The band sampler (Heirloom Birth Sampler chart by Victoria Sampler) is finished, and in a little more than one month! The date is still blank; that won’t be set for another month or two, but everything else is done.

Here are some before and after photos of the Hardanger band. Just in case I completely messed up cutting the linen I wanted to document that at one time the sampler looked pretty. But that part of the process went well, so instead it’s interesting to see the difference that the drawn and pulled stitches make to the design.

As a Hardanger newbie, I wanted all the help I could get. Hardanger Basics and Beyond by Janice Love was the book I relied on most of all to make sure I stitched my kloster blocks (groups of satin stitches) in the proper order, cut the threads just right, and weave or wrap the remaining linen threads. The book is full of diagrams and clearly-written, detailed instructions. Best of all, there are plenty of left-handed directions! As the title suggests, basic Hardanger elements (kloster blocks, wrapped and woven bars, dove’s eyes, square filets, etc.) and motifs (tulip/ship and star) are introduced and explained. Projects are small: sachet-type pillows and bags.

I also highly recommend Victoria Sampler’s Beyond Cross Stitch series of small learning samplers — the samplers are grouped into six levels of ten projects each and each sampler teaches one or two new stitches. The diagrams and directions are excellent. Extra hints are included for each level of stitches (ribbon embroidery, pulled thread, Hardanger) and those are very helpful, too. (As I do most of my stitching after the Things have been put to bed, the advice to avoid cutting when tired was timely). Both the VS kits and Janice Love’s book were confidence builders for learning this type of embroidery. I found that the stitches weren’t particularly complicated; following the directions slowly and carefully yielded the best results.

Look for photos of the entire sampler in the fall once the date’s in place and the sampler has been framed.

Aside: the finished sampler will be mounted over a colored mat board so the Hardanger embroidery will match the ribbons and lettering. To take these pictures, I recalled the advice of my favorite Jane Austen hero (and his equally admirable sister) that muslin (or in this case, silk) always turns to some account or other … thus my ball gown becomes a fine backdrop to show off embroidery projects.

A biscornu is a tiny eight-sided embroidered pillow. It can be used as a pincushion, a key or scissor fob, or filled with potpourri for a sachet, to name a few possibilities. The name derives from a French adjective which literally means “several horns” and refers to an odd or bizarre, irregularly shaped object. Sometimes they’re called tuffets, too. I had seen a few of these little gizmos and wasn’t sure I could make one, but they’re not difficult after all! I began stitching the pieces late one afternoon, finished most of the stitching that evening, and assembled the biscornu the following day.

To try it out, I used a quick, simple pattern and materials already on hand. One of my favorite eBay sellers often includes extra fabric with my purchases, so I chose a small piece of her khaki colored Quaker cloth (28 count). The biscornu instructions on the Own Two Hands blog includes a list of links to patterns; I based mine on the “Popular Red Biscornu” pattern, but instead of red I used alternating bands of cream and lilac. While stitching the design, I decided to add cream-colored beads to the ends and points, and chose a pair of honeybee buttons to decorate the center. So much for keeping it simple. This is a good time to point out that biscornu-making can be addictive like embroidery crack. The design possibilities are endless, and they can be embellished with beads, buttons, charms, ribbons, hand dyed fabrics — anything goes.

There are several great how-to sites (I already mentioned Own Two Hands; also check out Violarium and Biscornu Basics) which show off lovely examples to pique interest, then walk the biscornu-curious through the creation steps. Here are a few lessons learned:

• The pattern I chose used only one color. Was that good enough for me? Oh, no. The light colors I chose give this biscornu a lovely antique look, but it would have been a lot easier to stitch with a dark color … like red … especially on the khaki-colored fabric. These stitches were hard to see and I had to unpick the design several times because I kept miscounting the evenweave. Not a big issue, but if I were making one for the first time again, it would be much easier if there were greater contrast between the floss and fabric.
• The how-to sites suggested attaching some backing to the evenweave. Good idea, because the evenweave frays like crazy. But I chose to back mine with felt, which was so thick that it made it difficult to stitch the two pieces together. The corners are not as square as I’d like them to be, either. Next time I’ll use much thinner backing.
• I used #12 perle cotton to stitch the connecting backseam, which may have been overkill and was almost impossible to see against the khaki fabric (see do-over #1). But between the felt and the perle cotton, it’s sturdy!
• Not precisely a do-over, but the rest of Team Gimlet claim the buttons aren’t honeybees, but houseflies. Even I have to admit these buttons are a little bit ambiguous (but I still say they’re bees). Perhaps I should name this the Pestilence Biscornu?

Even with these missteps, I’m pleased with how my first attempt turned out. Speaking of first attempts, here’s another peek at that band sampler I’ve been working on. It’s proceeding more quickly than I thought it would; ten out of the fifteen bands are finished. At this rate there shouldn’t be any trouble completing the sampler on time, but the Hardanger embroidery at the end promises to be a challenge.

In addition to Owl and the Pussycat, my other long-term stitching project this summer is a band sampler. It’s intended to be a gift, so I’ll leave out certain identifying details about it, but I’m using Victoria Sampler’s Heirloom Birth Sampler chart with just a few changes to the text to suit the occasion.

As per the directions, I chose to stitch the sampler on 32 count Belfast linen, platinum color. Everything about this project is new to me, from stitching on evenweave fabric (after a few false starts on a practice piece I’m getting the hang of it) to the embroidery threads (I’m loving the various silk flosses), ribbons, and beads, and nearly all the stitches are new, too. The sampler doesn’t need to be completed until the fall, so I’m going to take it very slowly, one or two bands at a time, learning the stitches as I go.

This week I finished the first three bands. The top band is a gorgeous garland of ribbon embroidery and beading, which may look more difficult to make than it was. The ribbon had to be handled carefully to keep the loops full, but the stitches themselves were easy to learn (and the ribbon loops are a great hiding place for any stitching sins). The garland is followed up by a band of pulled three-sided stitches, then double-sized cross stitches.

So far so good, but there’s a lot more left to do, and I’m especially nervous about cutting the fabric for the hemstitched band a few rows down. If it doesn’t work out, I can always give the intended recipient a gift card instead, and nobody will be the wiser.

Mary Hickmott’s New Stitches magazine has published a series of tropical fish charts; so far I’ve completed five out of the six designs. These circular charts are approximately 5″ in diameter and I’ve been stitching them on 16 count white Aida, although the magazine also suggests using 32 count evenweave. Generally about 16 colors (Anchor floss) are used per chart, although the first one I made (the starfish) requires only 9. The charts in New Stitches include the number of ½ metres of floss needed for each color, which I find very helpful. It’s great to be able to prepare a floss card in advance. I wish more charts included that information.

It’s been a fun series of charts, each taking about one week to complete. These projects have been my first experience working with blending filament. The filament adds sparkle to the fish, making them stand out from the coral reef background. I haven’t decided what (if anything) I’ll do with these designs, but while I’ve been working on them, Thing Two has become very fond of the fish; he loves to take them out of the project box and look at them. So I may frame them for his nursery, or if a few more charts are published in future issues, the fish could be made into panels for a quilt.

Thing Two has become an eager assistant. I was worried that letting a toddler loose in a yarn shop was a disaster in the making, but our occasional floss expedition has become a fun way to practice learning colors and counting — and little children love to have a job to do. At the “color store” he loves to hold the floss skeins. We count them, of course, and he tells me what the colors are — often offering suggestions for colors he thinks I should buy if the ones I’ve chosen aren’t interesting enough. After briefly surrendering his colors to the cashier, he then carries the bag for the return drive. Some of them are unravelled by the time we arrive at home.

There is a sameness to a series of charts; after five fish I needed a break and wanted to try a larger project. The Owl and the Pussycat, based on Edward Lear’s poem and adapted into a colorful, enchanting image by Sue Cook (Cross Stitch Collection, issue 128) was ideal. Thing Two can recite the poem with a little prompting here and there and has been following my stitching progress with great interest. Every morning he examines the scroll frame and asks, “Where’s the owl? Where’s the pussycat?” He’s going to keep me on task until it’s done. I started May 12, and finished the “beautiful pea-green boat” yesterday, so its occupants will materialize soon.

Lately I’ve been selecting stitching projects from cross stitch magazines. The articles are useful for learning about different designers, offer a chance to try out new skills and include a variety of charts in size, level of expertise, and topic. I’ve been stitching several small projects; all taking one week or less to complete.

The first magazine project to catch my eye was a free kit by Margaret Sherry included in issue 196 of CrossStitcher magazine. It doesn’t get much cuter than this pair of cuddling kittens. The completed design measures 15 x 12 cm, stitched on 14 count white Aida fabric using 18 colors. I wish the magazine had listed the floss codes; I didn’t run out, but a few people wrote in to the magazine’s web site in need of more, and it would be helpful to have the codes if I wanted to make another one as a gift. I completed it in about two weeks: this was my first experience with fractional stitches, and the backstitching required a lot of careful attention, too. Both the fractionals and backstitching were very useful to create the charming, illustration-like appearance of the kittens. The most exciting part of this project was finally learning how to make French knots. As a lefty, most embroidery stitches have been beyond my capabilities. I found a great tutorial on the Primrose Design blog, reversed her photos as per her suggestion, and was making French knots in no time.

Next, a different magazine has been publishing a series of tropical fish charts; so far I’ve completed five out of the six designs. Look for a separate blog post describing these fun, colorful projects — they’re Thing Two’s favorites.

I haven’t finished off the fish series just yet because I wanted to try stitching a card for my newest nephew. Issue 136 of Cross Stitch Collection (CrossStitcher’s sister publication) featured a delightful birth sampler from Faye Whittaker’s All Our Yesterdays collection. Any one of the children from this sampler would make a cute new baby or birthday card; I’m especially fond of this little boy and his teddy bear. It was stitched on 18 count white Aida fabric with 13 colors of DMC floss. One fun aspect of this project was that I was able to make the card using a leftover scrap of Aida and I had most of the floss already, too. Cross Stitch Collection focuses on more advanced projects than CrossStitcher, but still provides easy-to-follow general guides and advice for the beginner.

After finishing my nephew’s card, I was ready to make Mother’s Day cards for my mother and mother-in-law. I chose two beautiful designs from Joan Elliott’s book, A Cross Stitcher’s Oriental Odyssey. The orchids were the natural choice for my mom, the orchid collector. Both designs measured about 2½ x 3 inches and were stitched on 18 count oatmeal Aida with 12-15 colors of DMC floss. Again, I was able to stitch these cards with materials already on hand and each took just a few days to make (a good thing, as I had to scramble to get the morning glory card to the post office on time). The cardstock colors are much darker than they appear in the photos; the orchid card especially is a very dark red rather than fuschia.

Joan Elliott’s book is a lovely resource for cross-stitchers interested in Chinese and Japanese art and culture. Extensive notes describe the meaning behind each design and several suggestions are made for finishing the projects — cards, sachets, pillows, and more. The stitches used are whole and fractional cross stitches, back stitch, and French knots, so these designs are within the patient beginner’s abilities. I agree with the Amazon reviewer’s opinion that these designs could also be stitched on linen (rather than Rustico Aida) to great effect.

… but I finished another cross stitch project from Thing One’s babyhood! Back In The Day, I bought the Beatrix Potter Counts set of charts from Green Apple with the idea that I would use the cute character/number pairs to decorate Thing One’s nursery. I managed to complete the three specialty numbers and the regular numbers one through eight before getting distracted, or bored, or who knows what happened? Eventually Thing One grew too old for Peter Rabbit decorations in his room, and Thing Two took his own sweet time joining our family, so the cross stitching box ended up in the basement. After successfully completing Thing Two’s birth sampler shortly after Christmas, I decided to finish numbers 9-12, and did so just before Valentine’s Day.

Each number was stitched on a 9″ square piece of 18 count cream Aida fabric, and uses about fifteen different colors of DMC floss per design (two strands of floss for the cross stitches and one strand for back stitches). The chart book provides handy measuring guides for 11, 14, 18, and 22 count projects, and suggests using the numbers to decorate bibs, hooded towels, growth charts, and other baby items. These are cute little designs, but most of my satisfaction derives from completing them after so long. Although now that Thing Two is discovering Peter Rabbit and his woodland neighbors, I may get to add these to a nursery after all.

Meanwhile, I had ordered a kit from the Jane Austen Centre in Bath based on a watercolor Jane’s sister Cassandra sketched in 1804. That project took considerably less time to complete: I started it immediately after the Beatrix Potter patterns and it was done by February 29. I’m very pleased with how it turned out; the color scheme and small size of the piece give it a very delicate appearance.

The design area is about 6″x5″, stitched on 18 count cream Aida fabric, using seventeen colors of Anchor floss (one strand for cross and back stitches). The directions combine two contrasting colors into a single cross stitch in a few areas, creating extra color tone and texture in the lower deep folds of Jane’s pelisse. The kit provides the fabric, a needle, and plenty of floss: I made a mistake early on and had to redo most of the pelisse, but at the end I still had a small amount of floss which could be used for a future project. At the time, though, I wasn’t sure I would have enough to cover my goof, and the big chain craft stores don’t carry Anchor floss, so I was delighted to learn that a nearby knitting/crochet specialty shop sells Anchor floss as well — and it’s much easier to visit than the chain stores, which are mostly out of town.

I haven’t decided what to stitch next: I bought the companion kit depicting Jane Austen’s house in Chawton, Hampshire, but I also own a Beatrix Potter chart book for Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes and would like to stitch the two designs depicting a favorite poem. In the spirit of continuing education and family heritage, I’d like to try Hardanger embroidery, but I’m not ready to start learning that yet. Meanwhile, I hope that Uncle B will apply his mechanical engineering skills to improve my scroll frame. I like the theory of the frame: I find it easier to work with and it doesn’t leave heavy creases like the hoop I used for Thing One’s projects. But the frame I bought doesn’t always hold the fabric securely. Does anybody have a favorite brand of scroll frame, or any thoughts about using scroll frames or hoops?

I bought a cross-stitch birth announcement kit to work on while expecting Thing One, and wanted to make a matching sampler for Thing Two. Although the floss and fabric were purchased well in advance of Thing Two’s arrival, I didn’t actually get around to starting it until the week before this Thanksgiving. (Yes, Thing Two is two and a half now.) The goal was to finish it in time for Christmas; I managed to complete it a few days after the holiday. Still, considering all the other tasks and projects that needed attention during this time, I’m pleased that it took only six weeks to complete. The design was worked on 18 count white Aida fabric and measures 11″x14″. Next I hope to finish up a set of small Peter Rabbit designs (also 18 count) that were started when Thing One was a baby.

ETA: I should have mentioned this kit was by Heartwarmer Designs, purchased from Deseret Book. I haven’t seen the kit in stores for years, but it occasionally shows up on eBay. Heartwarmer Designs doesn’t appear to be around any more, either.

The original package included fabric, 14 colors of DMC floss, and a needle. No fancy embroidery, just cross stitches (using 2 strands of floss) and back stitches (1 strand). Kits were available in two color schemes: bright primary colors and pastels; I own the pastel version. While the personal information can be stitched in pink or blue, the main poem and border around the sampler are blue; it would be interesting to see how the sampler would look with those parts stitched in pink.

Besides stitching samplers for the two Things, I think I stitched one as a gift for a nephew. I don’t remember making any others for the rest of the nephews and nieces, so if any of the sisters-in-law feel like their children have been sampler-deprived, get in touch and we can work something out.