Biscornu

I have completed the stitching for the Deruta biscornu from Giulia Punti Antichi. I popped the majolica bead (button?) on there so you can see the echoes. Seeing it this way,  I maybe should have changed the Peacock GAST that I used to something a little more aqua. Never mind, it's the Eighth Finish of Inside Time.

Last weekend has brought me such great hope. In our town, a handful of high school students organized a demonstration against racism and police brutality. About 2000 people showed up. During a pandemic. In part it's that people showed up. But much more importantly, it's the youth of the organizers. Something tells me change is on the way. 

Trip to DC

I've been trying to get back here since the second weekend of December when the dude and I took the train down to DC to visit the Vermeer exhibition at the National Gallery. But between being sick (pretty much up until Christmas eve) and preparing for the holidays, well, you know how things get.

On the train down, I worked on 47 Hearts. I made some good progress despite the fact I kept nodding off. (The last time I stitched it.) I think February might be the month I try to finish the anniversary pieces I have going, and start a new one for 2018.

Biscornu (Did I really not stitch this in 2017 until now? Previously.) I'm getting there!

Even though we went down to DC to see the Vermeer exhibit (we have now brought our total of Vermeers to 20/35) and were lucky enough to get tickets for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, I only have this photo of a stumpwork mirror for you (1650-1690, silk with silk and metal threads). I always love trying to find a fiber-related photo for you!

And here we are with the national Christmas tree. It was a little disappointing because, as you can see, it's just a scrim over a tree. Cheating! Definitely one of the better selfies we've ever taken!

Deruta Biscornu

I worked a bit on this biscornu. I chose this pattern because of the fantastic majolica bead that is used in the center. The stitching echoes the bead so beautifully. Someday. You'll see. You can compare where I was in June here. (Sorry, blogging from my phone and I can't make a proper link.)

Small SAL - Biscornu

It's nice to be missed! Thanks for all your comments. This week is a little less scheduled but there is a party coming up soon! And work to be done for that. This business of being old(er) is hard. ;)

For Heather's Small SAL, I chose Lizzie*Kate's Hoot, a limited edition biscornu and fob. And half a biscornu is better than none. I started this on the appointed day, and have spent the rest of the month--and more!--finishing it. Thus I decided each side of the biscornu could be a finish for this SAL.

So let's review this month.

1. Waldorff, Homespun Sampler--finished page two
2. Mary's Stocking, SB--closing in on a finish
3. Wisteria Snowman, SB--she has a head!
4. Our Souls, Midsummer Night Designs --a tiny bit of progress
5. Christian's Stocking, SB--some good progress
6. Cinnamon Stars, Plum Street--just a bit, but no photo
7. Small #9--yes!
8. Lovebird, JABC--no, see above
9. I haven't decided yet what to put here. I may call audible on game day.--found Ladybug, Ladybug but didn't stitch on it
10. Tis the Season, Blackbird--and also no.

In October I hope to stick to my Molly rotation with the same line-up, including Ladybug, Ladybug at Number 9. I also plan to have a fun and happy birthday in two weeks (give or take).

Oh, Hello! Were You Looking for Me?

Sorry I've been out of touch. The dude and I were across the pond visiting the fam. In the flying, train riding, and driving about, I worked on a few projects.

I finished my May small. Unfortunately I'm blogging it too late to join in the Smalls SAL. This is Blackbird's Buttons and Pins Reward of Merit. I used the called-for colors and a random piece of fabric. I made one change; I didn't use chain stitch for the urn. (My chain stitches are kind of crap.) I just need to add the buttons in the blank spot.

 I worked a little on last year's anniversary sampler, "Our Souls" by Midsummer Night Designs using the called for floss and a random piece of fabric. You can see how it looked before here.

Then, I worked on this year's anniversary sampler, "The Thread that Binds" by Mosey n Me. I am using the called for materials. You can see how it looked before here. All that's left is a lot of white on white stitching (upper right) and that snakey bit on the bottom.

Finally I worked a bit on the Deruta Biscornu by Giulia Punti Antichi. I last showed it to you when I started it in January of 2014. Do forgive me that I haven't kept you up to date on this one. When I took this out, the three borders had been finished and the first line of half circles were in. (Let's face it, they kind of look like boobs) I thought I'd continue with the dark terra cotta so I could fill in on the plane ride home, but I went with filling in the roses on the 2015 sampler instead. 


I'm way behind in reading, commenting, and indeed blogging. But I'm back, baby, and better than ever!

Our Long Russian Winter

This is the Deruta Biscornu, as charted
Started Thursday

I am dragging today. I think it's the weather. I am tired of winter, and even though I tried to break up with him, he's stalking me. I know there are people who have it worse (like Minnesota and Michigan, among others) but it's all what you're used to, right? And I am not used to having this many days back to back that don't even get above freezing. I suppose at some point in my life, I was, but all those years in Los Angeles taught me to love the sun. But I sound like my grandmother (the boring one, not Maggie) going on about the weather like this!

Good news...I wrote a note to the shop that didn't send me an order confirmation, (they had a good reason) and they are giving me a refund for the patterns I double-bought. Yay!

This weekend was busy-ish. On Friday night, I went and stamped. It was just a tiny group of us, but I did stamp some masculine birthday cards this month, as I promised I would. (Photos someday.)

On Saturday, I was out in the snow talking to a prospective volunteer for my animal group about our marketing department but it turns out she doesn't want to work on marketing. (So glad I got out of my pajamas for that.) Then I just hunkered down. Even the dude is done with winter. He called the snow "white poop" and was ranting and raving. It was hilarious, only because he is normally so even-tempered about everything (even the things that should make him rant and rave) (and I don't think I've ever heard him use the word "poop"). I managed to start Two Fine Houses, by Hands to Work. I enjoyed working on that.

Sunday, we headed for the Philadelphia Museum of Art with my niece to see the Vermeer, Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, which is on loan from a private collection. This was her Christmas present--with a Vermeer book and the Girl with a Pearl Earring novel. I think she was a bit disappointed because she didn't get to see Girl with a Pearl Earring. (The heartbreaking thing about that is she was actually in New York on the last day the Girl was at the Frick.) Nevertheless, I think she enjoyed herself--it's so hard to tell with teenagers.

But! Because I seem to attract museum-goers with bad manners, I saw a man rub his hand on a  500 year old painting. I'm assuming that hundred or even thousands of people manage to acquit themselves properly in a museum, so how is it I witness so many of these transgressions? (I reported him. I was prepared to point him out, but the guards were way more concerned about the painting than the patron.)

So how was your weekend?

Blackwork

Hey kids. Are you getting "malware detected" messages about my blog? I have run the diagnostics and Google tells me "no malware detected." They should remove the warning soon. But rest assured, you can visit safely. Onward...

Today, I bring you links to two different versions of the "alternative 15 sided biscornu": one by tintocktap and the version pictured here by Lady Kell who has elegantly named it the "biscofleur." {via Craft Gossip}.

This piece also leads me elegantly to the review of Monica Ferris's Blackwork. You probably thought I gave up reviewing her books, if not reading them altogether. But somehow they pulled me back in.

It's the same crowd plus some microbrewers--one of the owners of the local brew pub is accused not only of witchcraft but also of murder. So in addition to having to keep track of the needlework thread (as it were), Ferris must also remember the details associated with Wicca and microbrewing. Since my knowledge of Wicca and microbrewing are tiny compared with what I know about needlework, I'll focus on that.

First, Betsy takes a blackwork class which gives her fits. For a needlework store owner, she often seems slow-witted and maladroit. It's backstitch for goodness sake, not brain surgery! Oh sure, she inherited her shop from her dexterous needleworker sister. But how long does it take before you stop being all fumble-y? My goodness, so much time has passed that Jill and Lars got married and had two children. Get with the program, Betsy!

The teacher says that blackwork is done on evenweave, which is mostly true. Then she hands out Fiddler's cloth for them to work on. I suppose sticking with an Aida fabric is good for the easily-confounded beginners, but Fiddler's cloth? So homespun for the elegance of blackwork, don't you think? (she asks wrinkling her nose). Wouldn't you just stick with white?

Someone makes a design for a "thread manufacturer," actually, it's Shelley. No reason to keep it a secret. Then Betsy asks, "is it Herrschner's?" Maybe Herrschner's does provide floss to designers, but they wouldn't be classified as a thread manufacturer. Surely every shop owner could distinguish that. Maybe I'm wrong about this because as much as I pretend to, I don't know everything about the industry. I'd be happy to retract this criticism if I were corrected by a reliable source.

The big doozer occurs when Irene, that extraordinary stitcher, brings in a piece of needlework that is stunning yet eerie:

The darkest shades (of purple) were at the top, fading quickly to uneven swirls of pinky lavender across the middle. It was an angry sky dotted with little clusters of X's, like leaves blown in a stiff wind. Near the top, just under the darkest purple dye and cradled in a thin, uneven line of purple cloud, was stitched a white sliver of moon.

The bottom quarter of fabric was also stitched--mostly cross-stitches--in browns, tans, and grays scattered with vertical stitches that made Betsy think of a weedy lawn or garden in late autumn. In the center was a big leafless tree--the knobby, crooked limbs proclaimed it an oak--and stuck rakishly on an upright limb was...Betsy leaned over the design.

A witch's hat. From a lower branch, lifted into a curve as if in a stiff breeze, hung the skeleton of a fish, and among the lifted roots of the tree was a half-buried but very realistic human skull.

Well that's different! Irene has dyed the fabric herself, and can get Betsy "all the yardage she needs" so she can sell the design in her shop. You can imagine Betsy's reluctance. However, it's the description of the fabric that demands attention. On page 69, it is called linen. By page 71, Irene is explaining that she got a great deal on "congress cloth" when one of the local stores went out of business. At least the latter part of that sentence is accurate. (But really, shouldn't Betsy be all rankled that one of her Monday bunch has gone to the closing sale of a competitor and got 15 yards of congress cloth for $7.50? She's not.) As Spinster Stitcher has explained, Congress Cloth is "canvas lite" but not, as it turns out, linen.

Those are my main gripes with the needlework. The mystery is fairly clever and actually has an interesting twist. Much more readable than others in the series.

You can see earlier reviews here and here.

Inspiration

THANK YOU! to all of you who delurked. Still, only 13% of you. I'm determined to break 20%, though I'm not quite sure how I'll lure you out. Yet.

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The best part about blogging is giving myself a wider audience. (You know, instead of bugging the dude all the time, "Look what I did!") I'm pleased to give a wider audience to two readers who took inspiration from my work. First, Cheryl saw this:

And made this, charting her own "curly W":

And then Susan saw these (how much did I want to write "saw my boobies?"):

And made these for her "tacky ornament" (tacky?!) exchange:

Love the pearl necklace. (And I did get to say, "show me your boobies!") She's also looking for help because her group loved this ornament sooooo much they want a felt penis ornament. (Now that is tacky.)

It appears I spoke too soon regarding Sissy. She has some sort of bubbling skin problem near her incision (they did remove it--didn't I say?), and it's unclear if it is infection or allergy, though they lean toward the latter. (My dad is allergic to latex and betadine, so pretty likely.) We'll be having lunch tomorrow after her appointment, and I'll let you know how it goes. They do have to go back in at a later date because there is some sort of King Spawn Cell that they didn't get. But she's on the road ...

Imagine my Surprise!

I wasn't just not blogging, I wasn't even reading that much. I've fallen behind--over 100 blogs to read. So I was whipping through the big ones--The Superficial, Craft Gossip, and Craft Magazine.

Imagine my surprise. When I hadn't heard from them at the end of July, I just pouted a bit (offline) and went on with my life. And there's not even any one in the house to share my joy!

HB to DD

Another August birthday...
Free pattern here.
Caron Collection Waterlilies, peacock maybe. Since the great craft room cleanup, I can't tell you anything...
Fabric is linen, some kind of natural, 32 count
3.75 inches across.
The button was in bag of junk buttons I bought. So perhaps this qualifies as "just junk"?

Happy significant birthday, dear friend! Can't wait for your birthday trip to the east coast!

Thanks, everyone, for your comments on the last biscornu.

best pal, birthday gal

I just heard from best pal that she has received her birthday gift. I tried to capture best pal's khaki and t-shirt style with this one--I think I managed that. But try as I might, this little biscornu wouldn't give me a good photo.

Can I just say how much I love making these? I love making these! It's not just the cool way it becomes eight sided; I also like the ladder stitching finishing. That is the kind of finishing I can handle!

Free pattern here.
NN Blue Bayou, which turned out to have way too much white in it for my taste.
Khaki evenweave, 30 count
2.5 inches across

I Feel the Love!

I want to thank you all for coming out of the woodwork to show your love for the biscornu! I hope the judges are feeling it like you all are! Thank you; thank you; thank you. It's very difficult for me to imagine that I'm not just like everyone else (just ask my therapist), so I thought I was making this contest entry and it was going to be an obvious choice that was just what everyone else would make. You can see how much I really needed your validation.

For all the Cubs fans, dude, you have that C--you can totally substitute it. And the blue would work with the red seams. Instead of a blue star, you could put a baseball button. Anyway, I grew up in NH and because the BoSox totally broke my heart in 1986, I can continue to be a member of Red Sox Nation. I only made the Phillies biscornu because I didn't want to get my head kicked in at Citizen's Bank Park while I worked on it. I do think there are many possibilities for substitutions and changes. You could even make a basketball biscornu or a puck. The (American) football might not work so well, but a soccer ball...

Thanks again to all of you!

Contest Entry

May I present the Phillies Biscornu, my entry in the Craftzine Stitch N Pitch contest?

I thought how much the stitching on the edges of a biscornu reminded me of a baseball, so I did my seams in baseball red. The Phillies' "P" and blue star logos decorate the object, which is remarkably round for something made from two squares of fabric. If I don't win (and really, what are the odds?) I will make the chart available here at some later date, once I've sat down and charted the whole thing (I do have a chart of the P available for all you Phillies fans). Here's my Phillies fun fact: I work with a former Phillies team doctor.