The Guardian Angels are finished!

I finished the rabbit of the Guardian Angel Dogs tonight. We made braided gold cord from 032 Kreinik and covered the seam for the front and the back. I glued mine braid down and only stitched by the closure loop. The ends of the braid are in between the two pieces of foam and the loop is an overhand loop in the remaining cord.

I finished this one the night before last. The canvas front piece is wrapped around crafting foam and the back is oatmeal felt, also wrapped around the foam.

I have wrapped them in tissue and placed them in a foam mailer. Tomorrow the post office will start them on their way to Chilly Hollow and then the ANG auction.

Good luck little dogs.....I hope you earn lots of money for ANG!

Thanks again to Kandice Merric for the design, permission to blog stitch the pieces, and for designing a new one to add to the collection. Also, thanks to Jane in Chilly Hollow for the idea and coordinating all of these!

Sprats around

Tonight is Ecrusheen night. I am working on Lesson Two and I used a single strand of Floche to create the flat base Sprat's head stitches on the left side and top of the square, so far. I will continue these to have them all the way around the square.
I also did the braiding for the first of the two guardian angels that I am finishing for the ANG auction. I did the hand sewing of the front to the back already, so I am ready to do the last of the finishing on the pieces. I have to get these in the mail to Jane in Chilly Hollow by the end of the week. Jane stitched all the braid to her pieces due to a glue and hair issue which we cannot discuss here! LOL. I am going to glue mine down but stitch the top section shut as that is where the hanger will be. I will post photos when I have them finished and ready to mail.

The Royal Angel

Yes, I finished all the border stitching tonight! The Dalmatian is ready to finish. Jane in Chilly Hollow is writing the finishing instructions for those of us that are stitching these Guardian Angel Pets so I will set this aside for a while. I will post a photo when he is all finished and ready to fly to Chilly Hollow.
Thanks to Kandace Merric for allowing us to stitch these for the ANG auction and to take liberty with her instructions so that each one will be unique!

We have wings!

I worked on the wings last night. I finally decided on the Angel's Wings pattern in Linda Corirossi's book, Canvas Embellishment, Exquisite Needlepoint Stitches Made Simple. It suggested using two different fibers. I did the first pass in Neon rays. Then, I did four or five other threads and did not like any of them! I finally settled on the #12 Kreinik braid in color 100. I finished it tonight. Then I resumed the basketweave around the outside edge. I made it to around the bottom of the top overskirt. It is the home stretch!

A Halo and more background

I used some of the blue Goldrush and two strands of the gold and braided a halo for this angel. Then I started filling in the background around the win and down to the top of the overskirt. Tomorrow I will fill in the wings and hopefully get a little more background done!

That's some collar!

I finished the background around his head and back stitched clear down to the start of the wing and then over a little bit. I then got the 002HL #8 Kreinik to do the needle lace collar. I put it in and did not like how it looked. Sooooo, I took it all back out! I thought it was too lacy for the geometric lines of his royal coat. I pushed the chair over in front of the bookshelf and cruised until I found the Diagonal Weaving stitch. The lines flow with the robe, in my humble opinion, and I hope Kandace approves!

He's back......

No, I haven't forgotten Mr. Tudor dog. You can see I have been working on him along with the finishing of the other two pieces. I did his head using four strands of black and white DMC, and outlining his head with a single strand of black. His eye has a tiny French Knot for his highlight. And, I have done a lot of background on him. I have the collar, his halo and the wings left to do. And, a lot more background! He will be done before we know it!

What I did....

Remember last night, I said I could not decide about the underskirt border? After I finished the blog, I sat looking through the instructions and the photo, and I figured it out! The overskirt border was to start in the center under the sleeve and make the curved shaped up to the top of the piece, in an entirely different pattern! I had misunderstood. So, I decided that I would continue the same pattern for both skirts so it all matches. I really did not want to rip all that out and start over. I think it looks just fine....that is just my opinion, but I am staying with it. I also added the Mill Hill Petite beads, 42041 to the center of the gold designs in the sleeve. I finished the background on the left under the paw, and then started the background on the right at the bottom edge of the skirts.

The bordered underskirt

Adding the border on the underskirt was a bit of indecision for me. I could not quite tell the direction I was to follow for the top, so as always, I did what I thought looked the best. I started with the Kreinik gold and worked oblong cross stitches vertically at the bottom of the underskirt. Then I worked horizontal stitches across the top of it. Then I outlined the entire thing, again using the gold. Last, I put in upright cross stitches to fill in the X created by the oblong cross stitches. This is one classy angel!

The Royal Bodice

I started the bodice by working a diagonal Mosaic stitch in the blue Gold Rush. Next the Mistake Stitch using the 002HL was put in the center of the Mosaic pattern. Last, a single French Knot is in the center using the 032 pearl Kreinik. Then, I finished compensating the sleeve to sit next to the bodice. I stitched the paw using four strands of DMC black and white.
I started the basketweave next to the paw and since the Splendor 961 is so close to the white, I outlined with a single strand of the black to distinguish the paw from the background.
This is stitching so quickly, maybe because he thinks royalty is entitled to such!

Fancy Schmanzy

First, I finished the flower medallion by using the gold braid to fill in the small straight stitches on top of the previously finished tent stitches. I also filled in another compensating row on the top and side. I had decided not to put in the called for flower thread but instead filled in the sleeve with the repeat pattern to make it a more solid design. I hope that makes sense to you. It is supposed to look like the material was "pinked" on the blue thereby allowing the gold flowers to show through and I thought by making the gold flower more predominant the blue would recede. I think it worked. The directions call for an upright cross stitch over the center of the flower using the pearl braid. I put in a couple and did not like them. I am thinking a bead....... Anyway, I then put in the two rows of tent stitches in Kreinik 002HL on the sleeve. I then laid two long stitches of Gold Rush between the tent stitches. Next using the 002HL, I worked the plaited cross stitch over the long stitches.
Last, I moved down and filled in the basketweave out past the edge of the sleeve.

Beginning a royal sleeve

I started the sleeve tonight by changing the six strands of DMC floss for the Gold Rush I used on the outerskirt. First I worked the cross stitches and then the upright cross stitches. Next, I used the Kreinik 002HL gold to create the flower medallion in the center of each design with tent stitches. I also put in a little more of the background under the sleeve, and defining it for completing the rest of the sleeve.
I have been checking my stitch books for a possible variation for the wings and have come up with a couple of possibilities, but we still have time to decide.

The overskirt is finished

Isn't this just rich and so kingly? I used Kreinik 033 blue braid and did a Scotch stitch variation in the center of all the openings. Then I used the 002HL gold to work tent stitches all around the Scotch stitch creating each of the squares. Last, one long stitch is done with the same gold from the top right of each box down into the fourth stitch of the Scotch. I also worked a little more of the basketweave at the bottom of the skirt.

A Royal Overskirt

This is the first step in the diaper patterned overskirt. The instructions called for DMC floss in blue. I decided to use Gold Rush 18 by Rainbow Gallery in color 26C. This is a diagonal step stitch using one strand. This is very rich looking! I also started some of the basketweave at the bottom of the underskirt in four strands of Splendor 961. I have decided to work some on the basketweave every day so I don't have to do all of it last!

Now it is all sparkly!

Yes, the entire underskirt is now all sparkles! First I put in the single tent stitches using Kreinik 002HL, gold. Then all the rest of the area is filled in with Kreinik 032, pearl. If you noticed the away waste knots from the Panache in last night's post, you will now notice that I clipped them from the bottom of the skirt tonight. I did so after I had filled in both the gold and the pearl. I used the away waste knot to start a couple of the rows of the Panache as it is a slippery devil, but provides wonderful sheen. I also used a laying tool with the Panache even though it is a single strand. It was easier to control both the sheen and the tension by doing so.

The underskirt

You know me, I like shiny ornaments! Since King Henry would have loved rich, royal robes, (work with me, here) I changed the fiber from pearl cotton to Rainbow Gallery's Panache in 02, white. The diagonal heart pattern is very pretty and now shiny too!

The Tudor Dog

Next up is the Tudor Dog Angel designed by Kandice Merric. This is the second ornament I am stitching along with Jane in Chilly Hollow and Margaret of Stitch with me. Margaret is way ahead of me on this one.
Anyway, King Henry the VIII's Chapel Royal at Hampton Court has the royal, white and gold colors that we will use to work this one. There is a diaper pattern damask kirtle with and embroidered bodice over the heart patterned taffeta underkirtle. The sleeves will appear to be pinked so that small holes in the fabric create a pattern, and then small ornaments are applied to the holes and embroidery is added. Ornate borders will define the cuff, kirtle and underkirtle. He will also have a golden ruff or collar and fluffy wings. I have chosen to stitch the Dalmatian head option of the three presented.
The fibers are pulled and the design is traced onto the canvas. Let the adventure begin!

Tickled Purple

I am just tickled Purple! It is completed! I finished all of the Splendor 961 tonight so it can be finished. I also put the Kreinik gold in the wings, and the little bows on the sleeves of the dress. I am setting this aside to finish both of the guardian angels at the same time, so you will have to wait on that for a bit.

Overwhelmed!

Wow! So many wonderful comments on the Georgian Rabbit Angel! Thanks for all the nice comments. Yes, Margaret, feel free to do your halo the same way. BTW, I used one of my laying tools to hold the gold in the front so the loops will all be the same size. As I was posting last night, I realized I had not done the backstitch up the center of each stitch. So, now I am thinking I may also do that in gold to tie the whole thing together. While I am doing the basketweave around the outside I am contemplating this last little finish! What do you all think?

Back to basketweave for me!

It is stitched!

Yes, I finished the Georgian Rabbit Angel stitching! First, I did the wings in a leaf stitch variation using Panache in white 02. Then I did the collar in the buttonhole stitch, also using Panache 02. I then put in a backstitch in the Marlitt 812 using two strands. The cuffs are then buttonholed in Panache39, off white. A single strand of Kreinik 002 HL is laid under the stitches. For the halo, I took more of the 002 HL and made three loops around the head. Then I buttonholed over the three strands so the halo will stand up and away from the head. Next, I will basketweave the background with Splendor 961 in preparation to finish the ornament.