OhSewCrafty Blog

• Pattern: by Heaven & Earth Designs, art by Linda Ravenscroft
• Materials: 22 ct lugana, 2 x 1 full cross
• Size: 4.5″ square
• Time to stitch: Well, I started in 2007….

I wasn’t sure if I would ever finish my “Confetti-tastic” masked lady, so this happy dance is a little unexpected.

The pattern is not large (100 x 95 stitches), but it almost entirely confetti.  90 colors are used.  Obviously it was in UFO status for long time, and even after I made it “active” (in 2013), I found small doses of effort to be preferable.  Though I’ve finished my first HAED, I’m not sure if I’m really a HAED stitcher.  I know I don’t have the patience to do a full size pattern with this much confetti.  But I do own several other HAEDs and most have larger blocks of color.

The stitching is quite dense, 2 x 1 full cross on 22 count with so much confetti.  I tried 1 x 1 but wasn’t happy with the coverage.  If I had to do it over again, I’d just use 18 count, 2 x 1.  The coverage would be great and it would only be 5.5″ square.  Oh well, live and learn.  I tried to stitch my initials in the bottom corner, but it wasn’t visible, too many colors underneath and this piece is so small, the initials need to be small also.  So I stitched some black at the bottom edge and did my initials on top of that.  I want to frame this with a black inner mat so I thought that would blend well.  The other thing was, with all the confetti and parking (I worked in columns, mostly) the piece was a little bumpy when I finished.  But I ironed it gently with steam (face down into a towel) and also steamed the top side- iron close but no pressure applied.  It flattened out beautifully.

My favorite features of the piece are her enigmatic expression, the mysterious vibe, and the rainbow of colors.  As for framing, I’ve done my own for years, but I’m considering sending this one to Jill Rensel so she can work her magic with the embellished mats, etc.