Navajo rug – introduction

Natalia Frank recently stitched a gorgeous Navajo design on 40ct silk gauze. I am one quarter Navajo, though I don’t know much about the culture since I’ve not had much contact with that side of my family since I was very young. I thought it was a perfect way to bring that part of me into my miniature art, like gathering the pieces that make me who I am to include in my mini projects.

I checked out numerous books from the library and found many designs I liked, but it wasn’t until I did a google search that I found the perfect piece: a beautiful contemporary weaving presented by Steve Getzwiller (below, see the second weaving from the left for the one I was immediately drawn to). You can see more of these wonderful works here. So many intricate and beautiful designs to admire.  I love the corn stalk weaving on the far left, too. True artisan work!

I was instantly drawn to the colors and shapes of that one particular design, so I set out to find a better photo. This was the best I could do. That is Steve Getzwiller.

I wrote to Natalia to see how she charts her patterns, and she offered to chart it for me. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to her. She saved me so much time and headache since I had no idea where to begin. She has captured the beauty of the rug in miniature scale, and I will soon begin to stitch.

Mine will be cross-stitched on 32ct Jobelan in parchment, though I do plan to stitch the entire rug, including the background. I just thought it would be easier on my eyes than stark white. I like the coloration as it appears in the first photo above considering the room I plan to put it in, so I’ll use colors similar to those instead of the warmer earth tones of the second photo.

I have the project on a wood frame since that’s what I had on hand. It is held in place with thumbtacks on the right side. I’ve picked my colors from my existing stash of floss, though I need to buy more of the center background color. I plan to buy several skeins so the dye lots will match since it covers a large open area. Most of the other colors won’t require as much, so I’m set as far as those go. I went with a subdued palette though I think the contrast levels will be quite nice overall.

With the fresh beginning, I am getting into the groove of it. I’ve set myself a goal of stitching at least ten hours per week. That should keep a steady pace going.

Categories: Needlework - French knot rugs
December 2, 2011 | 0 comments

William Morris rug – completed

I’ve finished with the red border of the William Morris rug! At 97 hours (29 hours for filling in the red border alone), the rug is really taking shape. The interior color will take a good deal longer and I imagine working in a very light color will be challenging in its own way.

I began filling in the center with DMC 712, which was supposed to be cream. I had barely stitched a full corner when the color went from vanilla cream to flat tan. Bleh! I expected the cream and the peach/pink tones to compete a bit, but the 712 flattened out the pale green, too.

I thought I would have to use white since the 712 cream color was about as light as the colors come. From seeing the design with the white fabric background, it wouldn’t look bad stitching with white floss. When I went through my stash of floss, however, I found DMC 746, the bright creamy tone I was looking for to begin with. Before removing the 712 stitching, I did up the opposite corner with 746 just to make sure. As expected, the peach faded slightly into the background, but the pale green stayed prominent.

I went through my thread stash and found what I dubbed “secondhand smoke white.” Of course, that’s not the official name on the DMC chart, but that’s the color I’m going with. It was once white, but after years in my grandmother’s home, it became not-so-white. I’ve inherited many of her craft supplies since she’s no longer with us, and I found a whole bunch of this “white” embroidery floss.

After removing the stitches of the 712 and 746, I needed something a little brighter. I looked at the overdyed, 4150, ecru colorations a few blog readers suggested, but they were all as dark as the initial 712.

Here’s the new white…er…smoky white (upper left corner). It fills in well and doesn’t compete. We had a winner.

Also, strangely enough, it seems thicker than the dyed flosses, so I need only one strand per square instead of the two I had used for the rest of the stitching. This is 4.25 hours of white stitching, 101 hours total stitching.

The entire rug consists of 142 hours of stitching time including 29.25 hours for filling in the red border and 42.25 hours for filling in the white background.

It measures 5 5/8″ square.

The shoes and purse are by Patrizia Santi. I made the bedspread from venise lace; tutorial is available in my etsy shop.

Categories: Needlework - French knot rugs
October 2, 2010 | 0 comments

William Morris rug – part 1

I am stitching the William Morris rug shown on the front cover of the book Miniature Needlepoint Carpets by Janet Granger.

Her patterns are made for 18ct canvas, but this rug would measure about 9″ x 9″ using that material. Too large for my purposes, and 18ct isn’t as fine a finish as I prefer. I decided to stitch the pattern on 28ct fabric, which will result in a rug just under 6″ x 6″. I also decided to cross stitch this pattern to eliminate the tendency for the fabric to show through the usual needlepoint stitch.

I made a color copy of the pattern to attach to my magnetic board and liked the colors better than the original, so I visually matched the thread colors from my stash instead of using the suggested colors in the book. This is the rug after about 13 hours of work. Long way to go.

Now at roughly 33 hours of work. I’ll be finishing the second half of the design before filling in the background and border. I’m still undecided on those colors, though I have some ideas. I just love the design itself so much, I don’t want to detract from it.

At just under 70 hours, the entire design is done!  :D

Now comes the long process of filling in the background colors. I am sold on the rusty red for the outer border but I am torn between the vanilla and silver-grey for the interior. My plan is to work on the red border for now and decide on the inner portion once that’s done.

I think the vanilla will be really rich looking – like red velvet cake with butter cream frosting. Yum! But, the silver-grey has its appeal as well – the peach and pink floral shapes will likely stand out more against the silver-grey.

Categories: Needlework - French knot rugs
July 10, 2010 | 0 comments

Llama rug

I stitched a pattern from Exquisite Miniatures in Cross Stitch and Other Counted Thread Techniques by Brenda Keyes. I went to a local needlework shop and asked for 22 count needlepoint canvas the project called for, but once I started stitching I realized she had sold me 24 count canvas. Not a big deal for this project, but I was glad I noticed before I used the canvas for anything that required an exact count.

Since this was my first project using canvas, I had to get something besides an embroidery hoop.  I tried to find a smaller needlepoint frame, but the local stores didn’t carry the smaller sizes. I could order online, but then again I wanted to be able to see what I was getting beforehand. On a trip to Michael’s, I found a 4″ x 6″ unfinished wood frame for less than two dollars. t was perfect for miniature needlework and less expensive than the frame components. Sold!

I stapled the canvas in place but have since acquired flat tacks that I plan to use in the future.

I substituted some of the colors listed in the pattern book for what I had on hand, using only embroidery floss not wool as indicated. I also moved some colors around on the pattern to make the llamas stand out more against the background. The rug measures approximately 3″ x 5″ (not including the fringe) and took about 24 hours of work time.

Though I am not planning a southwest-inspired room, I really liked the pattern of the rug. It reminds me of a souvenir my mini inhabitants might have brought back from traveling. The miniature trunk is carved wood and opens; it was a gift from a relative many years ago. It’s marked Made in Poland. I made the plant from floral tape and wire.

Categories: Needlework - French knot rugs
March 12, 2010 | 0 comments

Orange Tree tapestry

I checked out a bunch of books from the library and lined up a number of projects. The first one I completed was from Exquisite Miniatures in Cross Stitch and Other Counted Thread Techniques by Brenda Keyes. This book is not specifically for dollhouses but has smaller real life size projects that can be used in miniature settings both with and without minor modifications.

The art is called Orange Tree, so I thought it would look nice in a conservatory.

I stitched it on 28 count evenweave fabric in mushroom color. The book had called for it to be stitched on 22 count needlepoint canvas. The color of the fabric saved my having to stitch the background, and the higher count made the project smaller in size. The needlework is mounted on stiff felt on the back.

Categories: Needlework - French knot rugs
March 7, 2010 | 0 comments