Grant's stocking part 3

The trees are two strands of Vineyard Silk in a Horizontal Brick stitch for the large dark green tree.  The snow on that tree was stitched with Silk Lamé Braid for 13 count canvas. The background trees were also stitched in the horizontal brick stitch using one or two strands of Vineyard Silk as needed to cover.

Santa’s bag was also stitched with two strands of light tan Vineyard Silk and one strand of Very Velvet for the dark brown.  The stitch was the Burden stitch, a quick and easy basket stitch.

Grant's stocking part 2

The border was great fun—I used my new favorite thread, Silk Lamé for the squares. The Lamé for 18 count covered beautifully on 13 mesh—the Lamé for 13 count would have been too heavy. I had the thought that most of my Christmas stockings have been stitched for adults or near adults and involved complicated stitches and things that might come loose with heavy use. With this stocking I was careful to anchor everything very well and to use stitches that could stand use and abuse for many years. The boxes are a tied mosaic stitch—the longest center stitch is cross-stitched with one short stitch. I continued the same stitch in Silk & Ivory for a more subtle continuation, stitching a rectangular area around the name in basketweave.

Grant's stocking

I’m at the very end of this project, obsessing as I usually do.

I have one doll’s eye to add (didn’t like the first blue), I would like to beef up the reindeer antlers (3 tries, 3 failures), the reindeer needs lips (but I don’t think the green they are painted is too appealing), and I found a missed stitch on a package bow (and brought the wrong thread to the store). After these little items are cleared up, I’ll add a quick two rows to the outside edges so that I don’t lose any of the painted area and it will go off to the finisher.

The sky was also basketweave in Silk & Ivory to give a quiet place for the eyes to rest. (to be continued...)