The Goal Of Life

Day 242: The Chickens have been sitting on top of my drier for months now, finished and ready to frame, but I was undecided on how I wanted to mount the piece. My needlecrafts often don't fit a standard frame, and in the past, I've used a variety of ways to make them hangable, including sewn cloth borders with rod pockets or tabs, or sometimes buying an old frame at a thrift store and cutting it down to size. I specifically wanted a rustic look for the Chickens, but since thrift-store shopping is out of the question these days, I chose to go with wood I had on hand, i.e., a couple of lengths of plaster lath turned on edge and carefully, oh so very carefully, nailed together at the corners with fine brads (I drilled the holes first to prevent the wood from splitting). Once the shadow-box was complete, I glued in a line of garden twine set back 3/8" from the front to serve as a retainer. The mounted needlework was popped in from the back and secured in place with a piece of cardboard. Then I added a hanging cord and bingo! The Chickens were ready to put on the wall.

One Chicken Done

Day 113: By request, and because I am really struggling for both material and inspiration. 

Although I'm using the design elements for a sampler, the pattern for the "Mexican Chickens Tea Cozy" appeared in "Buttermilk Biscuits," published in 1981 by The Vanessa-Ann Collection. It is the only pattern I have ever used from the booklet, but I have made it at least half a dozen times on various fabric counts. For this version, I'm working on 18-count oatmeal Aida using two strands of floss for the cross-stitch and one strand for the backstitch in order to get good coverage of the canvas. The second chicken is roughly one-third complete. A border of golden chicken-wire will surround them and the verse, "The goal of Life is living in agreement with Nature," the dictum which frames my existence as quoted from the Greek philosopher Zeno of Citium. I have not yet decided how the piece will be mounted.

A Couple Of Cute Chicks

Day 106: Some of you may have been wondering why, given all the other needlecrafts I do, that I have never mentioned counted cross-stitch. The truth is that I used to do a lot of it, and by "a lot," I mean acres of canvas and miles of thread. Lots. As in "tons," perhaps quite literally. My favourite source for patterns was a magazine which is still published today, but bears very little resemblance to its earlier self. As the changeover to "pink and fluffy" occurred along with a greater emphasis on crafts as opposed to needlearts, I dropped my subscription. Eventually, my interest waned as well, and cross-stitch went on the shelf, only to be trotted out when I needed a gift for someone.

Now it must be said that blackwork doesn't qualify as cross-stitch although some stitches are the same in both techniques. However, there is only room in a home for a limited number of blackwork pieces, and I have my two favourites on the wall of the living room. Still, the urge to create something with needle and floss has been nagging me these last few weeks, and these two cute chicks kept popping into my mental vision. I've stitched this pattern at least half a dozen times as the design at the top of a sampler, and seem to recall that I even made one for myself at one point, framed in dark red broadcloth, but where it is now is a mystery. In any event, I'll have to think of an appropriate verse if it's to hang in my kitchen per the plan.