GimletBlog

(With apologies to James Whitcomb Riley and Au Ver à Soie)

After finishing the Hardanger centerpieces for Christmas gifts, I vowed that the next Hardanger piece I stitched would be (1) small, and (2) for me.  One out of two isn’t bad.

Early January  I had an idea to give a doily as a gift.  Surely a doily would be quicker and easier than a full size centerpiece, right? (Answer:  Not if I can figure out a way to complicate it.)  The interlocking diagonal box design was similar to the Vesterheim centerpiece, and the Maltese crosses were on my must-learn list of basic Hardanger stitches.  I’ve been wanting to learn how to stitch the beautiful edelweiss motifs found in the center of each block as well.

The pattern for this doily can be found in the 1997 Hardanger special issue of Diana Craft Journal.  The chart suggests stitching it on Bellana (20 count) fabric, but I wanted a smaller doily so I used 32 count Belfast linen instead.  The 32 count version measures about 9″ (22.5 cm) square or 11″ (27.5 cm) if measured on the diagonal.

After settling on a piece of Cameo Rose linen, I decided the doily would be especially pretty if it were stitched with silk rather than the usual perle cotton. (Complication #1.)  I used Trebizond long filament silk to stitch the kloster blocks and blanket stitches, and Soie Gobelins (another long filament silk made by Au Ver à Soie) for the eyelets and open work.  It seems like long filament silk finds every tiny dry or rough spot on the fingers and snags, but the final results are fabulous:  the stitches have a gorgeous sheen that can’t be duplicated by other fibers.  The fine Soie Gobelins is especially suited to this doily’s open work, because the stitches on 32 count linen are so small.  (Complication #2.)

Here is a set of photos showing the doily in progress.  I always like to watch a piece of Hardanger take shape; each step is so simple but as each is added, the project comes together and becomes a work of art.  The doily was completed in one month’s time; the kloster blocks and Maltese crosses took the longest to stitch at about a week each.  Each edelweiss was about 20-30 minutes of stitching time (which some might label Complication #3), but since there were only eight, I was able to complete all of them over two days.

This doily was a lot of fun to stitch (snags aside, I love working with silk) and I think it turned out beautifully.  My not-so-local local needlework shop owner, who guided me through all the different silk options,  couldn’t believe it was meant as a gift; when I brought it in to show off she said, “You’ll make another one for yourself, won’t you?”  Absolutely … isn’t that what I promised last time?

(The three dozen red roses in the photos are courtesy of The Gimlet, who knows a good Valentine’s Day tradition when he sees it.)

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Thing One is a T-shirt guy:  regardless of the weather, he can be seen wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt.  Over the years we’ve collected dozens of T-shirts from vacations, school events, and other occasions.  The shirts he’s outgrown were taking up a good amount of storage space, but I couldn’t bear to get rid of them — it was a storage bin filled with memories — and then The Gimlet suggested, “Why not make a T-shirt quilt?”

I’ve watched my mother make countless baby quilts over the years (not telling how many years, but the first one was for Uncle B, so do the math) but I’ve been sewing machine-phobic ever since that disastrous quarter in junior high Home Economics, so I wasn’t sure I could make a quilt on my own.  Nevertheless, the local fabric store had a booklet by Better Homes & Gardens about T-shirt and other memory quilts, and I had bought a not-too-intimidating little Kenmore sewing machine to keep my linens, Hardanger fabric, and other evenweaves from unraveling while I stitched, so it was time to give quilting a try.

After cutting off the sleeves and neck, and separating the front and back of the T-shirt, attach fusible interfacing to keep the T-shirt fabric from stretching.  The booklet suggests using fusible tricot interfacing, with the stretch of the interfacing placed opposite from the T-shirt’s natural stretch.  Once the shirts were fused, I cut them into various sized squares depending on the size of the design.

Then it was time to play with quilt top designs and fabric choices!  Nanaimo followed the process with great interest from the beginning, whether stalking the rotary cutter or leaping into the bag of scraps, and laying out the rows of squares on the bed was an open invitation for him to roll around and act silly.  I chose two batiks in aquamarine and brown (looks like burled wood) to provide a neutral (but not boring) backdrop to the variety of colors and designs of the T-shirts, and a cozy blue flannel back that would complement the batiks.

The rest of the process was straightforward:  sew squares, then strips, together to create the quilt top; tie it, and finish up by binding it.  It was an easy enough project for this complete quilt and sewing novice to make, and somebody who really knows how to quilt could achieve more impressive results with a more complicated pattern of blocks (perhaps in different sizes and shapes) and a quilted, rather than tied, top.  One small note of warning:  the fusible interfacing adds an additional tougher layer of fabric to sew through, and I found tying the quilt to be more difficult than the baby quilts have been.  It’s not bad for a first attempt; I can see the mistakes I made but I think the quilt is structurally sound and Thing One loves his new quilt.  Not only is it great to be able to re-use these old shirts, it’s also a a fun way to remember the elementary school science fairs and school carnivals, and family vacations/Gimlet business trips around the country.  There are still several T-shirt blocks left over; not quite enough for a second full quilt but perhaps they’ll make up a smaller lap quilt some day, or I can add more shirts as Thing One continues to outgrow his old favorites.

A T-shirt quilt may be a project for the moms of younger children to look forward to making (you’ll be here before you know it, trust me) and it’s not a bad idea for recycling our own old shirts from Back In The Day which are just too cool to throw out.

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Last summer I decided to embroider several Hardanger table centerpieces as Christmas gifts.   Originally I planned to make four gifts, but by the beginning of December it was clear that there was no way I’d be able to complete more than three.  Each centerpiece took about two months to embroider, and while I managed to complete the much larger third project in two months as well, life would have been much easier if I had budgeted 3-4 months for it instead.

My grandmother received the first project:  a 20″ (approx. 51cm) square centerpiece based on a 1905 design from the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.  I stitched it on white Hardanger fabric (22 count) with variegated blue perle cotton from DMC.  The openwork took a lot longer than I thought it would; overall the centerpiece is much more “lacy” than I expected it would be.  (See what it looked like before I did any cutting, weaving, or picots.)  I was also learning each stitch along the way, so I believe if I made this centerpiece again it wouldn’t take as long to embroider the basic surface stitches.

The second centerpiece, Mindy, was given to my aunt.  A little smaller than the Vesterheim centerpiece (18″ or 45cm), I used light blue Hardanger fabric and white DMC perle cotton with dark blue perle cotton accents.  This centerpiece was the easiest and quickest of all the projects to stitch.  One aspect of Hardanger embroidery I enjoy is watching the progression of a project:  each set of simple stitches adds to the overall beauty and complexity of the design.  Here’s a look at Mindy in progress.

Third (and last), my mother chose the pattern “Oldemors Kaffeduk” (Great-grandmother’s coffee cloth) from Lillil Thuve’s book Hardanger Design (Orion Forlag, 2000).  The original design is white embroidery on white fabric, but I decided to use Caron Watercolours Rose Quartz for the surface stitches, and cream Hardanger fabric was a better match with those colors.  Further, I added a personal touch:  my mother’s dining room has a view of her bird feeders, to which chickadees are one of the most frequent visitors.  A Cross Stitcher’s Oriental Odyssey (by Joan Elliott) includes charts for a delightful pair of chickadees which fit perfectly in each corner of the tablecloth.

While the tablecloth design was simple, the size of the project (81cm  or 32″) meant there was a lot more work to do than on the previous centerpieces.  The additional cross-stitched motifs also took extra time to complete — a little under one week per chickadee.  The tablecloth was successfully completed in two months, but the pace was much more intense and many other tasks around the house were neglected to meet the Christmas deadline.

I’m pleased with how the chickadee tablecloth turned out.  The cream fabric and delicate blend of pink, cream, taupe and green in the Watercolours skein give the piece an antique look.  I used ecru perle cotton rather than Caron’s Wildflowers Rose Quartz to weave the bars so the openwork would stand out; I noticed that the variegated thread in the Vesterheim centerpiece makes it difficult to see the dove’s eyes and picots.

Even though the goal of homemade gifts ended up becoming very stressful at the end — and I was very happy to be finished! — I’m glad I made the effort.  It’s been a great learning experience and is a fun hobby (relaxing, too, when there’s no deadline to meet).  The only problem now is that I gave away all my Hardanger pieces and have none for my own table.  I still have all the materials to make the Anna table runner, so I may keep it or give it as a gift this year.  I’ll also take some time choosing another pattern for myself, and enjoy the slower pace as well as the eventual results.

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IT’S DONE!

Due to the snow and slush, our family holiday party was postponed until Sunday, so even though the final Hardanger project wasn’t completed in time for Christmas Day, it’s ready to be shown off at the party.  Plenty of posts to write and photos to sort through over the next several days:  check back for our Santa visit, a quiet Christmas at home, bragging complete descriptions of all three Hardanger Christmas gifts, and snow, snow, and more snow.

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It’s been pretty quiet around GimletBlog lately, hasn’t it?  At the end of October I started work on Christmas present #3, and it turned out to be a lot more involved than I expected.  The small fact that the project was about twice the size of the previous two should have been an indicator, but no.   As Christmas drew closer and closer, and other household and holiday tasks piled up, about two weeks ago I slowed down, made the difficult (but obvious) decision not to pursue Christmas present #4 this year, and made time to catch up on everything else.

As the post title indicates, it seems like the whole month of November was spent on the wrong side of half done, but now all that remains is the final steps of cutting and weaving bars — no fillings to slow the work down, thank goodness.  Come Christmas, the recipient will get to see the work-in-progress, and meanwhile I will have been able to wrap presents and bake some cookies.  No guarantees on mailing out cards, though!  After Christmas there will be photos and descriptions of the first two gifts, and hopefully the third will soon follow.

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At least two people on my gift list will get handmade embroidery for Christmas this year!  Follow the jump for a peek at the newest piece. (more…)

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It was starting to feel like handmade Christmas gifts were too ambitious of goals, but the first project is done!  Follow the jump for a few teaser pictures and cryptic details. (more…)

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After completing the band sampler, I had the great (or insane) idea that if I could successfully finish one small band of Hardanger embroidery, the next logical step was to make a whole bundle of table runners and centerpieces for Christmas gifts.  Well, we’ll see how far I get with that.  Beyond the jump are small spoilers — teaser photos and a few details about some of the projects I’m working on — so if you want to avoid any hints of what the elf sweatshop is up to, steer clear.  Look for an after-Christmas post describing all the projects in detail with plenty of photos. (more…)

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