A New Month already!! (again)

I cannot believe another month has gone, and I have produced so little for this blog - another very stressful change of address was in the middle of this one, but as soon as I find my drawing equipment and paint brushes, I'll be back working.

Anyway, this is "December" from my Birthday Crazy Quilt series - and probably my favorite besides April and August. It has lots of symbolism in the mistletoe, holly, narcissus, and the birthstone turquoise. (Tanzanite or blue zircon is the alternative used now, I think). I also like the effect of the blue patch with "rain drops," and the white with glittery snow.

I started these almost three years ago, but still haven't produced January, February, or July. Incidentally, these are now available as e-patterns on my web page, Elegant Whimsies, so you can put your own onto canvas.

Using the Tartans

As I have been doing a number of posts about Plaid and Tartans (one and the same in the U.K.) on both blogs, I feel I need to do a disclaimer and explanation of my use of the Registered Tartans. (I've shown the Texas Bluebonnet first on January 3 on Possibilities, etc. and again recently, and the Alpine Meadows, as well as the Millenium Ribbon.)
I have contacted the Scottish Registry, and am told that it is definitely a copyright infringement, and therefore illegal, to make charts of these to sell.

It is O.K., however, to use them as I have on these blog posts to demonstrate how to interpret and set up a tartan/plaid for one's own use. The same method applies to other plaids one sees and wants to convert to needlepoint. I used the Tartans simply because I have loved them for many years.

The Bluebonnet plaid has gorgeous colors - and is also the state flower of my home state, Texas. Green is my favorite color - hence the Alpine Meadows, shown in the picture for progress!

I have shown my little canvas doodles where I worked out the counts, and you are welcome to use those for your own enjoyment - but NOT to make charts and sell. I also have planned tutorials on how to USE these plaids to create actual projects - I've managed to lay out a checkbook cover with this green one, as the pattern elements fit. (These will probably be on Possibilities, etc.)

My daughter says she would like the Burberry tartan for hers. Of course she would. Later. I offered to make also a dog collar for my SIL's big yellow lab, Godzilla, but it was declined, as was a belt for SIL - however, many many people are making plaid belts!! I'll show this process also.

Anyway, the gist of this is that one may replicate a registered tartan for PERSONAL use, but not for commercial. That is to say, not for financial gain by selling charts and patterns.

I do have a book on creating and using Plaid, which also includes quite a number of plaids I've created myself - but these are totally original, and not registered tartans. The book is being revised (in my spare time) and updated, and will be offered as an e-book soon, I hope, on my web page.

A Cheerful Crazy Quilt!

I decided that the header needed to be changed from the January Birthday CQ, even though outside here in Austin, it still feels like the gloom of the overcast sky with wet stuff falling down - and it's cold. This is much more cheerful!

It's a cut-out from my "beginner" crazy quilt heart, which is available for sale on my web page as an e-pattern - a downloadable, print out for "do-it-yourself" and spare the expense of a painted canvas (although that is also offered) See those at Elegant Whimsies.

Developing Plaid in Needlepoint - more on the Egg

The egg is moving along, but slowly, as I've had too many other things going on this week.

For the white on this plaid, I've used the DMC floss #3865, which is not the bright white, the "Blanc" we're more used to, but just barely "off white." Very nice! The Smyrna Cross frame around the oval is the blanc pearl cotton, as I wanted it to stand out and make a statement.

While working on the egg a few days ago, I remembered another piece I was doing several years ago, in which I was bored and tired of the project, so decided to see what would happen if I worked the weft horizontals in the plaid with beads instead of thread - the results were amazing, and put me on a whole new path in my work with beads and needlepoint!


See that post on the other blog, (Possibilities, Etc.) If this hadn't been about creating plaid and using it for something specific, I would have used beads on this egg. I was so enchanted with this "beaded solid" look, that I used it for yet another plaid - this time one I saw as an upholstery fabric in a magazine. It's actually one with stripes of equal width, but separated by very narrow stripes of gold - perfect for an evening bag.

This picture is a photo of a scan of the original sample, (I lost it long ago) so does't really show how striking it is with the beads. - but you can get the idea. Also, this demonstrates another small variation one can do to develop a plaid.

The next picture shows what we would normally think of as "gingham," but with an extra color added. Such an easy thing to do - just one little change creates a new look. The blue and green "tartan" is another one created by simply starting with some favorite colors and playing with widths of stripes. I added the dark blue, as it needed something for accent to keep from being dull.

After you start playing with this yourself, you will certainly begin to notice plaids everywhere - make little sketches even at the supermarket if you can. I always enjoy the challenge of working out a new one - but remember that using these on a specific project takes more planning as to scale, etc. - width of stripes, and their placement. A great creative endeavor, it is.

ADDENDUM: These plaid swatches are from my book on PLAID for NEEDLEPOINT, which is available - and soon to be offered as an E-book also. There are many more, as well as instructions on how to set them up for use on specific projects - and also how to design your own. This is on my web page, Elegant Whimsies.

Lace and Crazy Quilt: Ornaments!

This is a shape that has been presented on earlier posts - but it's so versatile, I'm using it again for a crazy quilt ornament with lace. There are two, exactly the same size, but one with only straight seams, and one with curves. 5 1/2" high x 3 1/2" wide on 18 mesh canvas.

The illustrated hexagonal ornament has no lace, but you can see what might be done with it! This is actually a "copy" (or an adaptation) of a quilt block I saw on one of Allie Aller's quilts a while back - and was my inspiration to get the "look" in needlepoint. The flower was made with simple "ribbon stitch" in orange 4mm silk ribbon. The tiny buds are made with pearl cotton #5 in French knots.

There was also the challenge of the "zig-zag" chain stitch for seam treatment - and as I remember, the one at the top of the curve is a "closed herringbone" with beads at the points. The silk ribbon flower is very simple, and the lower patch was stitched with Caron's Watercolours in Nobuko - as it looks like Batik fabric.

And now the lace! I used pastels, as this was to be an egg, and I was still in my "white cotton crocheted lace" phase, but have now begun using metallics, overdyed cottons, whatever looks right - very exciting, it can be! The "lace" is worked with Smyrna crosses where the little squares are 2 x 2 stitches, and what I call a "modified" bump stitch over 3 x 3 stitches.

Here are more images to inspire you - this is why I look at the art quilters' blogs regularly - great images and inspiration! The challenge on these two was the wavy lines of chain stitch and the effect of the ric-rac, which on the quilt block, was a wide one with a narrow piece sewed on top.


Again, I used the Caron Watercolours to resemble Batik - this time in T-stitch. It needs to be horizontal, as trying to do basketweave with overdyed threads results in diagonal stripes. The colors on the hexagonal piece were the original ones, and the heart on the left has my chosen scheme. The seam treatment on the heart in purple has big, loose French Knots worked with Thread Gatherer overdyed silk ribbon.

To draw the hexagons onto canvas, you can either count the dots or just measure. Also, for future use, they may be easily lengthened, widened, narrowed, or whatever else you might want to do for decorating.

For use as they are, after you print them out, ink over the pattern lines, and trace them onto your canvas. I use a straight edge for this (except for the curved seam) so they won't have ugly wobbles. Draw the lace just as you see it - just make the little squares. Very easy - anyone who has worked counted X-stitch can do this! Just a tiny bit of counting - mostly visual.

I had not stitched the two ornaments with lace, as they are from my e-booklet on Diagonal Laces and Trims, (Elegant Whimsies) and intended as an exercise in creating "fabric" backgrounds for crazy quilt and embellishing with diagonal lace as a seam treatment.


Be sure to check the other blog (Possibilities, etc.), as I'm going to do another post this evening on color and silk ribbon embroidery.

Dot Addendum

I forgot to take pictures of the two instances of "dotted swiss" as I enjoy using it. First, the "JOE" mini-stocking cuff is not quite as plain and boring with the dots on it - in this case placed two stitches apart rather than one as on the chart in the post below.

The second picture is a close-up of a patchwork piece, made more interesting in the white background patches with the use of the "bumps" of the dots. They don't really show up well in this photo - but they are, as on the mini-sock, placed with two stitches between on the diagonal. The white dots on the green patch are Sundance beads.

DOTS!! Polka and Swiss

When I was in college, I had a year of rather intense study of textiles, in preparation for the degree in interior design. At that time - 150 years ago, the only synthetics we had were nylon, orlon, and rayon. (rayon is actually a vegetable fiber composite), so the emphasis was on fiber content and weaving techniques, with a bit of dye methods and chemicals thrown in.

This sort of thing really opens the eyes and gives one an appreciation of fabrics - and recognition when we see them. Very early in my needlepoint design activities, I decided that to alleviate the visual boredom of a plain background, I could dress it up a bit with woven fabric replicas, and dotted swiss was my first. (My mother loved it, so I wore a lot of it in my early childhood - mostly white.)

Dotted swiss was first made in the mid 18th century in Switzerland, where it was a beautiful, lightweight woven white cotton batiste with small dots woven in. Of course now it is also woven with synthetics, and the dots may be larger and applied - and lots of different colors are used. The dots, however, remain white.

I'm showing my needlepoint version in color in order to show the effect of the raised dots. I use this pattern on things like stocking cuffs and patchwork patterns to give a bit of visual interest. To begin, simply mark dots with your drawing pen on the WARP threads as you see them on the stitched model, and also on the chart.

When working in white, just basketweave the whole thing, but as you come to a "dot" you will make a cross, so that it appears as a raised bump. When using a colored background, leave the dots bare, and then make X's over them with white thread. The chart with the arrow is showing basketweave with the cross stitch creating the raised bump of the dotted swiss. The dots, of course, can be more widely spaced for a different effect.

While I was doing this, I couldn't resist going ahead and including one of my favorite effects - "bump" polka dots. These are just marked with little squares instead of a single dot - and worked with Smyrna cross. They could also be stitched in a variety of different colors and placed randomly for a "confetti" effect.

You can see by studying the scan of the marked canvas, that the squares are placed with two stitches between the dots on the diagonal - I have found this to be the easiest and least confusing way to do it - kind of automatic without having to count.

These very simple textured patterns are useful for things like plain background on ornaments - like a sprig of holly on a background that has no other pattern. Also, a little frame around a name or monogram works well. Lots of uses if you think about it!!

"FABRICS" for Patchwork in Needlepoint

I have had inquiries recently, via my article this month in Needlepoint Now, about the houndstooth checks and maybe other fabric replications - so thought it might be fun to practice a few and then use them yourselves on your own projects. Hopefully, I will have more patchwork patterns here shortly. I've been very busy, so am running behind and neglecting Freebies.

The illustrated heart in houndstooth was made with the pattern simply in mosaic stitch. Very simple to do by just following the chart, doing the color first and then filling in with white or a second color if you wish. I have done this one in pink and orange also, and it was stunning. Just be sure there is enough contrast in value (light and dark) to make both colors show up.

The little chart with numbers gives you the direction to take when stitching to make it easy, and also to put the least strain on the canvas and prevent warping. If you know proper basketweave, it will be super easy to understand! The same numbering sequence is also for the mosaic stitch version to make it easy.

You could, of course, follow the pattern and go straight across with the mosaic stitch rows, but this does warp the canvas a bit. ( I always stitch mosaic on the diagonal to avoid it.)

Notice on the heart that I first outlined the whole thing in tent stitch so that there would be no confusion and no ragged edges in subsequent working of the mosaic stitches that make up the pattern.

There is also another way to do the small, "woven" houndstooth - explained in the Plaid tutorial.