One of the biggest reasons I love the boxes from The Black Needle Society is their new-to-me stash suppliers. I love receiving patterns, floss, fabric, and all the fun doo-dads from sources I’d never heard of. Even in the wild world of the internet, these new discoveries are thrilling. I feel like it has helped expand my stitching world considerably.
One of the new designer introductions to me came via the “Nice” box for the holidays in 2021 – a fully kitted project called Winter Welcome by an oddly named designer called Park Hopper Bart.
Winter Welcome was kitted with the called for standard DMC floss and two colors of DMC Etoile (black and white), along with an absolutely beautiful piece of linen called Winter Berry from Fortnight Fabrics that I wish I had more of just to have. It doesn’t photograph well, but it’s the most delicate color that I can only describe as close to periwinkle. My piece of fabric is impossible to get to hue on screen.
It’s a very cute little piece – simple, straight forward, but with just enough whimsy to make it catch my eye for the holidays. This is my style for December. I’m not really into the Santas or anything bold and in your face. Obviously the religious-themed patterns are not my thing either. I like the small, quiet, delicate patterns for the holidays. I’m drawn to the rarely found quiet – that “all is calm, all is bright” concept. This little piece captures a glistening of that.
Now… that said… that Etoile thread? It’s most definitely not going with the calm atmosphere. I rarely need a floss threader to load a needle – but this stuff? Yeesh. It does not want to behave. Even with the threader. It snags, it bunches, it will not stitch evenly… so this fairly simple pattern is taking way longer than I’d like. The final glittery snow effect is honestly lovely and worth it. Just slow. At least this time I can ignore how much I don’t care for stitching in white because it always makes my stitches look wonky. Here? The floss is just adding to the wonky and I’m going with it.
I started to get into a bit of a rhythm with the curling vines by using more of a sewing technique to work the thread, so I’m hoping I can push forward a bit faster moving forward. The key is, I think, to allow this thread to create the bumpy texture. Don’t try to flatten and railroad it like regular DMC floss. It just won’t behave that way. This is a mindset floss that just needs to be embraced for the cranky nature it holds, and it will provide the pretty. (much like my cranky calico cat, Leia). Actually… I have the perfect description of this floss. It’s persnickety (or pernickety for those of you who speak English English).
I already know that I’m probably going to finish it in the trendy in-hoop style, wrapping the hoop with some glittery ribbon appropriate for the holidays. This one will absolutely be finished this year. 🙂
1 comment
That’s a really cute small pattern! I’ve only used etoile in very small quantities so far, but I absolutely know what you’re talking about. And I like how it looks on the purple fabric – on a white background, white etoile always comes out looking a little ‘dirty’.