Sunday, April 12, 2015

HAP SAL and YOTA Update - HAED Bridge of Wings & Dimensions Gold Elegance of the Orient

HAP SAL update time, visit here for details. Progress on Heaven and Earth Design's Bridge of Wings has been scarce the last few months, which is a bit disappointing to be honest. This is the second month I have failed to complete my current page.

HAED Bridge of Wings WIP, Heaven and Earth Designs Bridge of Wings Work in Progress. HAP SAL
Bridge of Wings looking surprisingly similar to last month.
Recently most of my stitching is taking place on my couch. When stitching Bridge of Wings I have been using my large Q-snaps but I find it quite difficult to hold due to it's size. I also tried using a scroll frame but the larger ones are too awkward to use in hand, leading to a circus like performance as I have one leg raised by being on tip toes or using my lap stand, having to contort my arms to try and reach around the back of the piece.

I do have a floor stand but find that frustrating to keep assembling and disassembling all the time. The option of just leaving it assembled is always a possibility, if I don't mind having it take up space and tripping over it all the time. I don't want to use a smaller frame and have the clamps over the stitching, experience from other projects shows it can damage or distort the stitches. There is too much bulk in this piece to be able to put some felt between the frame clamp and the project, I tried the clamps kept popping off.

This is also my late Year of the Acronym check in,  for details on this click here.  I did start the backstitching on my Dimensions Gold - Elegance of the Orient piece this month, however there is a lot of detail in this. Several hours of laborious stitching later and I only managed to get some of the upper section of the kimono outlined.

Dimensions Gold Elegance of the Orient WIP, Work in progress for YOTA Stitch a long.
Dimensions Gold - Elegance of the Orient
I believe I may have discovered the cause of my frequent grudge match with backstitching. Once I finish all the cross stitching, my mind starts to convince itself that I am close to completion. However the backstitching still remains, taunting me with how close I am to the finish but still not quite there. I begin to feel that it is being obtuse on purpose, preventing me from crossing another piece off my ever lengthening WIP list.

This is another piece that I have been finding a bit difficult to work with lately. I have been using my scroll frame but I keep hitting my hands off the wing nuts at the back as I bring my hands around. The time I experimented with having the wing nuts to the front, my thread kept getting wrapped around them. I suppose this should encourage me to get the hang of two handed stitching but when my progress slows down I get annoyed and switch back to my usual method.

While fighting with the backstitching, I worked with Elegance of the Orient in hand for a while. It actually helped and perhaps it would be worth trying this method with Bridge of Wings. The thought of trying to manage all that extra fabric as well as the hanging threads has always detered me from trying this. If I ever want to make progress on it and maybe get the illusive HAED finish I might have to experiment a little.

I will post on any solutions I manage to find to these cross stitching annoyances. Please leave a comment on any techniques you have found helpful in the comments below.

20 comments:

  1. Elegance of the Orient is beautiful, you're doing a wonderful job! Sorry to hear about the annoyance of a suitable frame match up for Bridge. I too am reluctant to squish stitches, which often leaves me in a quandary that I haven't satisfactorily solved :-)

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  2. Hello

    Elegance of the Orient is a wonderful piece.
    I don't like squashing my stitching but I can never get comfy with large frames. It is a dilemma.
    Happy Sunday x

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  3. Your issues sound very familiar. I do tend to do some of the backstitch in hand so I don't have to keep moving the fabric around. It's difficult to make sure you have the right tension though, but makes it easier to continue on in a line.

    I also do some backstitch as I go along now, which helps decrease the massive amount at the end. I hope you can find a solution that works for you!

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  4. I don't like squashing stitches either. I have a Millennium Frame and work on that for bigger projects. As for backstitch, I do it page by page if possible. Hope you get your mojo back for these two lovely projects soon.

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  5. Gorgeous stitching.

    I think your theory about back stitch could well be right! It definitely taunts us!

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  6. Awesome progress. I'm probably one of the few that enjoys backstitching.

    Linda

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  7. Beautiful stitching! Backstitching is a pain, but boy does it make your stitching pop!

    Have you ever tried using Qsnaps as a scroll frame? You put the snaps on the top and bottom of the frame, but not on the sides, then you can roll your fabric similarly to a scroll frame. (you put one of the snaps on, then turn it, rolling the fabric, then put the second snap on.)

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  8. I use a small Q Snap and put a thin piece of fabric or tissue between the snap and the project. I've also had good luck with inverting the Q snap so that the clamps are on the back side of the fabric. Personally, I love my floor stand and leave it up all the time. It does eat up a whole corner of my couch though. As for the backstitching, I usually end up doing that as I go because I'm too impatient to wait until the end - I like to see the details emerge. Both of your projects are looking great and I'm sure you will get it sorted sooner or later.

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  9. Sorry I can't really help with your issues, I use smaller QSnaps and just put the clamps over the stitches. Yes they do get squashed, but they soon pop back to normal. Obviously it's a personal thing though! With the bulk, I just fold the edge of the fabric and tuck it under the clamp (so there is 2 layers of fabric under the clamp), then roll the rest and put it inside a huggie/grime guard.

    I've not found an issue with the size of the project and I plan to stitch the super-sized chart in the same way, I've just made a larger huggie to accommodate the increased amount of fabric.

    I know one of the ladies that stitches uses a millennium frame and uses the arm of the sofa to rest it on the cushions/pillows on the other side and stitches 2 handed.

    I hope that you can find a better way for you very soon and you can get that page finish!

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  10. I'm so glad you shared those frame woes! I tired the stand up stand and that bothered me to I took it apart and sent it to my friend Krystal. Now I have a lap stand I'm going to try and see if that works, some projects are just so big it's hard to find that right way of doing things!

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  11. Both of your pieces look gorgeous! Good luck with the scrolls/frames. I've always used the in-hand method myself, and though it gets annoying with bigger pieces, I just find it so much easier than dealing with cumbersome devices. Anyway, hope you find a way that works! :D

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  12. I love your Elegance of the Orient - very pretty. On bigger projects I usually do the back stitch as I go just to make it easier on myself.

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  13. Sorry you are having arguments with various stands and frames. Always takes time to get organized. I stitch everything in hand. Even the full sized HAED, although i don't have hanging threads. With my addled memory i would never remember which color is what.
    Maybe backstitch, when you finish an area of stitching, to dull the shock value of all that backstitching?
    Fantastic work!

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  14. I'm so sorry to hear your dilemmas over frames and stands. I'm a 100% Millennium Frame and stand girl so afraid I can't give any advice on what might or might not help you. I hope you find a satisfactory solution soon as I love seeing your progress.
    As for backstitching, I generally try to do bit as a go (where appropriate) to save the thought of hours of backstitching at the end. :)

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  15. Wow!!! That is beautiful. I backstitch as I go..it makes it easier for me.

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  16. Your backstitch on Elegance looks great! I'm the same way I usually put it off until the end and sometimes abandon the project for a bit. I know you can push through to finish her :)

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  17. Congrats on your beautiful stitching progress. I completely understand the backstitching thing--- it's so disheartening to be "done" and yet not.

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  18. I really love both these pieces :)
    I don't have a stand....normally I work with a simple hoop....or q snaps. I have a scroll thingy but tacking my stitching down just seemed like too much work before I could get to the fun bits :D
    When it comes to back stitching, I find it easier to actually do this in hand.....and as I go along so I'm not faced with a mammoth amount once all the stitches are done.

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  19. Beautiful, beautiful stitching! I especially love Elegance of Orient!! :))

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  20. such beautiful stitching, love your oriental lady! so bright and colourful.

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Would love to read any comments you would like to leave. Thanks for brightening my day :)