The other advantage is that since I’m still working full-time and raising children there are some nights where I am more tired than others and I can pick the project that works for me at that moment!

This design is stitched on Victorian Green 18 count mono canvas. The design consists of two Rhodes hearts stitched in Petite Frosty Rays. The other two Rhodes hearts are stitched in Petite Sparkle Rays. The Double Straight Crosses are stitched in Crystal Braid.

This was a fun design to stitch but it does take a while to stitch each of the Rhodes hearts as you need to make sure that the fibers are carefully laid flat. The Double Straight Crosses worked up very quickly.

I keep thinking that I need to keep a stitching log so that I can document how long it takes me to stitch each piece. This has been a stitching resolution for several years but it doesn’t work for me as I’m usually stitching at the dining room table and the family stops by and talks to me as I’m stitching. I’m not complaining but it does make it hard to keep track of the time that I spend stitching!

This project was a lot of fun and it was interesting to see how the two fibers worked up in the Rhodes hearts. There is a lot of dimension with the hearts which I don’t think shows up as well in the photo as it does in person. I’ll probably finish this design as an ornament. As I’m organizing my stash I’m finding many of the pieces that I’ve stitched over the years that I have finished stitching but which I haven’t finished into something. The fun for me is in the stitching and I haven’t taken the time to decide how to finish many of the pieces that I’ve stitched. This is one of my new resolutions. To actually frame or have my finished stitched pieces made into something. I’ll let you know how I do!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Original Comments:

- Good luck getting things finished. I saw two 4 foot artifical Christmas trees displaying ornaments at Woodlawn yesterday and they were charming! You should think about using your small pieces this way. This one is sort of Valentine's Day but it is red and that is a very Christmas color!Way to go, Cynthia.
Jane of Chilly Hollow

-I like this and it would be a great Ornament, box cover, pincushion on a stand, part of a collage of small ornaments.....does that help? LOL Nice job! And, I wish I could say I sorted through a container a month! I always run out of time!
NC Pat – Needleart Nut

- Thanks for all of the finishing suggestions. I actually know what I can finish my different projects into... My comment was that I wasn't exactly sure what I would finish this particular project into! I actually enjoy the stitching process more than the finishing process. That's why I send most of my projects out to be finished. I rather be stitching! :-)

Thanks guys for all of the suggestions.

And yes, the organizing is continuing!

More on the trees in the next post.

Cynthia

Windy Meadow

Originally Posted: March 5, 2008

Canvas of the Month – January, 2008 -- February 20, 2008

Update:

I forgot to mention that the flecks that you see on the canvas are metallic gold accents. The whole thing just sparkles!

The kits contain the fibers that are listed on the instructions so every kit contains the same colors. It would be fun to do the designs in different colors and on different colored canvases!

I also wanted to mention that this series is by Rainbow Gallery and you can find Rainbow Gallery at;

http://www.rainbowgallery.com/

The free designs that they offer for needlepoint are here;

http://www.rainbowgallery.com/freechartdownloads.cfm?ID=12

They also offer free designs for Cross Stitch, Plastic Canvas, Blackwork and Hardanger.

Have Fun!!!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow


I don’t have a new picture yet of the “Candy Swirl Santa” as I’m still working on his face and he’s not ready to come out and greet everyone until he has his full mustache! He’s still a little lopsided.

While I’m working on him, I thought I would share with you a quick project that I did this month. Several of the fiber companies share free patterns using their fibers on their websites. In addition, many have a project of the month design series that they offer exclusively to needlework shops. These projects are usually small and work up quickly so this is a great way to try out new fibers or techniques. If you have problems counting, and you know who I’m talking to, this is a great way to learn to count on a small project before moving up to larger projects.

This year, my local LNS, the Stitching Post in Catonsville, Maryland, is offering a monthly Canvas Ornament Club. The designs are from the Rainbow Gallery. For a small fee you can join the club. Then each month during the series, you stop by and pick up your canvas with all of the threads that you will need for this particular design. The cost of the kits may vary but so far they are less than $10.00.

My daughter and I both signed up as I thought this would be a good way for her to expand her horizons in counted canvas work.

The first canvas for January, 2008 was designed by Joan Lohr and is “Medallions”. This was a quick project and fun to stitch. I didn’t time myself but I would estimate that it took me less than two hours to stitch this project. Happy Dance time!

Enjoy and I should have February’s up soon!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Original Comments:

- We can wait for Candy Swirl to have his face on, no problem!
And why did everyone in the room turn and look at me when you mentioned counted thread pieces? Your shop is doing something very nice with these little sample kits. Is it fun for you and your daughter to use different colors and threads on the same chart?
Jane of Chilly Hollow

- Nice, and it will be a quick to finish! I wasn't either pointing at Jane!
NC Pat – Needleart Nut

- You were too, Pat. I saw you. Thanks for the update, Cynthia. I thought the speckles were just an artifact of the photo. That happens sometimes. Gold metallic flecks in the canvas should make this spectacular! I like the metallic canvases. They add so nuch to little ornaments!I'm sure the store would have trouble making up kits of various color combos (so much work!) but that would be fun. I just love it when local guild chapters do geometric programs and everyone picks different colors. I'm not good with color and I always learn a ton from that exercise.Anyway, glad you are having fun with this and thanks for the links.
Jane of Chilly Hollow

- Cyn, I named your blog in my Made my day Award listing! Thanks for doing so!
NC Pat – Needleart Nut

- I just found out that Pat “The Needle Art Nut” gave me the “You Make My Day Award”. Thank you so much Pat!

Cynthia

Windy Meadow

Originally Posted: February 20, 2008