Thursday, November 18, 2010

WIP Progress - Such as it is

So far this week, all I have worked on is the Plum Street Sampler Halloween Greetings that was featured in the September JCS 2010 issue. This was charted for 36ct and I am stitching it on 32ct, so I understand that it is working up larger than the designer intended ... but even at 36ct, I would have considered it a very very large ornament. Add that to the fact that there is an awful lot of stitching involved [3 sheep, 1 house, 1 pineapple, 1 raven, 1 pumpkin, 1 crown and a healthy dose of words & numbers] and what you've really got is a small to medium sized pillow ... not an ornament, by any means. So far as I am concerned ornaments should be the quintessential smalls: roughly 3" square [adjust dimensions slightly for other shapes], simple but attractive designs, a fair amount of white space, quickly stitched, more in the fun & funky vein rather than mini-masterpieces. I realize there are some who go to the other extreme with their ornaments ... I am thinking about some of the elaborate Victoria Sampler ornament charts I have seen ... but I consider that way too much work for too little end product.


Since my version of this design will be anything but an ornament, I'll be leaving out the phrase "Halloween Greetings" at the top and substituting another raven [facing center] for the date. I believe I have some thin wale black corduroy in my fabric stash to turn this into the perfect knitting bag [sheep - wool] for my sister's Christmas gift.
Photos will have to wait till tomorrow while the camera battery recharges.

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