Yvette's Petitpoint Blog - Double the Fun Crafts

Little Blue Carpet, progress 3

2/25/2025

It has been 10 days instead of the 2 weeks I was predicting, but I have now finished the outlines for the next inner border. I had a bit more time on my hands to devote to stitching in the last couple of weeks, so I feel I have accomplished a lot.

Next, I will be filling in the color for this border. I am taking some artistic license for this border as well because there are single stitches that do not have any more of that color near it. This can be tedious to stitch as you have to begin and end a color all for 1 stitch. I find this also makes the back of the rug more messy and the overall rug thicker.

I like to keep my rugs as thin as possible and the backs as neat as I can. Therefore, I have decided to stitch all of these single stitches with the same color. I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out over the next few weeks.

Little Blue Carpet Progress 2

2/15/2025

I have been slowly making progress on the Little Blue Rug. When working on filling in the little circles, I decided to change the colors somewhat. I decided to have the circles repeating in groups of 4 instead of having one rogue different circle every now and then. Also, One of the colors I had chosen was too close to two of the others, so I decided to substitute a very pale yellow. It doesn't show up in this photo very well, but does in real-life. It may show up a bit more in the next inner border because there is more of it.

This border is going a bit slower because there are a lot of color changes which can make it a bit fiddly and slower to stitch. However, I am powering through and hope to be done this inner border in the next week or two.

Little Blue Carpet progress 1

2/4/2025

It has now been a little over 3 weeks since I started working on the Little Blue Carpet by Catherine Soubzmaigne. I am happy to say I have now stitched the outer border and everything fits exactly the way it should.

I started the bottom left corner a little closer to the left side than I really wanted to, but I now have some free gauze on the right side that I can use later for my test stitching or some Christmas stockings if it is wide enough.

Today, I will begin stitching the next elements of the rug, working my way toward the center. The stitching is going slower than I anticipated at this time, but I am still enjoying it. I am looking forward to the next elements taking shape now that I have the boring straight lines stitched.

Stay tuned for more later...

Blocking the old, Beginning the new

1/23/2025

My Mary Ellen Rug is now blocking after the fringe has been put on. It is always a relief for me once the blocking stage starts because it is the last step I take before fully finishing the rug.

This will now block, with minor tweaks each day, for at least 2-3 weeks or longer if needed, so that I can be sure the sides will remain straight and the rug will stay square.

A tutorial for blocking a rug may be found on this page if you are interested in how I do it.

I am making a deviation in my usual stitching projects right now and am stitching a rug by another designer. The rug I am now stitching is the Little Blue Carpet by Catherine Soubzmaigne.

I was given the pattern by a friend while I was selling at the MET Show in October last year, with the promise that I would stitch it. I agreed and have now begun. I have changed every color in the pattern, but it will still be blue. I decided to use a blue overdye by Threadworx for the background and have chosen all of the other colors to complement that. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.

While working on this as my main project for a while, I will also be doing some test stitching behind the scenes to test new patterns I have created, but not posted for sale yet, so new patterns will be coming soon.

I Did It!!

1/18/2025

The center of the rug is complete! I put in the last stitch early in the morning and gave it a thorough once over to see if I could spot any missed stitches. I found a few and added those in then decided to give myself the day off from stitching.

For the last month, I have been pushing really hard to finish this and using my current insomnia to steal some stitching time before the usual hustle and bustle of the day starts and it has paid off.

The wonderful thing about this is that I had already done the Tabby Weave in preparation for the Fringe back in October when I was at the MET Show in Toronto, selling some of my creations. Now, the only thing I have left to do before blocking and finishing is to add the fringe, which I intend to do tonight.

I must say, I think the Mary Ellen has been one of my most fun rugs to stitch, despite my having made multiple mistakes along the way. It has truly been a joy. I would definitely say though that it is not for the beginner and should be stitched by someone who has already successfully stitched a few Petit Point rugs.

Pushing on...

1/16/2025

Now that I am getting closer to the center of the rug and the chaos of Christmas and New Year is behind me, I have been concentrating my efforts on completing this rug. I am really motivated to complete this soon and am rewarding myself with stitching time. My eyes are getting tired, and I have to keep reminding myself to take breaks because I am having so much fun.

I now have the center medallion outlined and ready to stitch. It won't be long now! It is amazing how much you can get done when you can't seem to sleep much past 4:30 am!! It is so wonderful and quiet at that time in the morning and the phone hasn't started ringing. There are now other demands on my time and I can stitch in peace. I am hoping my current wake up time extends a bit until 6:00 am soon, but I am not complaining at the moment since I can work on this amazing rug, lol.

Wonderful Progress made

1/13/2025

I have made some terrific progress this past week, and now have the outer part of the center finished. I am still having lots of fun with this rug, but it is definitely one for an advanced stitcher. Along the way, I have made lots of mistakes that I have needed to pull out and fix before continuing. Luckily, I have found them very quickly and could "frog" them out easily.

I hope to complete this rug in the next month or so and have already chosen my next rug to stitch. A friend gave me a pattern by another designer and made me promise to stitch it. I have pulled the floss and gotten the fabric and frame all ready to stitch it and will begin as soon as this one is finished.

Beginning the New Year

1/6/2025

As I begin the New Year, I am pleased to report that I have finished the lower 1/3rd of the rug. The lower flower swag is in place and the background stitching has been completed around it.

Now, I have to decide whether to turn the rug and do the same on the other end or continue to work my way upwards toward the middle. It is a matter of personal choice and in no way reflects the way anyone else may choose to do theirs.

My next photo will show what my choice is once I have decided, so stay tuned!

A New Year Begins

1/1/2025

A New Year begins today and brings the hope of a better year for everyone. This year, people around the world have had to deal with many issues such as war, famine, severe weather, to name a few. Cheryl and I are hoping for a much better year this year for everyone. We, also had to deal with many things within our own family unit, but things will hopefully settle down for this year.

I have decided to send out a New Year's ecard to everyone who is reading my blog. I hope this year is better around the world than the previous one. Please copy and paste this link into your browser to view your card: https://jlcards.com/hy5iZ4

Slowly Goes it

12/30/2024

I haven't done a huge amount of stitching in the last little bit due to the holiday celebrations, but now I am happily stitching again.

I finished the background on the flower swag then started the next stage of my stitching. While placing the light pink along the right side of the rug, I noticed that the stitches were farther away from the side than the stitches on the left. (I count to the edges periodically) Upon closer inspection, I realized that the green extending into the middle on the right-hand side had a mistake and was 1 stitch over to the left. I couldn't leave that in place since I intend to sell this rug once finished, so I have carefully unpicked it and re-stitched the green there.

Now, to continue the flowers so I can fill in the rest of this area with background stitching. It is fun seeing the design take shape.

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