December 2, 2009
Angels
I just finished the last non-metallic thread color for the cross-stitch angel. For the last few colors I did (yellow/orange), there were quite a few regions with only a few, or even one stitch of a given color. This slowed things down a bit, as I had to start and stop frequently, finishing off the thread before moving to another region. But this is what makes the pattern look so intricate. Now, to do the final shimmery threads and add the beads and outlining.
I’ve also attached a picture of the angel tree topper on our tree (very near the ceiling!). I ended up putting our tree behind a baby gate, due to my 13-month-old, who had been trying extremely hard to pull the whole tree over on top of himself! This way, he can still see it, but can’t get to the tree, ornaments, or the presents! Maybe next year, he’ll be old enough to have the tree out in the open without continuous monitoring. Maybe next year, I’ll have made a bunch more crochet ornaments too.
On the crochet front, I saw a scarf pattern in an email from Lion Brand Yarn a few days ago, and realized it would be perfect for a quick gift to make for another family member. I grabbed some yarn I had left over, even though it was weight 4 and not 5 as called for in the pattern, and started and finished the scarf in one day! That was despite having to start and stop dozens of times to take care of the kids. So that’s done, and I’m going to make another one, from some 5-weight yarn I found in my stash, for another family member. With the 4-weight yarn, you can’t see the corkscrew effect as much, but the yarn is so soft and fluffy, it is still wonderful. The yarn I used was Yarn Bee Infatuation, in rattan color, about 1 1/2 skeins. The original pattern is the North Pole Ruffle Scarf pattern #90326AD on the www.lionbrand.com website, if you’d like to look it up.
I finished the angel tree topper, and I think it looks pretty good. Very angelic! It really didn’t take too long to make, and was inexpensive, compared to a store-bought topper. The porcelain doll head cost $1.88, the doll cone $1.79, and the wings were $3.99 (plus shipping since I had to order all those parts). The wreath cost about $0.50, the fur $3.99 (but I used less than half of it), and I already had more than enough size 10 white crochet thread. I couldn’t find a plastic ring the right size for the halo, so I made one out of wire, crocheting around it. I’ll take another picture of her when I get the tree up in a week or two.
I finished all the green and purple shades on the cross-stitch angel too. Not as much of those colors as the red and whites/grays. There are still some more purple shades in the dress detail, but they all have metallic threads blended in, so I’m waiting on those. Next, I believe I’ll do the skin and hair, and maybe some of the orange highlights – just a few stitches for that color, I believe. It’s going to be close, but I’m still hopeful I’ll finish before Christmas. If not, well, the person I am giving the picture to as a present will understand, and be willing to wait a few more days, I think! (She may be reading this blog, so I won’t give away any more information yet!)
I finished the dress part of the angel tree topper. I didn’t quite understand how to do the arms at first, but now I see that the long tube you crochet goes through the dress sleeves, and you attach one hand on each end. I was originally thinking that you made 2 of the arms, and each one just stuck up into the sleeves and somehow attached to the angel head, but the first one I made was way too long for that! It makes much more sense now!
I’ve gotten about a third of the angel tree-topper dress done, as shown in this picture. Hopefully I will get more done on it this week. Hopefully I can also keep the 4-year-old from swiping the dress for her doll!
I’m still working on the cross-stitch angel, but I’ve decided to pause my work on the crochet table runner and work on a few Christmas projects instead. I’m trying to finish a crocheted angel tree topper in time to use on our tree. It is from “A Crochet Christmas” booklet, which I got from Annie’s Attic a while back. The crocheted angel dress is going fairly fast (I’ll put up a picture of my progress soon), but there will be more details later which are new to me – adding the doll head, wings, etc. I’ll have to make a run to the craft store to look for the accessory parts….
I finally finished the medium dark red floss. I just barely had enough thread, and I started with a brand new skein of floss. I ended up with a single strand left over, and I’m very efficient with my floss. The color I just finished is actually one of 4 red colors in this design. I’ve done the 2 middle shades now, and still have the lightest and the darkest reds to go, but the structure of the angel’s dress is very clear now. There is some purple to the dress too, but I’ll probably finish the red and green colors first. I still have some more gray to do, and the angel’s wings, of course. I’ve done a lot of the sheep, but there’s still an entire lion to do too! The outlining will probably take some time too, since there is metallic thread involved, and beads also.
I finished the first motif of the table runner too. It needs to be stretched, but it is quite pretty. I’ve started the 2nd motif, which is identical to the first one until the last round, where the motifs are joined. Then there is a 3rd motif, also joined, and then a border all the way around. I may not finish this before Christmas, since I want to concentrate on the angel to give it as a Christmas present!
