Wolf's Craftstravaganza
 

I've posted a few of my crafts in the past for the wonderment of all. I decided to get out my box of unframed objects and see what it held. I don't know if I'll be able to restrain myself to one per day, but I'll see what I can do.


Counted cross stitch on 18 count aida fabric.

http://scribe.fork.org/cellar/crafts/xmouses.JPG

This is supposed to be a set of Christmouse ornaments. In order to complete this project I would have to cut out carefully placed ovals around each mouse, sew it to a backing, stuff it with cotton batting, and make an attach a bit of braid around each one, also forming the hanger.

That is the reason that this has not been done. That is too much motherfucking work. I let the cuteness of the design overwhelm me into purchasing it, without thinking of the hell I would have to endure to make the ornaments.

I may eventually have it framed as is, but I will remove the guide threads.

Well that`s a side of you I never expected.

Jag, Wolf is actually a bot created by M.C.Escher.:D

I also crochet doileys.

I do not read historical romance novels.

You should see her hand-knitted holsters!! :shotgun:

One of my backburner projects (i.e., I'd have to get out too damn much equipment to even give it a start) is firearms related ... one of these days, mebbe when I'm on vacation.

If I give you steel wool will you knit me a bulletproof vest?:D

Just warning you, it's itchy. Worse than wool.

One of the things that I like about doing cross stitch is that for the most part you only do the image ... you don't have the often tedious task of filling in the background.

14 count blue aida fabric. A little cross stitch lesson. Aida is the most popular type of fabric for cross stitching. It is formed of very well defined, regularly spaced squares. The "Count" of a fabric refers to how many squares per inch there are ... 14 is the most common, with 18 next. Because you lose design detail, you don't see many projects (other than beginner/children's projects) done on 11 count, which is the next bigger one. Sometimes people will use a fabric with a higher thread count (like 28 count linen ... I'll be posting a pic later that uses this fabric) and work over two stitches.

http://scribe.fork.org/cellar/crafts/shepherd.JPG

How Counted Cross Stitch Works
 

Most folks have seen and understand how cross stitch works ... you make "X"s with thread until you make a picture. Most people, though, think of stamped cross stitch ... the stuff your grandmothers or maiden great aunts did, making tablecloth after tablecloth with flowers and cornucopias and holly leaves on them.

Or pillowcases with cute little pictures.

That's not the kind of thing I do. I do counted cross stitch. You start with a blank piece of fabric and a chart indicating where the stitches in what colors should go. You find the middle of the fabric, the middle of the chart, and that's where you begin, and work your way out toward the edges of the design.

Here is a finished piece and a graph from a kit.

http://scribe.fork.org/cellar/crafts/howxstitch.jpg

I just had a horrible geek moment.

It is a bad sign when you look at the cross stitch images and think they look pixellated. "That is some low resolution."

And so it would be hilarious to do cross-stitches of well-known net images or Fark cliches!

but please not goatse!!

I wonder how many cross-stitch pattern designers crossed into early computer game art design.

Interesting speculation, but this is one of those "never the twain shall meet" moments ... the best cross stitch designers still use graph paper and pencil to do their work ... feeding a picture into a software program is cheating it. The art is in the color choice, shading, and blending ... Teresa Wentzler is the master, uh, mistress of this ... I'm working on one of her designs but I honestly don't know if I'll ever get around to finishing it. I'm about 1/3 completed. She will mix two different color threads in one needle ... and you end up doing a LOT of color changes on her designs, but the effect is awesome.