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Tuesday 27 October 2015

October WIPocalypse Nervous Over Materials?

WIPocalypse
WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

The focus of my WIPocalypse will be my "15 in '15"which are 15 charts I want to stitch in 2015 (following on from my "11 in '11", "12 in '12", "13 in '13" and "14 in '14" - imaginative, eh?)
Over the last month I have only stitched 1 of my 15 designs but I did finish it!  Same as last month.

That brings the total of finished WIPocalypse projects to 10 out of the 15.  Hopefully I can manage one more, the others are all pretty big so they will be carried over to next year.

And here is the finished project, stitching-finished anyway, not finish-finished!

Primitive Hare - Hallowe'en Cubes

stitched on 32 count Vintage Grain linen

The plan is to make them into cubes using either polystyrene cubes or maybe that flower arranging foam.  Whatever is cheaper!

I plan to stitch the Christmas Cubes for next year.  Maybe I could make double-faced cubes with Hallowe'en on one side and Christmas on the other?

Measi always gives us a topic to discuss:

October - Are there any fibers or materials used in stitching that you’re nervous to try?

I'm not really "nervous" of anything, there are some things I will avoid - French Knots with Kreinik.  Joan Elliott what are you thinking when you chart those?  But I will try most fibres and threads at least once.  As you know, I'm stitching Trixie the Hallowe'en Witch and substituting DMC for the charted Kreiniks (for cost reasons).  The black does not cover well so I've ordered the Kreinik and on recommendation of the lovely Alicia The Crafty Princess I have ordered the Rainbow Gallery Petite Treasure Braid too.  It's slightly more expensive than Kreinik but you get twice as much!  I shall keep you posted how it works.

I like adding beads and charms to my work as well as metallics.  I often substitute beads for the aforementioned French Knots too!

Fabric-wise I am an evenweave and linen fan.  Like most people I started off on aida as that was what was supplied with kits in the 1980s.  Since discovering evenweave my tastes have totally changed and I will always substitute an evenweave for aida.  I tend to use evenweave for pictorial pieces, particularly those with faces, and linen for samplers or more primitive pieces like the Hallowe'en Cubes. 

I suppose the thing which has made me most nervous in recent years isn't a fabric or thread, it's stitching for other stitchers.  I had often made things for non-stitchers and they loved them but the first time I had to stitch for someone who knew what they were looking at was very nerve-wracking.  Especially because it was a Round Robin (so several people were going to see it) and it was a Teresa Wenztler piece!  No added pressure there LOL.   Read more here  

Which brings me nicely onto my Mail Art which arrived safely in France.  I was partnered with Veronique who does beautiful stitching which only made me a little bit nervous!  I noticed from her blog that she had a link to The Primitive Hare so we had a mutal love of Isabella's designs.  I had already decided I wanted houses for my envelope and the theme "from my haunted house to your's"

I adapted the Hallowe'en Town design which featured in JCS magazine and is now available as a chart.  Here is the whole piece:

stitched on 32 count Cognac linen

Obviously to make an envelope you have to be mindful of which way up the various parts of the design have to be stitched!

This is the back (washed out colour).  I enlisted the help of Jocondine to make sure my French grammar was correct!


And this is the inside lining:


Here are the goodies I sent with the envelope, including a Just Nan chart and a hand-made card:


And here is the front of the envelope with the address obscured:
That wonderful stamp was in Cross Stitch Collection recently.  How serendipitous!

This was a great exchange organised by Mii.  I am wondering who got Veronique's envelope and I hope Mii does a round-up post so we can admire everyone's stitching.

Finally, I will be working on the Mystery Phrase for the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop and all the participants will receive an email over the next couple of days letting them know what their letter is for the hop in preparation for Saturday.  Woooohoooooooo!






17 comments:

Tiffstitch said...

Gorgeous mail art and I'm sure Veronique loved it! Congrats on finishing 10/15 planned projects and good luck on another one. I hope you enjoy the PTB. I find it the easiest metallic to work with so far.

Mini said...

Congratulations on completing 10 out of 15 projects. Your mail art envelope looks good.

Mii Stitch said...

Fantastic mail art work. Really like your choice of design & that little stamp is just perfect!
Thanks again for taking part!

Katie said...

Congrats on your finish. What a neat pattern. I love your idea of putting Christmas on one side. It would save money that's for sure. Instead of doing two sets. I just LOVE the mail art. How beautiful!!

Julie said...


Your mail art is amazing, that stamp was obviously charted just for you ;-)
I've seen the Halloween cubes on Barbs Rambings blog, she has then made up and on show, they do look effective, I think she's doing the santa one too. Do you follow her blog??

Rachel said...

Beautiful stitching and finishes as usual. I really like the Halloween designs. May have to add them to my wishlist! The Mail Art looks great too. All of the participants in the exchange did such wonderful and fresh designs.
Good luck with organising your Blog Hop! :)

Emma/Itzy said...

Well done on getting so many finishes this year! I look forward to all the hopping! :D

Unknown said...

I just love the way you did your envelope it looks super!!!!!

Barb said...

What a great job for this year!! I love the cubes!

Heather said...

Congrats on the finish! I love the idea of double sided cubes. The envelope looks great!

OhSewCrafty said...

Your Halloween cubes are very cool; I love the idea of making making the cubes H'ween on one side and Xmas on the other... it would save money and space.

gominam said...

Great post. congrats on the cubes finish, they're all pretty. Your mail art is just so gorgeous! I haven't dared stitch for a stitcher, my skills come short:( So I just enjoy reading everybody's exchanges, they're all awesome!

Brigitte said...

Everything is very Halloween-ish here. You finished the stitching for your Halloween cubes, so great! Not bad your idea to use the designs of the Christmas cubes for the back sides of the cubes.
Wow, such a lovely mailart envelope, it is fantastic. that design seems to be made for envelopes, doesn't it? Or did you change it in some way?

Leonore Winterer said...

Oh! What a great idea for the mail exchange, and lovely execution as well! Also, congrats to another one down on your 15 in '15 list ^_^

Sarah in Stitches said...

Beautiful Halloween stitching! Can't wait to see how the cubes turn out. Awesome envelope, too! I've never tried making an envelope, but there have been some really great stitching in this exchange, and I may have to try it :D

Stitching Noni said...

I love your envelope! What a beautiful exchange gift! What fate to have the wonderful stamp turn up in a magazine just when you needed it!
Your Halloween Cubes look fantastic. I think your of Halloween on one side and Christmas on the other is brilliant!
Hugs xx

Anna van Schurman said...

Love the envelope! Great fabric and design. I wouldn't go with the flower foam. It is usually malleable and wouldn't be able to keep their shape over time. You need something better for the lovely piece you've made!