Stitching in the Time of Quarantine

There really are some extra hours in the day lately.  (Be careful what you ask for ...)  I'm still in charge of cooking, cleaning, and laundry -- I have teenagers, not to mention teenagers who are trying to adapt to online schooling, so despite having extra hands around the house, "in charge" frequently means only occasionally roping the girls in to help and instead doing much of it myself.  I reckon it takes about 90 minutes for a weekly grocery-store trip in ordinary days, not counting the unplanned I'm-out-of-baking-powder trips one makes, and so right there I have an additional hour and a half in the week. 

But the "Friend" sampler is as a result coming along nicely as I approach the half-way mark, and I'm appreciating its peacefulness (though I'm not sure yet whether I was right in shifting that leafy circle to the right by one stitch...).

Very pleased with this so far, the 1:12 scale Kurdistan prayer rug.  I was choosing the floss colors -- converted from Paternayan wool so that I could reduce it from 19-count canvas to 30-count gauze -- right at the time when stores were starting to close down, and although I love both of the two shades of garnet in my box, I felt that the lighter one would be better.  Unfortunately, I have only a very small amount of the lighter 815 and almost a full skein of the next-darker shade 814!  I ordered a skein from Michaels when our local one was still doing curbside pick-up, but they shut literally the night I placed my order, Joann offers only a very limited number of colors online, and my "local" needlework shop is two cities away.  I was going to just accept the inevitable, as one must sometimes, and use the darker one -- it isn't that much darker, really, I guess -- and then when it came time that I had to thread the needle I went for the lighter 815, and am hoping for the best.  One of the good things about small-gauge petit point is that you use surprisingly small amounts of thread.  I think I'll just work the parts that I really need to -- there isn't a lot of it in the center field, just this outline and some petals and flower centers -- and see how far I can stretch what I have.

The full-sized "Froth and Bubble" sampler was finished some time ago, but is still hanging unblocked on a door, just being admired since I don't have the wherewithal at the moment to frame it.  I enjoyed stitching every minute of this, and am as charmed by the result as I was by the first photo I saw of the chart --

 

Comments

[ceci]

So much to love about the Froth sampler, I can't decide if the oak leaves and acorns are my favorite, or the butterflies!

ceci

[ellen]

Everything about the froth sampler is lovely. Can I ask what fabric you stitched it on?

[Jeanne]

Ellen, I knew I should have written it down in a safer place! If I remember correctly, it is 28-count Zweigart linen, in their “platinum” color. The owner of the needlework shop I went to recommended it, both the brand and the color. I confess I’m used to the “inexpensive” craft-store linens, and it was really a treat to stitch on the Zweigart, very smooth and even.

I mean to write a wrap-up post about the piece when I manage to get it framed, but I should say that the original colors for the chart are almost all at least two shades brighter than what I ended up using! and I blended the two adjacent shades of each color except the navy blue outlining.

[Ellen]

Thank you! I really like the look of the linen compared to Aida. I haven't done any cross stitch for years, but tempted to pick it up again as a more peaceful craft in these strange times.

[David M Beach]

saw the title and thought perhaps you were stitching masks... ;-)