Wednesday 12 February 2014

Cross Stitch Gold 109

I might as well come clean: I have no idea how it`s already the middle of February. All I remember is, it was Christmas, my parents were here, then they flew back to Hungary on 12 January and I started to work like crazy on my latest commission for Collection (a massive, 180x180 picture by Maria Diaz with stunning detail, partly thanks to the miles of backstitch and 320 French knots, eek!), for which my deadline was 3 February. Eventually, I was a few days late with this one, due to a cold `epidemic` that swept through the whole family (Gregory brought some bug home from school and I got it from him, then DH from us), so in my capacity as a patient-and-nurse, I lost a week or so of precious stitchy time. Luckily, I managed to more or less make up for it by stitching solid 10 hours per day for the past couple of weeks. Now I`m working on a Durene Jones gorgeousness for Gold - and this reminded me that the current issue of Gold has my bunny wabbit in it so here I am to share.
Another confession: I didn`t take progress piccies for this piece, only one photo of the finished piece, front and back. Now before you accuse me of `stitchers` snobbery`, I couldn`t care less what the back of anybody`s work looks like - I know it`s a hotly debated topic in many stitchy circles but I, personally, don`t care how others work, I just try to make mine as mess-free as possible (couldn`t do it any other way with my slight OCD, lol). Anyway, thanks to Amanda Gregory`s clever design, it was almost impossible to make a mess of this rabbit`s back (until I started the backstitch, that is), and I liked the mirror-effect so much I took a photo of it.

   
It`s such a cute little bunny, isn`t it? I stitched it just before the run-up to Christmas, around the time when the shops started to put their festive CDs on, together with their fake-tree decorations, and in the middle of all this, I was stitching for Easter. Never mind, in return I`ll be working on Santas and snowmen in June.
Talking about Christmas, I did some knitting while my parents were here - remember that big entrelac rectangle? My Mum claimed it for herself, and despite all my efforts to persuade her that I can`t turn a rectangle into a garment with arm and neck holes, she insisted that it`d make an excellent vest (=sleeveless jumper) for her. So with plain blue, I knitted a back for it, i.e. another rectangle, then started to sew up the two halves but got so frustrated that we packed up the whole thing into her suitcase, in the firm belief that if anybody can turn this into something wearable, it`s my Gran.
And for her, my Granny, I knitted a Fair Isle tam, similar in colours to the one that`s been her favourite for these past 15-20 years, and which hat is about to leave her after this rather lengthy partnership. Here are some pictures of my colour combo, a variation on this pattern, proudly donned by my lovely Gran who, you won`t believe this, is 80 years old - she hasn`t changed in looks for the past 20 years and no, it`s not just because she`s `always wearing the same hat`, lol! I hope to be as wrinkle-free as she is when I`m 50, let alone 80!



4 comments:

  1. What a neat bunny wabbit! :) I know about the whole "snobbery" claim about the back, but I personally don't consider it snobbish when you show a clean back - and if it is the mirror image of the front, then you've got bragging points! I try to keep my backs as clean and knot free as possible, but it often depends on the design, the stitch count (smaller count fabric tends to be more "neat" for me), and my level of laziness. :)
    Your grandmother is gorgeous! The hat really suits her.
    Wishing you all the best - and stay away from "bugs." Happy stitching!

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  2. Thanks, Katya, I`m so glad she likes it! :) I couldn`t put a photo up sooner, not only because of my being busy but also because she only got it for her nameday (21 January, Agnes). It`s such a pity namedays are not celebrated in Scotland... Anyway, talking about mirror images: check out these ivy leaves!!! I saw this wreath the other day and my jaw`s still on the floor! :)
    http://www.ajisaipress.com/blog/blackwork-embroidery-a-step-by-step-guide/

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  3. Hi Laura,
    Your stitching is wonderful, you do such a neat job!
    I've never known anyone who does the stitching for the magazines so it's lovely to find someone who does this. I find I'm OK designing to a deadline but I can't imagine stitching to one!
    I love your stitching on the rabbit.

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  4. Oh, wow, thank you, Amanda! It`s such a compliment, coming from you... WOW!! :)) I don`t know any designers, either - which is a shame because I`d have a thousand questions about the whole designing process; to me, that`s the real magic. Every time someone calls me `creative` for what I do, I always think that the real creativity begins with the designing process, and compared to that, my job is just to follow the chart the artist has created - my only `art` is to do it relatively quickly, by a deadline. :)
    I enjoyed working on this rabbit a lot - and not only because I`m writing to you, lol! - but because I prefer realistic designs and your animals and flowers are so true to life, it`s stunning. Although I didn`t stitch that one, but I loved the gorgeous squirrel in issue 108, and I was very happy to get this bunny because there`s one just like this in our front garden (he likes to hide under a big bush and you can only see him when you come out the front door and he bolts out in a blind panic).
    Thank you so much for the design and commenting on my work - it really made my day! :)

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